Mount Ellinor — Sunday, Jun. 1, 2025

Started from the upper trailhead around 8:30AM on Sunday June 1st. There were only 3 other cars in the lot. We got unlucky with some weather - it was sunny when we parked but right when we started, we got hit with thick fog and clouds. This unfortunately kept the snow hard and somewhat icy. I was wearing microspikes and while they may have been sufficient in warmer conditions, they did not cut it now. I actually slipped and fell about 30 feet down the slope but managed to self-arrest with my ice axe. The axe was the most important tool I had, without which I would not have been able to summit that day. My buddy had crampons and he fared much better. The sun kind of came out as we exited the chute, which helped soften the snow and made the last few hundred feet of vert more manageable. We summited around 11am, hung out for an hour at the summit in swirling clouds, and then glissaded most of the chute down. By this point the snow had softened up, so glissading wasn’t too bad, but it was still sketchy in some places, as there were visible holes in the snow, rocks protruding, etc. There are also a couple rocky breaks in the snowpack that you have to scramble over. I would expect some of these areas to get sketchier as the snow melts more. Still had a fun time but had a couple terrifying moments as well.