Of Washington’s five stratovolcanoes, Glacier Peak is the least well known. Part of the reason is that unlike its siblings, Glacier Peak is embedded deep inside of the Cascade Range, making it much harder to spot from the lowlands1. This embeddedness also means that access roads are few, and any route up the mountain requires a long, up-and-down trek just to reach its base. A climb of Glacier Peak therefore delivers a uniquely wilderness experience, and anyway as the state’s 4th highest summit and a volcano it’s a major prize for any Washington peakbagger.

Black Peak is the 13th most prominent mountain in Washington and a classic scramble objective. Access to the peak is off of the mega-popular Maple Pass Loop trail, which I had hiked before on my very first visit to the North Cascades in 2019 and again in 2020. I didn’t know the name of the peak back then, but I do remember seeing Black from the trail and wondering what it would take to climb it.

Mount Baker is one of Washington’s iconic peaks - the biggest mountain in the northern half of the state and visible from nearly every high summit and some of the lowlands too. It’s the third highest mountain in Washington and the second most glaciated (after Rainier) as it sits close to the sea and receives tons of snowfall each winter. All routes to the summit cross crevassed glaciers, and knowledge of roped glacier travel and crevasse rescue techniques are considered mandatory to safely climb the mountain.

Ruby Mountain is a centrally located and prominent peak in the heart of the North Cascades with great views across the range. The summit is accessible via a ~5000’ snow climb off of highway 20 in the winter months. This peak had been on our hit list for a while this season so as soon as the weather cleared up, Tim and I planned a trip to do some sunrise photography from the summit.

Mount Hood is Oregon’s highest mountain, at 11,249 feet. It’s quite famous owing to its “lonely mountain” aesthetic and being located just 50 miles east of Portland. The road to the ski resort high on its southern slopes is plowed year-round, providing easy access to climbers. These factors combine to make it one of the most-climbed mountaineering objectives in the world. Despite its popularity and comparatively short climb (~6 miles, 5500’ roundtrip), Hood has steeper sides than all of the Washington volcanoes and even its easiest route requires a section of no-fall-zone ~45 degree steep snow climbing.

We’re lucky to have four seasons in Washington, each offering different opportunities (and limitations) for outdoor enthusiasts. Fall is my favorite season for backpacking - the temperatures are comfortable, bugs are (mostly) gone, but the high country hasn’t yet been buried in feet of snow and is still easily accessible. This trip came in October right after the first non-trivial snowfall of the year. As Kimberly, Deeptanshu, Tim, and I set out on the trial, creeks were trickling all over with snowmelt, the fall colors were popping, and the high peaks had a light coating of fresh snow.