Nick Turtura - Jun 4, 2012 11:30 pm Date Climbed: Sep 8, 2011
10 Aniversery
Proposed 10 years ago on top of Diamond, the return trip was just as nice. I love you Abby.
nicozone - Jun 4, 2012 9:34 pm Date Climbed: Jun 2, 2012
Started Too Late to Route Find
On the advise of the Middle Fork Rangers, we decided to forgo attempting to get to Summit Lake (5600') to start from the PCT trailhead due to snow levels at 4500' and the road likely being blocked. We instead on Road 21 to 3556 to 4484 and started on trail 3632 at the 4950' elevation. We didn't start on the trail until noon, and turned back at 3:30pm when we realized we would be summiting and hiking back in the dark. No fresh tracks in the snow, so we were not very confident we could track back to the car via headlamps and using only our own tracks. A peak for another day.
Started from the PCT after camping at Marie Lake (yeah, bugs were bad). Hike/climb was great and the view was terrific. No snow crossing required. Be prepared for lots of false summits. Lost the trail on the way down, used a map/compass to find out way back to the PCT.
After the climb, the hike out to Trapper Creek trail head made for a long day.
False summit after false summit. Stayed at Marie lake and was treated to mosquito factory.
cdog - Aug 4, 2011 2:01 am Date Climbed: Aug 29, 2004
summer hike
fun hike up Diamond Peak with my girlfriend Amy
kraymes - Aug 2, 2011 10:57 am Date Climbed: Jul 30, 2011
North Ridge
From a still mostly frozen Divide Lake gained the ridge and skirted to the top. The trail from Notch Lake to Divide Lake was mostly covered in snow. The mosquitos were horrendous in the trees.
RetroGear - Aug 2, 2010 1:01 am Date Climbed: Jun 7, 2010
Diamond Peak - SW Ridge
Took advantage of a favorable break in weather to climb the SW Ridge. Time up from Pioneer Gulch trailhead was 4 hrs 20 minutes.
Clear overnight skies and low temps in the upper 30s gave up us firm snow. Snow level is currently about 5500'
We took snowshoes but stashed them at the junction with the Diamond Peak Trail (#3669) on the way in. The snow on the SW Ridge was pretty solid, so we put on crampons somewhere around 6000'.
Blue sky day, it was great. Did not see anyone else.
Snow softened up in afternoon and we used the snowshoes for the last part of the snow. Great trip!
Bob J. / Eugene, OR
Derv - May 25, 2010 8:01 pm Date Climbed: May 23, 2010
Diamond Peak: Pioneer Gulch
Drove to the Pioneer Gulch trailhead with no problems...minimal snow on the road from earlier snow fall during the week. Started the hike about 7:30 AM and after about a half mile had to put on snowshoes...which remained on the rest of the day. Lots and lots of fresh snow which had not yet consolidated so the going was slow. Only one icy area on the way up the false peak where the slope was windswept and we could have used crampons. Weather conditions had deteriorated by the time we got to the top of the false peak and we could not see the summit proper nor much of the ridge that separates the two due to fog/clouds. Since Mother Nature was no longer cooperating the decision was made to head back down and try again another day.
Amazing weather. Drove to within 200 yards of the trail head (Pioneer Gulch) with a saturn (road obviously in good shape). Wonderful, easy snow climb. Beautiful hike up with lots of Nuthatches and Chickadees. Definitely pack some snowshoes or skis for the hike down in the afternoon.
Holk - Mar 21, 2010 2:48 am Date Climbed: Aug 19, 1993
South Ridge Youngin'
I climbed this with my dad, cousin and two older brothers when I was 8 years old. That pretty much started it for me I think and I really look forward to heading back that way in a little while for a multi-day climb.
I have climbed DP more than any other mountain, seven times successfully and one time to the south summit in an escalating storm. I have climbed it with the Obsidians, with friends and solo. I have done both the Summit Lake/PCT route and the Pioneer Gulch. My last time was with my friend Mike and when we were back on the trail, a 200'+ tree fell and landed about one hundred feet away. Scary!
Great conditions on mountain. Nice and cool and the usually loose cinder was somewhat frozen allowing nice passage. Second try of Diamond after an ill-fated attempt the year before in the winter.
