Snowslogger - Dec 5, 2023 9:42 am Date Climbed: Jul 11, 1999
Ski Descent
Went with my friend Chuck. Hiked up carrying xc skis, scrambling up the upper ridge to the top then back to the skis. Skiied down, falling and breaking a pole (should have had AT skis), but eventually made it back to the truck and the numerous mosquitos.
iquest4it - Jun 7, 2021 2:51 pm Date Climbed: May 31, 2021
Diamond Peak - Glissading Heaven!
Came in from Carrigan Lake and had the whole mountain to myself. A classic Cascade cones with the summit being hard to pick out until you get near the top. One of the best glissading adventures down I've ever had!
Peaker - May 11, 2021 9:17 pm Date Climbed: May 11, 2021
Southwest Ridge
Snow level at 5,400 feet. Skinned and then hiked up with crampons from 6,800 feet or so. Great run down the west bowl and great views.
Started at the Rockpile Trailhead, then went up the "normal" climber's trail (via Marie Lake). Descended on the southwest ridge, planning to continue SW until we got near the junction of the Pioneer Gulch Trail and the Diamond Peak Trail. But instead, we left the ridge at about 6700' and bushwhacked SSE back to Marie Lake, because it was hot and we wanted water to swim in and drink.
Diamond Peak is my yearly early-season tune-up/conditioning climb. It's a great peak with a beautiful summit ridge. You can often catch butterfly migrations in early July. You will also get eaten alive by mosquitoes below treeline in the early season, so bring your repellent and head net if you're going in June/July.
emilie - Aug 24, 2018 12:43 pm Date Climbed: Aug 5, 2018
Beautiful backpacking weekend
We backpacked into Marie Lake which was beautiful despite some mosquito visitors. Nice and easy with an opportunity for a long afternoon snooze. Hiked up Diamond Peak which was pretty strenuous. Hike out the third day. Very humane itinerary.
SkiValdez - Aug 16, 2018 12:13 pm Date Climbed: Jul 28, 2018
Diamond Peak Ascent
Climbed Diamond Peak on a sunny day. Views to the north were excellent with visibility all the way to Mt. Hood with Jefferson, Three Sisters, and Mt. Bachelor in between. Visibility south was limited due to wildfires near Crater Lake. Check out the video here: https://youtu.be/N_7C1kPkWQ0
nicozone - Sep 28, 2015 5:54 pm Date Climbed: Aug 31, 2015
2nd Time is the Charm
After trying and failing on this mountain a few years ago (it wasn't a very serious attempt, since we randomly decided to have a go at it), I found an opportunity to return. Solo hiked from the junction of the PCT and Hwy 58 (Willamette Pass Resort) around to the southern ridge and up to the summit before descending and reversing course back to my car. 10.5 hours and 27.5 miles round trip. I wouldn't advice anyone to attempt to repeat this path as a day trip.
A nice half-day hike, but I can see how one might have an issue in poor visibility!
Redwic - Aug 10, 2015 10:32 pm Date Climbed: Aug 8, 2015
Nicer than I expected
As far as Oregon chosspiles go (and there are many of them), this is one of my favorites. With only a couple of hours' sleep at the rest area east of Oakridge, I arrived at the trailhead at dawn. The trail hiking went fast both ways. Rockpile Lake looked dried up (although I did not explore) but Marie Lake was gorgeous. I thought the off-trail approach was straightforward but I could see how novices might get off-track in the forest. Not as bad in that regard as the upper slopes of Mount McLoughlin, however. Once I reached the southern false summit, I really enjoyed the beauty of the mountain and its surrounding views. Don't believe the hype about the ridge "scrambling" as I only scrambled one time (and only because I wanted to), and all scrambling sections could be easily avoided. Heck, I saw prints from skateboarder shoes in the rocky sand, if that is any indication. It only took five hours roundtrip (three up, two down), giving me a comfortable time cushion for me to reach my next destination of the day: Yamsay Mountain. Yes, a Diamond/Yamsay road trip one-day slam. The things that crazy prominencians do.
jadenpalmer - May 23, 2015 6:05 pm Date Climbed: Aug 17, 2013
Hooked now!
My first legitimate peak!
jmountain - May 4, 2015 3:41 pm Date Climbed: May 3, 2015
good time of year to climb, very low snow pack
roads clear at any elevation. minor snow patches closer to marie and rockpile lake. most of the ground under snow near the lakes and the pct area. was able to stay on exposed ridgeline up the first half of the mtn but used crampons on the upper half. Some areas were soft enough to not need them. false summit to main summit had plenty of snow on the east side to cross and stay off of the rock but not too close to the edge. very few mosquitos still, but expect them to get bad soon. pioneer gulch might be a better route for the next couple of weeks if you're good with a gps, due to no trail visible up at the pct. (I used gps there too, it's tricky getting back to the lakes on the way down without it)
Nick Turtura - Feb 18, 2015 7:26 pm Date Climbed: Feb 17, 2015
Little Snow Year
Came in from the Bear Mt. TH and hit the NW ridge to the summit. Snow level was about 6500! We were able to park at around 5500. Yes this is in February.
