Trip Date: May 15-16, 2004

Mt. Gibbs Climbing Trip

Louis Lake
Louis Peak (7787 ft)
Mount Gibbs aka Bugger Peak (8142 ft)
Rennie Peak (7742 ft)

Trip Report Summary

Region: North-Central Washington Cascades

Sub-Region: Upper Twisp Mountains

Area: Lake Chelan – Sawtooth Wilderness

Starting & Ending Point: South Creek Trailhead on Twisp River Road (Elev. 3200 feet)

Way Points: Twisp River Bridge & South Creek Bridge & Louis Creek & Louis Lake (trail hike & snow hike)

Campsite: Louis Lake

Summit: Louis Peak (snow hike & snow climb via East Ridge—South Slope; descent via South Slope)

Summit: Mt. Gibbs (snow climb & rock scramble via Northeast Ridge)

Summit: Rennie Peak (snow climb & rock scramble via West Ridge—South Slope)

Approximate Stats: 16 miles traveled; 6700 feet gained & lost.

Full Trip Report

I had agreed to join Mike T and Stefan on a two-day trip into the Enchantment area to climb The Mole, but a shaky weather forecast on Saturday morning squashed those plans.  After much map review and parliamentary debate, we cooked up a scaled-down plan to climb something non-technical above Louis Lake basin in the Upper Twisp Mountains.  Ropes and harnesses were left in the car—along with all of our apprehensions about tangling with the feisty Mole.

Day 1 (AM): Trailhead to Louis Lake

We hiked 2 miles up South Creek and then 3 miles up Louis Creek, encountering continuous snowcover at 4900 feet.  Louis Lake was still mostly frozen over (no, I didn’t try to walk across, thank you) and the basin was snowed in, but we found an agreeably flat and bare spot under some big trees near the outlet.  Deferring our tent set-up tasks until after the climb, we quickly struck off for our first objective, Point 7782, west of the lake.  The weather was mild, yet building clouds hinted that rain was coming.

Day 1 (PM): Louis Peak + Mt. Gibbs + Rennie Peak Climbs

It took about 2.5 hours to posthole around the lake, gain the peak’s rounded east ridge, and stroll up the gentle snowfield of the south slope.  We topped out in late afternoon and were treated to better visibility than expected, although the mountains along the Cascade crest looked pretty well socked-in.  A crude message-in-a-pill-bottle register proclaimed this summit to be “Louis Peak.”  Our prime objective for the day, Mt. Gibbs, loomed attractively to the southwest and prodded us to keep moving.

From Louis Peak, we descended snow and scree to a saddle, then ascended westward on moderately steep snow and Class 2-3 rock.

A short but exposed traverse along the top of a 60-degree snowpatch completed our climb of Mt. Gibbs (4.0 hours from camp).

The narrow summit ridge dropped off breathtakingly on three sides and offered splendid views ranging from Mt. Buckner in the northwest to Gardner Mountain in the northeast.

I’m sure the views to the southwest were also nice, but those pesky clouds kept building.  We could not find a register, and none of us could produce a scrap of paper for makeshift duty.  (Incidentally, this summit has also been called “Bugger Peak” and “Grandfather Peak,” as reported by John Roper.)

During our summit stay, dark clouds steadily approached from the southwest and the temperature seemed to drop.  Mike and I were now thinking about a hot dinner in camp, whereas Stefan still had his sights on the unimpressive (from this perspective, anyway) hump of Rennie Peak far below and across the cirque.

I vacillated for about 20 minutes, first not wanting to join him, then agreeing to do it tomorrow, and finally deciding to head over while Mike returned to camp. We dropped into the cirque, ducked under the northeast face of Point 7782, then booted straight up a snow couloir to a saddle. A seemingly long traverse across alternating snow and rock patches completed our hat trick at 7:30pm (1.1 hours from previous summit).  Views from here paled in comparison to those from Mt. Gibbs.  Indeed, the highlight here was finding that Fay Pullen had left a register only two days before!

In waning light, we retraced our route back to the saddle, then plunged down to the lake basin.  Mike was setting up the tent when we finally arrived in camp, mere minutes before headlamps were needed.  I had plenty to savor that evening:  good memories, a hot dinner, several rounds of hot drinks, and the knowledge that I didn’t have to climb back up-valley in the morning.

Day 2 (AM): Louis Lake to Trailhead

Mike and Stefan spent the night playing tug-of-war with Mike’s pillow.  Next day, we all enjoyed a leisurely hike back to the trailhead under blue skies, followed by a snack stop in Winthrop.  The crowds of tourists in town provided a culture shock for Stefan, who had never before returned from a climb during normal business hours!

Photo Gallery

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