Climbing Diamond Peak, Lemhi Range

2/15/2015

The Riddler on the Left
Seen From the Eastern Ridge of Diamond Peak

This weekend marked my one year anniversary of going up mountains. What began as a photography project, to photograph Idaho mountains, has now evolved. To photograph mountains, I soon learned that you have to get to know them better. Sometimes just getting close to them is not enough. You have to place yourself on them and all around them. What began as merely a photographic pursuit now continues mainly as a hiking/climbing activity. Images made during these excursion are now of secondary importance. In the beginning I would often hike to a specified location and wait for the light to get good, often spending the night. The vast majority of the time, I would be disappointed. No good images were made and I found little satisfaction in the journey, just frustration. Slowly I let go of the imposed notion that I had to get "good shots" when hiking and climbing. I could then pursue hikes and climbs purely for the adventure, free from the expectation of "good shots." I still carry a camera, but it does not dictate when and where I go. If a good image is made during the outing, I count myself lucky. If the light is terrible, I end up with some memorable snapshots. Being active in the mountains is reward enough.

Last year, during this time in March, I climbed Little Sister a lesser mountain just south of Bell Mountain. This was the third mountain I have ever climbed and the first time I climbed since college days in the early 1980s. Little Sister was my inaugural mountain, during this phase in my life. Since that week last year, I have climbed Diamond Peak, Umpleby Peak, Bell Mountain, Gilmore Peak, Saddle Mountain, Nicholson Peak, Table Mountain, Sphinx Mountain,  Mount Borah, Mount Idaho, Leatherman Peak, Mount Church, Donaldson Peak, Mount Breteinbach, and Lost River Mountain. Yesterday, I went up Diamond for the second time with a group of friends. For me it was a one year commemoration of my climbing progress. I must say I was in much better shape coming off the mountain this time than last year.

Layne Hacking, James Allen, James Helfrich, and myself left for Diamond Peak a bit after 5:00 yesterday morning. Layne drove his truck for us. We were darn lucky to have Layne driving. Without Layne, our one day climb would have proven impossible. He was able to get us to the most common trailhead, the same place I was able to get my Subaru to last year in perfect conditions. We entertained going up the southern ridge for an instant and then opted for the straightforward eastern ridge. Like most Idaho mountain, the beginning is a steep scree slog. Once the ridge is achieved, we followed it upwards and north to the large east ridge leading to the summit. This is where things got fun.

The Curve Leading to the Eastern Ridge and the Summit of Diamond Peak

Layne Beginning the East Ridge
The Imposing Steps Behind

The east ridge is made of series of large steps that must be climbed on the way to the summit. Many of the climbs are near vertical. I am not sure but I think there are at least three major steps to be climbed on the way up and several lesser ones. This ridge involves some route finding and just a bit of confidence with class 3 climbing.

Layne Beginning the Steep Ascent of a Large Step 

Typical Climbing Surface

Looking South
Saddle Mountain in Far Distance

Looking North
Bell Mountain in the Distance

Looking Down

In the Cliffs of the East Ridge

The Last Big Step Has Been Climbed
The Summit is Next

Diamond Peak Summit View 1

Diamond Peak Summit View 2

The Riddler and Southern Mountains

Looking Northeast
The Beaverheads in the Distance

James H. Down Climbing a Steep Section

One More View

James A. Preparing for a Down Climb

We made it off the ridge and into the steep scree. Once off the scree we followed a ridge leading to the top a small hill with forested trees on the northeast side. On top was a great looking cairn with nearby prayer flags fluttering in the breeze. It was a cool way to end the hike before we plowed down through the trees in thigh deep snow.

Other Resources:

Tom Lopez Website:
Diamond Peak

Ramblings

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Lost River Valley, 2/28/2015

 Mount McCaleb on Right

Lost River Valley

Climbing Lost River Mountain, Lost River Range, Idaho

2/21/2015

Lost River Mountain, Lost River Range, Idaho

Super Gully, Lost River Mountain

The decision to climb the Super Gully in the winter would alleviate the endless steep scree slide of summertime. However, it does come with its own set of problems.

We arrived at the mountain early in the morning. Dusk was on the horizon. Drifted snow across the access road made for about a mile hike into the mountain. While gearing up, I assessed the Super Gully. It looked like we would be able to kick in steps all the way up. Unfortunately, I decided to leave my crampons in the car. James and Allen had crampons loaded in their packs.

The going was easy. It's just a pleasant hike to the entrance of the Super Gully. Allen found a trove of fossils in the scree leading up to the gully. He picked up several good horns. I found a good horn for Jame's daughter. We were enjoying just being on the mountain. Approaching the south side cliffs of the gully, we geared up for the steep climb ahead.

Entering the Super Gully, Lost River Mountain

Once into the gully, it became apparent that my assessment of the snow was dead wrong. The gully was a huge sheet of ice and kicking in was next to impossible. The others donned their crampons and made fast work of the steep icy surface. I did my best to follow in their footsteps. Needless to say, I got plenty of self-arrest practice during the climb.

At one point, the surface was too hard to kick in even a small toe hole; I carved steps up a twenty-foot section with the adze of my axe to continue up the slope. This was great experience. the situation required a bit of skill to navigate the steep icy slopes.

The Ridge to the Summit

Once on the top ridge, we knew there would be a small outcropping of rock that would require dropping off the ridge a bit to go around it. Scott Hurst told us that we should go left when we came to this obstacle. At this point, I saw James, ahead of me, drop off the ridge and proceed on a small ledge around the rock. I followed. the ledge was about 18 inches wide and was comprised of terribly rotten rock. Hand holds on the wall were equally crumbly.  I would test each hand hold, and then each footstep before committing my weight. I proceeded chest against the wall with arms outstretched feeling for hand holds. Once across the twenty-foot section, I scurried back up to the ridge. Walking the ridge required, at times, attention to be focused only on the next step. I was especially aware of the fact that I had no crampons on the icy line.

