Easter Peak by Lennox Mountain rests above West Fork Miller River. It shares a saddle with Cleveland Mountain to the north. Moreover, its shorter height makes it an excellent place to view the nearby taller neighbors.
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Easter Peak at a Glance
Access: West Fork Miller River Road
Round Trip: TBD
Elevation Range: 1280′-5326′
Gear: helmet, snowshoes
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: with guidance
West Fork Miller River
Overall, the snow quality was terrible, if not worse, than our recent trip to Noble Knob. It was another late start for us due to the last-minute plan. As we were leaving, a party of two came in and went skiing on Lennox Mountain.
There was some snow en route to the large gully, but mainly dry. Then at the bottom of the east ridge at mile .6, we left the path up the steep terrain. En route were lots of thickets and outcrops we needed to bypass.
![A late start](https://live.staticflickr.com/1661/25920940656_d5e3021d74_k.jpg")
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Easter Peak East Ridge
I put on microspikes for traction before seeing more snow at 3000′ by the clearing. Then we went around the snowy boulders from the south to be in the trees and with less snow. Soon, I changed to snowshoes at 3400′.
Before long, we got our first look at the reported outcrops. The scary-looking rocks perched above the snowfield by the second clearing. Then we very slowly moved through the next 600′ to 4000′.
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Traversing the Outcrops and Cascade Concrete
I checked the snow and knew the ridge traverse wouldn’t be feasible through the half-covered outcrops. Instead, we hugged the ridge below the north. Then it was 400′ of more postholing, cussing, and sweating!
At 4400′, we returned to the crest so I could scope out snow conditions ahead. With more snow here, we traversed the outcrops with ease. But there’s nothing like walking through fresh powder plus Cascade concrete!
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Northeast Ridge Finish
We reached Easter Peak’s northeast ridge at a decent hour. But we had to contend with a 10′ tall step below the top with krummholz at the bottom. I could prop myself up using the tree, but that wouldn’t have worked for the pups.
Instead, we bypassed the rocks from the left by kicking steps through the icy slopes. It allowed us three to go to the top of the boulders safely. From there, it was a leisurely walk to the top.
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Easter Peak Summit Views Plus Exit
It was a gorgeous day with views everywhere! Lennox Mountain was only a stone’s throw away to the west. The seven hours it took us would’ve been great to carve out the path with at least one other person.
We stayed for a long time and savored the views. Then we left the summit two hours before sunset and retraced our tracks to a tee. But of course, it only took us three hours to return to the gate.
See more trip photos here.