Forbidden Peak

This August I connected with my friend Calvin to do a quick climb of the West Ridge of Forbidden Peak in the North Cascades. This climb has been on my list for sometime now, I was glad to find a partner willing to do it quickly. I didn't have a lot of time to commit, so we just picked a weekend, planned to summit and descend car to car in a day and hoped for the best with the weather.

The morning of the climb we arrived at the trailhead well before light to get the approach knocked out early. The weather proved challenging early on, the glimpses we got of the route were brief as we stumbled our way to the base of a remnant glacier. Occasionally we would catch glimpses of the stunning Johannesburg Mountain to our south (noted for another day and another climb). 

Marmot also enjoying the Johannesburg view

Apparently I spend a lot of time in the clouds

Once we reached the toe of the remnant unnamed glacier (really more of a steep snow-field), we cautiously moved up towards the prominent gullies that would lead us to the ridge line.

By this point we had kind of accepted the fact that we may be climbing in the clouds all day. Once we reached "the notch" and gained the ridge proper we rewarded with clear and stunning views on the other side looking into the heart of the Cascades.

The clouds were crashing into the south side of the mountain leaving the north side rain-shadowed and lovely. The climbing from "the notch" to the summit was fun and exposed, just a good day to be on a mountain.

Snacks on the summit before descending/down-climbing the ridge and back into the clouds.

We made quick work of the descent, and the clouds began to lift some as we crossed the glacier again to find the route out. Of course we slowed briefly to snack on blueberries growing throughout the alpine meadows and admire the views. Solid day in the mountains.