Trip Date: June 19-23, 2019

Enchantments Climbing Trip & Dragontail Peak Carryover:  Aasgard Pass to Colchuck Col

Colchuck Lake
Aasgard Pass
Enchantment Basin & Lakes
Prusik Pass
Druid Plateau
Cannon Mountain (8638′)
McClellan Peak (8364′)
Dragontail Peak (8840’+)
Colchuck Col
Colchuck Peak (8705′)

Trip Report Summary

Region: Central Washington Cascades

Sub-Region: Icicle Mountains

Area: Alpine Lakes Wilderness

Starting & Ending Point: Lake Stuart / Colchuck Lake Trailhead on Eightmile Creek Road (Elev. 3400 feet)

Way Points: Mountaineer Creek & Colchuck Lake & Aasgard Couloir & Aasgard Pass & Brisingamen Lakelets & Little Annapurna Saddle & Southeast Dragontail Notch & Dragontail Peak summit & Pandora’s Notch & Colchuck Col & Colchuck Couloir & Colchuck Lake (trail hike & rock scramble & snow climb)

Campsites: Upper Enchantment Basin near Brisingamen Lakelets (Elev. 7500 feet) & Colchuck Lake (Elev. 5600 feet)

Sidetrip: Talisman Lake & Rune Lake & Prusik Pass & Kobold Sink & Druid Plateau & Lorelei Lakelets (trail hike & snow climb & rock scramble)

Summit: Cannon Mountain (snow climb & rock scramble via East Slope)

Sidetrip: Talisman Lake & Rune Lake & Sprite Lakelet & McClellan Arm (trail hike & snow climb);  return via Crystal Pass & Crystal Chute (trail hike & snow climb)

Summit: McClellan Peak (snow climb & rock scramble via Northwest Face—Prong Notch—West Ridge)

Summit: Dragontail Peak (snow climb & rock scramble via Southeast Dragontail Notch—Southeast Ridge; descent via Southwest Ridge—Pandora’s Notch—Southwest Chute)

Summit: Colchuck Peak (rock scramble via Southeast Ridge—South Slope)

Approximate Stats (including all sidetrips & summits): 24 miles traveled; 12,500 feet gained & lost.

Related Posts

Cannon Mountain via South Couloir—East Slope – June 2002

McClellan Peak via Southwest Face—West Ridge – July 2001

Dragontail Peak via Southwest Chute—Southwest Ridge – June 1997

Dragontail Peak attempt via Northeast Couloir – June 1979

Colchuck Peak via South Slope – June 1976

Full Trip Report

After having our primary plans scuttled due to inclement weather, Eileen and I headed to the Leavenworth Ranger Station on a cool Wednesday morning.  We were hoping to procure a camping permit for the Core Enchantment Zone.  Good fortune and bad weather were on our side; we received two of the eight single-person permits available this morning.  Unseasonably cold weather continued to alter our climbing plans over the next five days, but we were able to enjoy an Enchantment adventure and tuck in four major peaks.

Day 1: Trailhead to Upper Enchantments

The Lake Stuart / Colchuck Lake Trailhead parking lot was fairly quiet when we pulled in, and we met only a couple dozen other hikers on the trail to Colchuck Lake.  We took a long lunch break near the lake outlet (3.3 hours + 2500 feet from TH), giving us ample time to study the iconic nordwand of Dragontail Peak, along with Aasgard Couloir and Colchuck Couloir.

Our afternoon was spent hauling heavy backpacks around the lake and up Aasgard Couloir.  The couloir trail was completely snow-free except for one snowpatch near the top.

Upon crossing over Aasgard Pass (8.2 hours + 4800 feet from TH), we were blasted by icy 50-mph winds.

Upper Enchantment Basin was 90% snow-covered, and all associated lakes were still frozen.  We hiked down through the snowy basin looking for any patch of bare ground.  A tiny grove of larch trees near the Brisingamen Lakelets (9.2 hours from TH) served as a suitable basecamp for our next several days.

Day 2: Cannon Mountain Summit Climb

Following a cold and gusty night, we awoke to a skiff of fresh snow on the ground and a layer of ice in our water jug.  Dark clouds raced overhead from the north, encroaching on blue skies to the south.

These adverse weather conditions made the prospect of technical–or even semi-technical–climbing seem very unappealing, so a quick decision was made to head for Cannon Mountain.  We hiked down to Talisman and Rune Lakes, then up to Prusik Pass (1.8 hours + 400 feet from camp).

From the pass, Cannon Mountain was hiding behind an intervening ridge, but we scoped out a traverse route that took us past Kobold Sink.

Our route continued up to Druid Plateau, one of numerous remarkable geomorphic features found on the greater Lost World Plateau.  Cannon Mountain rises up from the western edge of Druid Plateau.

We booted up a high snowfield that ended at the summit rocks (4.9 hours + 1900 feet from camp).

