Sloan Peak — Sunday, Jun. 29, 2025

Where to even start with this one... 

Forest Road 4096 truly lives up to its rep: a narrow, brutal assault on your suspension. If you don’t get there by dawn, brace yourself for high-stress reverse-driving and hope the universe gifts you a spot big enough for your rig.

The Bedal Creek Trail has a few overgrown sections and tons of blowdowns. Morning dew on the brush guarantees soaked pants within minutes. It's like walking through a car wash with no exit. We missed the climber’s trail turnoff and paid for it with a bonus round of bushwhacking and backtracking. Once we found it, the trail shot straight up—no mercy—just ribbons marking a relentless climb through the trees.

Above treeline, we crossed several snowfields. One was steep enough that a slip would've been memorable. The glacier is still filled in, and the bootpack crossed a crevasse that’s not going to stay friendly for long. The final scrambling stretch had moderate exposure with a couple class 3 moves. The usual gully was still snow-filled, but we found a dry workaround. The summit register was soaked and the pen didn’t work—bring your own if you want to write your name in it.

All in all, it was a tough, varied, and fun climb with incredible views. Definitely worth doing again—if the road ever gets fixed.