It was a beautiful day, all the way around. Kelly Butte is a great hike, a bit steep and exposed on the beginning switchbacks, but with wildflowers this time of year, and open views from the fire lookout.
Rainier filled the view to the south, and Seattle was visible through the foothills. Mt. Stuart, Glacier Peak and the "backside" of the southern Snoqualmie pass summits made a nice panorama.
Unicorn Peak was a short easy climb compared to the Little T attempt the day before. It's about a 6 mile round trip with 2500 ft of elevation gain. We were on snow most of the way.
Tuesday last week, with the help, support, and expertise of friends and an experienced mountaineering guide, I summited Mount Hood for my first time, and activated Mount Hood for its first time in SOTA. The climb began under a crystal clear starry sky around 00:37 on Tuesday, 11 June 2013, heading up the snowcat-groomed climber’s trail from Wy'East Day Lodge at Timberline Lodge. At midnight, I had met my guide, Rodney Sofich, at the Climber's Register just inside the day lodge to discuss what I was about to undertake.
Note that there is another Idaho "Squaw Butte-W7I/SR-089" and that this "Squaw Butte" is also the name given to the long ridge just to the east of this two-pointer. However, the ridge and it's associated peak, "Squaw Butte South" doesn't have the required prominence for SOTA. But hey, the real peak is only a few miles away.
Directions to the "trailhead" seemed a little tricky for an out of towner - I've started them below from ID-44 - W State Street where you make the turn north on ID-16. See this for more information and other routes: www.summitpost.org/squaw-butte/275284
Shafer Butte is an excellent activation not far from Metro Boise - about an hour up Bogus Basin Road will get you there - and another 1.25 miles or so and 700 feet of hiking will gain you the summit proper. Or consider that there is a ski lift a few feet away from the summit - buy a lift ticket and climb a little and earn the bonus points for a "ski" activation during the winter.
Here's a fairly easy SOTA summit not too far from Boise. It has good views from the top and some simple navigation challenges as it's cross country with no trail. This could be a good summit to try out using a GPS - it might help you end up in the right place.
K7ATN and N7LKL activated Washington's Larch Mountain on Saturday, 2/2/13. We hiked in on the forest service road from the Larch Corrections Center side. (Directions below) We were able to drive up the service road quite a ways but hiked the last 1.5 miles with approximately 1200 feet gain. Weather conditions were excellent - sunny and not too cold. We were on the summit from about 10:00 to 1:00 during which time the sun softened the snow considerably.
Taylor and I returned to Tumalo Mountain this weekend to score a rare 6 pointer in winter, with a justified bonus. Tumalo Mountain is a strenuous, yet technically easy ascent. The trail up to the summit leaves from the Dutchman Flats Sno-Park, just north of the entrance to the Mt Bachelor ski area on Cascade Lakes Highway. Because this is a popular winter recreation area, the parking area is packed with people looking to snow-machine, ski, and snowshoe to the top.
This is the only 'drive-up' ten pointer in Oregon - but perhaps because it's eight hours from the Willamette Valley it remains a pretty quiet place. The scenery and silence of this high desert place have made it my favorite spot in the world for more than twenty years with many trips bringing family and friends to see this place. It was great to have a chance to activate it for Summits on the Air.
Diamond Craters is administered by the Bureau of Land Management as an Outstanding Natural Area. This is a great example of Oregon High Desert and although it’s not on the way to anything, it is very much worth visiting. It is about 55 miles southeast of Burns, Oregon.