Vesper Peak is a peak along the Mountain Loop Highway

Mountain Loop Highway

The Mountain Loop Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Washington. It traverses the western section of the Cascade Range within Snohomish County. The name suggests it forms a full loop, but it only is a small portion of a loop, which is completed using State Routes 92, 9, and 530...

 region of the North Cascades

North Cascades

The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington and are officially named in Canada as the Cascade Mountains...

 of Washington state. It is about 18 miles (29 km) south of Darrington

Darrington, Washington

Darrington is a town in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,347 at the 2010 census.-History:The upper Stillaguamish valley where Darrington is located was once settled by the local Sauk-Suiattle Tribes in the drainage of the Sauk, Suiattle and Whitechuck rivers...

 and 21 miles (33.8 km) east of Granite Falls

Granite Falls, Washington

Granite Falls is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 3,364 at the 2010 census.-History:Before the arrival of European settlers, the area that is now Granite Falls was used by Native Americans to portage their canoes between fishing grounds.The first permanent...

, in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

The Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington extends more than along the western slopes of the Cascade Range from the Canadian border to the northern boundary of Mount Rainier National Park. Forest headquarters are located in the city of Everett....

. Its gentle south and east slopes contrast with a sheer north face which offers "excellent technical routes".

Geology

The peak is primarily composed of intrusive

Intrusion

An intrusion is liquid rock that forms under Earth's surface. Magma from under the surface is slowly pushed up from deep within the earth into any cracks or spaces it can find, sometimes pushing existing country rock out of the way, a process that can take millions of years. As the rock slowly...

 quartz

Quartz

Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...

 diorite

Diorite

Diorite is a grey to dark grey intermediate intrusive igneous rock composed principally of plagioclase feldspar , biotite, hornblende, and/or pyroxene. It may contain small amounts of quartz, microcline and olivine. Zircon, apatite, sphene, magnetite, ilmenite and sulfides occur as accessory...

, but the south and southwest slopes are metavolcanic rock

Metavolcanic rock

In geology, metavolcanic rock is a type of metamorphic rock. Such a rock was first produced by a volcano, either as lava or tephra. Then, the rock was buried underneath subsequent rock and was subjected to high pressures and temperatures, causing the rock to recrystallize...

. Grossular garnet

Grossular

Grossular or grossularite is a calcium-aluminium mineral species of the garnet group with the formula Ca3Al23, though the calcium may in part be replaced by ferrous iron and the aluminium by ferric iron. The name grossular is derived from the botanical name for the gooseberry, grossularia, in...

 occurs in skarn

Skarn

Skarn is an old Swedish mining term originally used to describe a type of silicate gangue, or waste rock, associated with iron-ore bearing sulfide deposits apparently replacing Archean age limestones in Sweden's Persberg mining district. In modern usage the term "skarn" has been expanded to refer...

 zones on the peak, which have been mined for
this mineral.

Climbing and recreation

The peak was ascended in 1918 during a Mountaineers outing, but "they were likely preceded by prospectors and a geological survey party led by Louis C. Fletcher". The steep north face was first climbed in 1968 by Bruce Garrett and Jim Langdon; several routes exist on the face, with difficulties in the 5.6 to 5.8

YDS

YDS may refer to:*Yale Divinity School*Yards *Yosemite Decimal System*Young Democratic Socialists, a youth organization in the United States*Trường Đại học Y Dược Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Trường Đại học Y Dược Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh...

 range.

The summit can be reached from the Sunrise Mine Road (No. 4065), off the Mountain Loop Highway

Mountain Loop Highway

The Mountain Loop Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Washington. It traverses the western section of the Cascade Range within Snohomish County. The name suggests it forms a full loop, but it only is a small portion of a loop, which is completed using State Routes 92, 9, and 530...

. The hike is a 10 miles (16 km) round trip with an elevation gain of 4114 feet (1,253.9 m). The summit affords views of Glacier Peak

Glacier Peak

Glacier Peak is the most isolated of the five major stratovolcanoes of the Cascade Volcanic Arc in Washington...

, Sloan Peak

Sloan Peak

Sloan Peak is a mountain in the North Cascades of Washington state. It rises about east of Everett, Washington and 12 miles southwest of Glacier Peak, one of the Cascade stratovolcanoes. It is located, between the north and south forks of Sauk River, in the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness...

, Mount Dickerman, Mount Pugh

Mount Pugh

Mount Pugh is a peak near the western edge of the North Cascades, in Washington state. It is located west of Glacier Peak, one of the Cascade stratovolcanoes. It rises out of the confluence of the White Chuck River and the Sauk River , giving it very low footings...

, Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier is a massive stratovolcano located southeast of Seattle in the state of Washington, United States. It is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States and the Cascade Volcanic Arc, with a summit elevation of . Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most...

, Mount Stuart

Mount Stuart

Mount Stuart is a mountain in the Cascade Range, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the second highest non-volcanic peak in the state, after Bonanza Peak and tenth-highest overall...

 and a bit of the top of Mount Adams

Mount Adams

Mount Adams may refer to any of several mountains in the United States, and one each in Australia, Antarctica and New Zealand:* Mount Adams * Mount Adams, New Zealand* Mount Adams...

.