Winter Bulgers (Washington Hundred Highest Mountains)

The hundred highest mountains in Washington (aka the Bulgers) is the premiere peakbagging objective in the

Pacific Northwest. It is a difficult list of peaks, most of which require some combination of glacier travel, scrambling, technical rock climbing, bushwhacking, and long approaches. Only three of the peaks have trails to the summit. As of 2023, 90 people have completed the list. In 2018 I finished climbing all the Bulgers (completer number 70), and set a new fastest known time of 1 year 1.5 month.

My goal now is to climb all the Bulgers in winter. The Winter Bulgers is by far the most difficult and dangerous peakbagging list in the lower 48 states. It has never been completed. Winter makes the ascents particularly difficult for many reasons.

-In the winter only four Bulgers have trailheads that are plowed and accessible by car (St Helens, Snowfield, Rainier, Little Tahoma). The remaining 83 Bulgers with road trailheads require extra approaches anywhere from 4-24 miles one way on snowed-over unplowed roads just to get to the normal summer-season starting point. It is generally only possible to get up these roads on foot or on snowmobile. Some, like Slate Pass, still require advanced snowmobiling skills.

-The thirteen Bulgers with standard water taxi access either have restricted water taxi times or the water taxi doesn’t operate in winter. The six Bulgers in the chiliwacks have standard legal access via Ross Lake water taxi, which doesn’t run in the winter (and the upper Ross Lake sometimes freezes over). The seven Bulgers on upper Lake Chelan can still be accessed via scheduled water taxi, but the schedule is very restricted, making a weekend ascent difficult.

– Snow is very deep, making trails difficult or impossible to find and follow. (Washington holds the world record for most snow in a year at Mt Baker ski resort – 95 ft) and it is often more efficient to just bushwhack. In my experience nobody else ever goes on most Bulger approach trails in winter, so trail breaking is always required.

-The weather is generally very unstable and difficult to predict in the winter in the Cascades, with short weather windows that don’t necessarily line up with weekends. Weather windows are generally only known a few days in advance.

-There are few hours of daylight each day with such a high-latitude location. Much of the time on climbs is spent in the dark.

-Only two Bulgers (Windy Peak and Switchback Mountain) have routes that completely avoid avalanche terrain. Winter routes are not the same as summer routes in order to minimize avalanche terrain exposure, which means winter routes must be longer, more technical, or more dangerous. Avalanche forecasts are only known a day or two in advance, making planning tricky.

-Most of the peaks have no recorded winter ascents (prior to my climbs), so there is often no beta on the best winter route.

-Winter ascents require much more gear than summer ascents to be prepared for deep snow and cold conditions.

-Many stars must align for a peak to be climbable (like stable weather, stable snow, low wind, ice free lakes, etc.) This means some winters there may only be a few possible summitable days for certain peaks.

-Finally, the winter season is short and it is difficult to fit in many winter ascents in one year.

With all these difficulties, I’ve found that there are a few common keys to success for climbing a Bulger in the winter:

-Climb the peak via the intended route in the summer, at least once or twice. I’ve already climbed all the Bulgers in the summer once or twice, so this helps me dial down the route finding in winter and save valuable time.

-Meticulously plan the route. I spend a lot of time researching past trips, doing scouting trips to understand winter approaches and routes, and using shaded relief maps to plan safe routes to avoid avy terrain.

-Meticulouly plan timing. It is standard for at least two or three problems to arise during a winter trip. I’ve found it critical to make a very detailed trip plan with projected timing for each stage of the trip, with a little bit of buffer added for things not going to plan. Even with that attention to detail, very few trips go as planned.

-Meticulously monitor weather. I probably monitor a dozen different weather models and forecasts every day in winter before pulling the trigger on a trip. I’ve found in the cascades it’s difficult to plan a trip more than about three days in advance since there is so much uncertainty in forecasts.

-Use a snowmobile for approaches to trailheads via roads. This is a game changer, making almost all trailheads accessible (though I am still not yet skilled enough on a snowmobile to reach a few of the trickier trailheads like Slate Pass).

-Use a zodiac boat for approaches on Ross Lake. This requires double carrying the boat and outboard motor down from the nearest road on a trail, dragging it on retractable wheels, then boating on the lake. This is critical for legal ascents in the Chilliwack area.