The "normal" S Ridge route sounded a bit on the long side so we made our own way up a (so far) undocumented direct route from Corrigan Lake. Once on it, we could see that it was previously travelled however.
Pretty straightfoward route finding from inside our head nets as we sheltered from the hordes of voracious mozzies.
Route took us, more or less, direct to the summit from the south west from where we could look down on all those additional mozzie infested miles on the standard route that we'd missed.
Excellent day!
cascadetraveler - May 10, 2009 11:01 am Date Climbed: May 9, 2009
Spring fling on Diamond
Hi to all you summitposters out there. Wanted to share this mountain with you. It has been a great snow season and Diamond peak is consolidated and epic for 3,000+ feet of freeheeelin fun. I must Digress, I led a basic mountaineering class graduation climb this day. It was a great day with sun and clouds enough to keep the snow semi firm for good kick stepping. We had a strong group and were having enough fun we climbed all day. We were certainly spectators during the launch of at least ten backcountry teli skiers off the summit, good times.
RyanTaro76 - Mar 5, 2008 1:54 pm Date Climbed: Jul 21, 2000
Off-Trail Fun
Four of us climbed it from a trailhead on a FS road from the Oakridge side. Following the PCT we went off trail near a lake whose name escapes me and went up the ridgelines of basaltic boulders, scree and snowfields. Needless to say the lack of trail gave us a full day of hiking all to ourselves. The most Ive used maps and compasses on any Cascade outing.
mkpatrick - Nov 5, 2007 12:10 am Date Climbed: Nov 3, 2007
PCT/South Ridge
Summited via the PCT/Marie Lake/South Ridge Route. The route was relatively snow free, mostly just a scree slog up. We had great weather and decided to stay the night at Marie Lake. The celabratory whiskey tasted great on this cold night.
cjwhat - Sep 24, 2007 11:51 am Date Climbed: Sep 23, 2007
South Ridge
Took 'Road' 6010 to Summit Lake from Road 60. 6010 is way, way rough. Took 25 miutes to drive 3 miles from Summit Lake to Diamond Rockpile TH. Not a single mosquito! Freezing nights and the magical can of DEET I never use work. Freezing fog on way up, but broke above clouds at 7,500 feet. Descent was in sunshine.
Karl Helser - Sep 23, 2007 8:34 pm Date Climbed: Sep 22, 2007
South Ridge...alone!
Got to the Rockpile Lake TH Friday night at 8:30pm. Started up the trail at 8:00am Saturday. Got to the summit at 11:20am with a 20 minute breather at the false summit. Signed the summit register and messed around a bit then headed back down the same way. Got back to the car at 1:50pm. I wish the "bushwhacking" up north on the western slopes was this clean. The cross-country up & back was awesome. It's Mount Yoran tomorrow...
Did the Pioneer Gulch rockscramble, 4 hours up and 2 hours down... Winds were ferocious along the spine, had to be blowing at least 50-60mph (honestly have no idea, almost knocked me down a couple times though), made the summit almost unbearable.
BSPclimber - Aug 15, 2007 1:04 pm Date Climbed: Aug 14, 2007
South Ridge
Solo hike/scramble. Started from the Rockpile TH. To Marie Lake and then due N through the forest per Brian's directions, which were spot on. Hit the small lake then went slightly W of N up the boulders and scree until I reached the false summit. The traverse from there to the real summit was a blast, mostly class 2 with a few class 3 moves thrown in for fun. Literally hundreds if not thousands of butterflies from around 7800 feet all the way to the summit. Skeeters were fairly mild on the Rockpile trail and almost nonexistant after you got past the small lake. Weather was almost perfect, a little hazy and a bit warmer than I like but no complaints. Up in 4 hours, down in just under 3 hours. A very enjoyable day, recommended with enthusiasm.
Side note: Definitely bring a compass and a GPS comes in very handy to mark waypoints though the forest.
