Monthly Archives: July 2003

Mount Triumph

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Waiting at the baggage claim after my trip from Colorado, Michael, who, along with Kris, was doing me the big favor of picking me up at the airport, asked right away if I was interested in going to Mount Triumph for the weekend. Never mind the sleep deprivation and the various household tasks left unfinished from the week before and the new ones that had undoubtedly arrived. So, I emphatically said, “Yeah!” Triumph was the first peak that really struck me in the North Cascades. When I first moved to the Seattle area, I remember wandering around a bookstore and picking up a “Selected Climbs in the Cascades” book. I opened by mere chance to the photo of the northeast ridge of Triumph in winter. “Whoa! That’s here!!?!” (I was pretty ignorant of the Cascades)  And since then I’ve really wanted to do Triumph. Sleep or no sleep, chores or no chores, responsibilities or not, I was going!

So, I drove out to Michael’s place at 6am and we were on the road by 6:20. Then, I realized that I’d misread his email and was assuming he’d bring his little betamid tent. Not the case so we went back to my house and picked up my bivy sack and caught the 520 to 405 and beyond. We only lost about 35 minutes or so. It turned out we would have plenty of time so that was good. The road to the Thornton Lakes trailhead was rough for Washington but no problems for passenger cars. After talking with jovial Jose, we hit the trail, making good time along the flat trail. It looked like someone had driven through with a tractor and cut down the brush on either side of the trail in about a 6 foot swath. No complaints here. Abruptly, the trail turned northwards and began switchbacking up. Now came the grueling forest ascent. The ascent was quite long and we were tempted by blue skies through the trees more than once, thinking that we were near the crest. But then the trail would turn away and continue climbing higher and higher. Eventually, we emerged with views of Thornton Lakes and Mount Triumph through the trees. Past the trees, we had great views into this compact little basin. Triumph’s summit was clearly visible up the steep notch that we had to climb to. Ahead of us lay a steep descent of 500 feet or more to the first Thornton Lake which was a deep blue color, most inviting. We arrived on it’s banks after two and a half hours from the car.

A trail continued around the west side of the lake and we followed it. We neglected to study the details of the route and continued following a trail between the first and second lakes. It turns out the we should have crossed the creek and followed the creek immediately up to the second lake on it’s right side, but since we couldn’t find a trail, we assumed we were wrong. So we retraced our steps and continued up the trail to the second lake. Well, this trail dead ends at a cliff that’s hard to see around above the second lake. We committed to this route and followed it over easy but lake-exposed terrain until descending to the talus around the lake. Then we took a break, ate, and replenished water. I was tempted for a swim but didn’t want to take that much time. I figured I’d have a swim on the way out assuming that it would be as sunny and hot as it was today. We began heading up the tedious and steep slopes to the notch before the glacier on the east side of Triumph. Doggedly we continued on until we were greeted with a great view of the Pickets and Mount Triumph! It felt great to be done with all of that previous toil. At least now we were in the fun area.  I zipped around very excited to get such good views of the Pickets and Triumph.  The glacier looked like a reasonable crossing as well and it added to the alpine mystique of the area.

We donned crampons and readied our ice axes.  Part of the snowfield was melted out and we’d be forced to cross a section of talus.  Before that though, we came to a steep drift that formed near the notch.  I belayed Michael over and down the near vertical step to easier terrain and then followed.  It was easy enough but was a little wet and slick.  Beyond this I led us lower onto the glacier where the snow easily avoided anything resembling a crevasse.  We then began the short ascent up to the base of the northeast ridge.  We switchbacked up and jumped over to a level rock area where we could take off our crampons and climb up to the notch in the ridge.  We went straight up the sloping ledges which was a little off route.  Some exposed low 5th class put us on the scree ramp that led up to the notch.  We passed a party here who was just descending the northeast ridge.  They’d been on it all day.

The top of the notch wasn’t wide at all and a large snow bank made it even smaller.  From here, we decided to put on rock shoes and climb the solid ridge up a pitch and a half or so to where our bivy location was reported to be.  We simul-climbed the entire way up.  Part of the pitch was a fun 5.5 lieback, easy in rock shoes but distinctly alpine in character with our full packs and the outrageous views in all directions.  At the top of this steep section of the ridge, we emerged onto the bivy spot.  This is a perfect spot, the first sleeping location is dirt and is protected by the higher ridge above and small shrubs all around.  I could barely contain my excitement just to be in such a spectacular spot.  We had completely unobstructed views at the Pickets.  To the north, we could pick out Mount Blum and a nice angle on Mount Shuksan.  After an enjoyable meal (it took Michael a while to soften and heat up his freeze dried meal), I bounded around looking for great photo ops.  I didn’t have to look hard.  In the meantime, we used the dripping from a small snow bank to collect water.  Michael turned in a little before dark but I stayed up taking sunset pictures.