-Use a GPS watch for navigation. This is also a game-changer for trying to follow snowed-over trails in the dark and bushwhacking at night. I plan a route on caltopo, upload it on my watch, and use the watch as my map. Any amount of time savings is important in the winter.

-Build up skills on skis. I figure skis are so efficient they generally change an overnight snowshoe trip into a day trip. It’s important to be able to ski in difficult terrain (tight bushwhacking, steep icy slopes) with an overnight pack. I rarely encounter easy skiing conditions on winter Bulgers since I generally seek out terrain that avoids avy terrain (which is generally icy, rocky, dense trees).

-Find partners. I’ve met a lot of strong partners to join me on trips, which is critical. Going with a partner is important for safety and efficiency of trail breaking.

-Be willing to put in long days with minimal sleep to take advantage of short weather windows and difficult travel conditions. Most trips seem to involve summit days at least 20 hours, with my biggest day a 32-hour, 53-mile continuous push (Windy Peak).

-Be willing to push on when tempted to bail. I’ve found on nearly every winter Bulger climb I reach a point where it would make sense to bail (generally because it is taking longer than expected). Successful summits often involve pushing on to summit at sunset or in the dark and get home late with minimal sleep.

-Learn coding. I’ve written a software program to scrape the NWAC avy forecast site at a prescribed time in the future and send the forecast to my inreach. This allows me to get updated forecasts on multi-day trips.

-Develop skills with a chainsaw and axe. West-side roads are generally not cleared in winter and can require lots of sawing and axing to make them passable for a snowmobile.

-Attempt the peak in the winter. Even after the best planning, I’ve found about a third of the time I am not successful on my first winter attempt. I’ve had skis break in half, snowmobile issues, car flat tires, routefinding trouble, bad weather come in, bad snow conditions, speed slower than expected, rock too icy to take pitons or cams, police stop me from clearing roads, unexpected forest fire closure orders extended into winter, unstable snow, boat motor issues, and more. But I generally learn something and have a better chance on my next winter attempt.

I am following a few rules for the Winter Bulgers project:

1. To count as a winter ascent the trip must start and end within calendar winter. This means the trip must start (ie leaving a plowed road) after the hour and minute of the winter solstice (generally Dec 19, 20, or 21 depending on the year) and end at a plowed road by the hour and minute of the spring equinox (generally March 19, 20, or 21 depending on the year).

2. Travel must be human powered beyond the trailhead (no helicoptering or snowmobiling past the trailhead). Motorized transport is allowed on any roads and on any lakes where motorized boats are legally permitted (like Lake Chelan and Ross Lake).

3. Ascents must be made legally. This means no sneaking in from Canada.

Stats for Winter Bulgers project so far:

Number of Bulgers climbed in winter: 73 (1 winter repeat – Little Annapurna and 1 winter 3-peat – St Helens)
Probable First Winter Ascents: 36
Probable Second Winter Ascents: 12
Most in a day: 3 (Cardinal, Emerald, Saska)
Most in a season: 14 (winter 2020-2021)
Biggest day: 53 miles (32 hour nonstop push for Windy Peak)

Peakbagger.com map of remaining winter Bulger peaks: https://www.peakbagger.com/List.aspx?lid=-945784&cid=5377

Peaks listed in order I climbed them, including failed attempts and multiple summits in parentheses. [Probable] first winter ascent denoted by *. [Probable] second winter ascent denoted by **. Main sources for historical winter ascents are Snow and Spire (Scurlock, Skoog), Beckey guidebooks, Northwest Mountaineering Journal (Skoog), East of the Divide (Marler), cascadeclimbers.com, nwhikers.net, turnsallyear.com

