We Do Stuff: May 2017

Mt. Rainier

May 21-22, 2017
Mt. Rainier 14,411
Ingraham Direct

Just one day before, Laura and I had climbed Mt. Saint Helens with her family. We had now set our sights on a mountain that was on Laura's radar for quite a while. I had never considered Rainier a must do for myself, but it was a few years ago that my great friend and climbing buddy Isaac had began working on me to go to this great mountain with him. He had the opportunity to climb last year but couldn't obtain the summit on that trip so he was to join us this year. We made plans to climb via the Furher Finger, the mountains most direct route. Isaac knows that we are a strong group and that we move quickly when we climb together, so he was putting in consistent miles to be in top shape for the climb. He wasn't going to be denied the summit for a second year in a row.

Laura and I were at home practicing crevasse rescue techniques when I got a text from Isaac. All it said was "Looks like I'm out for Rainier". I immediately knew this was not good because Ike never bails. He had taken a 15' ground fall rock climbing and had broken his ankle pretty badly. Ike was devastated and we were equally bummed that one of our closest friends and best adventure partner would not be with us for our mountain adventure.

Driving and talking about the fun we would be having if Ike were here with us, we read the rangers climbing blog. Due to the lengthy warm weather spell the region had been having, we made plans to talk to the climbing rangers about conditions on the mountain before making a final decision on what route to take. With multiple feet of recent snow and very warm weather, we decided that Furher Finger would be a slushy mess and would likely be unclimbable, so we switched to plan B. Ingraham direct was put in by rangers just a few days prior and only had a few crevassed areas opening up so we chose to go for that while it was available. We had planned on taking the entire day for rest but didn't want to miss our window for a more direct line to the summit on a rapidly changing route. We decided to leave for Camp Muir at 4 pm that afternoon.
It was very hot at the parking area so we opted to make the hike to Camp Muir in our tennis shoes rather than our warm boots. Carrying all of our overnight gear and working through the slush, we made camp in 4 hours. We set up our tent, made dinner and melted snow before retiring for a few hours of sleep before our 2:30 am alarm.

Most groups leave before midnight but Laura and I felt like we could make the summit in good time and didn't want to be on top before sunrise so we set a start time of 3 am. Off we went, roped together and carrying rescue gear, we moved quickly through some steep terrain, traversing back and forth to end run multiple crevasses. We were treated to something that neither of us had ever seen before; the moon was rising as just a sliver but was bright red. As the sky lightened the moon became orange and then slowly faded with the morning light. After a few hours of climbing, we came to a ladder to cross the largest open crevasse of our chosen route. Without incident, we crossed the ladder and continued quickly through a dangerous area of overhanging seracs, or snow covered ice looming above us.

We were 3 hours into our day and discussing where we thought we were at on the route when we came to another climber who informed us that we were just about an hour from the summit crater. We figured we were just past halfway so this was a pleasant surprise and motivated us to keep our strong pace to the summit. As we climbed closer, we talked about our friend Ike and how we wished he was there with us. He would have loved it that day. At that point we decided that we would go back with him when he was ready. We would do what it would take to help our friend make the summit he so dearly wanted to stand atop of. Continuing on, we made the summit crater at 7 am, walked across the huge depression and up to Columbia Crest. We spent a half hour looking out and admiring the view from the highest point in Washington state.

The descent to Camp Muir went quickly with only one stop to wait for some people crossing the ladder. We chatted with some rangers and were breaking down the tent before we knew it. We made it back to the car at 1 pm, went to the visitors center for a while and were off to stay with Laura's brother in laws family for the night before continuing on our journey south.

Mount Saint Helens

May 20, 2017
Mt. Saint Helens, 8,366 ft.
Worm Flows Route

For several years, Laura and her sister have done a trip with their father to climb a mountain. This year the annual trip became a family affair. During the planning stages, Laura was looking for something that would be interesting and fun but still within everyone's ability range. Not afraid to push her family just a little, she chose Mt. Saint Helens. The permitting process is tough so when the window opened up in February, Laura was online and reserving enough for everyone. Good thing she was on it because permits for the entire spring season were sold out within an hour.

