A Successful Ascent of Chair Peak
On January 18, 2025, Preston and I summited Chair Peak via the Northeast Buttress. After last year’s unsuccessful attempt, we were eager to try the route again.
The conditions in 2024 were exceptionally poor, with almost no ice or firm snow, forcing us to bail after the second pitch. In early January, Preston texted me about giving it another shot. This time, conditions looked promising: recent heavy snowfall, a few warm days to solidify the ice, and no new snow in the forecast meant near-perfect climbing conditions. By the following week, everything seemed to align, so we planned our attempt for the upcoming weekend.We left Bellingham at 6:00 PM on January 17, right after I got off work, and drove to Preston’s friend Gabe’s house in Redmond. After a quick dinner, we set alarms for 3:30 AM and headed to bed early. The next morning, we had a quick breakfast and drove to the Alpental parking lot, arriving around 4:40 AM. Parking had become paid this year at Snoqualmie Pass, and after some fumbling with the payment system, we finally hit the trail around 5:15 AM.
The approach trail begins with a barely noticeable incline for the first two miles, making it a perfect warm up before it steepens. Our first landmark was the switchback where the Snow Lake and Source Lake trails diverge. On our last attempt we had taken the Source Lake trail to a steep chute leading directly to the bowl below Chair Peak. This time we decided to stay on the Snow Lake trail for longer to gain a ridge leading to the same bowl. We continued up the trail after the switchback, the snow becoming icier as we ascended, but after a few minutes we ran into avalanche debris which had covered the trail. We marched directly upwards, eventually finding footprints, and began traversing back left towards our goal. After a short distance we lost the footprints again, but spotted a gully that seemed like it might lead to the ridge we were aiming for. Preston led the way and I followed him up the steepening gully. Initially the climbing was easy and secure, but as we got higher the climbing became steeper and more technical, falling was not an option. After checking a map and realizing we were off route, we decided to cut our losses and descend back to the base of the gully to reassess our options. After descending we continued to traverse left until reaching a much more straightforward slope.
We booted up the slope slowly and steadily until we reached the ridge. Preston decided to break here, but as he pulled his water bottle out of his pack it slipped from his fingers and careened down the steep mountainside into the darkness. Preston jumped up and quickly descended to look for his water bottle, but there was no use. Only a few hours in, we had already lost half of our water. Preston seemed a bit crushed, but I still had two liters so we decided to split my water and continued on. We walked along the ridge for a short while before finally getting our first proper view of the route, it looked promising! It was still too dark and distant to be sure the upper ice step was in condition, but there was clearly a lot more snow and ice on the route than last year. We continued along the ridge until we descended into a large basin. Although we felt close, there was still a significant amount of elevation gain to the base of the route.
We charged up the variable slopes, transitioning from walking to climbing with both tools. We took turns breaking trail as we aimed for the thumbtack rock. This rock is a landmark where many climbers stash their snowshoes or skis. Although we didn’t have either, it was a sign that we were almost at the base of the route. We trudged upward, taking turns breaking trail. Eventually the slope gave way to a large basin and excellent views of the objective. We traversed above thumbtack rock towards a gully that would lead to the final ridge, ending at the base of the route. On our way we noticed a pair of skiers below us. Preston took the lead breaking trail and quickly created a gap between us. My fall quarter had been busy with school, so my fitness was lower than I wanted it. However, I continued at a steady pace and eventually reached the top of the final gully where Preston was waiting. We continued over a few demoralizing humps until we reached the base of the route around 9:00AM.
Despite our setbacks, I felt optimistic about our chances. The route seemed in decent condition and our pace was good in spite of our delays, but ultimately it was up to Preston. I’d only climbed a few ice pitches in my life, so although I felt confident enough to follow the route, Preston would be responsible for leading the two crux ice pitches on the route. We took a longer break as we changed layers and got ready to transition to climbing. The wind had picked up and my fingers got really cold, so I spent a few minutes painfully rewarming them in my armpits. Unfortunately one of my water bottles had been leaking, so my puffy was a bit damp, making me a bit anxious about the cold once we were on the route. After our break, we racked up and Preston set off up the first pitch of the route.
