Basic Alpine Climb - Slippery Slab Tower/Northeast Face

Slippery Slab is an interesting little peak that caught my eye while perusing Mountain Project recently, we thought it would be a great objective on this particular Sunday.

There’s parking just past the Tunnel Creek trail head, but the area is very popular, so you may have to park back a ways if you’re hiking in on a weekend.  We hung the forest service pass, filled out the backcountry permit, and were on-trail at 6am.

Follow the Tunnel Creek trail about 1.5 to the PCT junction at Hope Lake.  From Hope, take the PCT south for 3.8 mi to Trap Pass. This is a beautiful trail with views of Trap Lake and lots of blueberries to enjoy on the way up.  

Even with a leisurely pace, “we made good time”, said a ranger we met.  The trail to Thunder Mountain and Slippery Slab is directly left as you reach the top of the pass.

We reached the base of the climb at 10am and waited for 1 party ahead of us - starting the climb at 10:45.  Though the rock on the arête is flaky and shouldn’t be trusted for gear placement, overall the climbing is extremely pleasant lower 5^th class with good protection.  I can’t speak to every face on the peak, but I can definitely say that this route is neither slippery, nor a slab.

There’s a rock at the top of the pitch with webbing to belay from.  Be careful not to knock off loose rocks from this position.

From there it’s a brief boot-path / scramble to the top.  We summited at 11:15am.  The views are striking and the terrain made me want to climb everything in sight.

After a snack break, we headed down at 11:30, base of the climb at 12:15am.  We scouted some other possible climbs in the area and chatted with rangers a bit before heading back at 1pm.  The hike back was quick and we reached the car at 3:15pm.

Slippery Slab / Thunder Mountain is a super beautiful area with a huge amount of clean granite.  I hope to go back soon with more time and explore other climbs in the area.  

What an awesome weekend!