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Three
Fingers 
Summit Elevation:
6,854 feet Trip Length:
1 Day Route: Goats Flats / South
Peak / Tin Pan Gap Difficulty:
Grade 2, 35° Snow
Elevation Gain: 3970 feet Roundtrip Distance:
17 miles Date: September
9, 2001 |
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Three Fingers..........what a mountain. Living up
in the northend of Seattle, I had my eye on this pristine peak
from the summits of Pilchuck and Dickerman for a few months. After
our climbs on Rainier, one of our climbing group instructors
decided to have a quick one day ascent of the South Peak. Needless
to say, Alison and I were all over it. Dick thought we should
all get an early start, which meant to meet at the trailhead at
5am. It worked for me, as I love to get done before dark, at least
most of the time. Sunday
3:30am BEEP!, BEEP!, BEEP!........SLAM! The clock gets a slap, and I walk zombie style to the coffee machine. Alison is quite distressed, after all this is not the kind of start she likes (early morning that is). We awake, chug coffee and make our way to Lake Stevens. We pick up our crew and travel the Mountain Loop Highway towards the trailhead. After almost 20 miles on forest service road #41 (Tupso Pass) we finally reached our destination. I had heard stories about this trail, and they are all true. Roots, mud, puddles, roots, mud, and more roots. The trail can really beat you up, and getting scratched by branches and wrestling with shrubs is just part of the hike, so be prepared. During
the first few miles the trail gradually ascends towards Saddle
Lake. Make sure that you take the left fork, as that leads to
Goat Flats, and the right fork leads to the campsites on Saddle
Lake. In a couple more miles you reach Goat Flats that has wide
open meadows and incredible views. From there, continue on to
Tin Can Gap (6400 feet). From Tin Can Gap we donned our ice axes
and crampons and got on the Quest Alb Glacier. It was solid ice,
and the exposure looked like it could be fatal - The traverse
across it was pretty hairy, as my ice axe did not do too much
good as it sank about 1/4 inch into the ice. Once on top of the
glacier we descended back down onto the trail that had melted
out and continued on until we had to get back on the glacier.
It was crampons on, crampons off, crampons on, crampons off -
that lasted quite a bit until we got around the opposite side
of the ridge where we ascended a short trail that lead to the
last snowfield. After a short and easy summit scramble, the infamous
"ladders" are reached. We all met up at the ladders and went up
2-3 at a time. Once
at the top of the last ladder there is a large rope that you can
use to gain your balance, but do not rely on it since it is old.
Once at the summit we were greeted by a group that had spent the
night there, so we made our way through the lookout to the dirt
deck that was on the opposite side. The views here are astounding
on a clear day. If you are scared of heights this is the not place
for you, as there is a sheer drop off on this side that drops
almost 2000 feet . We arrived at the lookout in just about 5 hours,
and the sun had really taken alot of energy from me. The
descent is long and arduous. I forgot my Gu, so I was kind of
wilting away slowly. We did not put on our crampons for the traverse
back across the Quest Alb, even though I wish I had in certain
spots. Once back at Tin Can Gap we made our way down the trail,
and once past Goat Flats it seemed like that the trail goes up
and down the entire way out......... |
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