Mazamas — For the Love of Mountains
Although not the highest of the Tatoosh peaks, Pinnacle's central position and attractive form have made it the most popular ascent in the park. When the Mazamas climbed it on July 26, 1897, they dubbed it the "Matterhorn of the Cascades. From Fred Beckey's Cascade Alpine Guide, Volume I
The standard round up is an easy fourth class pitch of a south facing gully. This route takes the more challenging east face. Expect about three pitches of 5th class rock, the second pitch being 5.6.
Suggested gear: 4-5 medium to small nuts, 2-3 cams to 2.5 inches, 60m rope
Activity Notes
We will ascend the East Face route and then descend the south route via a rappel followed by some scrambling. The first pitch of the ascent will be belayed. The second pitch will be a fixed line. From the top of the fixed line, we will scramble as a team to the summit. Expect easy climbing up to 5.6.
I plan to camp, hopefully, at Cougar Rock, the night before the climb. Climb team members can either join me at the campsite the night before the climb or drive up early on the morning of the climb.
Additional Costs: If you choose to camp, plan to split the cost of the campsite. Cost will depend on how many people and cars we have at the campsite. Vehicle entry into Mount Rainier National Park is $30 per car if you do not have a Mount Rainier Annual Pass or an America the Beautiful pass (i.e, National Park Pass). Note that Mt Rainier Park entrance booths and campgrounds are going cashless as of May 26, 2023.
| Other Information | |
|---|---|
| Driving Distance from Portland | 160 miles |
| Driving Time from Portland | 3 hours |
| General Route Info | summitpost: https://www.summitpost.org/east-ridge/156348 |
| Expected Duration | Car to car in one day |
| Interesting Features | Spectacular Views |
| Relevant Books | Cascade Alpine Guide: Columbia River to Stevens Pass by Fred Beckey 75 Scrambles in Washington by Peggy Goldman |
| Relevant Maps | USGS 7 minute series, Tatoosh Lakes and Mt. Rainier East; Green Trails: Mt Rainier East / Packwood <href="http: "="" adventure="" c463="" starts-here="" title="On the Mazama Climbing and Hiking map page " www.mazamas.org="" your="">On the Mazama Climbing and Hiking map page <href="http: maps.google.com="" maps?f="q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=plummer+Peak+WA&sll=48.98385,-120.856519&sspn=0.016532,0.04549&ie=UTF8&ll=46.754093,-121.737099&spn=0.017259,0.04549&t=p&z=15"" title="Google map">Google map</href="http:></href="http:> |
| Useful Links | Map |
