Snidely Whiplash - Jul 17, 2013 9:45 am Date Climbed: Jul 16, 2013
Off-Trail Adventure
This is Cascade off-trail adventure scrambling at its finest. Until the meadow at 5700 ft., you never can really see the mountain or your route. It's a great central location. Great views in many directions from an unusual perspective. Get an early start. This is a long day. First, you're driving over 20 miles on dirt road. Second, Mortals, don't believe that it's only three hours to the summit. It might be for some super climbers, but for most, this is misleading. We moved continuously and at a pretty good pace, never got off route, and made the summit in 4.5 hours. It took nearly as long going down. Remember, you've got that nice 500 feet to climb before you get back to the car.
Really enjoyed this one. Great route with a mix of talus, snow and a few tarns/lakes to stock up on water. Walked a long, solid cornice in the last few hundred feet to the summit, which included one short and fun moat to stem up.
Redwic - Aug 24, 2009 2:28 am Date Climbed: Aug 23, 2009
Awesome Views, Awesome Animals!
With little to no information, and using both a map and GPS as my guide, the ascent took more time than I anticipated. However, I also explored other possible routes, and the west route I figured out (explained on this SP page) seemed to be the most straighforward and least technical option. I saw more animals on the upper slopes of this peak than I have any other peak... most of which I had never seen before in the wild. Some of the animals I saw: Two mountain goats (near the summit), a buck black-tailed deer (on the upper SW ridgetop, which got startled when the sound of my movement woke him up from an apparent mid-day slumber next to a rock slab), a short-tailed weasel (on upper SW ridgetop), a pine marten (on upper SW ridgetop near summit), a mink (near the upper tarn at 6000' elevation), a hoary marmot (on the upper SW ridgetop, seemingly whistling at me), Cascades frogs (near the upper tarn/meadow area between 6000'-6100' elevation), and a golden-mantled ground squirrel (on the middle of the upper SW ridge slope). I also saw a pileated woodpecker near Deception Creek, spruce grouse near the Fisher Creek Trailhead, and mountain chickadees on the upper slopes of Mac Peak. Just the sight of so many different animal species made me think that this area, especially Mac Peak, is largely devoid of human influence.
Snidely Whiplash - Jul 17, 2013 9:45 am Date Climbed: Jul 16, 2013
Off-Trail AdventureThis is Cascade off-trail adventure scrambling at its finest. Until the meadow at 5700 ft., you never can really see the mountain or your route. It's a great central location. Great views in many directions from an unusual perspective. Get an early start. This is a long day. First, you're driving over 20 miles on dirt road. Second, Mortals, don't believe that it's only three hours to the summit. It might be for some super climbers, but for most, this is misleading. We moved continuously and at a pretty good pace, never got off route, and made the summit in 4.5 hours. It took nearly as long going down. Remember, you've got that nice 500 feet to climb before you get back to the car.
seabadge - Jul 10, 2013 5:03 pm Date Climbed: Jul 9, 2013
With GimpilatorReally enjoyed this one. Great route with a mix of talus, snow and a few tarns/lakes to stock up on water. Walked a long, solid cornice in the last few hundred feet to the summit, which included one short and fun moat to stem up.
gimpilator - Jul 10, 2013 2:11 pm Date Climbed: Jul 9, 2013
Mac, Surprise, Spark PlugFun route, nice vista.
A Video by Bryan K:
Redwic - Aug 24, 2009 2:28 am Date Climbed: Aug 23, 2009
Awesome Views, Awesome Animals!With little to no information, and using both a map and GPS as my guide, the ascent took more time than I anticipated. However, I also explored other possible routes, and the west route I figured out (explained on this SP page) seemed to be the most straighforward and least technical option. I saw more animals on the upper slopes of this peak than I have any other peak... most of which I had never seen before in the wild. Some of the animals I saw: Two mountain goats (near the summit), a buck black-tailed deer (on the upper SW ridgetop, which got startled when the sound of my movement woke him up from an apparent mid-day slumber next to a rock slab), a short-tailed weasel (on upper SW ridgetop), a pine marten (on upper SW ridgetop near summit), a mink (near the upper tarn at 6000' elevation), a hoary marmot (on the upper SW ridgetop, seemingly whistling at me), Cascades frogs (near the upper tarn/meadow area between 6000'-6100' elevation), and a golden-mantled ground squirrel (on the middle of the upper SW ridge slope). I also saw a pileated woodpecker near Deception Creek, spruce grouse near the Fisher Creek Trailhead, and mountain chickadees on the upper slopes of Mac Peak. Just the sight of so many different animal species made me think that this area, especially Mac Peak, is largely devoid of human influence.