The first summer I lived in Seattle, I came across a place that got me hooked on the PNW. It was like no other hike I had done up until that point… everything just seemed wild to me. The peaks and views were epic, the meadows were filled with wildflowers, and wildlife, it felt remote that first time I was there. Everything was amazing, and that place was Cascade Pass and Sahale Arm… If you do a search on the blog, you can see the various trips that I’ve made to there. I hadn’t been back since I got into climbing… so when my friend asked if I wanted to head up the pass, and bag Sahale Mountain, I immediately replied with, “YES!!!”

So Pae and I were students in BoeAlps back in 2015, and we were instructors on the same team in 2016. She decided to adventure around the world for nine months after that, but she recently came back to Seattle! Woo!

One of her climbing friends was also in town with one of her friends, so they came along too!

I know this is basically the third photo of the same view… but it’s such a great view!!!

One of the great things about getting to Cascade Pass is that it’s only a 3.5-mi hike from the trail head, and you only gain 1800-ft. We crushed it in under 2 hrs. The sun had already risen by the time we got there, but the light was still making its way through the pass!

From here, we set off to gain the ridge to Sahale Arm. Turns out, the NPS put in a new trail! Before, one had to head up this field of scree… now, it was a nice system of switchbacks, with even better views!!!

Up near the Arm!

We made it up, and were greeted with our first views of Sahale Mountain (that pointy triangle off in the distance)!!!

Looking east, towards Stehekin

Pae was setting a brisk pace towards Sahale Mountain

Little by little, the mountain got larger and larger

We found a marmot perched on a rock, taking in the views

Marmot’s point of view…

After a while, the meadows started thinning out, and things got rockier. When we got to Sahale Glacier, we snacked on snacks, and got ready for the climb! More on that in the next post!