Trip Report | A Snoqualmie Solstice Adventure
Recently, a few team members decided to take on the CURL after work for the Summer Solstice. Below is Tyler’s account of the adventure:
The Summer Solstice is a magical time. The days are long, snow has melted out enough to make most mountain objectives accessible, and the bugs are not that bad yet. The commemorate the solstice this year, I linked up with friends Colin and Nate to attempt the Commonwealth Ultimate Ridge Linkup (CURL). The CURL is a ridge traverse that circles Commonwealth Basin at Snoqualmie Pass. The goal is to start by scrambling the SE Face of Guye Peak and then continue on to Snoqualmie Mountain, Lundin Peak, and Red Mountain, before finishing the ridge traverse on Kendall Peak and returning to the start on the PCT.
The CURL is certainly an endurance test, but doable in a day for reasonably fit scramblers and runners. The route covers 12 miles, 6,500’ of vertical gain, and is mostly 3rd and 4th class scrambling with small sections of easy 5th class climbing. The real challenge with our attempt on the CURL was that the Solstice fell on a Wednesday, and we all had to work. We agreed to start work early that day and then meet at the trailhead for a 4pm start. This would leave us with about 5 ½ hours to cover as much terrain as possible before dark. The beauty of making a late-in-the-day attempt on this route is that you can bail down to the Commonwealth Basin Trail from numerous points along the route. We agreed that we would keep pushing until the group consensus was to head back.
The adventure started right on schedule – not bad considering we were all coming from work. Colin, Nate and I left the PCT trailhead armed with little more than lightweight running vests and trailrunners at 4pm sharp. The scramble route on the SE Face of Guye Peak begins about a mile from the trailhead, so it didn’t take long for us to jump right into the action. The 1,600’ scramble to the summit gets the blood pumping, but never gets harder than 4th class. The real crux of Guye Peak comes on the descent. There is a short downclimb on a mossy slab to access the exit gulley. It had rained pretty hard leading up to this trip, making the slabby downclimb a little spicier than usual!
Ascending the SE Face of Guye
The wet downclimb
We took our first real break in the saddle between Guye Peak and Snoqualmie Mountain. Since this was a fast and light mission, we had all opted to carry very little water. The creek between these peaks would be our last opportunity to refill for some time. From here, we began the second big uphill push of the evening – a 1,600’ climb up a loose climbers trail to the summit of Snoqualmie. None of us had ever been on top of Snoqualmie, and we were all looking forward to the view from the top. Sadly, we summited in a dense cloud that did not appear to be going anywhere in a hurry. Rather than burn precious daylight waiting for the view, we decided to keep moving.
A Platypus QuickDraw made for a quick refill
Looking for access to the Snoqualmie Mountain climber trail
The long slog up Snoqualmie Mountain. Guye Peak in the background
The next stretch of the route followed a knife edge ridge from Snoqualmie Mountain to Lundin Peak. The dense cloud continued to hang around, which made for a surreal experience through some of the most challenging climbing. It was impossible to know if there was 100’ or 1000’ of exposure as we navigated short sections of 5th class climbing on the narrow ridge. This was both confidence inspiring and ominous at the same time! Fortunately, there was very little wind, and the rock was dry so we felt quite confident soloing this stretch.
Beginning the knife edge traverse
The first bit of 5th class climbing
The cloud ridge
Lundin emerging from the ether
We reached the summit of Lundin Peak at 9pm – just as the sun was beginning to sink into the jagged horizon. We had a decision to make at this point. The Commonwealth Basin Trail is easily accessible from the saddle between Lundin Peak and Red Mountain but taking it would leave the CURL unfinished. Deciding to push on to the summit of Red and beyond would mean several more hours of off-trail navigation in dark in unfamiliar terrain. After a quick conversation, we decided to take the early exit. There were just too many unknowns on the next stretch of ridge line and none of us felt like cuddling on a ledge waiting for the sun to show us the way.
The final push at sunset
Looking back at the Snoqualmie-Lundin ridge line
The final 5th class pitch of the evening
Colin drinking it in
Summiting Lundin at sunset
The Commonwealth Basin Trail was a big surprise. I was so sure that the trail would be littered with blowdowns and other challenges left behind from winter. Instead, we were pleasantly surprised to find almost 3 miles of runnable trail back to the cars. After several hours navigating off trail, it felt odd to jog through the darkness by headlamp. Your perception of speed really does get warped when you can’t see your surroundings. We were back at the cars before we knew it!
Running in the dark
Although we did not complete the full CURL, we still put in a solid post-work effort. We covered about 8 miles, almost 5,000’ of climbing, and arguably one of the coolest stretches of ridge line in the Snoqualmie Pass area. We will definitely be back for another attempt, but with an earlier start next time!