Bandera Mountain — Wednesday, Dec. 3, 1997

Snoqualmie Region > North Bend Area

Matt and I set out for the summit of Bandera mountain at about 10:00 after first stopping to pick up some baby toys (I needed something to keep Matt busy on the log drive to the Bandera trailhead - when he gets board he starts chewing and drooling on my upholstery). It was a pleasent enough day for climbing, with sunshine and higher temperatures than I've come to expect for December. We first ran into snow at about 3500-4000 feet. The snow was not deep, but strong cold winds and clear nights turned it into a well packed often icy surface. The winds were blowing so hard just beneath the summit I almost got knocked over a few times. After a quick, cold lunch we climbed to the false summit at 5157' and decided to turn around there. The long ridge to the true summit to the east and only 84 feet higher is covered with steep wind packed snow. It looks like it's finally time to start thinking about carrying your ice axes with you, and if anyone out there is thinking of sending me a Christmas present I could really use a new pair of OR Gortex gators, blue size medium. Yeah I know it's a long-shot, but its worth a try.