• Destination: Jack Mountain (9066')
• Date: September 27-28, 2006
• Starting Point: Canyon Creek Trailhead (c.1900')
• High Point: Jack Mountain (9066')
• Round Trip Distance: c.19 miles
• Equipment: The ten essentials, ice axe, crampons, bivy gear
• Difficulties: Route finding, glacier travel, 4^th class scrambling

It was late in the season, and I was itching to get out one last time before the weather closed in.  Having attempted Jack Mountain twice, and having been turned around twice, I wanted another chance to excel.  The weather guessers promised bomber conditions, so the plans were laid.  I had perused several trip reports on the web, and all of them described the South Face as an interesting alpine scramble with fourth class rock.  Having been turned around on so-called fourth class for lack of a rope, I decided to include one along with the rest of the requisite gear.

Finding a partner was somewhat more difficult than choosing the destination.  I had the opposite schedule, working the weekend but with the weekdays off.  I tried to entice Wade with promises of summit glory, but not even he could make arrangements to take time off work.  I considered a more moderate objective, but decided that the South Face would make a reasonable solo.  So I informed Wade of my objective and schedule, and started making plans.

Jack Mountain from above Jerry Lakes

I spent the morning of the first day packing.  One of the online reports stated that the time required to hike to the Jerry Lakes from the trailhead was an easy five hours.  So I started of at a leisurely pace at the Canyon Creek Trailhead in the afternoon.  The trail starts by crossing Granite Creek, passing an old cabin, then another crossing over Canyon Creek soon afterward.  The trail then climbs relentlessly to 5200’ in about three miles to the intersection with the Crater Mountain Trail.  I hung a left here to follow the Crater Mountain Trail past Crater Lake and up around to the south shoulder of Crater Mountain.  At this point I was looking at the time wondering who had made it to the lakes in five hours.  I had been moving at a good pace (for me), and was definitely not taking it easy.  If I kept the current pace, I should reach the Jerry Lakes just before nightfall.

The old miner's cabin on Granite Creek

I left the trail at about 6500’ to traverse around the big bowl underneath Crater Mountain aiming make the saddle just to the east of the mountain at 7100’.  Dropping over the pass onto the Jerry Glacier, I picked my way through multiple crevasses and moats.  The glacier was much more broken up than I had expected, and I was glad I had packed the crampons and ice axe.  A few ice screws might be nice here in late season due to the hard ice and difficulties exiting the glacier.

Jerry Glacier

A short climb over a saddle lead to the Jerry Lakes basin.  I had taken my time navigating the glacier it was now getting dark.  I hurried down the to the lakes and set up camp next to a small lake.  It took me five hours and fifteen minutes of constant travel at a good pace to reach the lakes.  I had heard a rumor of a ramp or gully to access the ridge north of Crater Mountain from the glacier, but I did not see any feasible route in that direction.  This would be a more direct route to the mountain and save some elevation loss in the descent to the Jerry Lakes.

The Jerry Lakes basin is one of the more scenic areas that I have visited in the North Cascades.  The basin is not often visited due to the difficulties in getting there, and is worth the trip as a destination.  On my return, I considered staying another night and enjoying the scenery, but the weather was supposed to move in.

Jerry Lakes Basin

Campsite at Jerry Lakes

After an enjoyable night stargazing and a quick breakfast, a short bit of third class scrambling over the ridge west of the lakes led to another beautiful basin directly east of Jack.  I saw several bear here on my climb of the ridge to the beginning of the route.  I started climbing the face just east of the first snowfield.  The climbing here was loose and occasionally wet third class with some fourth class moves thrown in for good measure.  After about a hundred feet of this, the climbing eases to second class with steps of third class.  The rock was loose and protection was nonexistent.  There were not even any rap stations on the entire route.  I climbed up to the left of the summit head wall, where I finally cached my rope, harness and gear.  A gully led up to the summit ridge.  A final exposed third class scramble led to the summit and some excellent views.  I toke me three and a half hours of constant travel from the lakes to reach the summit.

 The route from the approach;  past the fourth class section on route.

The view from the summit

View northwest from the summit; Crater Mountain and Jerry Lakes

After a leisurely lunch and some picture taking, I started the descent.  Here I was glad that I did not have a partner because I was constantly kicking the loose rocks down.  Luckily I had built a cairn at the start of the hard to find fourth-class section.  After carefully descending this tricky section, I was relieved to be off of the face and back on moderate terrain.  The trip back was uneventful, and I found myself back at the trailhead before dark.

Although climbing this route with a partner would have been more fun, I think that the South Face of Jack was a reasonable solo.  The glacier was hard ice late in the season and was reasonably low risk.  The rock on the face was very loose and I was constantly knocking stuff down, which would have made for greater risk for a partner.  There were no opportunities for protection, and I did not find a rap anchor that I would trust.  The rope and gear got a free ride up to 8700’ before I finally dumped them to shed the weight.  Early season the rope would be good for travel across the glacier, but leave it at camp for the climb.  Fit, competent climbers could climb this route in a day.  Jack Mountain is in a great position for views into the Pasayten and the Pickets, and the Jerry Lakes approach is beautiful.  However, if I were going to climb it again, I would try one of the ridge routes on the north side of the Mountain and try to avoid the loose rock.  I would recommend this route only to experienced climbers who are comfortable on exposed fourth class.

A route update via e-mail:

Last August my son, my dog, and I hiked to Jerry Lakes.  Not being climbers, that was our destination.  We found a route that didn't require crossing the Jerry Glacier. If you recall crossing the saddle at 7100 feet next to Crater Mountain with views across the glacier to the lakes and Jack Mountain.  Walk about 100 meters towards the lakes then turn just about exactly 90 degrees to your right. At this point you head down the slope. First cross a snowfield for about 75 meters, then descend to negotiate easy rock without any trash or gravel on it. You continue down probably another 150 meters to an obvious ramp.  Turn left on this ramp and continue towards the saddle that leads to the lakes. The ramp takes you right under the foot of the glacier to a faint use trail that leads from the ramp to the top of the saddle and then over to Jerry Lakes. The ramp is not visible from the Crater Mountain saddle until you have descended about half way down.  It took us a few hours to suss the route out on the way in but it was simple to follow on the way out.  We traversed from Jerry Lakes back to our camp near Crater Lake in about two hours.  I would estimate a conditioned climber could get back in ninety minutes from the saddle above Jerry Lakes to Crater Mountain.  It actually is a very reasonable cross country route for anyone who has spent any time off trail.