Elain standing next to the snow-covered bridge over Mountaineer Creek
After being turned back by bad weather on a previous attempt in 2005, Elain and I wanted to try climbing Dragontail Peak again. The marginal weather forecast for the weekend had us looking for a destination east of the crest, and Dragontail seemed like a good choice. We got a late start on Saturday morning, reaching the turnoff for Bridge Creek campground (which serves as the winter "trailhead") at 11 AM. The four-mile walk to the Stuart Lake trailhead was just as long and tedious as I remembered. The trail was packed down until about 500m beyond the first bridge, at which point we encountered a group of skiers who were calling it quits. From there onward, we were breaking trail through knee-deep snow. We crossed Mountaineer Creek at a section where it had frozen over, and thus avoided the bridge that was covered with a 6-foot high snow berm. While filling my water bottle at the creek, I broke through the ice and nearly fell in; fortunately I avoided getting wet. From having made so many early-season visits to the area in years past (and getting lost a couple of times), we knew the route to Colchuck Lake pretty well. However, the deep snow and our overnight packs slowed us down quite a bit. We finally reached the edge of Colchuck Lake at about 6 PM. We had the lake all to ourselves, except for a woodpecker that was pecking away at a tree near the tent. Apart from the stove springing a leak in the fuel line (but fortunately spraying fuel away from the fire), our evening was uneventful, and we turned in by 8:30 PM. We both slept pretty well, but by 4 AM we were both getting pretty cold. The inside wall of our ultralight tent had frosted over totally, and our sleeping bags were quite damp with condensation. We hunkered down in our bags and waited for sunrise, shivering occasionally. At 6:00 I was up and melting more snow. My thermometer read 10 degrees Farenheit, so the overnight temperature must have been in the single digits. We set out just after 7 AM. Our fingers and toes were numb as we trudged across the frozen lake and up the shaded snow slopes. The hike up to Aasgard Pass was strenuous due to the new snow; with just a brief detour to avoid a steep snow slope, we reached the pass at 10:30 AM. The sky was nearly cloudless and we basked in the sun at the pass; but as we climbed up the gentle snow slope toward Dragontail's southeast ridge, we both started to cook in the bright sun. We scrambled over some interesting cornices and onto the wind-blown southwest ridge. We were initially unsure which of the many rock features was the true summit, but Elain quickly figured out which way to go. Easy cramponing led to the summit at 12:45 PM. The descent was straightforward, and we were back at the tent by 3:30. After a break to rest and melt snow for water, we reluctantly started the 8.5-mile hike out. We walked out under a nearly full moon and a star-filled sky. We reached the car at 8 PM. It was a splendid weekend in a beautiful winter alpine setting.
Gear we used: crampons, ice axe, snowshoes.
Things we learned:
Elain standing next to the snow-covered bridge over Mountaineer Creek
Elain crossing the frozen Colchuck Lake in the early morning
Elain ascending snow slopes towards Aasgard Pass
Elain on the summit of Dragontail
Steve standing next to the summit of Dragontail
Steve descending snow slopes above Aasgard Pass
The view of the Enchantments from the southeast slope of Dragontail
Dragontail Peak, as seen from Colchuck Lake in the late afternoon