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| West Gully   | 
| Page Type: Route Location: Washington, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 48.60360°N / 120.7308°W Route Type: Scramble Time Required: A long day Difficulty: Class 4
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| Page By: hkutuk Created/Edited: Oct 6, 2004 / Oct 6, 2004 Object ID: 162408 Hits: 1689 Loading... Page Score: 0% - 0 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Approach
Approach from the Rainy Pass PCNST trailhead: The trail goes up gently through evergreen forest and eventually becomes sparse larches with nice views into the Porcupine basin before reaching Cutthroat pass. From the pass continue on PCNST northeasterly as it offers great views of Silverstar, Cutthroat and Liberty Bell area. The trail then drops down to Granite Pass at 6300 feet via many switchbacks. At this point you will see an imposing view of Tower Mountain and to its left Golden Horn. The beautiful u-shaped Swamp Creek valley will be on your left all the time until you get to the a horse camp before Mt Hardy. Here a distinct trail will split to the right from PCNST leading to the Snowy Lakes from where the peak can be climbed. Camping at the upper Snowy Lake is closer to Golden Horn. The approach distance is approximately 10 miles.
(A direct bushwhacking approach from the Swamp creek basin is also possible and is about 3 miles for the more adventurous)
Route Description
From upper Snowy Lake aim the SE trending ridge. To avoid the large scree field it is best to stay in the trees until the ridge edge. Once at the edge you will need to skirt around many gully tops that end at the ridge. The ridge top is solid and provides easy travel. As you get closer to the peak a large rock outcrop seems to block the way but just scramble over it until under the west side gullies. There are two distinct gullies and choose the left (west one) which leads over class 3 loose rocks until the solid summit block. The summit block can be climbed either from the notch on the left side following a crack or the right side. Descent the same way you came, the scree is actually nice to go down diagonally to the Snowy Lakes.
Essential Gear
The summit rock requires couple class 4 moves and a rope could be useful to get down. There is a nice sling attached on the summit rock to help the descent.
Miscellaneous Info
If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.
Images
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North Cascades