Great Peak. The last ridge was very scenic and view was amazing. Climbed by hiking to Marie Lake from Summit Lake and then heading north straight up the ridge. The only downer of the day is that the mosquito were horrible until we got half way up the mountain. I'd call this mostly a class 2 climb a few class 3 spots. High clearance vehicle needed for drive to Summit Lake coming in from the east.
coltonpalmer - Aug 18, 2013 10:43 am Date Climbed: Aug 17, 2013
Diamond Peak
My sons first peak.Great time, good weather, awesome company.
coltonpalmer - Jun 28, 2013 8:55 pm Date Climbed: Sep 4, 2010
Awesome view
Beautiful trip, great view from the top.
tdel010 - Jun 17, 2013 11:20 pm Date Climbed: Jun 14, 2013
Southwest Ridge-a blast!
Did this one with a friend from work. We left the Pioneer Gulch trailhead around 1030AM. Mosquitoes weren't too bad, but they were there. I bet in another week or two it would be nasty. We brought DEET and I would definitely recommend that.
It was an absolutely beautiful day with high temps in the 60s. Zero wind-I've almost never experienced a quieter environment. We reached the junction with the Corrigan Lake/Marie Lake trail and began the bushwack 40 degrees NE. As the route description on SP says, you can't really see that you're on the ridge until you're pretty high up on it due to trees and terrain.
We ran into snow around 6400 feet, but for a while it was optional--scree and talus on the ridge's high point or snow on the south side of the ridge. We decided to put the snowshoes on at some point and kept them on except for when we had to walk over some rockier sections. I wished I had brought crampons since the snowshoes I was using didn't have the best crampons and I had to use my ice axe a lot to avoid sliding down.
Summited at around 330PM. Found a guy and his dog on top. The guy was doing yo-yo ski runs down the east side and it looked like fun. He was the only other person we saw all day. Fantastic views of the Sisters and Thielsen, and Jefferson and Hood we're visible in the distance.
Although the hike back down isn't on a trail, we were often on our boot prints (even in the dirt) from earlier in the day because the route kind of naturally pushes you in a certain path. We glissaded on a lot of snow stretches and were making good time but got a little lost towards the bottom. Our senses of direction were telling us both that we needed to go right (North), but the gps was telling us we needed to go left (South). We should've listened to the gps because after a 30 minute detour we realized we were not where we should've been. It felt so wrong, we couldn't believe it. It's hard to get too lost because as long as you're heading downhill you'll run into a trail sooner or later (the Corrigan Lake/Marie Lake trail). The key is knowing which way to go once you hit it.
Anway, ice axe was a must. Snowshoes or crampons. I would've preferred crampons. At the time we went, the SW ridge would've still been ski-able in a lot of areas, but I don't know that it would've been worth hauling gear up for it. The east side was still very ski-able. A good 2-day shuttle trip might've been to climb up the SW ridge, then ski down the east side to the PCT, and then hike out from there. A good map is always a must, but in this case a gps would be useful for route finding. The gps app on my phone was actually more useful than the older etrex I had.
Summary, a long day, but nothing too difficult or technical. A lot of fun. Just make sure you know where you are, where you're going, and which way will take you back!
QuackFiend - May 4, 2013 7:43 pm Date Climbed: Apr 26, 2013
Snowshoe to the summit
Went with my cousin. Road 2160 still had snow so we hiked in from the intersection @ 2149. Hit continuous snow at about 5200' and used snowshoes from there on up.
JoelSkok - Sep 13, 2012 10:18 pm Date Climbed: Aug 16, 1980
Fun, airy, expansive views
Our party of 5 included a dog. Excellent hike and scramble, seldom visited. Little evidence of even a climbers' path. Loved it
Paul McClellan - Jul 10, 2012 1:08 am Date Climbed: Aug 22, 2011
Hot and Humid Hike
Drove FSR 6010 and 380 from the east. Hiked the Diamond Peak and Rockpile trails to Rockpile Lake, then on to Marie Lake. Bushwacked up the South Ridge route. It was a hot and humid day with intense mosquitoes near Marie Lake.
