Spider Peak, Northeast Face. In mid-September Jerry Fuller, Alex Ber- tulis and I entered the northeast end of the range to climb one of the faces of Spider Peak, a high peak of some reputation which apparently resembled Squaretop. Although the long hike up Bomber Creek was not without brush and swamps, it was not nearly the ordeal that other parties had claimed. We camped close to the near end of Goat Flat, where the main valley veers westward, and the next morning hiked up rockslides and open timber to a large, turquoise-blue lake. The lake with its sandy shores, small trees, alpine meadows and in the background, the majestic sculpture of Spider Peak, is certainly one of the most beautiful mountain views I have ever seen. We chose the northeast face, the largest wall on the peak except for a hopelessly slabbed face just on its right, across a glacier- scarred couloir. We climbed to a shoulder, where we roped, and then enjoyed three leads of fine and sometimes difficult fifth-class climbing. The rock was excellent. We endured a cool snowstorm, then came to easier terrain and followed a large boulder field to the summit.

Fred Beckey