Trip Date: June 16, 2007
Chilly Peak Day Climb
Carne Basin
Carne Pass
Rock Creek Pass
Chilly Peak (7968′)
Trip Report Summary
Region: North-Central Washington Cascades
Sub-Region: Entiat Mountains
Area: Glacier Peak Wilderness
Starting & Ending Point: Phelps Creek Trailhead at end of Phelps Creek Road (Elev. 3500 feet)
Way Points: Carne Creek & Carne Mountain Trail junction & Carne Basin & Carne Pass & Rock Creek Pass & Upper Rock Creek Basin (trail hike & snow hike)
Summit: Chilly Peak (snow climb & rock scramble via West Slope—Northwest Ridge)
Approximate Stats: 11 miles traveled; 5200 feet gained & lost; 5.3 hours up; 3.1 hours down.
Full Trip Report
On an overcast Saturday, I did a climb of Chilly Peak in the Entiat Mountains with Steve. This is the point shown as 7968′ on old 15-min maps and as 7920’+ on newer 7.5-min maps. John Roper suggested the name “Chilly Peak” because it could be readily combined with an ascent of nearby Carne Mountain, thereby giving the possibility of doing….you guessed it…..Chilly con Carne. I can hear you climbers groaning over the pun, but this turned out to be a dandy alpine peak with an attractive pyramidal summit and a marvelous view of the Ice Lakes bowl.
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We hiked up the not-yet-logged-out Carne Mountain Trail, encountering a solid snowpack in Carne Basin. We continued over Carne Pass to Rock Creek Pass, dropped 100 feet towards the east, then kicked steps northeasterly up a wide-open snow basin.
- Ridge Crest Near Rock Creek Pass
- Steve Heading For Summit
The summit pyramid was a short, pleasant Class 2-3 scramble. There appeared to be remnants of a summit cairn but no register, so I left one of mine.
- Steve Climbing Summit Pyramid
We spent an hour on top, despite an intermittent frigid wind and swirling clouds. The name “Chilly” was quite fitting on this particular day.
- Spectacle Buttes and Steve From Summit
- Saska Peak, Emerald Peak, and Cardinal Peak from Summit
- Pinnacle Mountain from the summit
We had perfect styrofoam snow for plunge-stepping down the big basin. Weather conditions generally improved as the day went on; by late afternoon it was milder and just partly cloudy.
- Descending Towards Carne Mountain
Once back at Carne Pass, both of us opted for a chile burger at the 59er rather than the Carne Mountain summit. I guess that means we had vegetarian Chilly on this trip!
Route Map
Photo Gallery
Click to enlarge…
