Enchantment Slam
Stuart Lake Trailhead ⚲ Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Stuart Range, Washington
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An early season trip into Washington’s famed Enchantments to climb three Bulger List peaks; Little Annapurna (8,440’), McClellan Peak (8,363’), and Enchantment Peak (8,538’). By entering the Core Enchantments before May 15th, we were able to accomplish this trip without the need for permits.
My partner for this trip, Ryan Rodman, stands in front of a frozen Colchuck Lake. Entering the Enchantments before May 15th generally means traveling through a snow covered, winter-like environment. Dragontail Peak (8,836’) and Colchuck Peak (8,706’) stand in the background.
No Permits Necessary
This trip had been in my mind for a few years before it finally became a reality. Moose and I had been in the area twice before, once to do a single-day thru-hike of the Enchantments, and another time to complete a single-day summit of Colchuck Peak and Dragontail Peak. Since I had never spent more than a day at a time in the Enchantment area, I was eager to make an extended peak-bagging trip happen. Generally, when looking to overnight in the Enchantments you must have overnight permits to do so. These highly sought-after permits are hard to come by but are only required from May 15th to October 31st. In general, I look to avoid the lotteries and hard-to-get permits in Washington State. Bulger List peaks are usually in obscure, far-off places. An exception to this is the 10 Bulgers situated in the Stuart Range of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness which happen to make up the beautiful alpine attraction that is The Enchantments - Washington’s most visited wilderness area.
Collin Blunk stops to admire Dragontail Peak nearing the top of Aasgard Pass, Washington. 📸 by @ryanradman
Collin Blunk hiking to the top of a snow-covered Aasgard Pass in Washington’s Enchantment Permit Area. 📸 by @ryanradman
Hiker crosses untouched terrain in the Core Enchantments of Washington - entering the wilderness in late April meant we had the whole place to ourselves. Little Annapurna (8,440’), our first target for the weekend, stands in the distance.
I had pitched spending a few frozen days in the Enchantments to multiple friends but the idea frequently got shot down. Most folks don’t get excited about winter camping, even fewer like entertaining the idea of multiple nights out on the snow. This time was different though as my new climbing partner Ryan was eager to expand his climbing resume and jumped at the opportunity.
Hiker takes in the beautiful scenery of the Core Enchantment area, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington.
After climbing up Aasgard Pass we entered the Core Enchantment Area. We found a great place to set up basecamp just above Inspiration Lake, this centrally located spot put us right below the three summits we planned to climb and provided tremendous views of the beautiful Prusik Peak (8,000’).
Utilizing my Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 4 and 20-Degree Down Quilt at our basecamp. Inspiration Lake Backcountry Camping Area, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington.
Snow Means Extra Road Miles
Aside from mitigating avalanche risk, the biggest downside to visiting the Enchantments in the wintertime is access to the trailhead. The road to the Stuart Lake Trailhead is not plowed until permit season and so visitors must park at the closed gate just off of Icicle Creek Road. This means you must cover an extra four miles of unplowed road before arriving at the start. We accomplished this trip the weekend of April 28th, 2023 and at that time the snow had receded up the road more than we had expected. The sheer amount of dry roadway inspired us to bring bikes for the same road hike when we revisited the area just a weekend later to climb Cannon Mountain (8,652’). After covering the extra road miles, we hiked the five miles to Colchuck Lake and then cautiously crossed the frozen expanse before making our way up Aasgard Pass. Getting up Aasgard took some time - we had already snowshoed 10 miles by this point, and the steep incline was certainly draining. We arrived at the top of Aasgard around 4:30 in the afternoon and we were both happy to be up in the flatter terrain of the Enchantment plateau. We sought out a sufficient spot to set up camp and found precisely what we were looking for atop the berm between Inspiration Lake and Perfection Lake.
The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 4 always makes the perfect basecamp for extended winter trips. We chose to setup just above Inspiration Lake, centrally located between our objectives with great views of Prusik Peak (8,000’), Alpine Lake Wilderness, Washington.
Climb Little Annapurna (8,440’)
It was 6 P.M. once camp was established. We planned to rest for a bit before heading up the first Bulger List peak of the weekend, Little Annapurna (8,440’). This summit doesn’t demand much in a technical sense so it felt appropriate to tackle as a sunset hike; in fact, Little Annapurna is likely one of the easiest peaks to attain on the entire Bulger List - no more than a steep class II hike. We landed at the summit about 40 minutes after leaving camp. The views were outstanding and memorable. We enjoyed some whiskey at the top and analyzed our routes up the two remaining peaks from afar. Once the light show subsided we headed back down off the mountain in darkness, returning to camp to make dinner and boil drinking water for the next day.
Ryan points to our next objective, McClellan Peak (8,363’) from atop Little Annapurna (8,440’). Core Enchantments, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington.
Collin Blunk at sunset atop Little Annapurna (8,440’) in the Enchantments of Washington State. 📸 by @ryanradman
Last light on Little Annapurna’s summit. Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington. 📸 by @ryanradman
Climb McClellan Peak (8,363’)
The correct winter route up McClellan Peak (8,364’) in green, our first route which was incorrect in red. Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington.
