Cooper Hill (11,757) by Brian Schultz Tuesday July 25, 2017

Roundtrip mileage: 1.85 miles from road near Tennessee Pass
Elevation gain: 910'
Start to finish: 1 hour 10 minutes

I started up Savage Peak this morning but gave up when the early morning rain didn't let up. I got close to the lakes but didn't feel like taking on Savage's ridge with the wet rock and turned around with nothing to show for except a bruise when I slipped on the trail going back down. So, 3 hours and 30 minutes later I went for plan B, which was Cooper Hill. It wasn't very far away and I didn't care if it was still raining because its lower elevation would be safer.

I turned onto the road from Tennessee Pass to the ski area and drove another road past the Nordic Center/Cafe that looped around the west side of the ski area's maintenance buildings. I parked at a road junction at 10,845' and headed up the grassy slopes at 11:40 AM, keeping a straight bearing to the summit. This steep but easy bushwhack gained 900 feet elevation and I arrived on top at 12:20. The descent provided a nice view of Mt Massive and I arrived back at the truck at 12:50. This was an easy, short outing.