CORNICE PEAK'

7800+ feet,  Prominence 440 feet

In CAG3 as Blue Lake Peak and Wamihaspi Peak

USGS Washington Pass

May 15, 2004

John Roper

This 7800+ summit is a climbing anticlimax to the granite-on-steroids monsters of the Liberty Bell-Early Winters Spires group at Washington Pass. It sits just to their south, and though it is not nearly as imposing, there is a chance it is the highest of the cluster, since South Early Winters Spires (SEWS) is measured just a smidge above at 7807 feet. It drains water into State (through Blue Lake) and Copper Creeks to Bridge Creek to Stehekin River and Lake Chelan, and Early Winters Creek to the Methow.

The peak could use a new name. Peaks are not lakes. Beckey had a source that called it “Wamihaspi Peak,” without explanation, but what the heck is that? This is not a Chinook or English word. This mountain is one of the only summits I can think of that is listed twice by different names in the index of a Cascade Alpine Guide.

The name “Cornice Peak” would be well-suited, applied for the distinctive snowy eave that hangs over the high NE shoulder just under the summit, often long into the summer. You can call it what you want, of course.

[The week after our climb, I shopped the Wamihaspi question around to those who might know its origin, and got a clever response back from Dallas Kloke, “John I have no idea how it came by that name. Indians must have made the first ascent.” Cute. I knew that if anyone would know, it would be Harry Majors, and indeed he did, pointing to R. Duke Watson's climbing record found and reported by Lowell Skoog at alpineglow.com.

Watson and his friends, Milner, Hall, and (Warren) Spickard climbed this peak in August 1960, and applied the Wamihaspi tag after the first few letters of their last names. Watson was with Dr. Spickard when he fell to his death off NW Mox the following year. Lowell dug further into Duke's notes and came up with names for other party members, Jons Milner and the Hall family (Dave, Nonie, Ros, and possibly Don), so that solves that puzzle.]

Cornice on Cornice Peak on 4.29.04 Photo by wildstar at SummitPost

View from South Early Winters Spire (my 1975 shot from here was washed out by cloud cover). Note the many ski tracks. The cornice route goes up through the break on the left.

NW Basin of Cornice Peak    Wow photo by leejams on Summitpost

Beckey credits himself with a “probable” first ascent on September 28, 1946 (in a very rare instance where Fred uses the probable term on himself), in the company of Jerry O'Neil and Chuck Welsh the day after they made the FA of Liberty Bell. I climbed Rainier with Chuck in 1967 along with my sister and his stepdaughter. Fred does not mention this summit in the 1949 or 1961 editions of Climber's Guide to the Cascade and Olympic Mountains of Washington. Not that it needs much of one, but he also does not offer a route description in the 1981 or 1995 Red Fred.

Map of area. Crosshair is on 7800+ Cornice Peak.

Ian, Jerry, and I altered our plan to climb Sunny Girl above the N, M, and S Fk of the Cascade at the forecast of deteriorating weather. After a 60 mph glance from the car at another possible peak before Rainy Pass, we decided on this very pleasant conditioner, parking at the Blue Lake trailhead, just shy of Washington Pass, ~5400 feet, near MP 161, opposite Cutthroat Peak. The TH is not marked on USGS , and seems drawn too far SW on the 1996 Green Trails .

There was still a couple feet of snow at the park on a very dry year. The dozen-car lot was full, since this is also the approach to Liberty Bell and the Early Winters Spires, and popular spring ski slopes. Don't expect solitude. Despite the full lot, there was not a tracked groove in the snow to the high country because of some firmness.

A couple of ways to do this peak are obvious from the west side. One is to climb through the open woods (on trail later) to Blue Lake, and the other is to make your way to the saddle between SEWS and Cornice Peak on snow or a climbers path. We did the latter up, entering the lovely open basin shown in the photos above, and came down the valley into Blue Lake.

The photo below from the Cutthroat (west) side shows the entire approach up the snow gut to various climbs and skis on this flank, with Cornice Peak on the right, Early Winters Spires left-center, and Liberty Bell left. The Blue Lake route is off the photo to the right.

West approach from Cutthroat slopes   John Roper 4.29.89

The 7360- foot SEWS-Cornice Peak gap defines the 440-foot prominence of this peak. The gap drops easterly to the hairpin on HW 20 on the Early Winters Creek side via a slope termed “Spiral Gulch.”  It looks like an unlikely ski on the map, but the photo below shows the connection. Fred Spicker, who inspired and maintains the Blue Lake Peak page on Summitpost.org and obviously loves this area, has signed into the summit register here a ton (9 times in spring between 1990 and 2004), and has some shots there of the ski down Spiral Gulch.

View from east (Big Kangaroo). HW 20 Hairpin lower right. Spiral Gulch to Cornice Peak is above Hairpin. Liberty Bell and EWS directly above road. Washington Pass at right edge. Four other bowls off the hairpin beckon spring skiers. John Roper 4.30.89

Skiers call various renditions of the route from Blue Lake TH over the ridge to the Hairpin, “The Birthday Tour.”

Our route to Cornice Peak went up the west basin to the bowl between SEWS and Cornice Peak to the gap between them, then up a steepish snow slope to the 7600' corniced shoulder through a break on the left (almost always there), just NE of the 7800+ top. From here the final 200-foot pyramid can be climbed directly on snow (early in a full snow year), but because of a rocky band, we angled left to a midpoint on the pyramid up a solid steep 10-foot step with a pine for supplemental handholds.

Except for the crowds of climbers yelling belay instructions, skiers whooping it up on the slopes below with their barking dogs, tracks all over the place, and the highway noise, I can't think of a more rewarding, easy early season destination in this area. 2.5 hours up.

Cornice Peak left, EWS-Liberty Bell group center, Washington Pass lower right. Viewed from Silver Star.

John Roper 5.25.75

Liberty Bell left, SEWS right, HW 20 in Early Winters Creek from Cornice Peak summit.   JR 5.15.04

Frozen Blue Lake from Cornice Peak.  JR 5.15.04

After photos around, unfortunately muted by an approaching storm, we headed south down the ridge above Copper Creek to the first saddle that dropped right into Blue Lake. Here a short gully leading into the broad basin above the lake was negotiated, first plunge stepping, then facing in as the snow got stiff, finishing with seat glissades after the steepish section.

Jerry and Ian in gully above Blue Lake