Brokeoff Mountain

Fifth trip up Brokeoff Mountain, and the wildlife showed up more than usual this time — a grouse standing right in the middle of the trail on the way up, barely bothered by two hikers walking past, and later, on the way down through the lower forest, a deer bounding off through the trees just off the path.

The real story of the day, though, was the cold. Genuinely surprising for early September — the wind on the summit was sharp and relentless enough that we didn't linger nearly as long as the view deserved, gloves and hoods up the whole time just to stay comfortable for photos. Lassen Peak stood clear across the way as always, but this was one of the rare times the temperature up top felt more like late fall than late summer.

Still, Brokeoff never disappoints — cold wind and all, it's one of the most consistently rewarding hikes in the park, and worth the short stay at the top every single time.

Fourth trip up Brokeoff Mountain, and a genuine mountaineering day this time — snowshoes for the lower approach, crossing a snowmelt creek still running clear between banks of packed snow, then a long, steady climb up open slopes through the forest.

Once the terrain steepened above treeline, the snowshoes came off and the crampons and axe came out for the rest of the way up — firm, supportive snow the whole way, with a rocky, wind-scoured cornice marking the last push before the ridge leveled out near the top.

The summit delivered the same reliable payoff as every trip up here — Lassen Peak standing clear and still snow-covered across the way, the whole park spread out in every direction under a deep blue sky. Worth every step, exactly as advertised.

The way back down retraced the same route through darkening forest, snowshoes back on for the lower stretch. Four ascents now, and this one might have had the most technical terrain yet — a real mix of travel modes packed into one seven-mile round trip.

Third trip up Brokeoff Mountain, and the first time seeing it free of snow — a completely different mountain from the two winter ascents, with the trail fully exposed and the approach through forest a straightforward, dry climb from the very first step.

The summit benchmark disk was easy to find this time without snow burying everything, and the views were just as good as ever — Lassen Peak standing clear across the way, the ridge dropping off in every direction under a wide-open late-summer sky. Plenty of time got spent up top trading photos before starting back down.

The descent wound back down through open ridge and then forest, dry trail the whole way instead of the snowpack from the first two trips. Three ascents now, three completely different versions of the same mountain — deep winter snow, lingering spring snowpack, and now bare, dry summer trail.

Back up Brokeoff Mountain again, this time in late April, and still a full snow climb from the very first step — the winter of 2023-2024 left enough snowpack that the trail never really emerged even a full four months after the first trip up.

The lower approach through the forest was a quiet snowshoe track weaving between the trees, and the ridge above broke out into a genuine cloud inversion — a sea of white filling the valleys below while the ridge itself stayed clear and sunny. The final pitch to the summit was still firm enough to need crampons for real purchase on the steeper snow.

Summited with the #SixPackOfPeaks Challenge banner for a proper photo, Lassen Peak standing fully snow-covered just across the way, the same incredible view as the first trip but under a completely different sky.

Two climbs of the same mountain, four months apart, and somehow both of them full winter conditions — a good reminder of just how long the snow lingers at this elevation in a big year.

My hike up to Brokeoff Mountain was absolutely incredible. I hadn't realized the summit sits at 9,235 feet — for some reason I'd always assumed it was under 8,000 — and with snow covering the trail from the very first step, this turned into a full winter mountaineering day rather than just a hike.

It was 24 degrees Fahrenheit at the trailhead, cold enough to make my hands ache putting on gloves, but the silver lining was that the cold kept the snowpack firm the entire way up — no post-holing anywhere, just solid, supportive snow underfoot. I was also lucky enough to get minimal wind out there, which on an exposed summit like this can make or break the day.

Near the top I left the buried summer switchbacks behind and cut straight up the final slope instead, good firm snow the whole way, which meant real crampon and ice axe work for that last stretch — exactly the kind of terrain I'd been missing since the end of mountaineering season.

The summit views were everything advertised and more: Lassen Peak rising fully snow-covered just a few miles north, a sea of white stretching across the whole park, and a cloud inversion pooling in the valleys below. A perfect day to be out there, and one I'm already looking forward to doing again.