We began our mountain adventure with a four-mile hike to base camp which gained about 3000 ft.
Photo by Barry Raven



After four miles, Jackie climbs above Willow Lake, a very scenic part of our trip.
Photo by Barry Raven



Looking the other direction, Willow Falls offers a nice view.  Our base camp was above the falls in the meadows below the mountain.
Photo by Barry Raven



After climbing above the falls we picked a campsite in the meadows.  Kit Carson Peak is in the background.  The rest of our friends can be seen at the bottom of the photo as they hike the last few steps to basecamp.



The next morning, Jackie begins the 3600 ft climb to the summit of Challenger Point.  The pond near our campsite can be seen below.



This is our route to the summit.  Kit Carson and Challenger Point are very close together, but you can't see Challenger Point from this vantage point.  Challenger is located to the right of Kit Carson behind the ridge.  The red line is the part of the route which is located on the other side of the mountain and cannot be seen.  In the extreme upper right in the photo is a snow-filled couloir.  We decided to do a new route up the class 3 wall to the left of the couloir.  The normal route follows a class 2 trail to the right of the couloir.



Alan negotiates Kit Carson avenue just below the summit.
Photo by Andy Leach



Alan makes the traverse from Kit Carson to Challenger Point.  Mt. Adams and the Willow valley are in the background.
Photo by Andy Leach



Jackie stands just below the summit of Challenger Point.
Photo by Aaron Johnson



Alan stands on the foggy summit of Kit Carson Peak.
Photo by Andy Leach.


We enjoyed a great weekend in the mountains.  Thanks to our friends for support and encouragement on this peak.  Thanks to Barry, Andy, and Aaron for the use of their photos.





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