Solid Gold

Prusik Peak in all its glory

High up in the Cascade Mountains near Leavenworth, WA, is an area called "The Enchantments". Before this summer, I have heard about and seen pictures of the area, but have never actually pierced the veil and seen it myself. The name "Enchantments" conjures up larger than life adventure, spectacular beauty, and something magical. My experience climbing in the Enchantments did not disappoint.

Plans began when my friend/coworker, Trevor, suggested getting out in the mountains for some tough climbing. Finding someone with a similar appetite for difficult climbing, a cheery disposition, and a willingness to suffer is not easy, so I was thrilled about the opportunity. I have worked for Trevor doing carpentry for a few months, have shared some good climbing stories, and even bolted a route with him, but we had never actually roped up together. Never one to do things halfway, we decided to climb Prusik Peak in a day. Reaching Prusik Peak requires a 20 mile roundtrip hike, and just to be sure we would get full value out of our excursion we decided to do a difficult five-star route called Solid Gold. Solid Gold ascends a series of cracks just wide enough to fit my fingertips for most of the initial 450 foot face. After that, it follows the more moderate ridge line for a couple hundred feet to the summit. My girlfriend, Megan and her best friend, Erin, would join us for the alpine adventure, choosing to climb the classic West Ridge route.

The cleanest mountain goat I have ever seen

We had a little warm up day in Index, WA on the way to Leavenworth, which provided a good chance to assess where Trevor was in his climbing, and see how our chemistry was on a short multi-pitch. As usual, the climbing was hard (standard for Index), but Trevor, Megan, and I had a blast climbing Godzilla / City Park / Slow Children. Despite what the name suggests, there were no children harmed during our climb (disabled or otherwise). After a jump in the Skykomish river and a pasta dinner we sorted gear, packed food, and went to bed prepared for a 4am start.

So close, yet, so far

What can I say about the hike in? It is breathtaking, and wild, with goats, and alpine lakes, and heather meadows, and lots and lots of hiking uphill. Just to hike in would be a great workout, but after nearly 7 hours, standing at the base of one of the most amazing pieces of granite I have ever seen, we were not even halfway done. I felt about as good as I could expect, and as always, Trevor had a big smile on his face. As we racked up to climb, Trevor's excitement was palpable. He was like a golden retriever about to go for a walk.

Trevor following Solid Gold 5.11a

The moment I started to climb everything faded away. The weight of our hike, the chatter of my thoughts, it all left me as I worked my way up the delicate finger cracks taking easy breaths and moving from one stance to the next. I lead the first couple pitches and worked myself up to a little nook where I could bring Trevor up while sitting in the shade. Perhaps it was the fatigue, but I had a surreal sense of peace as I belayed. When Trevor's head came into view, I was so grateful for his company. I was even more grateful when he plucked a tick off my shirt and flicked it off the mountain. Trevor lead through the next few pitches which provided a consistent challenge and phenomenal climbing. When Trevor reached the top of the wall, I heard him yelling out to Megan, who was on her way up the final pitch of the west ridge, and I was thrilled to see her and Erin, in good spirits and on schedule for a long but reasonable day. We all congregated on the summit, where Megan ended up providing a bit of a rescue to some climbers on another route who were out of gear and in a bit over their head. After belaying the shaky climber to the top, we took our summit photo, ate gummy bears, and got ready for the descent. We made a handful of rappels and were back on level ground with no time to spare. Trevor and I bid the ladies farewell, and began bounding down the trail. We managed to make it down the steep rocky trail from Asgard Pass without any injury or rockfall, and made great time reaching the main trail. As we hiked back below the tree line, past campsites, and around lakes I felt surprisingly light and full of energy. Early on I suggested we might make it back to the car before dark and started talking about cheeseburgers and french fries. I was a bit optimistic. We weren't even close.

We got back to the car at 9:00 pm after a full 16 hrs of hiking and climbing. As if that weren't enough, there was still over three hours of driving to be ready to work the next morning. With a short stop for caffeine and potato chips, we pushed on through the night. Returning to Bellingham, safe and sound, is the most important goal of the trip. Back home, after a quick shower, I lay in bed, and felt a wave of gratitude and satisfaction. It is amazing what people are capable of when we push ourselves. One can't help but wonder, "What else can I do?"

Summit party with Megan, Erin, and Trevor

I already feel like 16 hrs wasn't so hard. For a few days following the climb, I had difficulty bending over, or moving quickly, but I look forward to tackling more big objectives with Trevor, and climbing in the Enchantments with a more generous time frame. Few places captivate me like the North Cascades and I suspect there is no amount of exploring that will break their spell on me. Hopefully, I can get out there again before winter settles in.

Until next time...
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