Nick Turtura - Jun 4, 2012 11:30 pm Date Climbed: Sep 8, 2011
10 AniverseryProposed 10 years ago on top of Diamond, the return trip was just as nice. I love you Abby.
nicozone - Jun 4, 2012 9:34 pm Date Climbed: Jun 2, 2012
Started Too Late to Route FindOn the advise of the Middle Fork Rangers, we decided to forgo attempting to get to Summit Lake (5600') to start from the PCT trailhead due to snow levels at 4500' and the road likely being blocked. We instead on Road 21 to 3556 to 4484 and started on trail 3632 at the 4950' elevation. We didn't start on the trail until noon, and turned back at 3:30pm when we realized we would be summiting and hiking back in the dark. No fresh tracks in the snow, so we were not very confident we could track back to the car via headlamps and using only our own tracks. A peak for another day.
Dzul - Sep 8, 2011 3:02 pm Date Climbed: Sep 3, 2011
Great climb, long dayStarted from the PCT after camping at Marie Lake (yeah, bugs were bad). Hike/climb was great and the view was terrific. No snow crossing required. Be prepared for lots of false summits. Lost the trail on the way down, used a map/compass to find out way back to the PCT.
After the climb, the hike out to Trapper Creek trail head made for a long day.
DigityDan - Aug 7, 2011 12:41 pm
GreatFalse summit after false summit. Stayed at Marie lake and was treated to mosquito factory.
cdog - Aug 4, 2011 2:01 am Date Climbed: Aug 29, 2004
summer hikefun hike up Diamond Peak with my girlfriend Amy
kraymes - Aug 2, 2011 10:57 am Date Climbed: Jul 30, 2011
North RidgeFrom a still mostly frozen Divide Lake gained the ridge and skirted to the top. The trail from Notch Lake to Divide Lake was mostly covered in snow. The mosquitos were horrendous in the trees.
RetroGear - Aug 2, 2010 1:01 am Date Climbed: Jun 7, 2010
Diamond Peak - SW RidgeTook advantage of a favorable break in weather to climb the SW Ridge. Time up from Pioneer Gulch trailhead was 4 hrs 20 minutes.
Clear overnight skies and low temps in the upper 30s gave up us firm snow. Snow level is currently about 5500'
We took snowshoes but stashed them at the junction with the Diamond Peak Trail (#3669) on the way in. The snow on the SW Ridge was pretty solid, so we put on crampons somewhere around 6000'.
Blue sky day, it was great. Did not see anyone else.
Snow softened up in afternoon and we used the snowshoes for the last part of the snow. Great trip!
Bob J. / Eugene, OR
Derv - May 25, 2010 8:01 pm Date Climbed: May 23, 2010
Diamond Peak: Pioneer GulchDrove to the Pioneer Gulch trailhead with no problems...minimal snow on the road from earlier snow fall during the week. Started the hike about 7:30 AM and after about a half mile had to put on snowshoes...which remained on the rest of the day. Lots and lots of fresh snow which had not yet consolidated so the going was slow. Only one icy area on the way up the false peak where the slope was windswept and we could have used crampons. Weather conditions had deteriorated by the time we got to the top of the false peak and we could not see the summit proper nor much of the ridge that separates the two due to fog/clouds. Since Mother Nature was no longer cooperating the decision was made to head back down and try again another day.
JGHarrison - Apr 26, 2010 10:49 pm Date Climbed: Apr 25, 2010
BluebirdAmazing weather. Drove to within 200 yards of the trail head (Pioneer Gulch) with a saturn (road obviously in good shape). Wonderful, easy snow climb. Beautiful hike up with lots of Nuthatches and Chickadees. Definitely pack some snowshoes or skis for the hike down in the afternoon.
Holk - Mar 21, 2010 2:48 am Date Climbed: Aug 19, 1993
South Ridge Youngin'I climbed this with my dad, cousin and two older brothers when I was 8 years old. That pretty much started it for me I think and I really look forward to heading back that way in a little while for a multi-day climb.
alpinedon - Nov 22, 2009 4:12 pm
1st-8th timesI have climbed DP more than any other mountain, seven times successfully and one time to the south summit in an escalating storm. I have climbed it with the Obsidians, with friends and solo. I have done both the Summit Lake/PCT route and the Pioneer Gulch. My last time was with my friend Mike and when we were back on the trail, a 200'+ tree fell and landed about one hundred feet away. Scary!
rmick25 - Sep 4, 2009 3:51 pm Date Climbed: Sep 1, 2008
First snow of yearGreat conditions on mountain. Nice and cool and the usually loose cinder was somewhat frozen allowing nice passage. Second try of Diamond after an ill-fated attempt the year before in the winter.
vancouver islander - Jul 8, 2009 12:02 am Date Climbed: Jun 28, 2009
Diamond in the roughThe "normal" S Ridge route sounded a bit on the long side so we made our own way up a (so far) undocumented direct route from Corrigan Lake. Once on it, we could see that it was previously travelled however.
