Ramblings

Wednesday, August 05, 2015

Climbing Mount Rainier

7/31/2015

Route on August 1st, 2015

Climbing Mount Rainier this July/August was a unique experience for me. I learned how dynamic a glaciated mountain climb can be. Last winter's low snowpack and the warm temperatures of late July made the standard Disappointment Cleaver Route unapproachable due to large crevasses. Once above the cleaver, instead of heading straight towards the crest, the route veered west over the Ingraham headwall and past Gibraltar Rock. Then it traversed back toward the crest above Disappointment Cleaver. See above.

Climbers on the Muir Snowfield
Mount Adams in the background

Climbed from Paradise to Camp Muir. Reached Muir around 4:00 P.M. Dave Hahn laid out the logistics for the forthcoming climb. We then ate, repacked, planned, and bedded down by 6:00 P.M.

The majority of photos, unfortunately, were taken during this short time at Camp Muir. Once the climb began, photos were only taken at rest intervals to avoid distractions. This insured that focus was placed on good footwork and objective hazards. The downside of this was, that for a photographer, stunning images of ice falls, crevasses, and dramatic exposure were sacrificed.

Dave Hahn giving logistics at Muir

Camp Muir from RMI hut

Guide's hut at Camp Muir

Looking across the Cowlitz Glacier towards Cathedral Gap

Camps on the Cowlitz Glacier

8/1/2015

Began climbing at 12:30 A.M. to take advantage of cold temperature holding the mountain together. The night was clear and the almost full moon illuminated the mountain. Could not have asked for a more beautiful experience going up. We crossed the Cowlitz and climbed through Cathedral Gap. Took our first break at Ingraham Flats. Next, we climbed up Disappointment Cleaver. The cleaver was mostly void of snow. It involved class 3 climbing with crampons; I welcomed the snow once we were off the cleaver!

There really was no difficult climbing on our route up Rainier. There were two ladder crossings over crevasses and a few areas of significant exposure on snow and ice ledges. The guides mitigate these hazards. For example, on the aluminum ladders, two 2X6 boards were lashed together on top of the ladders to make a solid platform on which to cross. It was like walking across a twelve inch sidewalk. In the areas of exposure, fixed ropes were installed. These accommodations made very real hazards manageable and boosted the confidence of neophyte climbers. For the average adventurer, the guides provided support so one could just enjoy the journey. They did not eliminate risk or eclipse the personal responsibility of the individual climber, but did help manage the risk in areas of extreme hazard. I think the skills taught and the experiences gained were a heck of a deal from RMI.

Solvieg Waterfall, RMI Guide

Dave Hahn, RMI Guide

The upper mountain was wonderful. I was in heaven. The glaciated landscape was spectacular. At times it was just surreal. Towering ice cliffs and vast crevasses disappearing in darkness were other-worldly vistas to me . I savored these sights. Again, as a photographer, I was disappointed not to have been able to make images of these experiences. Yet, I understood the objective hazards that necessitated complete focus on your responsibility to those roped together with you. The following few images are all I could make once on the upper mountain. The first is out of focus but I like the composition.

I am including several photos taken by guides or other climbers who were able to document some of the climb on the upper mountain.

Made the crest and walked across the caldera to reach the Columbia Crest at 14,411 feet. Signed the register and snapped a few images. Then headed down.

Walking out of the caldera to the Columbia Crest

Dave Hahn letting out a summit howl

I actually have a photo of me on the summit!

I got lucky with this shot. I could see this guy fiddling with his pack in the lower left of the frame. I anticipated him getting up and walking to the little dip in the ridge. Snapped at the right time. I think it's a great summit shot.

The rim of the caldera

Liberty Peak from the Columbia Crest

Dave Hahn teaching about Nieves Penitentes in the caldera

Coming down we took a break at Ingraham Flats. I snapped a few photos. Most of them of the Ingraham Headwall and dramatic ice cliffs above us. From this break, we walked down to camp Muir, packed our stuff and headed down the snowfield back to Paradise.