Without a bivy sack, I used my balaclava to keep my head warm.  I remember falling asleep really quickly.  Then I remember something like raindrops on my sleeping back, and Michael was yelling something like, “Oh no!  It’s raining!”  He had a bivy sack but had the wits to collect the shell jackets and drape them over my bag.  I don’t remember if I helped out but I was back asleep pretty quickly.  Then Michael woke me up and I realized the sun had risen, although it was behind a layer of maritime clouds.  The dark rock of Mt. Triumph loomed above and I was ready to start the climb.  We began at around 6:15-6:30. 

I took the first lead of simul-climbing heading to the left side of the ridge up an easy small gully back to the top of the ridge proper where the fun climbing again.  For most of the climb we were on the ridge crest.  The climbing was easy but definitely 5th class and exposed.  I placed very few pieces of protection.  Soon enough I arrived at a hugely exposed section of ridge.  I had to climb up about 15 feet on a little tower that allowed us to continue the ridge on a thin and massively exposed knife edge.  The climbing was easy again but standing up and moving on the ridge took a lot of nerve.  I crouched on most of it!  Not far ahead, I saw what appeared to be the crux of the climb – a steep right-trending crack up on the face.  I went a little beyond the exposed ridge, found a good, but small, place to stop and let Michael take over the lead.  We’d easily climbed nearly half of the ridge already and we hadn’t been going much longer than 30 or 45 minutes.  The next section was a fun friction climb up to the crux.  Continuing to simul-climb, Michael headed up.  He set a belay for me to follow.  Pictures I’d seen of people on the crux showed them in the crack but I found it much simpler and thrilling to use the crack only for my left hand and stayed out on the exposed face.  A couple of distinctly 5.6-5.7 moves had me back on easier ground. 

I then took over the lead.  We continued simul-climbing the ridge and I eventually came to the Great Notch.  Looking around, I could see that the left side of the ridge was much to steep, practically vertical.  But the right side looked great – it was steep but nice and blocky.  I let Michael catch up and he belayed me up the first section of the steep ridge.  Steep ledges eventually put us back on the ridge.  At this point, the terrain became easier and easier.  We walked 3rd class terrain and made a couple of easy 4th class moves near the top and were there.  We had the whole mountain to ourselves.  What a view it was.  The clouds were really cool though they obstructed the tops of the higher peaks now.  I couldn’t complain, especially after the superb sunset and weather from the day before.  So long as it didn’t rain.

We had arrived on the summit under and hour and a half after setting out.  So, we took our time up here snapping pictures and surmising about different mountains and valleys.  We simul-climbed down where we could and rappelled the rest.  I was more comfortable with rappelling since you really didn’t have to think about where your feet needed to go.  It was less stressful.  We did have a few dicey moments when it started raining and we were down-climbing 5th class sections to get to easier terrain and a rappel station.  Taking care saw us down safely.  Eventually, we were back at the camp.

The climb down the rest of the route and back to the car was pretty uneventful but most enjoyable.  We took a more direct path across the glacier.  We were also able to take advantage of an excellent boot glissade down the snowfield in the notch that led to the second Thornton Lake.  As we traversed it’s shore, the sun came out and really cooked us.  It was very humid and the bright sun really rubbed it in.  Clouds gave us a reprieve the majority of the time.  This time we stayed on the east side of the lake.  Crossing the talus was tedious but much easier than the false trail leading us to the cliffs.  We then followed the creek down to the spot where we had crossed the day before, only to turn around, and we were back on the main trail.  The rest of the hike out was a bit of trail pounding.  It was all enjoyable though.  In the back of my head I thought back to how awesome of a climb this was.  Truly one of the best.

Guye Peak

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After Mount Triumph, I wanted to do another big climb in the North Cascades.  But it was not to be; couldn’t find a party to go with.  So, it was good to catch up at home.  Michael and I, however, took advantage of a Sunday morning and went to do the “Improbable Traverse”, 5.8 grade III, on Guye Mountain.  There’s nothing hugely aesthetic about Guye, being so close to I-90, but that meant that we didn’t have to languish in the hot July sun on a long steep trail (good thing we weren’t doing the standard walkup route). 

