In the middle of August 2022, I was excited to be invited to go on a backpacking and climbing trip in the Enchantments later that month with some friends. They had won Snow Lake permits and were looking at climbing Mount Temple located above Snow Lake. After confirming time and availability with work I let them know I was in and we all started doing research on the climb.
Unfortunately there is not a significant amount of beta on Mount Temple or High Priest which was added as a second objective for the trip. Both climbs require cross country travel and are over shadowed by Prusik Peak and other fantastic climbs in the area but sounded like fun and very much adventure climbs. I’ve included some of the links below at the bottom for the beta we did find and hopefully you find some good information here as well.
The Plan
After scouring the internet and looking through the fantastic Cascade Alpine Guide by Fred Beckey we had a good plan for the weekend’s objectives. Friday we would hike into Snow Lake and camp at the furthest end to be closer to the core zone. Then Saturday head into the core zone, travel up to Prusik pass and skirt around the ridgeline to get to the base of the climb. High Priest would be the first climb as it is further west on the ridge plus the descent route requires one to travel east closer to Mount Temple. Then climb High Temple, descend, and hike back to camp before heading home on Sunday.
The decision process on this was that the “normal” approach to Mount Temple would involve more route finding, some bushwhacking, and camping at Nada Lake. There is an option to camp closer to the climb in the meadow below but that would officially put us in the Core Zone camping area which we did not have permits for.
The Approach
The hike in Friday was mostly uneventful though I wasn’t feeling the best and was moving a bit slower than my normal pace. The climb up from Snow Lake Trailhead is anything but fun, but soon enough it was done, we made it to camp, and luckily were able to grab the site that we were hoping for. While most of the group swam and sunbathed next to the lake I took a nap to try and feel better. Thankfully that and a good night’s sleep helped me feel better and soon enough the alarm clocks were going off Saturday morning and we were off.
The Climb and Descent
As per our plan we approached from the core zone and went over Prusik pass. After dropping into the valley we were side hill traveling to the base of the route. There was no distinct trail and plenty of loose duff and rocks so we travelled a little slower than we had expected. Eventually we came to the base of the gulley of the High Priest and made our way up. A distinct break in the gulley to climbers right led us to the ledge at the base of the climb. As noted in the Cascade Alpine Guide it is climber’s left of several larch trees and right around the elevation of 7920. This route does not see significant traffic so it was bit hard to find the start but hopefully the photos below will help.
Pitch 1 posed no major obstacles other than route finding. Make sure to stay left.
Overall route finding was fairly easy though the start of pitch 3 can be made easier by going left. There is some old gear along the route which can be used for protection but a light alpine rack was definitely adequate.
Soon enough the leaders had gotten to a significant ledge just below the summit where the rappel station is located. Since we had 6 climbers with us, Nick led across the ledge and onto the summit block and set up a hand line for us to use. Using that we all safely made it to the summit and enjoyed the amazing views from there. I honestly had not made the connection between the elevations of Prusik and High Priest so was delighted to be looking down on Prusik with it centrally framing the amazing view of the Enchantments. I imagine if more people knew of this great view it might be climbed more often. The summit is decently large and we were able to fit all 6 climbers up there comfortably.
It was 2pm at this point and we still had Mount Temple in mind for the day so we quickly traversed back to the top of pitch 3 where the rappel station was and prepared for the descent. This is where the shenanigans began….
After carefully checking the rappel station (two rap rings, 4 old pitons), cutting old tat, and replacing with some new webbing we prepared to throw the rope. This is the key part which we made a mistake on. The last party on route had rappelled in a more easterly direction directly towards the gulley. **Do not do this!** With a 60m rope it will get you to a small ledge and will require a second rappel on sketchy chockstones. Nick was the first climber to rappel and realized he was off route about halfway down. He was going to ascend back up but he unfortunately encountered another problem and the knot at the end of the rope was stuck. He ended up having to rappel further down to retrieve it and then ascend all the way back up to the first rappel station. Thankfully he had the right gear to do this but it required some significant work and quite a bit of communication with him and the rest of the group.
Even though we safely worked through the shenanigans it was incredibly cold at the rap station as we were getting no sun and were not protected from the wind. I thankfully had brought an extra down jacket that rotated through the group. My legs also got very cold in my thin climbing pants and even had to use my backpack to shove my legs in which helped block the wind significantly.
Once all climbers were back at the rappel station the ropes were thrown correctly to the south east direction towards to the top of the gulley. Quickly we all rappelled down and back into the sun. The gulley is incredibly loose so the safest descent is to trend down and towards the right on solid rock and not in the gulley.
The team had made the collective decision that we did not have time for Mount Temple at this point even though the descent from High Priest was taking us closer and closer to Temple. After dropping around 300 feet we turned to the west and started the traverse back to Prusik Pass. Several hours later we made it back to camp with headlights on and happy to be headed to bed shortly after.
The next day we enjoyed a leisurely but long hike out to the trailhead and then headed to Leavenworth for brats and drinks to celebrate!
A Few Lessons Learned
Layering – Even though I knew it would be colder on the north aspect, I underestimated how cold and windy it would be. My upper body layering system was decent but my thin pants did not block the wind at all and my light rain jacket I had brought helped but was not quite warm enough. Better wind protection would have kept me significantly warmer and is something I am remedying immediately. I am not an expert on layering but I will give you this great article from Colin Haley which could be considered one of the best how-to’s in layering for alpine climbing. I just ordered a Houdini jacket from Patagonia and will consider my lower body layering system more carefully next time especially if the route is on the north face away from the sun.
Alpine Climbing Kit and Ascending Practice – Thankfully Nick the first climber who rappelled was well equipped with ascending gear and knowledge. While I could have figured it out eventually I have definitely not practiced ascending a rope in a situation like this. Having a few extra pieces of gear could certainly help and could be of use on an alpine climbing kit. I had already purchased a Petzl Micro Traxion for use with my glacier kit but taking that or the tibloc for an alpine climb will be something I will do in the future. Also using saddle bags for the rappel to prevent the rope getting stuck could have helped but is very situation dependent. Some more practice with both ascending and rappelling with saddle bags is on my to-do list.
While in no way were any of us in danger of hypothermia one ultralight stove could have been useful in the group especially since this was a north face route with little to no chance of receiving sun. We had at least two emergency blankets and plenty of food in the group so if we were forced to bivy overnight we would have been okay.
Thanks for making it this far! Below are a collection of links the group got beta from and has other general info about the climb.
*Additional photos provided by Faye Hicks
