Eldorado Peak is unique among the high summits of the North Cascades for its far western location, accessibility, and amazing terrain variety. The mountain offers plentiful rewards for those who make the approach through Douglas fir and hemlock forest, across boulder fields and sub-alpine heather slopes, and then finally into spectacular alpine glacial terrain. I recently spent four days in the Eldorado Peak area with climber Rick Kaiser and once again was amazed by the experience offered to us by this alpine range.

      Summer came early in the Northwest this year, and it looks like it is here to stay. Rick and I left the car in warm temperatures and under a perfectly blue sky. After crossing the Cascade River on a massive log jam 300 feet away from the parking area, we met back up with the climbers' trail and started the first 1500 vertical feet of elevation gain in the forest.

      The Northwest is blooming in July, which is nice because it allows an excuse to stop for a break at almost any time ("No, of course I am not stopping because I am tired; I just want to identify these flowers."). After several stops to examine a variety of flowers at close range, we broke out of the forest into a large boulder field where we gained our next 1500 feet. Luckily, many more varieties of flowers and other plants grow in between the boulders including some of my personal favorites like columbine, Indian paintbrush, and wild ginger. Above the boulders we moved into the alpine heather slopes and began to gain the first amazing views of the Cascade Pass region.

      After climbing through the heather slopes we finally reached the Eldorado Glacier and began the technical portion of our ascent. We set up camp at 7600 feet on the glacier and the next morning headed to the summit of Eldorado Peak just 1200 feet above us. The climbing conditions were excellent, and the views kept our spirits very high. Soon we were on top enjoying the sweeping views and picking out Cascade peaks in every direction. After a while, it looked like unstable weather was moving in, so we ended our summit lounging and headed down. The previous day's approach had tired us somewhat, but even with our climb to the top of Eldorado Peak, our summit day was a fairly laid back day, allowing us to rest and prepare for another climbing adventure the next morning or do a little more exploring.

      Once back at camp we had lunch and then decided to climb an unnamed peak across the Eldorado Glacier. The first pitch was a steep snow slope that ended on a rock ledge. From there we climbed another pitch of very easy rock and then scrambled the last few feet to the summit.

      The unstable weather that shortened our summit time on Eldorado developed with drama that evening and provided one of the most spectacular displays of weather I have ever seen in my fifteen years of climbing in the Cascades. A slowly darkening sky was quickly followed by the Boston Basin area filling up with clouds. These clouds built up to ridge height and then spilled over into the valley below us. At the same time huge thunderheads could be seen building in the distance to the north and south of Mt. Logan on the east side of the range. Thunderstorms seemed to be building above us, and then moving to the east before dropping any rain. While we sat in camp under mostly sunny skies, all the peaks to the east were shrouded in massive thunderstorms.

      Amidst these impressive events, we discussed our many options for the next day. We decided on a traverse of the Inspiration Glacier and an ascent of one of the most remote peaks in the range, Austera Peak. We calculated that we could do the traverse, climb Austera, and be back for dinner, while still allowing time to enjoy the views and stop and look at the flowers that bloom even at the highest altitudes in the Cascades.

      The next morning we woke at 4am and left camp an hour later. We traversed the Inspiration Glacier to the base of Klawatti Peak on solid snow, and all the way we were treated to an amazing sunrise over a sea of clouds below us.

      We traversed onto the McAllister Glacier and eventually onto the Klawatti Ice Cap, which we crossed to reach the base of the summit towers of Austera Peak. Several pitches of technical rock climbing finally got us to our summit, one of the most remote places in all of the Cascade Range.

      There are numerous peaks close to Eldorado Peak that make great climbing objectives on their own. The routes on these peaks range from highly technical, multi-pitch rock climbs, to relatively non technical glacier traverses, and nearly all of them can be seen from the summit of Austera Peak as well as from Eldorado. We were making mental lists of the things we would like to do in the coming months and seasons.

      Sitting on the summit of a remote Cascade Peak with no other climbers for miles around is an experience to be savored, but never for too long, as the return trips can often include their share of surprises. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the return to our camp across the same glaciers that we had traversed, and in this case, conditions remained good and there were no surprises.

      The few pitches of rock that we climbed to get to the summit of Austera Peak were very enjoyable and the most technical part of the journey, but once again it was the adventure of getting to the peak and returning that most pleased us and occupied our thoughts and conversation.

      Once back at camp, we had the pleasure of spending the rest of the afternoon and evening resting and enjoying yet another display of afternoon weather across the valley. The next morning we would be reversing the first day's approach and descending into the climax fir forest and river valley far below. But for now, we luxuriated in our high perch. We felt very much "above the world" but also very connected to it. The many beauties around us had our senses highly tuned, and we knew it was going to be hard to leave this alpine paradise. This trip, like many remote climbs in the Cascades, was not just about standing on summits (though we did enjoy three beautiful ones), but also about the adventure of getting there and back. We felt like we "had it all" and that we were very lucky. We're already planning our next adventure. Though we just returned to the lowlands, we can't wait to get back to the alpine wilderness of the North Cascades.

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