Sites with great beta on Washington, etc. mtns

[Scott P]

Beckey's guides aren't nearly as bad as Michael Kelsey's guidebooks though.

I've always thought of Kelsey's books as the outsider art of the guidebook world. I both love and hate them.

Personally, I have always liked his books.

[uwe]

Other places to check out: Mountaineers.org, (Washington+ more) and http://mazamas.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, (Oregon). Best of luck and success.

[shredthegnar10]

+1 for the Beckey guidebooks. There's also a Falcon guidebook titled "Climbing Washington's Mountains" that is pretty good.

Aside from that, I usually use Summitpost/Mountain Project for route information -- CascadeClimbers can be good for info about conditions but I haven't found it to be useful for finding climbing partners.

[Aubrey]

Great recommendations thus far. IMO, none of the websites up here even remotely compare to 14ers.com. All resources -- web and guidebooks -- are pathetically pale in comparison. Most are frustratingly vague at best and inaccurate at worst. I've found that climbing mountains in the North Cascades is much more challenging, overall, when it comes to distance, gain, terrain, routefinding, weather, etc. And online beta sharing is extremely limited (compared to what you find in Colorado). While elevations may not be as high, the vertical gain on most climbs is usually as much or much more than your average CO 14er. In my 6 years here, I've been truly humbled. Don't misinterpret this as me discounting CO 14ers. They are definitely challenging and worthy of respect. Just know that WA mountains, especially those in the North Cascades, are completely different beasts.

[seano]

If you have a lot of time in the Cascades, Beckey's guides are essential, as there's nothing at all like 14ers.com for the Cascades, and SummitPost's coverage is spotty. Get the newest edition, since approaches change more quickly up there as things get overgrown. (And things only get worse if you head up into Canada...)

Start with Eldorado, a classic Cascades peak with a relatively humane approach and non-threatening glaciers. Goldman's "75 Scrambles in Washington" can be useful if you're looking for ideas. Another way to explore is to visit some of the many old fire lookouts, which come with convenient trails leading up out of the "green hell." Coming from CO and CA to WA in 2014, it took me awhile to get used to the Cascades' unfriendliness, e.g. spending the whole day in clouds and mist, getting a full-body soaking each morning from overnight dew. Since then, I've spent quite a bit of time there, which you can read about by clicking around the map on my site.

Anyways, I hope you get a chance to climb up there -- it's an amazing range, completely unique in the lower 48.

[TK]

Beckey's guides aren't nearly as bad as Michael Kelsey's guidebooks though.

I've always thought of Kelsey's books as the outsider art of the guidebook world. I both love and hate them.

Personally, I have always liked his books.

Nothing says "Learn what you're doing before you try this" like Kelsey's hand-drawn maps of slot canyons and minimalist detail.

[Presto]

Don't know what peaks you're looking at, but we used "Selected Climbs in the Cascades" by Jim Nelson & Peter Potterfield for Mt. Hood, Eldorado Peak, Mt. Shuksan, Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Glacier Peak and Mt. Adams. Great photos with route information. Happy Trails!