Pretty straightfoward route finding from inside our head nets as we sheltered from the hordes of voracious mozzies.
Route took us, more or less, direct to the summit from the south west from where we could look down on all those additional mozzie infested miles on the standard route that we'd missed.
Excellent day!
cascadetraveler - May 10, 2009 11:01 am Date Climbed: May 9, 2009
Spring fling on DiamondHi to all you summitposters out there. Wanted to share this mountain with you. It has been a great snow season and Diamond peak is consolidated and epic for 3,000+ feet of freeheeelin fun. I must Digress, I led a basic mountaineering class graduation climb this day. It was a great day with sun and clouds enough to keep the snow semi firm for good kick stepping. We had a strong group and were having enough fun we climbed all day. We were certainly spectators during the launch of at least ten backcountry teli skiers off the summit, good times.
RyanTaro76 - Mar 5, 2008 1:54 pm Date Climbed: Jul 21, 2000
Off-Trail FunFour of us climbed it from a trailhead on a FS road from the Oakridge side. Following the PCT we went off trail near a lake whose name escapes me and went up the ridgelines of basaltic boulders, scree and snowfields. Needless to say the lack of trail gave us a full day of hiking all to ourselves. The most Ive used maps and compasses on any Cascade outing.
mkpatrick - Nov 5, 2007 12:10 am Date Climbed: Nov 3, 2007
PCT/South RidgeSummited via the PCT/Marie Lake/South Ridge Route. The route was relatively snow free, mostly just a scree slog up. We had great weather and decided to stay the night at Marie Lake. The celabratory whiskey tasted great on this cold night.
cjwhat - Sep 24, 2007 11:51 am Date Climbed: Sep 23, 2007
South RidgeTook 'Road' 6010 to Summit Lake from Road 60. 6010 is way, way rough. Took 25 miutes to drive 3 miles from Summit Lake to Diamond Rockpile TH. Not a single mosquito! Freezing nights and the magical can of DEET I never use work. Freezing fog on way up, but broke above clouds at 7,500 feet. Descent was in sunshine.
Karl Helser - Sep 23, 2007 8:34 pm Date Climbed: Sep 22, 2007
South Ridge...alone!Got to the Rockpile Lake TH Friday night at 8:30pm. Started up the trail at 8:00am Saturday. Got to the summit at 11:20am with a 20 minute breather at the false summit. Signed the summit register and messed around a bit then headed back down the same way. Got back to the car at 1:50pm. I wish the "bushwhacking" up north on the western slopes was this clean. The cross-country up & back was awesome. It's Mount Yoran tomorrow...
calebEOC - Sep 8, 2007 7:49 pm Date Climbed: Sep 8, 2007
Pioneer GulchDid the Pioneer Gulch rockscramble, 4 hours up and 2 hours down... Winds were ferocious along the spine, had to be blowing at least 50-60mph (honestly have no idea, almost knocked me down a couple times though), made the summit almost unbearable.
BSPclimber - Aug 15, 2007 1:04 pm Date Climbed: Aug 14, 2007
South RidgeSolo hike/scramble. Started from the Rockpile TH. To Marie Lake and then due N through the forest per Brian's directions, which were spot on. Hit the small lake then went slightly W of N up the boulders and scree until I reached the false summit. The traverse from there to the real summit was a blast, mostly class 2 with a few class 3 moves thrown in for fun. Literally hundreds if not thousands of butterflies from around 7800 feet all the way to the summit. Skeeters were fairly mild on the Rockpile trail and almost nonexistant after you got past the small lake. Weather was almost perfect, a little hazy and a bit warmer than I like but no complaints. Up in 4 hours, down in just under 3 hours. A very enjoyable day, recommended with enthusiasm.
Side note: Definitely bring a compass and a GPS comes in very handy to mark waypoints though the forest.