Hi, we're the Mountain Goats (Terrence and Nathan), and yesterday I (Terrence) climbed the South Twin, a major peak to the west of Baker. The South Twin is part of the Twin Sisters and sits southeast of the smaller, far more technical North Twin.
The road to the TH has been gated for years, so the route now starts from a gate 5.5 miles away. This, in turn, adds 11 Miles and 2,000' of elevation gain to the hike. Most people bike this section, but since I don't own one, I had to walk it.
I left the "TH" at 6am and followed logging roads south up an ascending valley towards the Twin sisters. The clouds were low this morning, so the views were lackluster. Luckily, there was a short break in the clouds, and Baker took full advantage. It took me just over an hour and a half to reach the end of the logging roads and the beginning of the South Twin climber's trail.
This is a true climber's trail; it's overgrown in places, and there are dozens of fallen trees over the trail. The trail quickly steepens as I transitioned from dense forests to open boulder fields. At about 4,500' I left the boulder fields behind, fought through a tree grove, and found myself looking up at the upper basin below the Twin sisters. Orsino Creek cascades down, moss surrounds the banks, and the whole basin is full of green. The climbers' trail crosses Orson Creek before making its way towards a ridgeline at 5,300'. The official route ascends a steep snow finger up to the ridgeline. I, however, didn't feel like switching from my trail runners to boots for such a short section, so I elected to just boulder hop up to the ridgeline.
From here, the trail really becomes hard to follow. There are a few rock tarns here and there, but I really relied on public tracks from peak baggers to stay on route. At this point, I stashed my poles, as from here to the summit, I'd consider Class 3+. The route for the most part stays on the south side of the ridge; attempting to stay along the ridgeline will lead you into some nasty cliff outs.
While the standard route is class 3, it's almost impossible to stay on it. I found myself ascending multiple legit class 4 sections with real exposure, so be prepared. From my understanding, the easiest route drops down into lower scree gullies; many of said gullies are still snow-covered, so I opted to stay high just below the ridgeline. At around 6,500' I hit a snow section, and I had to traverse an extremely steep slope; the only way to bypass it would be class 5 rock climbing, something I wasn't comfortable doing solo. At this point, I took out my ice axe and trudged forward. I probably should've put on my boots here, but I opted to keep my trail runners on. Once past this section, South Twin's true summit came into view as I traversed along its rather flat summit block.
The views from the top are unbelievable; the whole Twin Sisters Range (North Twin, Jaw's Tooth, Cinderella Peak, Saddle Slab Peak, Nancy's Peak) surrounded me. Baker, of course, steals the show to the northeast, while the North Cascades sit behind it. I was the first summit of the year, although by just 10 minutes, a group of skiers came up from the East. All in all, it took me 6.5 hours to reach the top.
I knew the descent would be tedious, but my god, it was rough. The majority of people take the standard route down, and I see why. Descending the class 4 ridgeline was brutal. All my fingers were bloody by the time I got back to the lower ridge at 5,300'. For the snow sections, I switched to my boots and elected to put on my crampons. The traverse was definitely a no-fall zone. I was careful and got down in one piece. Once back at the lower ridgeline, it was smooth sailing the whole 7 miles back to the car. The views from the logging roads were stunning, and I got some unobstructed views of Mount Baker and the North Twin.
Overall, this was a great climb but definitely not one I'll be doing for a while. The ridgeline section is just so long, and while the ascent was fairly fun, the descent wasn't. For those who want to do this one, be prepared. If you opt to take the upper ridgeline route, be prepared for some pretty legit scrambling and bring gloves. The snow sections are almost completely melted out, and honestly, just wait till the routes are snow-free (probably in early June). I lost my helmet up there. If someone finds it this summer, please let me know at 206-889-9211. Thanks! As always, Happy Hiking and Stay Safe!
Final Stats: 18 Miles - 6,300' Elevation Gained - 14 Hours C2C
Comments
Another mountain goat adventure for sure. Nice work!
Posted by:
BryHong8 on May 10, 2026 03:00 PM