Since we were making the trip out to the Pacific Northwest, we decided to make a week of it and add on Mt. Rainier and Mt. Hood, or Wy'East as the natives named it. We flew from Denver and met her father, brother, sister and brother in law for dinner. We discussed the weather and what we thought conditions on the mountain would be like. Luckily, we had some first hand insight from Mark, a close family member and one of Portlands chief meteorologists. We came at the right time because it was raining and snowing at home and sunny and clear in Oregon. Mark reported that the weather this week was "unheard of" in the Pacific NW and that we were quite fortunate for such outstanding conditions.

The following morning we hit the trailhead at 4:30 am and began our 5.5 mile trek up the south side of the mountain that 37 years ago imploded and blew the side and 1,500' feet off the top of itself. The first few miles through the forest were a mix of mud and snow due to the warm weather. We travelled in a group, Laura in back talking her dad's ears off and me out front setting a pace I thought everyone could sustain for a few hours. Brian had been ill for the week prior and still was not feeling good, so there was silence up front while Marvin and Annie cruised in the middle.

Once past chocolate falls and at about tree line the snow was consistent. We stopped for a break and feeling a bit better, Brian began distancing himself from the pack. I decided to pick up the pace a bit too and shortly thereafter passed Brian and set my own pace for the top of the beautiful mountain. With 100 permits being issued daily, we certainly were not alone on the gentle slopes to the crater rim, but unlike other very popular mountains, there was no conga line to the top.
I made the summit at 9:50 am with Brian arriving about an hour later. After looking down into the impressive, steaming and continuously growing crater, we relaxed and admired the grand views of Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier, mine and Laura's second objective and Mt. Hood, our third objective volcano for the week.

Brian and I discussed when we expected the rest of the family to make the summit and decided that since the day was beautiful and we likely had 3 hours or so to wait, we should dig out lounge chairs in the summit snow. Within a few minutes we had our boots kicked up and were watching into the distance, talking and laughing about whatever came to mind at that moment on top of our world for the day.

As expected, around 1 pm Laura, her father, sister and brother in law made their way to the summit. We were proud of the group for all obtaining our goal for the day. Laura passed out cheese, crackers, dried fruit and jerky for everyone while I worked on making my glissading sled out of a trash bag. Within minutes we were all off, rapidly sliding down the mountain we had just summited, using only our ice axes to control our speed. Making it back to the car in just a few hours, everyone was happy with their accomplishment and proud of one another. We headed back to town for pizza and beer and shared pictures and good conversation before retiring to our hotel rooms for the night.

The next morning we shared a breakfast table, said our goodbyes and parted ways. Everyone headed home, but Laura and I had bigger plans. Mt. Rainier, we're coming for you!

The Pacific Northwest

May 19-28, 2017

Pacific Northwest

During our down time between climbing volcanoes in the region, Laura and I made an effort to explore the area. After 3 consecutive days of climbing 4,000 vertical feet or more, we stayed near Portland and headed off the next morning. We had only planned to go to Crater Lake National Park, but since we were now a few days ahead of schedule, we decided to add in the coastline as well.
Driving west, we arrived at Cannon Beach, very scenic, the site of the windows computer background and according to my cousin, the site of the filming of the movie The Goonies. We walked the beach in a cold wind, had lunch and headed down the coastline.

Since we are out on the trail quite a bit, I look for foods that keep for a week or more and taste good even when you don't want to eat because of elevation or high activity levels. For years I have been taking Tilamook cheese wherever I go, so it was a perfect place to stop when we came across the Tilamook Cheese Factory! We did a quick tour, sampled some different cheeses and bought a block of my favorite, the smoked and aged cheddar. Of course, we couldn't leave a dairy farm without ice cream too!

Pretty soon, we were at Crater Lake National Park. We always try to visit our parks if we are in close proximity because they are almost always amazing places. Many of them are overrun with tourists, but Crater Lake was different. Due to the high levels of snow this year, only one entrance was open and most of the hiking trails were closed. This kept the visitors away, so we enjoyed several viewpoints and a quick lunch before heading on down the road.

It was amazing to us how dense the forest is in Oregon. Just feet off the beach, the trees are thick, and at our camp spots near lakes along the way, you wouldn't even know you were at a lake unless you walked to shore. Home in Colorado is very different, but I guess that shows the difference consistent moisture makes!

