It was a great outing that began earlyish, with a 6:30 a.m. start from the Williams Lake trailhead, where the temp was 24F. I followed the trail most of the way until I was roughly 800–1,000 feet below the ridge north of Mt. Walter’s North Peak. From there, I turned upward into a steep couloir—one I can’t wait to ski once the snow finally fills in.
The climb through the couloir was slow and demanding. Soft snow, up to two feet deep in places, made for plenty of post-holing. Loose scree slid constantly underfoot, and patches of ice required full attention (and crampons) to avoid an unwanted—and potentially memorable—ride downhill. To say the conditions were variable, and not in a good way, would be an understatement.
Once I reached the ridge, the wind—already building—became ferocious. Gusts were strong enough to knock a person off balance. In any case, I reached the summit of Mt. Walter North Peak, initially mistaking it for Mt. Walter itself. After realizing the error, I walked the short distance to the true summit and topped out just before 10 a.m. The descent back to the TH was completed in just about 2 hours.
Here are the pictures:
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| One of my favorite viewpoints on the way up. |
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| Mount Wheeler as seen on the way up. |
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| Horseshoe Lake. Picture taken from Mt Walter N Peak... |
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| ...and a zoom in. |
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| Looking north from Mt Walter is Colorado. |
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| The Mt Walter greeting sign. |
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From Mt Walter, looking south is Wheler Peak and to its right
the Wheler Wilderness cirque. |