Break at Ingraham Flats

Above Ingraham Flats

Ingraham Headwall, 8/1/2015

Hiking back to Paradise

After our post-summit get together at Whittaker Base Camp in Ashford, I headed to the Wildberry Restaurant for a hearty Nepalese dinner of chicken curry, lentil soup, rice, bread, and vegetables. The restaurant is run by a Nepalese family who offer traditional Himalayan cuisine. The night before the climb Peter Sisler and I thoroughly enjoyed the chicken curry, and the night before that, I had sampled their Sherpa stew. Anyway, Peter and I had made informal plans to eat there again after the climb. After eating a few slices of pizza at the post-summit social, I excused myself from going to the Wildberry. An hour later my body was telling me I needed more solid carbs and protein. The chicken curry dinner was calling me. Headed to the Wildberry. I savored a delicious Himalayan meal basking in the post-summit glow. That's just the way I like climbing closure... a great meal.

a shot of the team before leaving Camp Muir

For more trip reports of other mountains visit idahoclimbing.weebly.com

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Climbing Sunny Bar Peak (10,512) Lemhi Range, Idaho

July 22, 2015

Sunny Bar Peak
Little Diamond Peak on the right

Ben and I climbed Sunny Bar Peak in the Lemhi Range. We were looking for a nice class 2 trek without a lot of elevation gain. Thought Sunny Bar fit the bill. Drove to Fallert Springs near Uncle Ike Creek in the Little Lost River Valley. The road is passable but AWD, great tires, and good clearance are necessities. I made it to the springs in my 2003 Forester, but keep in mind I have light truck tires on my vehicle.

Before we began hiking, we drove up the road to a vantage above Uncle Ike Creek. Below you can see the beginning of the creek. On the other side of the divide, the South Fork of Pass Creek drains to the east.

Uncle Ike Creek

The false summit of Sunny Bar Peak above Uncle Ike Creek
Swanson Peak in the background

Sunny Bar Peak (false summit) and Swanson Peak
Fallert Springs is the upper oasis

Nearing Fallert Springs

From Fallert Springs, hike north and then west up the steep scrub covered slope. This is the most difficult part of the climb. You will gain about 1,500 feet in a little over half a mile. The footing is pretty good. Once the ridge is made, follow it all the way to the top. This is a great class 2 climb. However, this route will only get you to 10,200 feet. The final summit is a ragged peak that does not look very approachable from the high ridge top on the mountain. Ben and I walked over to the path to the summit block, but decided against a traverse and climb from our position. I am sure this line entails some solid class 3 climbing at the very least. The south face of the peak is very steep and full of loose rock. The east/west ridge line from above Rocky Run Creek looks like a more approachable line to the summit of this mountain.

Little Diamond and Swanson Peak from Sunny Bar Peak

Ben (in his pajamas) near the summit of Sunny Bar Peak

A side note:

On the way back to the springs, Ben found the remains of a Big Horn Sheep. There were the four legs spread out in a rectangle and the head with about fifteen inches of vertebrae still attached. It reminded me of how our cat leaves the remains of his prey. He leaves the legs and head but eats everything in between.

Of course I carried the head down for him. Found out that to legally posses a ram's head, you must report it to the Fish and Game within 30 days of finding it. Drove to Idaho Falls to do my civic duty today. They take tissue samples, measurements, and information regarding the location of the find. They then drill a hole behind one horn and embed a metal identification pin in the horn. Interesting.

Ben's ram skull

Route from Fallert Springs
Ignore the orange and red line. I forgot to end the excersize and began driving.

There are probably several ways to get to Fallert Springs. we came up from Howe and turned right on a road that looked like it would take us to the canyon between Sunny Bar and Buckhorn Peak. I took this photo of the two no trespassing signs right across the road from where we turned. There are also some beehives there, but of course they my not be there next year.