Trip Date: July 17-18, 2010
Mt. Stone Climbing Trip
Whitehorse Basin
Lake of the Angels
Mount Stone (6612’)
Trip Report Summary
Region: Olympic Mountains (Washington)
Sub-Region: Skokomish–Duckabush Group
Areas: Mt. Skokomish Wilderness & Olympic National Park
Starting & Ending Point: Putvin Trailhead on Hamma Hamma River Road (Elev. 1600 feet)
Way Points: Putvin Grave & Boulder Creek & Pond of the False Prophet & Whitehorse Basin & Lake of the Angels (trail hike & snow hike)
Campsite: Lake of the Angels
Summit: Mt. Stone (snow hike & snow climb & rock scramble via Southwest Slope—West Ridge [Route 1])
Sidetrip: West Stone Thumb (snow climb & rock scramble)
Approximate Stats: 8 miles traveled; 6800 feet gained & lost.
Related Posts
St. Peter’s Traverse + Mt. Stone via South Face–Upper West Ridge – September 2021
Mt. Stone via South Slope—Southwest Ridge – June 2001
Full Trip Report
Fay P. and Jim A. joined Eileen and me for a trek into the Hamma Hamma River Valley on a weekend of nice Olympic weather.
- Carl Putvin Grave Marker near Trailhead
Day 1 (AM): Trailhead to Lake of the Angels
We hiked up to Lake of the Angels and established camp on the only patch of bare ground we could find (4.3 hours from TH). The thickness and persistence of the snowpack this summer is remarkable, and for the most part is creating better-than-normal climbing conditions. Backpackers and high-lakers, however, are probably not happy at all. This 5000-foot lake is only about 20% melted out right now.
After pitching tents, we were greeted by a family of five mountain goats—two adults, one adolescent, and two cute kids. They sniffed and snorted around for 15 minutes, then moved on.
- Fay Welcomes Goat Family To Camp
- Goats In Camp
Day 1 (PM): Mt. Stone Summit Climb
Jim A was left to guard camp while Fay, Eileen, and I headed up Mt Stone in late afternoon. The traverse up toward St. Peter’s Gate and then back to the craggy west ridge was 97% snow-covered and quite pleasant. The crux of this traverse was an au cheval move across a snow fin between two huge boulders.
- Eileen Below St Peters Gate
- Au Cheval On Snow Fin
Higher up, where snow feathered out below the west ridge, we eagerly scrambled the final several hundred feet to the summit block, then took the fun Class 2-3 crack system to the top (1.9 hours from camp).
- Eileen and Fay Climbing Summit Block
An evening push of marine clouds limited visibility to local peaks, but we hung out for 30 minutes reading through the summit registers, which reside in an old steel box. Eileen’s desire for a hot dinner finally sent us scrambling and glissading back to camp (1.5 hours from summit).
- Eileen and Fay Reading Summit Register
Day 2 (AM): Stone Knob Scrambles
The night was completely clear and chilly, but the early morning sun quickly warmed things up. Thankfully, insects were virtually nonexistent all weekend. Fay struck off for Stonesthrow Peak, a point north of Mt Stone, while Eileen and I ascended several rocky knobs on Stone’s west ridge.
- Eileen On West Ridge Thumb
- West Ridge Of Mt Stone
The morning was warm and still, and the viz was very good. We enjoyed views of Cruiser, Anderson, Mystery, and Constance from the ridge crest before returning to camp around noon.
- Mt Anderson: West Peak (left) & East Peak (right)
- Mt Cruiser Behind Mt Skokomish
- Mt Constance: Inner Peak (left) & Outer Peak (right)
Day 2 (PM): Lake of the Angels to Trailhead
The goats had been hovering around the lake basin all morning while Jim A clandestinely watched from inside our netting tent. They are undoubtedly eager for this snowpack to melt off and expose some greenery! We packed up and were back at the trailhead in early afternoon (2.8 hours from camp).
- Camp At Lake Of The Angels
Photo Gallery
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