Along the way, we stayed at several lakes and took the time to walk a short section of the Pacific Crest Trail since through hiking has been a subject of conversation for us lately. The last part of our tour was the waterfalls along the Columbia River Gorge everyone hears about. We spent a day waterfall chasing, as Laura called it, and saw some of the most amazing falls in the area!

Epinephrine

May 8, 2017

Las Vegas, NV

Epinepherine, Red Rocks

Just a few weeks prior, Laura and I were at the climbing gym getting in some rounds after work to stay in climbing shape. We happened to see my friend Brad there and he mentioned that he was going to red rocks in a few weeks and that we should go. Now Brad knows that we are all about taking advantage of opportunities, so we went home and made a plan. The following day, we bought our plane tickets and were committed to going for a climb that would not only be the longest rock route either of us had done, but also one of the most difficult.

We made it to Las Vegas and hung out with Laura’s sister, husband and mother for the day. The next day we went bowling and wondered what was in store for THE route everyone talks about.

2 am we left the house, met Brad and two others and headed for Red Rocks. Neither Laura or I had climbed there before but we knew it was one of the most amazing places in the country to climb. After an hike in, we geared up and by 6:45 we had started climbing the first pitches of the 2,400’ route. The first pitch was easy face climbing to a ledge where you started the wide chimneys. Brad led the chimneys and his 2 partners followed. I led behind them and brought Laura up behind me.

The first two chimney pitches were like nothing I had ever climbed before but were a blast. Wide crack climbing with great places for protection. I tried to climb fast to keep up with Brad, who had been on the route 4 times before. The third chimney pitch was unprotectable except for 2 bolts that were widely spaced. I began climbing and clipped the first bolt but with the climbing at my limit in wide cracks and a potential 40' fall, I opted for a rope from above on this, the most difficult chimney pitch.

Once we got above the chimneys, it was 10 pitches of amazing and varied face climbing. Brad led his group and I placed the gear for me and Laura. The route was wildly exposed, looking down over 1,500 feet with nothing below and a great experience. I described the featured wall as something like our local Garden of the Gods Kindergarten rock with about 100 times more features.

Before we knew it, we had topped out of the most technical pitches and were simuclimbing the last few hundred feet. After a short summit celebration, we changed our shoes and started the hike down. Luckily we had the light of a full moon that night and it made the descent fairly straight forward.

Making it back to the car, 17 hours round trip, we were greeted by a pile of beers left for us by some of Brad’s friends who were also climbing in the area that same day!

Independence Monument

April 23, 2017
Independence Monument, Colorado National Monument
Otto's Route
3 hours to summit.

2.5 mile hike in to this tower with amazing views.
Go off belay between P2 and P3. Walk thru the time tunnel to lunchbox ledge.
Weirdest route ever! Interesting with drilled holes for pipes and chopped steps. Single set of cams to #3 is plenty. Twin 70m ropes get you down in 2 raps.

Beautiful area!

Castleton Tower

April 22, 2017
Castleton Tower, Moab Utah
North Chimney
4 hours to summit

Thanksgiving 2016, Ike and I met Laura and her mom in Moab. After much consideration, we decided to attempt Castleton via Kor-Ingalls route. We turned back after the first pitch because the calcite was so slick and we did not feel good about the climb. Ever since this day, we have been talking about going back, so we worked on our crack climbing skills and off we went.

Fun and adventurous route. First pitch felt hardest and had very sustained jams. Difficult move at bulge 15' before belay has good protection with a #2 cam. 2nd pitch was most fun. I placed a #5 cam here and walked it up thru the crux 15' off the belay. P3 could easily be combined with P4, but there would be pretty good rope drag.

We met a cool guy, Wally - he happened to know a climbing partner of mine, Brad and mentioned that he had taken his now girlfriend up a route called Epinephrine, which we will be doing in two weeks with Brad.

Laura saw a guy take fall at the top of pitch 1. 2 pieces of gear pulled and a fixed piece caught him after about a 60'-70' fall.
Doubles of cams #.3-#3, #4, #5. #6 would protect lower on pitch 2, but can walk a #5 up just fine.