Mazamas — For the Love of Mountains
The twin peaked mountain is one of the most conspicuous landmarks visible from Puget Sound. This can be a "double summit" day for the ambitious party, tagging both North and South Brother, adding 2+ hours to the day. Tricky routefinding might make for a long outing. Be prepared for sustained 35 degree snow climbing, with a 45 degree step near the top. Rope, axe and crampons are required.
Activity Notes
This is an exploratory linked climb with Mt. Bretherton. You need to sign up for both climbs. We will drive up to Lena Creek Campground on Friday evening. On Saturday morning, we'll start hiking at 5:00 a.m. to Lena Lake. We'll select a campsite and drop our overnight gear, then head up to attempt Mt. Bretherton. After our summit attempt, we'll return to camp at Lena Lake. On Sunday we'll hit the trail at 5:00 a.m. and attempt The Brothers, then return to Lena Lake. On Monday we'll hike out and drive home.
Both Saturday and Sunday will be long days. Participants must be fit with endurance for back-to-back long days with lots of elevation gain. Both climbs are scrambles. Gear will include ice axe, crampons, helmet, harness (with rappel device and carabiners), and one (Mazamas-provided) rope.
See this folder for the prospectus, maps, GPX files, and relevant trip reports: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oZ_bPd73dWa30at8QreRm5wxTdIw9wzc?usp=sharing
| Other Information | |
|---|---|
| Driving Distance from Portland | 170 miles |
| Driving Time from Portland | 3 hours |
| General Route Info | summitpost https://www.summitpost.org/the-brothers/517714 Eric's basecamp trip report http://www.ericsbasecamp.net/trips/Brothers/Brothers.htm Mountain forecast https://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/The-Brothers/forecasts/2092 The south peak of the Brothers is 6,866’ high and located two miles north of Lower Lena Lake on the Duckabush-Hamma Hamma (Indian for “Big Stink”) River Divide and is one of the most conspicuous landmarks visible from Puget Sound. In 1856, the surveyor of Puget Sound, George Davidson, named the double peaked mountain after Edward and Arthur Fauntleroy. They were brothers of Ellinor and Constance Fauntleroy, for whom he named Mt. Ellinor and Mt. Constance. The approach up the East Fork of Lena Creek is called the “Valley of Silent Men”. This comes from the late 1940s when Olympic College conducted climbing classes in this area. When climbing the Brothers, the climbers camped at Lena Lake and got up early to make the climb. As they trudged up the dark valley in the early morning, the conversation languished and it was christened the Valley of Silent Men. One assumes that either there were only men in the program, or that the men were the only ones who were silent. See Climber’s Guide to the Olympic Mountains for more detailed look at this area’s geologic and climbing history. |
| Expected Duration | Car to car in two or more days |
| Relevant Books | Climber's Guide to the Olympic Mountains by Olympic Mountain Rescue |
| Relevant Maps | Custom Correct, The Brothers - Mt. Anderson 1986-90 Google map https://goo.gl/maps/uoD9TbaMNyF2 |
| Useful Links | GPS Track GPS Coordinates Map |
