The Twin Sisters Range is an interesting outlier of the Cascade Range. Located just 21.5 miles (34.6km) from Bellingham Bay, the range sharply contrasts the rock and mountains that surround it. The rock is very red, so much so that native peoples called the range "Kwik-Kwek Smanik" believed to mean "red rock" or "red mountains". The color is related to iron content.
The range is of particular interest to climbers. The rock (olivine) is extremely grippy and makes for some of the best scrambling in Washington State. Given their proximity to Mt. Baker and Bellingham Bay the views from the range are spectacular. The Olympic Range, the Coast Range in B.C., the Picket Range, The Cheam Range B.C., and the North Cascades all provide eye candy for climbers.
South Twin Sister (the tallest of the range) saw its first ascent on August 1, 1891 by J.M Edson, E.A Hegg, and P.J Parris.
This video is from a one day ascent of N Twin Sister. Andrew Jones, Dave Gertler, and myself decided at the 11:30pm at the Rogue Tavern that a trip was in order, so after a few more rounds we set off sans sleep. Andrew Jones was nearly killed about 18 hours before on the North Face of Graybeard... so it was necessary that we get him back on the horse ASAP
Getting There
Most routes are approached via Dailley Prarie
North Access:
Misquito Lake Road:
Take Exit 255 off of I-5 (Sunset Drive-Baker Hwy)
Head East on Hwy 542 until a little past milepost 16
Turn Right on Misquito Lake Rd
Follow Misquito Lake Road until just South of Porter Creek ~10.5 miles
Turn Left on Road 38
Call the Olivine Corp. (360) 733-3332 to see if the gate is open
Blue Mountain Road (limited access call ahead)
Frome Acme on Hwy 9 take Misquito Lake Road 4 miles
Take Road 4000
call the Campbell Group at (360) 336-9733
South Access:
Hwy 20:
At Ensley Road (overpass bridge) in Hamilton Turn North
In 0.5 miles reach the Crown Pacific Company entrance gate
Crown Pacific (360) 826-3951
For more information call (206) 339-5548
Red Tape
No parking passes are required to park at the gate. If the gate is open, enter at you own risk, it may not be when you leave. Certainly do not block the road anywhere you park or expect to be towed and heavily fined. Relations between climbers, the logging companies that own the roads, and Olivine Corporation who owns the land have traditionally been turbulent, please do not give them reason to restrict all access to climbers. Keys are no longer given out for the North access (Dailley Prarie) due to concerns of illegal garbage dumping and traffic during mining and logging operations.
The South gate (accessed from Hwy 20) is manned, and as far as I can tell they do grant access if you are polite and courteous.
Geology
The Twin Sister Range is the largest body of exposed Olivine (Magnesium Iron Silicate) in the Western Hemisphere. A fragment of the Subcontinental Mantle brought up by the Shuksan Thrust, the range was emplaced by faulting into sedimentary rocks of the Chuckanut Formation as a solid mass. Olivine is the grippiest rock I have ever climbed on.
The few significant glaciers are retreating at a rapid rate and will probably be gone within a decade. The largest glacier is the Sisters Glacier about 1km accross. Two smaller glaciers, called the Green Glaciers, flow into Green Creek.
Mining and Logging
This area is heavily logged and mined. Olivine is extracted and used for gemstones and sandpaper/blasting products. As such one can understand why the rock is so grippy.
The Olivine Corporation owns most of the land, especially around the two most popular peaks North and South Twin Sister. The Olivine Corp has been subject to many lawsuits ranging from waste disputes with other companies to environmental damaging practices. Last I was there either the Olivine Corp or the logging companies had "oiled" the road (determined by color and smell) for miles, apparently to keep the dust down and get rid of used oil. I do not know if this is legal or not but the runoff from this road flows directly into the Middle Fork Nooksack River. From what I can tell from other climbers, this is apparently a regular practice in the area. Since this is unprotected land, the forest service does not monitor the area.
There are highly toxic contaminants in used oils (PCBs, dioxins, furans). Used mineral-based crankcase oil (used motor oil or used engine oil) contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and may contain metals such as aluminum, chromium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, silicon, and tin. And it's flowing into the Middle Fork Nooksack River as we speak!
Images
"I believe that a scientist looking at nonscientific problems is just as dumb as the next guy."
--Richard Feynman