1. Mt Saint Helens (2015-1-11, 2018-1-14, 2019-1-13)
2. Mt Rainier (2015-2-16)
3. Mt Shuksan (2015-2-21)
4. Mt Baker (2015-2-22)
5. Dragontail Peak (2015-3-3)
6. Little Annapurna (2015-3-3 , 2019-2-2)
Cashmere Mountain Attempt (2016-2-6)
7. Colchuck Peak (2016-2-7)
8. Hoodoo Peak (2016-2-20*)
9. Cashmere Mountain (2016-3-19)
Robinson Mountain Attempt(2017-1-29)
10. Oval Peak (2017-2-12**)
Silver Star Mountain Attempt (2017-2-26)
Robinson Mountain Attempt (2018-2-11)
11. Robinson Mountain (2018-3-4*)
12. Raven Ridge (2019-1-26*)
13. Enchantment Peak (2019-2-2*)
14. Courtney Peak (2019-2-17*)
15. Star Peak (2019-2-18*)
16. Golden Horn (2019-3-3**)
17. Switchback Peak (2020-1-19*)
18. Martin Peak (Sawtooths) (2020-1-19*)
19. Mount Bigelow (2020-1-20*)
20. Windy Peak (2020-1-25**)
21. Cannon Mountain (2020-2-2*)
22. McClellan Peak (2020-2-2)
23. Big Craggy Peak (2020-2-9**)
24. West Craggy (2020-2-9*)
Cardinal Peak Attempt (2020-2-16)
25. Cardinal Peak (2020-2-22*)
26. Emerald Peak (2020-2-22*)
27. Saska Peak (2020-2-22*)
Eldorado Attempt (2020-3-7)
Glacier Peak Attempt (2020-3-14)
Remmel Mountain Attempt (2020-12-21)
28. Pinnacle Mountain (2020-12-23**)
Forbidden Peak Attempt (2020-12-29)
29. Abernathy Peak (2021-1-9*)
30. Gardner Mountain (2021-1-10*)
31. North Gardner Mountain (2021-1-10*)
32. Seven Fingered Jack (2021-1-18*)
33. Mt Maude (2021-1-18)
34. Clark Mountain (2021-1-23**)
35. Luahna Peak (2021-1-23*)
36. Reynolds Peak (2021-1-30**)
37. Silver Star Mountain (2021-2-14)
38. Big Snagtooth (2021-2-20*)
39. Ptarmigan Peak (2021-2-27*)
40. Lost Peak (2021-3-6*)
41. Mt Logan (2021-3-13**)
Tower Mountain Attempt (2021-3-20)
42. Cathedral Peak (2022-1-15*)
43. Amphitheater Mountain (2022-1-15*)
Remmel Mountain Attempt (2022-1-16)
44. Forbidden Peak (2022-1-23**)
45. Mt Stuart (2022-1-29)
46. Sherpa Peak (2022-2-5*)
Argonaut Mountain Attempt (2022-2-6)
47. Buck Mountain (2022-2-12**)
48. Fortress Mountain (2022-2-13*)
49. Chiwawa Mountain (2022-2-13)
Tupshin Peak Attempt (2022-2-21)
50. Devore Peak (2022-2-21*)
51. Primus Peak (2022-2-26**)
52. Mt Fernow (2022-3-6*)
Hard Mox attempt (2023-01-15)
53. Remmel Mountain (2023-01-22*)
54. Snowfield Peak (2023-01-28)
55. Tower Mountain (2023-02-04*)
56. Azurite Peak (2023-02-05*)
57. Greenwood Mountain (2023-02-11*)
58. Dumbell Mountain (2023-02-11*)
Hard Mox attempt (2023-02-19)
59. South Spectacle Butte (2023-02-25*)
60. Black Peak (2023-03-07**)
Glacier Peak Attempt (2023-03-11)
61. Hard Mox (2023-12-29*)
62. Mt Spickard (2023-12-31**)
63. Monument Peak (2024-1-6*)
Lake Mountain Attempt (2024-1-6)
Eldorado Peak Attempt (2024-1-13)
64. Blackcap Mountain (2024-1-27*)
Osceola Mountain Attempt (2024-1-27)
65. Horseshoe Peak (2024-2-3*)
66. Buckner Mountain (2024-2-3)
67. Sahale Peak (2024-2-4)
68. Boston Peak (2024-2-10*)
69. Mount Rahm (2024-2-18*)
70. Mount Custer (2024-2-19*)
71. Little Tahoma (2024-2-24)
72. Flora Mountain (2024-3-3*)
73. Argonaut Peak (2024-3-9)