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The Brothers (south peak)
Washington
> Olympics & Paci…
> Olympic National Forest
Description
The brothers are the prominent twin peaks seen in the Olympic Mountains from the Puget Sound. The approach is fun and the peaks are beautiful. Many routes are possible and the rock quality is better than much of the Olympics although that doesn't say much. Routes are of the 3rd and 4th class nature although the traverse between north and south peak can provide an exciting snow climb that demands a bit of respect. Perhaps the biggest pay off of climbing this peak is looking down over 6000ft on the Puget Sound and Seattle and then turning around and viewing the interior of the Olympics.
Getting There
From US 101 take the Hamma Hamma River Road to the Lena Lakes Trail head.
[Hide Photo] Looking from near the summit of the North Brother, across the traverse toward the South Brother. There are many options. Original photo courtesy of Robert Meshew.
[Hide Comment] Climbed The Brothers on June 20 with my son Ryser. He's now currently the youngest (I've found) on record to ever summit it. He beat his brother's record by a few months!
Left climber's camp at 6:30a. We both put on microspikes at the first snow field (after 'the burn'). Brought crampons, but didn't use them. Axe and pole for me, poles for him. Snow was pretty firm going up, quite slushy already on the way back down. To SKIP THE BURN download my route on AllTrails (click on my profile > go to 'Activities' > find my "The Brothers: The "Skip the Burn" Approach" > click the three dots '...' > click 'download route').
I've summited The Brothers four times now, which means I've talked to enough people and read enough trip reports to know the general consensus is that 'the burn' section really sucks. I wholeheartedly agree! It does suck, but it is almost entirely avoidable(!): you simply have to cut across toward the western tree line at the bottom of the burn until you reach the creek bed. Then, it's just a fun, easy scramble up big creek boulders. It's a more direct route and spares you all that frustrating and unnecessary log humping you find yourself doing through the burn (at least I did!). I discovered this route when I followed the creek bed as far as I could on the way down (my second time) to avoid as much of the burn section as I could, only to discover I could avoid almost all of it!
Jun 22, 2024
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Silverdale, WA
Left climber's camp at 6:30a. We both put on microspikes at the first snow field (after 'the burn'). Brought crampons, but didn't use them. Axe and pole for me, poles for him. Snow was pretty firm going up, quite slushy already on the way back down. To SKIP THE BURN download my route on AllTrails (click on my profile > go to 'Activities' > find my "The Brothers: The "Skip the Burn" Approach" > click the three dots '...' > click 'download route').
I've summited The Brothers four times now, which means I've talked to enough people and read enough trip reports to know the general consensus is that 'the burn' section really sucks. I wholeheartedly agree! It does suck, but it is almost entirely avoidable(!): you simply have to cut across toward the western tree line at the bottom of the burn until you reach the creek bed. Then, it's just a fun, easy scramble up big creek boulders. It's a more direct route and spares you all that frustrating and unnecessary log humping you find yourself doing through the burn (at least I did!). I discovered this route when I followed the creek bed as far as I could on the way down (my second time) to avoid as much of the burn section as I could, only to discover I could avoid almost all of it! Jun 22, 2024