MoJo Climb: Eldorado Peak

Michelle and I tried this route two years ago with Jim and Marlene but weather fowled our plans. Link to 2007 trip report. With weather forecasts calling for high nineties in Leavenworth and clear sunny skies, we knew this would be the weekend to try it again. The West Arete is a very aesthetic rock ridge that rises nearly 3,000 feet at the head of the Marble Creek cirque near Cascade Pass. The peak and the route are prominently visible from the town of Rockport on Highway 20.

Eldorado (8,876 feet) is the highest peak on the right, Early Morning Spire and Dorado Needle on the left. Mt. Torment is just visible to the right of Eldorado.

A crappy zoom showing the approach from Dorado Needle Col and the route:

We drove up to Marblemount Friday evening, got our permits, and slept at the trail head. The next morning we got a pretty early start in order to beat the heat.

Hiking up the trail with Johannesburg Mountain behind:

Crossing the Eldorado Glacier:

The approach is about 5,300 feet of elevation gain straight up the south side of the massif. We got to the bivi sites (~7,500 feet) on the East Ridge of Eldorado before noon and spent a lazy day relaxing in the sunshine.

Our view to the east out our tent door:

The view of Forbidden Peak never gets old:

The next morning we we got another early start and crossed the Inspiration Glacier to the Mcallister Glacier, descended through the Dorado Needle Col and traversed and descended to the base of the route at around 6,000 feet.

Michelle crossing the Inspiration Glacier:

The Northeast Face of Eldorado. The East Ridge, our descent route, is the left hand skyline:

A beautiful sunrise and Hozomeen in the distance:

Michelle with Glacier Peak in the distance:

Also going to do the route were our new friends Josh and Phil. We ended up climbing most of the route together, which was a lot of fun as we shared the route-finding and loose rocks.

Michelle traversing the final glacier to the base of the route:

We easily gained the rock from just a couple hundred feet above the toe of the ridge on the north side and started simul-climbing up easy but loose rock.

In places the ridge was quite thin and robustly alpine.

Phil and Josh leading on the ridge crest:

Michelle climbing around another cool feature:

We found the route description in both guidebooks we were using to be incredibly inaccurate and sand-bagged. We got off-route a couple times, but eventually found the elusive downclimb traverse and famed chimney move that seemed so key in the guidebook. Well, it wasn't much of a chimney and the downclimb was really short, but fun anyways.

Josh leading through the "chimney":

Michelle coming around the first gendarme:

Looking back at the first gendarme:

From here the route description was heinously wrong, but at least the route-finding got easier.

Interesting and technical climbing ensued:

At 3/4 height on the route, the unexpected came upon us as we donned boots, crampons, and ice axes again to climb and traverse a couple steep snow faces and a cool knife-edge ridge:

Finally, the last 600 feet or so was easier ground and we cruised to the top. We last talked to Josh at the base of this last step - then they put it into overdrive and ran to the top and down because the still had to hike out that night. We were taking it easy as we were planning another night out.

We topped out in the early evening - perfectly clear and windless:

Our last climb Mt. Goode on the left and Buckner and Forbidden on the right:

And an easy descent down the back side:

Our original plan had been to go to Dorado Needle as well, but we realized during the climb that our rope had somehow been severely damaged which was a great excuse to be lazy, sleep in and have a leisurley descent.

We watched a climbing class play on the glacier: