Trip Date: July 8-9, 2000
Mt. Cruiser Climbing Trip
North Fork Skokomish River Valley
Flapjack Lakes
Mount Lincoln (5868 ft) attempt
Needle Pass
Mount Cruiser (6104 ft)
Trip Report Summary
Region: Olympic Mountains (Washington)
Sub-Region: Skokomish – Duckabush Group
Area: Olympic National Park & Mt. Skokomish Wilderness
Starting & Ending Point: North Fork Skokomish River Trailhead near Staircase Ranger Station at end of Lake Cushman Road (Elev. 850 feet)
Way Points: Gladys Divide Trail junction & Madeline Creek & Donahue Creek & Flapjack Lakes (trail hike)
Campsite: Flapjack Lakes (Elev. 3850 feet)
Summit Attempt: Mt. Lincoln (rock scramble to Northwest Face via Northwest Couloir)
Sidetrip: Gladys Divide basin & Needle Pass (trail hike & snow climb)
Summit: Mt. Cruiser (rock scramble & rock climb via Southwest Ridge—South Notch—Cannonhole—South Corner [Route 1] )
Approximate Stats (excluding summit attempt): 18.0 miles traveled; 5700 feet gained & lost.
Approximate Stats (including summit attempt): 20.0 miles traveled; 6900 feet gained & lost.
Related Posts
>>> Mt Cruiser via Flapjack Lakes–Needle Pass–Beta–South Corner – August 2023
>>> Historical Articles & Photos for Mt. Cruiser First Ascent – September 1937
Full Trip Report
Text by Laura Zimmerman…
Not the best weekend for a high-mountain climb, but we managed to summit Mt. Cruiser in good style! It is an awesome climb – with a little bit of everything. Shall I be so bold as to use one of Beckey’s lines: “distinctly alpine and pure joy!”
Day 1: Trailhead to Flapjack Lakes
Flapjack Lakes trail is wonderfully maintained, with the exception of the slide by-pass, which is a bit rough but still very do-able. The Gladys Divide trail still has some snow patches and lots of blowdown, but it isn’t all that bad. A National Park Service crew was busy maintaining the Black & White Lakes trail. After reaching Flapjack Lakes (4.0 hours + 3000 feet from TH), Jim headed off on a sidetrip to climb Mt. Lincoln. He returned several hours later with no summit, having turned around at a 5100-foot headwall.
Day 2: Mt. Cruiser Summit Climb + Exit
Leaving camp in the morning, we headed toward Gladys Pass. The snow became continuous at about 5500 feet. The snow couloir to Needle Pass (1.3 hours from camp) was mostly soft, but we used crampons for extra security.
- Climbing Toward Needle Pass
The scramble approach to the standard route is somewhat defined by boot tread. Even with the swirling marine cloud layer that was our constant companion all day, we managed to find the summit pinnacle. The pillow-lava rock is of exceptionally good quality, and very solid feeling. Make sure you take frequent “back sights” on your approach to the summit pinnacle; it is very easy to get turned around and end up on the wrong ridge, or get fogged in!
- Mt Cruiser In Fog
We protected the 5th class pitch using small cams and chocks to #10. There are three bolt locations on the face/ridge, and the second location is actually a double-bolt rappel station of recent installation. We reached the tiny summit in early afternoon (5.5 hours from camp).
- Laura On Mt Cruiser Summit Ridge
- Laura On Mt Cruiser Summit
The Olympic Climbing Guide suggests using two 165-foot ropes for the rappel, but we just had one 165-foot rope and managed just fine with a little roped downclimbing from the summit to the rappel station.
We retraced our up-route back to camp and then hiked back to the trailhead in the evening (6.5 hours from summit). We never did get a view from the summit; it was shrouded in cloud almost the whole time. So, I guess we just have to go back some day.
Photo Gallery
Click to enlarge…