The route has two options for pitch one. An S-shaped gully on the tight with firm snow and a few sections of bare rock, which we had climbed the previous year, or a low angle slab of discontinuous ice on the left. Preston chose the left option because, in his words, it looked pretty fun. He began climbing the ice, making quick progress of the lower third. Above this the ice became thin and interspersed with styrofoam snow and rocks. After reaching a particularly intense section of climbing, he decided to place an ice screw and rest on it to alleviate the screaming barfies. The screaming barfies are an appropriately named experience that occurs when warm blood rushes into your fingers while ice climbing, causing a searing, nausea inducing pain that lasts for several minutes. After a short rest he continued, traversing across a bare patch of rock and pulling over a bulge, where he was able to place a bomber small cam, onto the snow slope above. After a few minutes I was on belay and headed up the pitch.
The climbing was harder and more sustained than I had anticipated, by the time I reached the anchor my fingers were numb and my calves were pumped. It was an impressive lead by Preston. I spent a few minutes fighting off the screaming barfies before I could start getting ready for the next pitch.
The next pitch is a 70m long 55° snow slope that leads to the base of the ice bulge guarding the summit. The snow was compact and I made quick work of the pitch, placing a single picket midway. I was hoping to reach a patch of ice to build an anchor, but ran out of rope just short. I opted for a T-slot picket deadman, which seemed solid enough once I buried and work-hardened the surface. Preston flew up the pitch and soon met me at the anchor.
He quickly racked up and climbed the remaining 10m to the base of the ice bulge. He placed a screw at the base and one midway up the bulge before quickly dispatching the crux. As he high-stepped over the bulge, his foot glanced off the ice but he stayed in control and kicked it back in. I lost sight of Preston above the bulge as he continued up the low angle snow and ice. After a couple minutes he radioed down that he was just short of a rocky ridge where he could build a solid anchor, so I took the deadman out and climbed an extra 10m. After waiting a bit for Preston to build a solid anchor, as snow and small ice chunks occasionally rained down on me, he radioed that I was on belay.
The bulge was short but pulling over the lip was definitely the hardest single section of climbing on the route. As I tried to find a good slick for my tool above the lip, I nearly sheared off a large plate of ice on the right side. I moved left and found better ice. With a couple good sticks above the lip and bumping my feet up the overhanging ice, I was able to step onto the top and pull myself up. I marched up the snow slope another 40m to where Preston had placed a picket, and then continued straight up towards the top, rather than meeting Preston at the anchor.
The final snow slope was a bit softer than down low, but still easy and secure and I quickly reached the top of the route. As I crested the ridge I got incredible views of Tahoma and the Tooth. I traversed right under the ridge and up a small snow arete until I reached the base of the small summit block and found a great horn to sling for an anchor. I belayed Preston up and we checked the time, it was 1:00PM. Preston traversed over and scrambled up the final snow and rock slope to the summit and I soon followed, summiting Chair Peak!
We were the first people to summit that day, but a few minutes after we arrived three more climbers summited, one via the Northeast Buttress and the other two via the Southeast Face. We stayed on the summit for a few minutes, admiring the views of Tahoma, Kulshan, Shuksan, Glacier Peak, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Stuart. After refueling and drinking our remaining water, we untied and coiled our rope for the descent.
The temperature in the sun was downright balmy, so I stripped off my puffy and descended in a base layer and shell. I was pleasantly surprised by the January weather. We carefully down climbed from the summit and traversed back to the top of the route. From here we down climbed a steep snow gully that led to the top of the rappel chute. We made a single rappel, but when we reached the second rappel station the snow was too low to reach it. Unfortunately this meant pulling our rope and down climbing the next couple hundred feet to softer snow where we could plunge step. From here it was easy going back to the car, we followed the skin tracks until reaching the couloir we had approached the route on in 2024. We regained the trail above Source Lake and made quick time to the trailhead, reaching the car at 4:20PM.
In total our time was 11:20 car to car, a bit faster than our estimate. It was a great day out in the mountains.
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