Mount Daniel - Lynch Glacier ski, June 2013
Capitalizing on the longest day of the year, Franklin and I joined a mob 6-strong on a Summer Solstice ski tour of Mount Daniel. With an O-dark:30 Seattle departure, we arrived at the Cathedral Pass Trailhead two-and-a-half hours later and proceeded to chase after our party about 20 minutes ahead of us. Sparing ourselves from repeatedly alternating between skis on/off, we hiked to the vicinity of Peggy’s Pond before donning skis for the Hyas Glacier ascent. Some more booting saw us around the south-side of Daniel’s East Summit, ending finally at the true (west) summit. A surprising amount of new snow graced the slopes above Peggy’s Pond and on the Lynch Glacier in particular, which given the time of year of course made for a mighty sticky descent to Pea Soup Lake. While Randy, Karla, Lindsey and me exited the lake stage right making our return via a traverse of Daniel Glacier, Franklin and another fellow peeled off to tag Dip Top. Another threesome whom we met earlier that day at the trailhead followed our tracks down the Lynch and proceeded to boot up nearby Lynch Peak for a bonus ski down from the summit. All told, Mt. Daniel makes for an ideal spring ski touring peak with an appealing mix of interesting scenery, long ski descents and relatively easy access.
