<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54070866412/in/album-72177720321264245/" title="Ladies Peak from Snowgrass"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54070866412_364fda6ebc_b.jpg" alt="Ladies Peak from Snowgrass"/></a>
# Stats and Links
- [Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/albums/72177720321264245)
- 22 miles, 9700ft gain
- Gear: [[Hoka Speedgoat]], [[Scarpa Mescalito]] for scramble
- Camera: Sone a7R with 24-105mm lens
- Area: [[Alpine Lakes Wilderness]]
# Report
I started at 3am from the Chatter Creek trailhead with the idea to make it to Lake Edna by sunrise while maintaining a relaxed pace. That succeeded, but I had not checked the smoke forecast and it turned out to be a bit smokey in the morning. The angle at Lake Edna was not ideal for good sunrise photos due to the sun being behind the ridge of Big Jim. I took a couple of quick photos and moved on to Cape Horn, which was a bit nicer for sunrise. The smoke was unfortunately obscuring the best views though.
The Chatter Creek trail has some poor thread here and there, but otherwise is in fine shape. The trail actually gets a bit better after the ridge and beyond to Ladies and Mary's Pass. I vaguely recalled Cape Horn being a bit sketchy from years ago, but it's absolutely fine now.
I had considered to traverse from Ladies Pass directly to Snowgrass, but the views were nice along the trail and the scree looked unappealing below Ladies Peak. I left the trail only after the decent of Mary's Pass and climbed towards the headwaters of Frosty Creek.
At the gap just north of Pt 7593 I had the option to either decent and traverse, or climb up and follow the 7720ft gully recommended on summitpost. I chose to traverse, but it's a loose mess and mostly unpleasant travel (probably better with snow). I saw the 7720ft gully from the bottom and decided to use that route on the way out. It went okay, but descending it is probably a bit unpleasant due to all the loose stuff.
Besides a few areas with bigger rocks, it was all loose stuff until the summit. Summitpost says it's class 2. I'd say it is on the more difficult end of class 2 with all the loose rocks and kitty litter. I dislodged a big rock at some point that bounced down the mountain and exploded in smaller pieces. Fortunately Snowgrass was abandoned otherwise, so it wasn't a problem. I would travel cautiously with groups and wear a helmet.
Around the time I was at the Snowgrass summit, the smoke started clearing a little bit on the east side. I decided to go back via Mary's Pass again in the hope of better views. That worked out pretty well, but it does accumulate quite a bit of elevation gain. The larch basin at Lake Edna was nice in the later afternoon.
The section from Lake Edna to Frosty Pass appears to be popular with trail runners. I met a bunch on the way out. They typically do a loop of Chatter Creek and the Icicle Creek.
# Route
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54254839223/in/dateposted/" title="Snowgrass"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54254839223_9257cb61e6_b.jpg" alt="Snowgrass"/></a>
# Highlights
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54072199455/in/album-72177720321264245/" title="Ladies Peak and Snowgrass from Cape Horn"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54072199455_86b97bc025_z.jpg" alt="Ladies Peak and Snowgrass from Cape Horn"/></a>
Ladies Peak and Snowgrass from Cape Horn. A shorter route to Snowgrass traverses this ridge, but it is very loose rock and with regular rockfall. It does not seem appealing to me and I detoured.
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54072003338/in/album-72177720321264245/" title="Sunrise views of Ladies Peak and Snowgrass"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54072003338_1cd873a92d_z.jpg" alt="Sunrise views of Ladies Peak and Snowgrass"/></a>
Sunrise views of Ladies Peak and Snowgrass
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54072001383/in/album-72177720321264245/" title="Views from Mary's Pass towards Frosty Pass"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54072001383_4160bfc9c6_z.jpg" alt="Views from Mary's Pass towards Frosty Pass"/></a>
View's from Mary's Pass towards Frosty Pass
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54072199690/in/album-72177720321264245/" title="Ladies Pass and Cape Horn"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54072199690_fae4a927db_z.jpg" alt="Ladies Pass and Cape Horn"/></a>
Ladies Pass and Cape Horn
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54072077799/in/album-72177720321264245/" title="From Snowgrass looking SW towards Frosty Pass, Frosty Mountain and Mt Daniel in distance."><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54072077799_132fe6b4a7_z.jpg" alt="From Snowgrass looking SW towards Frosty Pass, Frosty Mountain and Mt Daniel in distance."/></a>
From Snowgrass looking SW towards Frosty Pass, Frosty Mountain and Mt Daniel in distance.
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54070864422/in/album-72177720321264245/" title="Lake Edna, Big Lou and Frigid Mountain"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54070864422_949ca2d6d0_z.jpg" alt="Lake Edna, Big Lou and Frigid Mountain"/></a>
Lake Edna, Big Lou and Frigid Mountain
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54071746546/in/album-72177720321264245/" title="Larches at Index Creek"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54071746546_a8aa5dd8dc_z.jpg" alt="Larches at Index Creek"/></a>
Larches at Index Creek