Given the frigid wind and rime-dotted rock, we took a “foul-weather mulligan” here; rather than making the final delicate bouldering moves, we merely tagged the summit boulder.

Not wanting to linger in such harsh conditions, we immediately began our descent.  Our return route took us down to Lorelei Lakelets before angling up to Prusik Pass.  Another down-and-up mile brought us back to our campsite in early evening (2.7 hours + 600 feet from summit).

Day 3: McClellan Peak Summit Climb

Although the night had again been cold and gusty, we were pleased to have relatively calm winds and mostly blue skies in the morning.  This encouraged us to head for McClellan Peak after breakfast.

We hiked back down to Talisman and Rune Lakes, crossed above Sprite Lakelet, and ascended McClellan Arm to 7500 feet.

We then traversed leftward across a broad snowfield on McClellan Peak’s northwest face.

A short, steep snowfinger gave access to a notch below “The Prong,” from where we easily scrambled up to the western summit ridge.

We followed the granitic crest eastward over or around several horns, electing to rope up for a Class 3-4 face.

We arrived at the overhanging summit in early afternoon (4.6 hours + 1800 feet from camp).

McClellan Peak offers a nice view of the entire Enchantment Basin, Temple Ridge, and Snow Lakes.  Interestingly, Upper Snow Lake was below its full-pool level, leaving a distinctive white-ish rim.

Our descent back down to the northwest snowfield included two short rappels.  At McClellan Arm, we deviated from our up-route by dropping directly down to Crystal Pass and then climbing up a steep snow chute (Crystal Chute) above Crystal Lake.

We finished with a short stroll over to our camp (3.7 hours + 400 feet from summit).  The evening was pleasantly calm and sunny, allowing us to enjoy dinner on some nearby rocks in full view of McClellan Peak.  To our delight, a mountain goat and adorable little kid wandered around us as we ate.

Day 4: Upper Enchantments to Dragontail Peak to Colchuck Peak to Colchuck Lake:

Yesterday’s fair weather proved to be short-lived; the morning brought back cold winds and low clouds.  Our new plan for today was to carry our backpacks over the summit of Dragontail Peak and then descend to Colchuck Col.  This strategy would satisfy two of Eileen’s wishes: (1) put us in a good position for climbing Colchuck Peak, and (2) avoid a descent of the grungy Aasgard Couloir.

We broke camp and headed up to the Little Annapurna Saddle, then traversed rightward to a snowfield beneath a distinct notch in Dragontail’s southeastern ridge.  The upper part of this snowfield was sufficiently steep to prompt the use of a rope and snow flukes for protection.

We crossed over the notch and traversed toward Dragontail Peak.  Our makeshift route eventually intersected the well-traveled standard route, and we soon reached the popular summit (4.0 hours + 1600 feet from camp).

To complete our summit carryover, we scrambled out the southwest ridge on a series of ledges, ramps, and snow patches.  Our goal was to reach Pandora’s Notch, which sits next to the impressive pinnacle of Pandora’s Box.

Because a blocky horn prevented an easy traverse into Pandora’s Notch, we made a short rappel off the opposite side of the horn.  From there, we descended a long, moderately inclined snow chute on Dragontail’s southwestern flank.

Upon reaching the bottom of the Southwest Chute, we easily contoured over to 8000-foot Colchuck Col (7.0 hours + 1800 feet from camp).

It was late afternoon, so we still had time for an ascent of nearby Colchuck Peak.  We loaded summit packs and headed up the peak’s southeast ridge, which terminated at the gently inclined south slope.  A short hike and scramble took us to the summit.  What this ascent lacks in glamor is offset by splendid views of Argonaut Peak, Sherpa Peak, and Mt. Stuart.

We reluctantly left the summit and returned to Colchuck Col (2.3 hours + 900 feet RT), collected our backpacks, and began heading down Colchuck Couloir.  Firm, continuous snowcover made for a relatively quick and painless (compared to Aasgard Couloir) 2000-foot descent.

We finished with a 400-foot descent of moraine and talus boulders to reach the Colchuck Lake Trail.  It was now late evening, and most established campsites were already taken, so we settled for a patch of flattish ground at the southwestern corner of the lake (11.7 hours + 2700 feet from Upper Enchantment camp).

Day 5: Colchuck Lake to Trailhead

We awoke at 5:30am to low, dark clouds and a threat of rain.  No matter, as our only task for today was to navigate the 5 miles of trail and the hundreds of Sunday hikers enroute to the trailhead.

We reached the jam-packed parking lot in late morning (3.5 hours + 300 feet from Colchuck Lake camp) and were shocked to see cars lined up for 1/2 mile down the road.  One thing was clear: if looking for a quiet weekend hike, look elsewhere!

Route Maps

Photo Gallery

Click to enlarge…