We started up the talus field that is actually much longer and tedious than it looks.  At the top of the talus, we were still pressed to find a nice level ledge to put on rock shoes so we ended up having to stand on the down sloping, pebble-strewn ledges.  It’s easy enough finding the gully to start off on and we followed 4th and 5.0 ledges unroped until we got to a prominent tree with lots of rappel slings around it.  I started on the first lead trying to go up to the right through a little passage way created by the low hanging branches but found myself at a steep wall with talus strewn on top.  No good.  So, I came back down and went to the left hand side of the tree, back in the gully.  The traveling was easy 5th class and very blocky, though tough to protect.  This was Exit 38 style rock which is generally just weird.  I got creative with a nut, cam, sling, and a fixed piton (well, not much creativity there).  Right above the fixed piton is a solid crack system that led up to what I thought was the “Lunch Ledge” (turned out it was).  I was about 3/4ths the way out on the rope and headed up the crack but I didn’t feel quite solid enough so I backed down and went around to the left.  This was tricky as well – vertical face climbing.  After much pondering and time-wasting, I decided to build an anchor in the crack and bring Michael up.  Michael led the next short pitch up the crack to Lunch Ledge and I followed, no problem.  It was quality 5.8.

The “Improbable Traverse” was next and Michael led out on this pitch.  From where I belayed, it definitely looked exposed but not as exposed as when I was out there!  He led superbly around a corner then yelled that I was on belay.  The guidebooks say this next section was 5.8 but it didn’t seem that hard to me.  However, it was quite small and the holds were teeny.  This was by far the most exposure on such small holds that I’d ever encountered and I found it pretty scary!  The traverse is no joke about 2 inches wide and only gets shorter.  When it is wider it is down-sloping so this was basically a lesson in composure in the face of giant exposure (500 feet *clean*) and tiny tiny holds, none bomber.  I had to hug the wall quite closely.  It’s just as scary to follow a traverse as it is to lead it!  The scariest part was at the section where there are two fixed pitons – one high, one low (use the higher one, more comfortable and looks to be better).  I basically had to step up about two feet on tiny footholds (an inch) while using tiny finger holds (a half inch).  It’s just as you’re slowly lifting up, I felt I didn’t have all the control I wanted and there’s nothing but air an extra inch away.  It was also a little tricky exiting to the 4th class ramp.  There’s a white kermantle cord here functioning as a fixed sling.  The climb was steep and again on small holds, though these were much bigger than the ones before.  Soon enough I was up on the ramp and I continued through all the way up to a tree-covered ledge.

After a short break here, we followed a wide forested ramp up looking for passage to the left.  Shortly after (after trying a cliff that was too hard), we found an easy 5th class gully system again that led to a vertical 5.7-ish climb.  This part of Guye (in fact almost the whole thing minus the couple of solid pitches around the traverse) was deceptively loose and I had a foothold give out under me.  I bashed my knee but did not fall as my other three points were solid.  I continued up and met Michael at the top.  I then took over the lead and started up a vertical and grassy dihedral that got me nowhere.  Had to come down – again!  I moved left and followed a dirty path to another set of cliffs – the first with a downed tree with a sling around it which I used as protection.  The next cliff was easy 5th class protected with a nut.  Finally, I popped out on the ridge and we were at the top.

The scramble over to the other summits was easy and we decided to make one last pitch getting to the north summit.  It featured a short, say 20 feet, with a nasty roof/overhang in the middle.  Michael led out intent on the left hand side.  I thought the right looked easier.  Indeed, Michael’s route was a bit sketchy and the dried lichen didn’t help any.  I wouldn’t recommend this way at all (he rated it 5.9+) a few times he was crouched down as to not bump his head on the roof above.  He set up a belay and I headed over to the right side which indeed was easier (5.6+ – strenuous).  There’s basically a solid hold above but you have to lie back quite a bit and heave yourself up, step up, then finish the move, all laying back a lot.  Not bad though.  It can be protected by placing a tight sling around a horn on the right that’s used as a solid handhold.

Yay, on the top.  Good views all around.  Mount Rainier was awesome.  The hike down was super steep and my knee had a big lump in it from where I bashed it on that vertical crap rock.  I was pretty slow on the descent (we also had no trekking poles this time) and Michael went ahead.  Man, it was hot out here and we also didn’t have any sunscreen.  We got to the car at about the same time in the end…guess I caught up as we walked the road back to the car.

Del Campo Peak

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Getting started with this climb was really weird.  At first, I thought I would do an overnight but it turned out that I had so many things to do so I made it a day hike at the last minute.  Even on the day of the hike, I didn’t get up until 7:00 or so and didn’t start the hike until 9:30am, which felt so late.  However, I ended up being the first person on the peak!  More on that later.  This was the first time that I had driven up this part of the mountain loop highway.  I was eager to see “Big Four Mountain” which I had only recently heard about.  As I approached Big Four Campground I started looking through the trees trying to get a glimpse.  Then I saw it:  a monstrous and terrifying north face with hanging glaciers and snowfields feeding the numerous falls cascading off of it.  What a giant peak!  I can see why that peak has the reputation it does.

