Sat, Aug 29 2015 - Mist Mountain via East Ridge (View Event Details) Event Coordinator(s): (To see who coordinated the hike, log in to the Member Area) Participants: (To see who hiked, log in to the Member Area)

Write Up:
At 3140 m Mist Mountain towers above the upper Highwood Valley. We started on the old trail, which is still passable but overgrown and badly damaged at the creek crossing by the flood of 2013. A new, direct trail has been developed, which we took on the way back. The trail to the high grassy col was good but frequented by bears as evidenced by their scat. From the col we traversed on a trail high above steep scree slopes to the cirque on the other side of the col. From there we tackled the 500 m high south face. I followed a gully offering good footing and enjoyable scrambling on its many slabs, while the other members of the group went first left and then right of the gully. The east ridge greeted us by gale-force winds. We took a shelter among boulders and had our lunch. After lunch we scrambled along the east ridge which was interesting and comfortable despite its threatening appearance and the north side precipice. A short, narrow neck brought us to the summit where it was smoky, cloudy, and very windy. The smoke did not bother us but the wind did, which intensified on descent. From the summit we took a different route down. We descended on the south ridge and then ran down the scree to the cirque below where we rejoined our ascent route. Near the grassy col we met a group of hikers and their dog returning from a visit to the Mist Mountain Hot Springs. Peter Minarik