It was in this area that we lost the main path for a short distance and ended up crawling up a verticle 5’ cliff. ! Once at the Stuart Lake/Colchuck Lake Trailhead (3,420′), we proceeded to stretch as we watched others quickly fill out their day-use permits and rush into the woods. Difficulty: Extremely strenuous Total Elevation Gain: 5,500 feet (1.675 meters) Total Elevation Loss: 7,000 feet (2,133 meters) Starting Elevation (Stuart Lake TH): 3,225 feet (980 meters) Ending Elevation (Snow Lakes TH): 1,400 feet (425 meters) Highest Elevation (Aasgard Pass): 7,841 feet (2,390 meters) Length of time: 8 to 15 hours As far as miles per hour goes, Aasgard may be one of the slowest hikes you attempt. Excited for t, Views from the sawtooths at 4:52 am. Any backpacking trip to The Enchantments starts by acquiring one of the coveted permits. Spend some time soaking in the scenery and then head back before the formal becomes too disjointed to follow. May you have epic su, Transported to another world. ! Approximately 1.9 miles after the top of Aasgard Pass, you'll reach a trail junction with Prusik Pass to your north, left, and Snow Lakes Trail #1553 to your southeast, right. Somewhere 2,200’ above us there was a pass over this intimidating terrain. Now, my wife and I travel as a way of life. Photo: Freeman Keller nearing Aasgard Pass. P2 (5.10, 180ft) - Step out right and into crack (fairly heady move) @ 5.10b/c. ... Aasgard Pass rises precipitously to 7841 feet. Take trail to Colchuck Lake, and then on to Aasgard Pass. With our mirrors folded in, we were just barely on the outside of that thin white line. The junction is large and well-marked but sometimes you just get into a groove. We descended the small hill from the shore of Tranquil Lake down to the stunning edge of an unnamed lake, north of Isolation Lake. One of the biggest challenges is found when hiking Aasgard Pass and on our three-day journey, this was the first day’s task. Difficulty: Strenuous. Many people talk about the difficulty of route finding on Aasgard. As long as the good Lord allows. It sucks. However, we didn't want to waste too much time sniffing out a route, and get bogged down with time consuming 3rd class. Just pace yourself and enjoy the view as you go. Although this is difficult, many people prefer this option to hiking the other direction, which involves a much longer strenuous uphill section of trail. This area is the most beautiful section of this wilderness area. Along the initial ascent, trail runners zoomed past us as many of them were taking on the herculean 19.5-mile journey in a single day. Getting to the base of Aasgard Pass requires a ton of scrambling over this rocky area, and the trail can be difficult to navigate. Halfway from the junction to the lake the trees start to thin and the views of the rugged mountains of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness start to emerge all around. While experienced hikers will probably find the terrain manageable, this hike is not kind on hikers who are not prepared. One of my buddies did a full summersault down it (by accident) and somehow came away unscathed. The trail along the lakeshore first undulates up and down over dirt paths clinging to the edge of the steep terrain. I know it's a metal challenge as well as physical. Aasgard Pass What’s it like? For a long time, I assumed everyone was and thought only the lucky and privileged did so. We had been lucky enough to acquire a permit for two nights of backpacking The Enchantments Core Zone from the last-minute permitting system and weren’t in a rush. It’s a gigantic achievement to make it up to the core zone of the enchantments. ✨ᑭᙀᖇᙅᕼᗩSᙓ ᑭᖇIᑎTS✨ , What’s it like to hike Aasgard Pass in the Enchantments, Have a great Friday, y'all!!! Aasgard Pass. The snow cakes onto my glasses yet pelt Jan’s unprotected eyes. This “shortcut” to the Enchantments Core Zone refers only to mileage. View of Aasgard Pass from Colchuck Lake. And don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to get notified when new posts come out! There were only a few areas where the degrading path was hard to determine. It sucks. Will backpack miles and miles for views like this. Little Annapurna graces the cover of Chester Marler’s book, East of the Divide. The ride up was quick, bumpy, and a bit nerve-racking as the backend of the shuttle bounced in and out of the biggest of the potholes along a curvy road hugging a tree-covered cliff. ❄️ A look ba, The best of days in the shadows of grandiose peaks, Long ☀️summer days on the ⛰mountain. Looking up Aasgard pass At the base of Aasgard, we stopped to consider the avalanche conditions and discuss the ranger's advice. And there was so much more to come. Route Description. Don’t attempt this unless you are experienced in long-distance mountain hiking. Vlad and I set off on an awesome 20 mile day hike through what is perhaps the most beautiful wilderness of Washington State - The Enchantments! This section is tiring with a heavy backpack. The atmosphere was like that of a rave with hikers screaming and jumping off of boulders plunging into the emerald-colored waters. October 2015 Upon realizing the Enchantments were within reach at Colchuck Lake, I told myself I would return better prepared someday and attempt the hike up Aasgard Pass. The shuttles are set an hour apart so they are in a hurry to drop us off and return to the lot for the next group of passengers. It took me 1.75 hrs to go up and 2 hrs to come down. Yesterday, tens of thousand. All the shuttles run early in the morning as there are very few backpacking permits and most people using the shuttles are setting off on a very long day hike through The Enchantments. We didn’t mind as there was plenty of room and they set up about fifty feet away. Defiance/Starvation Ridge (23 pictures) Deschutes River Trail (5 pictures) To view my entire photography collection and purchase photos, click here. Ascending steep boulders and small streams for nearly 2,000 feet, Aasgard Pass delivers you right to Washington alpine heaven. The Aasgard Pass elevation change would be much friendly on the uphill approach vs going down, simply due to the ill-footing ways of the hike.) It had been a challenge to get here but this one view was worth the entire effort. As aasgard pass difficulty as physical the ascent up Aasgard Pass delivers you right to Washington alpine heaven Aasgard... Taken on be many hours before we knew there was a Pass over this intimidating.... 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