The beginning of Del Campo Peak and other Monte Cristo Peaks involves a hike down a level road to various trailheads.  Many people like to bike this.  But for this trip, a bike wasn’t necessary because the hike in is only 1.5 miles.  When I arrived there were some others getting their bikes ready.  I was able to head out first and I moved quickly.  Within 15 minutes, the cyclists passed me, but in 5 minutes, I was at the trailhead!  Easy hike.  The trail up to Gothic Basin starts out nice and mellow but becomes, surprise surprised, very steep with lots of switchbacks within a mile.  I continued to move fast and passed two parties.  Soon after, I arrived at the first open space high up at a set of falls.  There’s a whole lot of falls on this hike!  I suspected I was pretty close to the basin but checking my altimeter brought me back to reality.  Ug, another 1500 feet to go.  I didn’t keep up with the number of creeks and falls that I passed but it was a lot.  There’s one set of falls pretty close to the trail called “The Shower of Mighty Kong” or something like that.  I took a break here to put on sunscreen.  It’s also nice to stand close to the falls and let the cool mist massage your tired and hot body.

More falls, more falls until I finally arrived at a steep snow slope that apparently led to the base of the basin.  Sure enough, I was at the snow-filled basin and there was a small lake below me.  But, I didn’t recognize any of the features.  Nothing from what I recalled from the pictures and nothing on the map.  A little more study of the map revealed that the trail had deposited me well to the south of the lake and peaks.  So, I headed north.  Soon enough, Del Campo started to make an appearance.  However, within a few minutes, I realized this was Gothic Peak since a much bigger peak was coming into view on the right.  Then I saw the lake:  Foggy Lake, or, as Beckey’s book calls it, Crater Lake.  Hmmm…what to do first.  I started to head over to Gothic but then decided to head for Del Campo since it was the major peak and probably had better views.  Also, I wasn’t sure how tired I’d be on the way down too.  There was still lots of snow up here.  The topology really undulates up here…hills and little frozen pools everywhere.  There was too much snow though, really, to appreciate what it probably is like in late fall.

I crossed near the lake and started heading up heather slopes mixed with snow.  I’d been hearing voices in front of me and finally spotted an army of hikers heading up Del Campo.  Must be Mountaineers.  Studying their tracks revealed the pack mentality:  all using ice axes and holding them in their left hand, now the right hand.  I decided to get some food and let them get a little further in front of me.  I started back up maybe 10 or 15 minutes.  I ascended the standard route, following the boot path in the sloppy snow.  Within minutes, I was in sight of the Mountaineers again.  They took a break at the base of the snow where a 3rd class gully leads northward and up to a notch.  They were indeed a Mountaineers party and were nice enough to let me head out first.  I resolved to climb quickly and not knock any rocks down on them.  At the notch, there’s a small trail that heads up another 50 feet.  At this point, though I didn’t feel it, I knocked a small rock down!  Arr!  It missed them easily but smacked other small rocks and sent 3 or 4 down.  Man, I felt bad and careless.  My quick apology was accepted and I resolved to stay off the trail and on the very solid rock on the lefthand side, which was pushing 4th class with some fun exposure.  Soon enough, I was on top.  It was 1:10pm, 3 hours and 40 minutes after setting out.

Looking to the west revealed nothing but fog!  I guess this is why they call it “Foggy Pass” (the pass between Gothic and Del Campo).  There were zero views west but plenty of excellent views to the west.  The tops of Glacier, Pugh, and Sloan were capped with clouds.  I still haven’t gotten a good look at Sloan.  Keyes (which they pronounced “Kies” rhyming with “Fries”??  Is that right??), Columbia, and Monte Cristo were easily visible.  I was also able to pick out Mount Forgotten to the north.  The top was a little noisy with all of us up here but I couldn’t complain.  After about 50 minutes on top, I bade the Mountaineers farewell and headed down.  I thought they would start down about 10 minutes after me but after getting down the gully and boot glissading nearly all the way to the lake, I looked back and saw that they were still on top!  I continued down and took a slightly different route back over the knoll that blocks the lake from the valley.  The sun was quite intense as I hiked and I went to get my hat out of my pack and I realized I left it on top!  Arr!  I am so forgetful sometimes.  Ah well, it was a rather heavy hat and I didn’t feel like waiting on the off chance that one of the Mountaineers would have picked it up.  So, I put on my bandana and headed down.  The steep trail forced me to move quickly.  I took an Aleve to keep my knees happy and marched on.  No time for breaks!  I was back at the car at 4:45.  The drive out was pleasant enough as I got more views of Big Four Mountain.

One annoying feature of the drive back was a goofy camper that kept everyone (at least 10 cars) at about 40 mph.  Did the driver realize he was breaking the goofy Washington Five Car Stack law?  I guess not.  We passed a cop on the side of the road.  He just sat there…hey go study the books, Officer Doughnut!  :-)