Mount Moran

Mount Moran - 12,605'

CMC route

August 26, 2021

Just four days prior we were stopped by six inches of snow on the west side downclimb of Drizzlepuss and the CMC route was a raging waterfall of melting snow. 

Since the sun had been out for a few days we figured that the route had cleared off and would be in condition for another go. Laura and I loaded up our $150 blow up kayak in the back of the Jeep, half deflated so that it would fit. 

Put in for Leigh Lake after portaging past String Lake

Kayaking toward Mount Moran

Kayaking on Leigh Lake

We knew that we would need to make good time today but also knew that we didn't want to be up high too early. We opted for a 3:30 am alarm. Setting off from our camp at Colter Bay, Laura put Hazel in the tent with Grandma and we were soon at the String Lake Trailhead. Gear was all packed so we inflated the Kayak and were walking at 4:30 am. We chose to portage our lightweight kayak the one mile along the trail in the morning since it was just as fast to walk to Leigh Lake as it would be for us to paddle across String Lake and then make the 100 yard portage to Leigh Lake. 

Beautiful sunrise across Leigh Lake (taken on first attempt)

We placed our gear in our boat and put on our rain jackets, jumped in the kayak and started paddling. As we turned the corner toward the Falling Ice glacier drainage, we noticed two sets of headlights high on the mountain. One group was above CMC camp already and one group was just leaving camp. We figured they saw us as well, but we were probably four hours behind both groups. We completed the short lake crossing in about 45 minutes and tied our kayak to some rocks just out of the water. 

Stashing the kayak at the base of the Falling Ice glacier drainage

Since our pants were soaked from paddling, we changed to a dry pair. We started hiking up the steep drainage at 5:50 am. Since we were just there a few days back, we quickly located the trail that cuts in after about a half mile. We continued up the trail, Laura leading the way and pushing the pace to almost 2,000 vertical feet per hour. There was no time to talk today and it's a good thing because we were both out of breath. Focused on the objective that we missed, I think we were both in a "go get it" mindset. I normally stop for food and water every hour or so, but today it was pushed to every two hours. The breaks were short, all being less than five minutes long. 

Short break just below CMC camp

We made excellent progress and were at CMC camp in three hours. We passed camp at 10,700 feet as the sun rays broke through the thick smoke in the sky and lit up up Leigh Lake and Jackson Lake below. The ledge system just above CMC camp is the most confusing part of the approach, but today we made smooth progress through. We knew where to access the ledges and how far to traverse back to gain the next levels. 

Working our way through the ledges

We were soon through the ledges above camp and had Drizzlepuss in sight. There appeared to be a group there and as we approached, we realized that this was a third party who was in front of us. From this point on the mountain, the falling ice glacier is amazing. As they descended the steep and tricky ledges of Drizzlepuss, Laura and I awed at the deeply crevassed glacier and geared up and put on our harnesses. 

View of the Falling Ice Glacier and the West Horn from the saddle with Drizzlepuss

View of the CMC face from Drizzlepuss

We completed the short downclimb, which was now completely snow free and dry, and quickly located the rappel slings. It was now 9 am. We rappelled and chatted with the group we had caught. A guide, Brian, from Jackson and his client Drew. They began to climb as Laura and I rappelled. 

Downclimb with snow

Downclimb in dry conditions

Rappel off Drizzlepuss

Brian and Drew ahead of us starting up the CMC face

We were quickly behind them and chatting. CMC route has many options to climb up so I chose a line that did not interfere with their progress. The goal was to simuclimb the entire route in one or two pitches. 

Justin low on the CMC face

Climbing low on the CMC face with the Falling Ice Glacier below

I climbed and placed a cam or stopper occasionally as Laura followed. Our rack was a 70 meter rope, five cams - small offsets to a #2 and a half set of stoppers, mostly in the smaller sizes. I also carried six alpine draws, two of which were double lengths. 

Justin leading the CMC face below the black dike

We climbed about 700 feet of the 1,000 foot route before I ran out of gear and at which point we had caught the second group who had been leaving CMC camp as we paddled across Leigh Lake. As I chatted with them, Laura climbed past since she had all the gear that I had placed along the first portion of the route. 

Easy climbing on the CMC face of Mount Moran

Easy climbing on the CMC face

She lead to the summit, which was mostly 4th class scrambling. We reached the top of the climb and saw the group who had been farthest up the mountain at 5 am as we crossed the lake. They exclaimed "We didn't expect to see you", noting that we made excellent progress and must be very fast hikers and climbers.  We made the short walk to the summit, finding the interestingly spelled Mt. Moranet USGS survey marker at 10:20 am. 

Justin making the final ascent to the summit

Success!  We're at the end of top of the climb.

Geological survey marker at the summit of Mount Moran (Moranet?)

Summit marker

Justin having fun on the summit

To get off the mountain you downclimb the upper part of the route and then move south several hundred yards. Careful route finding leads you down 4th class ledges all the way to Drizzlepuss. We were the only group to downclimb the route today as the others took the time to set up multiple rappels. Reaching Drizzlepuss, we chose an incorrect ascent path up the 5.7 crux of the entire day. I backed off that lead and chose to go over to the south side of Drizzlepuss. 

Wrong way to climb back over Drizzlepuss

Correct way to climb back over Drizzlepuss

I started climbing and quickly found an old piton. I clipped it and traversed about 20 meters before gaining better ledges and a short ramp the lead toward the rappel we had used earlier in the day. Laura and I unroped here and scrambled up to the top of Drizzleupss. It was just before 12:30 pm. 

Final scramble back to the top of Drizzlepuss

We packed the rope and gear in our packs and started the steep hike down to the kayak. Moving without stopping except to chat with a few groups who were headed up to camp for the evening, we were back at the kayak at 2:27 pm. 

Final descent back to the kayak and Leigh Lake

This is not an easy day and the groups we passed all seemed quite impressed that we had done the route in a day. We joked with them that we were going to switch our kayak for one of their canoes to make our trip back easier. Their response was "cool, just don't drink our beers". Laura joked about finding their beer, but I told her if we took one, we'd probably sink on our way back...karma. While I suppose most people do not go for this climb as a single day push, we felt it was better than carrying camping gear 3,000 feet up. A day trip proved to be the correct decision and I would recommend that anyone who moves quickly on the approach and can simuclimb the entire CMC route do it the same way as we did. The crossing of Leigh and String Lakes went smoothly and we arrived back at the car right at 4pm. A very successful day in a beautiful setting. We are happy to have had a great experience on this gorgeous mountain