Snowslogger - Dec 5, 2023 9:42 am Date Climbed: Jul 11, 1999
Ski DescentWent with my friend Chuck. Hiked up carrying xc skis, scrambling up the upper ridge to the top then back to the skis. Skiied down, falling and breaking a pole (should have had AT skis), but eventually made it back to the truck and the numerous mosquitos.
iquest4it - Jun 7, 2021 2:51 pm Date Climbed: May 31, 2021
Diamond Peak - Glissading Heaven!Came in from Carrigan Lake and had the whole mountain to myself. A classic Cascade cones with the summit being hard to pick out until you get near the top. One of the best glissading adventures down I've ever had!
Peaker - May 11, 2021 9:17 pm Date Climbed: May 11, 2021
Southwest RidgeSnow level at 5,400 feet. Skinned and then hiked up with crampons from 6,800 feet or so. Great run down the west bowl and great views.
adamschneider - Sep 4, 2020 11:48 pm Date Climbed: Sep 3, 2020
Up the S ridge, down the SW ridgeStarted at the Rockpile Trailhead, then went up the "normal" climber's trail (via Marie Lake). Descended on the southwest ridge, planning to continue SW until we got near the junction of the Pioneer Gulch Trail and the Diamond Peak Trail. But instead, we left the ridge at about 6700' and bushwhacked SSE back to Marie Lake, because it was hot and we wanted water to swim in and drink.
theoglick - Apr 7, 2019 8:56 pm Date Climbed: Jul 8, 2018
Unique, low-traffic mountainDiamond Peak is my yearly early-season tune-up/conditioning climb. It's a great peak with a beautiful summit ridge. You can often catch butterfly migrations in early July. You will also get eaten alive by mosquitoes below treeline in the early season, so bring your repellent and head net if you're going in June/July.
emilie - Aug 24, 2018 12:43 pm Date Climbed: Aug 5, 2018
Beautiful backpacking weekendWe backpacked into Marie Lake which was beautiful despite some mosquito visitors. Nice and easy with an opportunity for a long afternoon snooze. Hiked up Diamond Peak which was pretty strenuous. Hike out the third day. Very humane itinerary.
SkiValdez - Aug 16, 2018 12:13 pm Date Climbed: Jul 28, 2018
Diamond Peak AscentClimbed Diamond Peak on a sunny day. Views to the north were excellent with visibility all the way to Mt. Hood with Jefferson, Three Sisters, and Mt. Bachelor in between. Visibility south was limited due to wildfires near Crater Lake. Check out the video here: https://youtu.be/N_7C1kPkWQ0
nicozone - Sep 28, 2015 5:54 pm Date Climbed: Aug 31, 2015
2nd Time is the CharmAfter trying and failing on this mountain a few years ago (it wasn't a very serious attempt, since we randomly decided to have a go at it), I found an opportunity to return. Solo hiked from the junction of the PCT and Hwy 58 (Willamette Pass Resort) around to the southern ridge and up to the summit before descending and reversing course back to my car. 10.5 hours and 27.5 miles round trip. I wouldn't advice anyone to attempt to repeat this path as a day trip.
bellinghamclimber - Sep 10, 2015 2:56 pm Date Climbed: Jul 22, 2015
Mid-summer tromp in good weatherA nice half-day hike, but I can see how one might have an issue in poor visibility!
Redwic - Aug 10, 2015 10:32 pm Date Climbed: Aug 8, 2015
Nicer than I expectedAs far as Oregon chosspiles go (and there are many of them), this is one of my favorites. With only a couple of hours' sleep at the rest area east of Oakridge, I arrived at the trailhead at dawn. The trail hiking went fast both ways. Rockpile Lake looked dried up (although I did not explore) but Marie Lake was gorgeous. I thought the off-trail approach was straightforward but I could see how novices might get off-track in the forest. Not as bad in that regard as the upper slopes of Mount McLoughlin, however. Once I reached the southern false summit, I really enjoyed the beauty of the mountain and its surrounding views. Don't believe the hype about the ridge "scrambling" as I only scrambled one time (and only because I wanted to), and all scrambling sections could be easily avoided. Heck, I saw prints from skateboarder shoes in the rocky sand, if that is any indication. It only took five hours roundtrip (three up, two down), giving me a comfortable time cushion for me to reach my next destination of the day: Yamsay Mountain. Yes, a Diamond/Yamsay road trip one-day slam. The things that crazy prominencians do.
jadenpalmer - May 23, 2015 6:05 pm Date Climbed: Aug 17, 2013
Hooked now!My first legitimate peak!
