Bennet Peak rewards you after a successful technical climb with wide open gentle ridgetop riding and spectacular views. The climb in question is a bottleneck shortly before Bennet Peak that sends you up a narrow steep ridge with big mature trees that are difficult to navigate. Once you've topped out on this short ramp, it opens up again before and after the peak, which isn't much of a peak at all. There can be some difficult cornices to navigate approaching Bennet Peak but otherwise the riding is pretty easy until you want to go after the prize climb up Hummingbird.
The fire of 2015 burnt many of the trees up top, but really scorched the trees between Bennet Peak and Two Color Lake, which has opened some things up and will provide even more riding terrain in the upcoming years. Another benefit of this area is that the wilderness line is way on top of the ridge past Two Color Lake at about 8,300' which leaves you no guesswork on boundary encroachments as you ride around. It is also probably the highest you can get in the Wallowas legally on a snowmobile if you dare try the crazy climb up Hummingbird.
