Saturday, July 5, 2008

As Confusing as a Fred Becky Route Description



At the ranger station in Glacier, WA, we checked on the trail conditions, got a weather report for the next 2 days. Richard, our guide, also showed us the basic route on a big 3-D topographic map. 

We then went out back and talked about the route and looked at the descriptions in 2 books Richard had. We then got in the van and drove up to the trailhead. 

The parking lot we parked in was surrounded by tourists. Some were interested in what we were doing, noticing all our gear all over the place and our big packs, but most just ignored us. The amount of people around was just overwhelming. Many were fascinated to see snow and the temperature being 75-80 degrees. 

Rather then hiking down the remainder of the road, we cut across the snow pack and started hiking in. The first part was pretty cool because it was all down hill! We then were down in a valley where we crossed many small creeks that were covered in snow. The last part of the hike was up some pretty big hills, but we moved quickly and efficiently. 

We got to a point where we had a couple choices to pick a camp site. I wanted to camp on the ridge because I could tell the view was going to be awesome. Richard and I headed up to the ridge to check it out, and Matt and Danielle went to
check out another site in the trees. We ended up choosing the site I picked out.

We set up camp and planned out how we were going to get to the bottom of the route the following day. We then made dinner and chilled out for the remainder of the evening. 

We got to see a gorgeous sunset over the mountains which was a great cap to a good day.

The following morning we woke up at 4:15 AM to get ready to leave by 5:30 so we could move while conditions were still good. As we we hiked over to the route, not far from camp Danielle said she wasn't feeling it today and went back camp. Only 3, we got to the bottom of the route which was partially melted out. We climbed up a partial trail, then traversed a wide snowfield. 

The route description told us to that the rock section started to the right of a huge boulder tha
t you can't miss. We're looking around. No boulder. We ask Richard where it is, as it turns out it is under the snow. Thank you Fred Becky. 

We started the rock portion of the route, not very hard, we can move together very quickly but then we come to a section of super steep snow. As we climb up we find easy rock right next to the snow, and climb up that. It's tricky but doable. 

When we get up to a ridge, Richard asks how I'm feeling. I'm hot because its about 80 degrees with the sun then reflecting back off the snow. The route isn't a huge amount of fun. He tells me that he thinks we should stop rather then going farther, just because conditions are falling apart and we are 3-4 hours away from the summit anyway. We stopped and had lunch before heading down. 

I led us down the steep 75-85 degree snow slope. After getting down the rock section safely, the space between the rock and snow at the base of the route had gotten much bigger. I climbed down a little farther where it would be easier to get on the snow. 

My knee was sore from bumping into rocks and kind of stiff as well. As i was traversing, the step in the snow broke out from under me and I went sliding. I tried to self arrest but the snow ran out and I slid into a moat. Right before I slid into the moat I could see it was an 8 foot drop on the rock slab below. I thought to myself, I'm going to end up wit
h a broken leg. 

Right as  I disappear below the surface of the snow,  I feel the rope catch me. Safe and sound I hear a "Paul are you ok?", which I responded with "Yeah, I'm just fine". Richard climbed up onto the snow and belayed me back up and away from the moat. We gathered in a flat spot and Matt led us on. 

Going down another steep slope, I slipped again, and tried to self arrest again. At the same time I slipped, Matt slipped. During my attempt at self arrest, my axe caught on a tree and slid out of my hands. Richard was able to arrest both of us. 

After some more down climbing on snow, we took a break. At this point I was very frustrated and just wanted to get off that route and go back to my tent. 


As we got to the rappel station, we set up a rappel and Matt headed down first. As I moved closer to the set up, my axe, which was now clipped to my harness, became unclipped and all we heard was cling, clang, clung and watched it fall off the side of the cliff. 

Rather then land in a moat, it landed in the snow. Matt was able to recover it. We soon got off the route and headed back to camp. 

On our walk back, I'm so frustrated about how the day went that I think to myself that I just want to go home. Not back to my tent. Home in Jersey. 

Once we get back, I just crawl in my tent where I relax in the warm sun streaming through the door and just let the frustration leave my body.

The rest of the night was spent hanging out, reading, napping, eating the remainder of our food and quoting lots of movies. We all headed to bed around 9. I read in my tent for a while and the wind picked up. I could tell a storm was coming. I saw some lightning before falling asleep but heard no thunder. 

Around 12:30 AM I wake up hearing loud thunder, and hearing rain pounding my tent. I sit up and look out the window and see that it's really windy, but my tent is barely showing that it is. After a few minutes of this, I hear from one of the other tents "So, Richard, what are we going to do?", to which he responds that we're pretty safe and are just going to deal. I lay in my sleeping bag thinking I'm not moving. My tent is made for Everest conditions. 

I remember a conversation I had with Eric Horst, a high caliber climber who is a professor at my college, and recall him saying that some of his scariest times in the mountains have been during storms much like we were enjoying. I just buried down in my sleeping bag and fell asleep.  

In the morning I woke up and started packing my stuff up. We decided that based on the look of the clouds, we wanted to get out as quick as possible. As we headed out, the clouds moved in lower in the valley, making it hard to see our landmarks. At one point we got disoriented and retraced our steps back and forth several times until we back on track. We made it back to our van in 3 hours, 10 minutes, about as long as the hike in, and were soaked to the bone because of the rain that we enjoyed for about 2 hours of our hike. 

We headed back to Bellingham, and I returned to my hotel. It was a great trip and I'm psyched for part 3, the final part of my climbing adventure. 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

hey man awesome work very proud to see what you started at to the climber you are becoming enjoy every minute can't wait for the stories have a blast stay safe see ya in the fall