jmountain - May 4, 2015 3:41 pm Date Climbed: May 3, 2015
good time of year to climb, very low snow packroads clear at any elevation. minor snow patches closer to marie and rockpile lake. most of the ground under snow near the lakes and the pct area. was able to stay on exposed ridgeline up the first half of the mtn but used crampons on the upper half. Some areas were soft enough to not need them. false summit to main summit had plenty of snow on the east side to cross and stay off of the rock but not too close to the edge. very few mosquitos still, but expect them to get bad soon. pioneer gulch might be a better route for the next couple of weeks if you're good with a gps, due to no trail visible up at the pct. (I used gps there too, it's tricky getting back to the lakes on the way down without it)
Nick Turtura - Feb 18, 2015 7:26 pm Date Climbed: Feb 17, 2015
Little Snow YearCame in from the Bear Mt. TH and hit the NW ridge to the summit. Snow level was about 6500! We were able to park at around 5500. Yes this is in February.
mastercoog - Jul 10, 2014 9:30 pm Date Climbed: Jul 6, 2014
Beautiful DayGreat Peak. The last ridge was very scenic and view was amazing. Climbed by hiking to Marie Lake from Summit Lake and then heading north straight up the ridge. The only downer of the day is that the mosquito were horrible until we got half way up the mountain. I'd call this mostly a class 2 climb a few class 3 spots. High clearance vehicle needed for drive to Summit Lake coming in from the east.
coltonpalmer - Aug 18, 2013 10:43 am Date Climbed: Aug 17, 2013
Diamond PeakMy sons first peak.Great time, good weather, awesome company.
coltonpalmer - Jun 28, 2013 8:55 pm Date Climbed: Sep 4, 2010
Awesome viewBeautiful trip, great view from the top.
tdel010 - Jun 17, 2013 11:20 pm Date Climbed: Jun 14, 2013
Southwest Ridge-a blast!Did this one with a friend from work. We left the Pioneer Gulch trailhead around 1030AM. Mosquitoes weren't too bad, but they were there. I bet in another week or two it would be nasty. We brought DEET and I would definitely recommend that.
It was an absolutely beautiful day with high temps in the 60s. Zero wind-I've almost never experienced a quieter environment. We reached the junction with the Corrigan Lake/Marie Lake trail and began the bushwack 40 degrees NE. As the route description on SP says, you can't really see that you're on the ridge until you're pretty high up on it due to trees and terrain.
We ran into snow around 6400 feet, but for a while it was optional--scree and talus on the ridge's high point or snow on the south side of the ridge. We decided to put the snowshoes on at some point and kept them on except for when we had to walk over some rockier sections. I wished I had brought crampons since the snowshoes I was using didn't have the best crampons and I had to use my ice axe a lot to avoid sliding down.
Summited at around 330PM. Found a guy and his dog on top. The guy was doing yo-yo ski runs down the east side and it looked like fun. He was the only other person we saw all day. Fantastic views of the Sisters and Thielsen, and Jefferson and Hood we're visible in the distance.
Although the hike back down isn't on a trail, we were often on our boot prints (even in the dirt) from earlier in the day because the route kind of naturally pushes you in a certain path. We glissaded on a lot of snow stretches and were making good time but got a little lost towards the bottom. Our senses of direction were telling us both that we needed to go right (North), but the gps was telling us we needed to go left (South). We should've listened to the gps because after a 30 minute detour we realized we were not where we should've been. It felt so wrong, we couldn't believe it. It's hard to get too lost because as long as you're heading downhill you'll run into a trail sooner or later (the Corrigan Lake/Marie Lake trail). The key is knowing which way to go once you hit it.
Anway, ice axe was a must. Snowshoes or crampons. I would've preferred crampons. At the time we went, the SW ridge would've still been ski-able in a lot of areas, but I don't know that it would've been worth hauling gear up for it. The east side was still very ski-able. A good 2-day shuttle trip might've been to climb up the SW ridge, then ski down the east side to the PCT, and then hike out from there. A good map is always a must, but in this case a gps would be useful for route finding. The gps app on my phone was actually more useful than the older etrex I had.
Summary, a long day, but nothing too difficult or technical. A lot of fun. Just make sure you know where you are, where you're going, and which way will take you back!
QuackFiend - May 4, 2013 7:43 pm Date Climbed: Apr 26, 2013
Snowshoe to the summitWent with my cousin. Road 2160 still had snow so we hiked in from the intersection @ 2149. Hit continuous snow at about 5200' and used snowshoes from there on up.
JoelSkok - Sep 13, 2012 10:18 pm Date Climbed: Aug 16, 1980
Fun, airy, expansive viewsOur party of 5 included a dog. Excellent hike and scramble, seldom visited. Little evidence of even a climbers' path. Loved it
Paul McClellan - Jul 10, 2012 1:08 am Date Climbed: Aug 22, 2011
Hot and Humid HikeDrove FSR 6010 and 380 from the east. Hiked the Diamond Peak and Rockpile trails to Rockpile Lake, then on to Marie Lake. Bushwacked up the South Ridge route. It was a hot and humid day with intense mosquitoes near Marie Lake.