We decided to start day two with what we expected to be the hardest peak of the three-peak weekend, McClellan. A short and easy 1.2-mile snowshoe from camp got us to the base of McClellan Peak where we then had to decide which snow finger we would ascend to the summit. We, unfortunately, followed the path of least resistance, climbing up the snow directly towards the Chessman (the ragged features west of the true summit), we had spied this route from Little Annapurna the night before and assumed it to be correct. Had we checked our maps, we would have realized that we were heading off course, but conditions were great and we were moving quickly and confidently so left the GPS in our pockets.
Ryan follows me as I explore any possible route options from our position on the jumbled Chessman, McClellan Peak climb, April 2023.
Once our route tapered off into a mess of jumbled and impassable rock, we knew we were incorrect. With no other option, we retraced our steps back down and traversed horizontally towards the north arm known as “The Prong” where we would find the correct path up.
Climber makes his way up McClellan Peak (8,363’) in the Enchantment Area of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington.
The slope up McClellan Peak was definitely the steepest of the weekend but it was easy climbing due to the great snow conditions - our crampons and dual ice axes stuck like glue.
We encountered steep snow while making the ascent up the northern arm of the mountain known as “The Prong.”
Ryan makes his way up McClellan Peak (8,363’) utilizing crampons and double ice axes on the steep ascent.
Once we topped out the steep snow finger we were relived to see the terrain level out some - though it became evident that we still had a bit further to go. From this vantage point we could see the true summit and now we just needed to make our way to the backside (south) and find the scramble route up. We followed our noses and were up on the dry summit rocks in no time. The summit of McClellan Peak was magnificent!
Mountaintop charcuterie with Ryan Rodman. Summit of McClellan Peak (8,363’).
Ryan Rodman displays his summit charcuterie on top of McClellan Peak (8,363’) in Washington’s Enchantment Permit Area, Washington.
Prusik Peak (8,000’) seen from the top of McClellan Peak (8,363’) in Washington’s Enchantments.
The small triangular summit block in the center is the top of Enchantment Peak (8,520’) - seen from McClellan Peak (8,363’).
With clear skies we had views of the entire area, Ryan and I stayed at the top for a snack before making our way back down. We could have stayed up there all day but it was 10:30 A.M and we still had to climb Enchantment Peak so we made quick work of the descent and stopped at camp for a quick break and some lunch.
Ryan relaxes and checks out his captures in the small amount of shade available near camp. You can see more of Ryan’s photography here: @ryanradman
Climb Enchantment Peak (8,520’)
We didn’t know what to expect from our final peak of the weekend. The mountain towered above our base camp but the upper reaches were entirely out of sight from camp. After a two-hour rest in the shade, we gathered the energy to pack up and start the ascent of Enchantment Peak. It was a low-angle trudge through the snow up to our first checkpoint, Prusik Pass.
The Temple, Prusik Peak, and Prusik Pass in the background as hiker ascends towards McClellan Peak in the Enchantments, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington.
Climbing partner Ryan makes his way up the eastern reaches of Enchantment Peak (8,520’), it was here that we ditched the snowshoes to begin climbing up the dry summit block.
From the pass, we would head west up the eastern arm of Enchantment. The going was easy and gradual aside from the singular steep pitch around the 7,900’ mark. Enchantment Peak is unique in that it finishes with a small, yet exceptional, summit block. It was a short and exciting class 3/4 climb up the rock to a very small (perhaps 5 square feet) summit.
Climber starting the short and steep final pitch up the summit block of Enchantment Peak (8,520’) in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington. Dragontail Peak, Colchuck Peak, and Mount Stuart in the background.
Ryan Rodman makes his way up to the small Enchantment Peak summit. Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington.
The views from the top of Enchantment were immense. Sitting atop the tiny summit block was easily the most rewarding part of the entire trip. At that moment all of the unknowns and hard work was behind us. We took plenty of photos before descending back to camp.
Ryan stands on the shores of Perfection Lake in the Enchantments with McClellan Peak (8,364’) in the background. Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington.
Taking it all in on the final evening of the trip, Enchantment Slam April, 2023.
The final night at basecamp was sweet. With no more climbing in front of us, we were able to relax, drink the libations we had carried with us, and best of all… delay our alarms a couple of hours for the next morning.
Collin Blunk after packing up camp - ready to move in the early morning light. 📸 by @ryanradman
Prusik Peak (8,000’) at sunrise. The Enchantments, Alpine Lakes WIlderness, Washington.
Day three was dedicated to our exit. Thirteen miles, primarily downhill lie in front of us. The only real obstacle was descending Aasgard Pass. Starting at sunrise meant the steep slope was still icy from the cold nighttime temps. Once we were down and back to the frozen shore of Colchuck Lake, we were elated. We still had 10 miles to go, but our adventure had been an absolute success.
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