AG Martin: Map of the actual ski route. Many hours to get to Holden Lake.
AG Martin: Dark Peak First Ski Descent, North Cascades
AG Martin: Dark Peak First Ski Descent, North Cascades
AG Martin: After a flight from Gunnison, Colorado, then a 3 hour drive from Seattle, then a 56 mile ferry ride on Lake Chelan, followed by an 11 mile bus trip to Holden. Then several miles of walking-skinning to first camp.
AG Martin: The bus ride up from Lake Chelan to Holden Village.
AG Martin: Dark Peak First Ski Descent, North Cascades
AG Martin: Camped on top of Holden Pass above Holden Lake. Steep skinning with all winter equipment, tent, etc.,, plus climbing gear.
AG Martin: Just after Holden Lake...
AG Martin: Above Holden Lake before Camp. A few hours of up to get here from Holden Village.
AG Martin: Day 2, just out of camp. Short but steep ski down to this steep little uphill section before a big ski down.
AG Martin: Short steep skin up before the first big ski of the trip.
AG Martin: Looking back towards camp on top of Holden Pass. Steep side hill skinning.
AG Martin: Looking at the first real down hill, then steep skin up. Had to reverse all of this on the way back.
AG Martin: Melt water, so no need to filter.
AG Martin: Looking Left/South at Bonanza from the bottom of the first big downhill section/base of the Company Glacier. This place is not visited very often.
AG Martin: One of the larger and very fast avalanches that happened just as we approached the bottom of the second pitch. The top of the second pitch was way up from here.
AG Martin: Just before the final ridge before dropping onto the Dark Glacier, up and over to the left. Hard skinning, then hard skiing through wet snow. Saw one fairly big avalanche that would have been difficult to be in.
AG Martin: 1st Ski Descent, Dark Peak. Steep skinning up near the end of the second pitch. Each pitch being one to two thousand feet of up and down. Summit, then reverse.
AG Martin: Dark Peak, just visible on the upper left of center. Anonymity Towers (unclimbed as of 2021?) to the right. Dark Glacier all of lower right.
AG Martin: Near the Top. Steep, then it always seemed to get steeper. This is after Dark Glacier, near the final summit ridge. The final ridge was fairly flat, but not without consequences off either side.
AG Martin: Top of Dark Peak. One of the Hundred Highest peaks in Washington State. More >>
AG Martin: Tony M and Scott K, first ski descent of Dark Peak, North Cascades, WA. This climb was number 66 of 100 for Scott. He was only the 68th person to have climbed all of the 100 highest peaks in Washington as of 2018. My idea to ski it though!!