Although this has been on my "to do" list, it certainly was not on my original list of possible summits for this weekend. Slowly but surely, plans kept changing as time progressed. First, we wanted to attempt Mount Shuksan but the snow conditions were too bad. Then, the previous day, Gimpilator and I attempted South Twin but had to turn around short of the summit. As a last-minute peak choice, I mentioned Dock Butte... which was snowed-in at 3400' (ridiculous for July!). We then went with Round Mountain as an option... We took the New Round Mountain Trail (Thanks, Ken Russell!), which was extremely easy to follow thanks to MANY ribbons/flags on trees along the route. The upper talus slopes above the basin were mostly snow, but definitely sketchy in places. We finally made the summit in 2h45m, after passing some questionable terrain at times. This would have been better if completely dry, but we made it. No views at the summit due to VERY thick fog and clouds, although there was a nasty-looking cornice on top of the north face. During our descent, we could hear several other people ascending from the basin on another summit approach, although they had also used the New Round Mountain Trail. Small world.
setrent - Jul 4, 2013 10:02 pm Date Climbed: May 25, 2013
New TrailGreat trail! Good views from the summit.
Redwic - Jul 5, 2010 3:13 pm Date Climbed: Jul 4, 2010
The "New" Round Mountain TrailAlthough this has been on my "to do" list, it certainly was not on my original list of possible summits for this weekend. Slowly but surely, plans kept changing as time progressed. First, we wanted to attempt Mount Shuksan but the snow conditions were too bad. Then, the previous day, Gimpilator and I attempted South Twin but had to turn around short of the summit. As a last-minute peak choice, I mentioned Dock Butte... which was snowed-in at 3400' (ridiculous for July!). We then went with Round Mountain as an option... We took the New Round Mountain Trail (Thanks, Ken Russell!), which was extremely easy to follow thanks to MANY ribbons/flags on trees along the route. The upper talus slopes above the basin were mostly snow, but definitely sketchy in places. We finally made the summit in 2h45m, after passing some questionable terrain at times. This would have been better if completely dry, but we made it. No views at the summit due to VERY thick fog and clouds, although there was a nasty-looking cornice on top of the north face. During our descent, we could hear several other people ascending from the basin on another summit approach, although they had also used the New Round Mountain Trail. Small world.