Little Tahoma

We found a campsite at one of the nearby campgrounds – Silver Springs. It was great to have somewhere nearby for the night before and after the climb.

We started on the Wonderland Trail hiking along Frying Pan creek before sunrise at about 4:20 AM. Excellent trail up to Summerland Camp. Busy junction there. Just after the junction we left the trail to head southwest, upwards to Meany Crest. A use trail is present basically all the way until you hit snow, [and then even onto the snow there was a boot pack most of the way to the top]. Park-like terrain, meets some talus and great views. Once on the crest, the ridge proper takes you to a great bivy just before you get onto the Fryingpan Glacier. 

We roped up to traverse easily across the glacier which was in great shape. Traveling below Whitman Crest and then up to a notch on the crest at roughly 9,000 ft. A few dirt steps on the saddle brought us to the Whitman Glacier. We stayed high along the northern edge of the glacier as we made our way west towards Little Tahoma. Travel was easy until about 10,000 ft where the terrain steepens. Large icy sun cups made for a slow climb from there. Several larger crevasses on this steeper area led us to do a few switchbacks until we reached the ridge at roughly 10,400 ft. with a great view of Mt. Rainier. After a break at this flat spot, we continued steeply up on snow, just east of the exposed rock rib to the base of the scramble southeast of Little Tahoma. 

The snow ended around 10,600 ft. From there a loose scramble leads to the final exposed ridge. Although sheer on both sides, the climbing felt secure to us so we did not rope up for anything beyond the Glaciers below.

We descended the same route we came up all the way back to the car. Enjoying a small turquoise pool at the edge of the fryingpan glacier as a break on the way down, and soaking in the many wildflowers growing in “Summer Land” on the hike out. All in all a really fun day. 

15.81 miles. Total time 10 hours 39 minutes. 7,115 feet of ascent.