Mt. Washington (Oregon) is a spectacular peak directly south of Santiam Pass on Highway 22 heading from Salem to Bend. Even though it is only 7,794 feet tall, it is a rather imposing mountain especially when you look at from the east. The summit looms large over Big Lake to the northwest.
Our carpool met in Portland at 4am and we drove to our meeting spot at Santiam Pass. We met up with a couple of climbers who camped out the night before and then proceeded to our trailhead at Big Lake. We divided ropes and gear, did our introductions, and started on the trail just after 7am. We joined up with the PCT and then found the rock cairn on the PCT that indicated the climber's route to Mt. Washington. The trail up to the north ridge is not maintained, but it is visible enough to get up the ridge without any major issues. We crested the north ridge at 6,000 feet. The north ridge has scree in places and other loose rock that slowed us down a little bit, but we trudged up the next 1,500 feet or so up to the a small saddle at the base of the summit block arriving at about 10:30am.
Upon our arrival to the saddle, we were informed that instead of a belay, we would have a fixed line followed by some free climbing, and then a second fixed line that would get us to the summit itself. After a quick snack, David and the assistant, Tom, proceeded to set up the first fixed line. Leaving our packs behind, we started up the fixed line. There was one move that was harder than the 5.1 that I expected, but it possible that the problem was my short legs, not the route itself. After some serious maneuvering, I arrived at the top of the fixed line. Once all of us were at that point, we free climbed higher and then David and Tom set up a second fixed line. This fixed line was not as difficult as the first, and when we got to the top of the fixed line, we were 30 feet below the summit. We walked up to the summit and arrived at 12:30pm. The weather on the top was perfect with not a cloud in the sky and the lightest of breezes from the west. We could see Three Fingered Jack and Mt Jefferson off to the north, obscured somewhat by smoke from wildfires in Central Oregon. To our Southeast were the Three Sisters. After summit photos and a few candy treats, we descended following the same path we came up on. However, we rappelled down the last 50 feet back to where we had left the packs. We had a slight delay because the rappel rope got snagged on some rock.
We were back at the saddle around 3pm. We put away our harnesses, grabbed our gear and descended down the north ridge. We found the cairn that indicated the route back to the PCT, but somehow, the trail petered out about 300 feet below the ridge, so we had to descend off trail using a GPS unit to get us back to the PCT/climber's trail intersection. The rest of the hike was uneventful and we arrived back at the cars just after 6pm. After receiving out summit certificates, we congratulated each other and then got into the cars to head back to Portland.
Mt. Washington was harder than other rock climbs I have done such as Mt. Thielsen and Unicorn Peak, but it was not beyond my climbing capabilities. The exposure in places is dramatic in spots and probably not for those who are scared of heights. The hardest part of the climb was the descent from the saddle down the north ridge because of the loose rock and scree along the path. Overall, it was a terrific climb with some terrific views.
Many thanks to David, Tom, Angela, Jen, Ardel, Steven, and Kevin for a great climb!
Photos can be seen here: Mt. Washington photos
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