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Ascent of Iron Mountain on 2010-10-23

Climber: Eric Noel

Others in Party:

Ken Jones

Date:

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Ascent Type:

Successful Summit Attained

Motorized Transport to Trailhead:

4x4 Vehicle

Peak:

Iron Mountain

Location:

USA-Washington

Elevation:

4795 ft / 1461 m

Ascent Trip Report

We drove in from the South Skagit Hwy and up 17 to the turnoff and then up to the area of Iron. We skipped over the N ridge route and went for the road junction just S of the peak. From here we turned NW and then took an immediate right on a lesser old road that is not on the map. This was marginally 4WD or at least high clearance. On this road a quick fork had us turning L and then we drove to the road end which was not far. Beyond this, it was mostly a bushwhack. Up the hillside through young evergreen and some underbrush. Not fun but not too bad. Downed trees provided occasional pathways through the green abyss. For the last 100 vertical or so the brush abated and we found the open summit. The highest point is fairly easily located and good views can indeed be had from here. Although the views are basically the same as those from the road and the latter views don't entail any bushwhacking. So why do Iron? Only if you are a peakbagger. We hiked down the same way, staying a little bit skier's R to avoid brush until a steeper gradient pushed us back to the L. Nothing particularly noteworthy, just the slow methodical work of a brush bash. The silly season is back again.

Summary Total Data

Elevation Gain:

405 ft / 122 m

Extra Gain:

5 ft / 1 m

Distance:

0.6 mi / 1 km

Route:

Brush Pulling and Log Traversing

Trailhead:

Some Road 4400 ft / 1341 m

Grade/Class:

Class 2ish

Quality:

2 (on a subjective 1-10 scale)

Route Conditions:

Open Country, Bushwhack

Weather:

Pleasant, Calm, Partly Cloudy

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