Salvation Peak and Damnation Peak by Oakes Peak share a joining ridge. In reading the naming history, Climbers sometimes refer to it as “Hellfire Peak.” I also agree that Salvation played off the name Damnation well.
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Salvation Peak at a Glance
Access: Bacon Creek Road
Round Trip: 8.8 miles
Elevation Range: 800′-5560′
Gear: microspikes, snowshoes
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: with guidance
Bacon Creek Road
I kept my fingers crossed for a short road walk without a sound backup plan. To my surprise, Bacon Creek Road was snow-free, and we only had to go over some rock debris.
Later I parked before the landslide in fear of damaging the underside. But high-clearance vehicles would be okay to continue. Then we walked under a mile up to the road junction.
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The West Ridge
After crossing Jumbo Creek, we continued on the old roadbed. Then we crossed Road 1060-040 several times in the forest. Soon, the pile of down trees had forced us off the path.
The plan was to go straight up the west ridge. So we would be the pass between Salvation Peak and Oakes Peak. But we went too far north of the creek and wasted time swimming in the down logs.
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4800′ Saddle
After going through the tree pile, we moved more directly into the semi-open forest. We found another section with small down trees higher up on the ridge. But they were easy to bypass despite still being annoying.
Just as I wondered when we would see snow in the forest, the first patch appeared at 3600′. Then we weaved through snow patches for the next 400′. Later I put on snowshoes for the rest of the climb.
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Steep Terrain to Salvation Peak
The terrain was incredibly steep, between 3000′ and 4000′. And sometimes, I either sidestepped upward or made greater switchbacks to provide relief for the calves. There’s not much to see in the forest.
The hills flattened from 4400′ up to the saddle where we first saw Damnation Peak. So far, it’s been mainly cloudy where we were. But the forecast stayed true as it flurried for a short while past 11 AM.
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Rolling Ridge Traverse
The contour lines on the map don’t always do the broken ridgelines justice. But to call this a rolling ridge was a mild exaggeration. So we ended up going through a handful of drop-offs en route.
The one drop-off in the south basin was steeper. But the adequate snow let us stay on the crest the rest of the way. Once again, channeling my inner Madea: “Hellur Hallelujer, praise da Lort!”
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Ridgeside Views
The breathtaking scenery took my mind off the rolling crest. Then it was only another mile and a half before we reached the top. Meanwhile, we continued to carve out a path toward the top of the ridge.
I’d sometimes glance over my right shoulder for the impressive Mount Terror, part of the southern Picket Range. According to Google Earth, it would appear from behind the ridgeline above Triumph Pass at some point.
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Salvation Peak Summit Ridge
We went through a few more mild drop-offs without a hitch. Then we reached the summit block before long, with a tad steep south side. I poked around for a more feasible way to go forward.
Ultimately, I decided to go straight up on the southeastern slopes instead. So after going through one more drop-off, we finally made it up to the broad summit.
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Salvation Peak Summit Views
The vistas from Salvation Peak were similar to both Oakes Peak and Damnation Peak. But here, I could see more of the southern Picket Range but nothing past Thornton Peak. At any rate, today’s weather offered fantastic views.
Mount Triumph, Mount Despair, Mount Blum, and Bacon Peak were nearby. Then to the east were Colonial Peak, Snowfield Group, and Icecap Group. Three Fingers and Whitehorse Mountain to the south were also visible.
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Leaving Salvation Peak
We retraced our steps on the way back. It was downhill and more manageable from the saddle to move sideways through the steep parts. Then microspikes came in handy to keep from sliding on the duff.
We left the ridge above the tree pile in the lower forest. Going toward Jumbo Creek had saved us much agony. Soon, we were on the old road by the water and back to the car before sundown.
See more trip photos here.
Looks like you had another enjoyable outing, John. I am imaging the sportiness of the “rolling” ridge, it’s true that you just never know on some of those until you get out on them and good snow pack can make all the difference. I like the new logo, too!
Thanks, Shannon!
Thanks for sharing the report & photos John! We went up there yesterday. Gorgeous area – the views are really incredible in all directions. With the short day we turned back at 2:30 (about 500 feet from the summit) but plan to come back another time and hit Damnation too. I lost one micro spike on the way down through that jumble of trees & bushes. I think it’s going to be swallowed up by that forest! 😉
You’re welcome! Beautiful, indeed. I also lost a microspike recently. They are not cheap, either!