Photos from this trip can be found here.
Three months ago we made an attempt day after the area got dumped with fresh snow. After spending hours deep postholing in fresh powder but to no avail, we turned around and snowshoed on the roads near Oakes Creek in an afternoon filled with sunshine.
I first took notice of Oakes Peak less than a year ago from the summit of Damnation Peak, first high point I climbed between Goodall and Bacon Creek drainages. It was only a matter of time before getting up here for a slightly different perspective.
Photos from this trip can be found here.
Despite a late morning start, we made good time scrambling up snow free slopes in lower elevations. This time we stayed farther away from Oakes Creek to be on largely mossy terrain. At one point we came upon a faint hikers trail and followed it to 2,800′ before it slowly dwindled under snow patches.
We began to posthole at the first road crossing at 3,500′, so I put on snowshoes for the remainder of the climb. Like the time before, snow conditions were less than ideal. Although postholing wasn’t as deep this time, the snow quality kept us from being able to move quicker. Even in the shade the snow wasn’t as consolidated as I had hoped.
Photos from this trip can be found here.
Views started to sweep in at 5,000′. And to avoid the steeper terrain at 5,400′, we moved to the southeast face and slowly attained the summit ridge some 200′ later. We were first treated with views to the northeast, including Mount Triumph and Thornton Peak. The last 100′ to the top felt extremely lethargic as we continue to posthole with every step.
Gorgeous views all around on this broad summit, too many mountains and peaks to recount; the photos will speak for themselves. Lots of familiar high points, notably Davis Peak and Mount Ross over by Newhalem. Parts of the Picket Range could be also seen, including Mount Challenger, Mount Fury, and Mount Terror.
Photos from this trip can be found here.
After a long stay soaking in the much-needed heat and sweeping vistas, we retraced our steps back down the mountain in yet another afternoon full of sunshine.
Access: NF-1060
Gear: snowshoes
