Bing Peak by Crosby Mountain and Palmer Mountain / 賓峯

  • Reading time:8 mins read

Bing Peak and Crosby Mountain share a long ridgeline south of Palmer Mountain. It perches over Money Creek and views Skykomish River Valley. Meanwhile, the south slope offers the quickest way to this obscure peak.

Bing Peak in the mists
Bing Peak in the mists

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Bing Peak at a Glance

Access: Money Creek Road (NF-6420)
Round Trip: 3 miles
Elevation Range: 1240′-4500′
Gear: snowshoes, microspikes
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: no

The Preface

We started seeing snow in the mountains last week, with more coming before the weekend. I had planned to climb Crosby Mountain. But the new powder forced us to seek adventure on the nearby Bing Peak instead.

After driving 3.5 miles from Highway 2, I parked the car at the first road fork. It was two miles from the Money Creek Road turnoff to the parking area. Then we started walking on the abandoned roadbed afterward.

The hidden fork off Money Creek Road
The hidden fork off Money Creek Road

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Bing Peak South Slopes

Soon, we scrambled uphill at the second switchback through more brush. We slowly worked our way up through many down trees and shrubs to 2200′. After another 800′, we finally saw snow at 3000′.

The sporadic animal tracks kept us on the right of the streambed. Then we moved west into a broad talus gully in fall foliage at 3200′, with a view of Lennox Mountain. We soon reached the other side as the spires of Bing Peak loomed above.

Guardians of the forest
Guardians of the forest

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Traversing the Ridge

We went up the steep rib east of the gully for 1000′ before wearing snowshoes on the 4150′ saddle. Then we went west on the ridge via fresh powder. But by then, the new snow made Crosby Mountain an ambitious day-long endeavor.

After returning to the saddle from Point 4494, we found a frozen pond in the meadow. There I caught a glimpse of Bing Peak through the trees. Then as we went down the mountain, I decided to check out the peak instead.

A tiny pond along the ridgeline
A tiny pond along the ridgeline

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Bing Peak Climb

We returned to the other side of the gully since we couldn’t go up the steep west face. I didn’t have any route info, but I thought we would try it out first. Meanwhile, the warm afternoon temps brought constant snow bombs in the trees.

I wore microspikes east of the gully before going up the steep south side. The outcrops were easy to bypass until the sudden headwall. I soon noticed a notch on the right and checked the other side. But it was another rock wall with a broken ridgeline.

IMG_5245
Hidden gully

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The Final Stretch

We almost turned around there before spotting a hidden gully below us. So we went up left of the ravine through more rocks and cliffs to another headwall. Dang! But we bypassed it from the right and soon found another notch at 4350′ to reach the east ridge.

I wasn’t sure if we’d see any more cliffs, so we moved slowly in the last 100′. En route, we found dense vegetation on top of snowy boulders. I first mistook the nearby ridge knob for the summit, but the high point wasn’t yet visible. Though, it wasn’t far behind!

Crosby Mountain from Bing Peak
Crosby Mountain from Bing Peak

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Bing Peak Summit Plus Outro

It was another woodsy summit but with an excellent view of Cleveland Mountain. The opening on the north also offered sights of Baring Mountain and Gunn Peak. But trees had blocked the northwest side to see Palmer Mountain.

As we retraced our steps, I enjoyed more of the South Fork Skykomish River Valley. The afternoon snow had turned into slush with slippery slopes. But it let us drop 3000′ straight to the car in two hours.

Thanks for a lovely day
Thanks for a lovely day

See more trip photos here.

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