On the Summit

On the summit we both concluded that we were not looking forward to going back across the narrow ledge. I suggested that although the other side of the rock was steep, it was covered in solid snow and would possibly provide good footing. On the way back, we opted for this route over the ledge. In ten seconds we walked around the rock outcropping without any problem at all! James remarked, "Scott was full of crap!" We both had a good chuckle.

Descending Into the Super Gully

Looking Down the Super Gully

Coming down without crampons was a bit tricky. I glissaded slowly down most of the way. I often stopped to make a photo like the one above. I would carve out a ledge to stand on and snap a few images. One time I was in a hurry and forgot to carve out a place to stand. I plunged the spike of my axe into the snow to secure it. Took off my glove and secured it so it would not slide away and took out my camera. Suddenly, my feet went out from under me and I was headed down the mountain. My first thought was, "How stupid." Next, I was clawing at the icy surface with my bare hand. Quickly, I realized that I was never going to get my fingers into the ice. I rolled over on my back and kicked at the surface with my heels. Within thirty-feet of falling, I caught a heel. I looked back up at my axe and glove and tried to scale the slope to retrieve them. Without crampons or an axe, I had no traction to ascend. Once again luck was with me. Allen was descending above me and was able to bring down my gear. It is amazing how quickly a sliding body can pick up speed. Careening down the mountain without control could be fatal if one slammed into rocks or went off a cliff. Such an experience reminds me that although winter peaks in Idaho are not in the same ballpark as big mountains in Alaska or Asia, they can still be just as unforgiving to careless actions.

The Weather Cleared As We Came Out of the Gully

The weather cleared coming out of the gully. the views were incredible. I feel lucky to go to such places and see such sights. I snapped the above photo of James as we rounded the cliffs at the base of the gully. The image seems to sum up a beautiful day in Idaho mountains.

Other Resources:

Tom Lopez Website:
Lost River Mountain

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Climbing Table Mountain, Wyoming

On January 17th James Helfrich, James Allen, Todd Moseley, and myself snowshoed up Table Mountain. Table mountain is a popular summer hike for families living on this side of the Tetons. I had never been in my 19 years living in Rexburg. This winter the opportunity arose when Todd volunteered his snow machines to take us the 6 miles to the mountain and back out at the end. That meant we could have a leisurely hike up the mountain and still catch dinner in Driggs. The fact that this hike would be in 5 feet of snow made it even more appealing. Not many people want to undertake the hike up the face of Table Mountain in the winter. The following is a sampling of photos taken during the day.

Treasure Mountain, Wyoming

Snowshoe Tracks

Short Break

The Wedge and Fossil Mountain, Wyoming

Mountains Across Teton Canyon
The Wedge and Fossil Mountain are Visible

Snow

Ridge to Table Mountain

Looking Over the Ridge

Table Mountain

At the Base of Table Looking South

At the Base of Table Looking North
Three Skiers Skinning Up Our Trail in the Distance

James, James, and Todd

Todd and Myself

Mount Moran

James Packing Up

James and Todd

Cascade Canyon, The Grand, and the Middle Teton

The Tetons

Freds' Mountain and Mary's Nipple

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Climbing Baldy Mountain, Snake River Range, Idaho

1/2/2015

Baldy Mountain, Snake River Range, Idaho

When Scott Gifford suggested we try out our legs on Baldy Mountain in the Snake River Range, I jumped at the chance to get out again. Jacob, Scott's younger brother, also was eager to climb a mountain so we loaded up and drove to Swan Valley.

Baldy is the big peak that rises behind the "town" of Swan Valley. I knew that this range gets much more snow then the Lost River, Lemhi, or Beaverhead Ranges, but was sure we could find some gentle ridges to ascend, keeping clear of steep slopes or chutes. We decided to begin the hike at the Palisades Creek Campground. This southwest aspect was another decision that would help mitigate avalanche danger.

Scott and Jacob

We began climbing around 7:00 A.M. We could not see the peak from our trailhead, but, from our drive in, knew there were several high ridges that we must go over before the final climb on Baldy, we began hiking up gentle slopes in the general direction of the mountain. The snow was about 6 inches. The tall brush was more an obstacle then the snow. Deer trails were everywhere and we often followed their trails through the snow and brush. Soon we were seeing dozens of whitetail bounding out of thickets as we approached.

The snow gradually became deeper as we left the foothills and gained elevation. Soon it was knee deep. It was mostly crystallized powder and breaking trail was not difficult. this all changed when it was thigh deep. Scott and I took turns breaking trail. Often the snow came up to our waists and a few times we were belly deep in snow. Combined with steeper slopes the deep snow made going very slow. We continued on undaunted by the workout.

We came to the final ridge before Baldy Mountain after about 5 hours of tough trail breaking. This was the first time we got a good look at what a summit would entail. From a distance, the foreshortened perspective made the peak look very close to the successive ridges that preceded it. Now we saw that the distance from the last ridge to Baldy was considerable. We also could see that we would have to descend a long distance and then climb up a very steep slope to reach the main ridge leading to the summit. All of this would have to be done in waist deep snow. We conceded to the mountain.and made some mental notes on how to best approach the summit for the future.

Mountain Goat near Palisades Creek, Snake River Range, Idaho

On the way down, we found a mountain goat using the trail we had broken coming up. I was able to get my camera out and snap a few photos before it went over a ridge and disappeared. The stats for the hike look pretty wimpy, but considering we were breaking a trail that a mountain goat would use puts a whole new perspective on what we accomplished that day.

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