Photos from this trip can be found here.
To avoid snowy weather conditions over the mountain passes, I looked for potential new destinations in the Puget Sound area. Through researching I discovered that Anderson Mountain was one of the handful nearby high points on the Washington State Peaks with 2000 feet of Prominence list.
Morning snow and icy roads caused multiple spinouts on I-5 on the drive to Prairie, WA. We parked at the gated road and began the long road walk under the sun. Microspikes were used for traction on ice in lower elevation, then I put on snowshoes before crossing the bridge at 1,800′. Sky turned mostly cloudy by this point.
Photos from this trip can be found here.
Taking advantage of consolidated snow, we cut a couple of short switchbacks through the forest and came out onto the road by the clearcut at 2,800′. Snowshoing in soft snow, we came upon the 3,000′ road junction and took a short break. Sky had cleared up quite a bit and we began to get glimpses of peaks in the Mount Baker area.
Middle road hugged the ridge line and took us back into the forest where temperature dropped significantly. We made a right at the next junction and arrived just 50′ below the summit. With some fighting through thick growth, we eventually made our way onto the woodsy summit.
Photos from this trip can be found here.
No immediate views to be had on the true summit, so we continued north in hope for good views. Unfortunately, the north summit was just as woodsy. The tiny opening to the northeast provided merely a glimpse of Mount Baker and parts of the Sisters Range. We stayed long enough to get a few photos and left.
Back at the true summit, I wrestled tree branches for a few photos toward Puget Sound before retracing our steps back down the mountain.
Photos from this trip can be found here.
Access One mile north of Prairie, WA off Highway 9
Gear: microspikes, snowshoes
