Guye Peak 4.3.11

Team 7's second climb was in the Commonwealth Basin area. Objective: Practice navigation while attempting to summit Guye Peak. We set out from the parking lot right on time, possibly a minute or two before 7am even. We walked under I-90 and up onto the snow to reach the trailhead for the basin, which was deeply buried in snow. The students were in charge of navigating for the outing. We started out following some tracks, with two other Sunday teams behind us. They were heading to Kendall Peak and Snoqualmie Mountain. The students had a bearing to follow but thought it beneficial to follow the already made tracks to conserve energy, even though they veered just a little off the bearing. We were heading along pretty well and soon were heading up hill. I've been through the Commonwealth Basin a few times for climbing Guye Peak and Snoqualmie Mountain - I didn't remember heading up hill so much so early. We stopped several times to reach a consensus on where were navigating to, as well as to let the other teams pass. I was OK heading up Kendall Peak since I hadn't climbed it before. Finally the team came to a consensus and started heading more northwest to reach the basin and get on track for Guye Peak.

We had to traverse a bit and lose a little elevation, but it gave everyone time to practice kicking steps - go baby steps! I love the little steps, they require so much less energy from me. I guess that's what I get for being one of the shortest on my climbing team. We found the log to cross the first creek with, a victory in itself. There was quite a bit of snow built up so Ron worked to create some steps and try to kick away the overhanging snow so that we would just be crossing the log. Everyone made it across with pretty little effort. We had crossed the first creek, found an important hand rail, and were well on our way to Guye Peak. Before long we reached the second creek. The instructors spread out along the creek trying to find a suitable crossing - snow bridge or low water. Aaron Nash found a good place and he was soon at work kicking through the snow to create some steps for the team to climb down to the creek, cross, and climb back up the other side.

After crossing the second creek we started heading up through the trees, getting glimpses of the surrounding mountains. Overall it was pretty overcast with glimpses of the surrounding peaks every so often. They make great landmarks for navigation - and they're pretty to look at. The team was going along well and before long we could see cliffs up ahead. We made our way to the saddle, took a quick break for layering, applying sunscreen, and grabbing a snack. A few instructors were heading out to set up ropes to the middle summit. Robert, Curtis, Aaron N, Steve, and Evelyne headed out with the rest of the team not far behind. The last few grades up to the north summit had some rather icy sections so I used a few high daggers to get myself through those sections, as well as some hard kicked steps. Before we knew it we were at our goal. We dropped our packs and a few people at a time made their way up the north summit. Summit treats were pulled out of the packs and we enjoyed hoho's and swiss rolls, brownies, red vines, bubbles, and milk and cookies. Curits got the ropes set up to the middle summit, soon followed by Evelyne and Hiro. As Kevin started making his way up to the middle summit, a considerable amount of snow started sliding down from the north summit on instructors and students waiting to prusik up the fixed line. The conditions were deteroriating and we were getting well into the afternoon so the decision was made to pack it up and head back to the cars. As people were making their way back to our group area from the middle summit, Robert dug a snow pit to check out the conditions with the students, while a few more summit treats were consumed. After a team picture we were on our way down.

We made pretty good progress and found our second creek crossing again, soon followed by the log crossing of the first creek. Some of the steps had become smaller and the snow seemed slicker, requiring a little extra attention from everyone on the crossing. Since it was late in the day and soon nearing the meetup time for all of the teams in the parking lot, we took the 'highway' back - the trail used by most of the back country skiers and snowshoers. We made it back just a little past 5pm, maybe 10 mins, so the teams dispersed as we had our debrief. We were able to call in a reservation at the Issaquah Brew Pub so we stopped there for dinner and drinks after a successful day of climbing.

View Guye Peak 4.3.11 in a larger map Map for this adventure

Route to Guye Peak

Route up Guye Peak

Route through the commonwealth basin. Up on the right, down on the left

Route up to the summit of Guye Peak