Destination: Mount Triumph, Northeast Ridge (7,240')

Date: July 23-25, 2010

Starting Point:  Thornton Lakes Trailhead (c. 2,700')

Round Trip Distance: c.14 miles, c. 6,300' elevation gain

Time: 2.5 days (with leisure time)

Equipment: The ten essentials, ice axe, small alpine rack to 2” with one #3 cam

Difficulties: Fifth class rock, glacier travel, exposed steep snow-rock transition

Unable to make this trip come together last year, I began planting the seed at Icicle Creek in April, by cornering Rick Rogers by the campfire once he’d had a couple beers. I had been successful on my only other attempt at this route back in 2002 with my then girlfriend Jenny Baker and recent SAC graduate Jill Youde. For Rick, the story had been different, as the mountain he fondly acro-name Mount FMITA had thwarted his efforts on two prior occasions.

Our four-man team also included Jim Lapp and Alex Korteum, both solid rock climbers that I’ve had the pleasure of climbing multi-pitch routes with over the past few years. I secured a permit the night before, so we were able to get a fairly early start Friday the 23^rd and were on our way from the trailhead before 9:30, with the intent of camping at Triumph col that evening with plenty of time to relax.

Our approach into Thornton Lakes was quick and we enjoyed the spectacular views from the high point just south of lower Thornton Lakes. From there, we endured a bit of a brush bash, bugs and heat around the lower lake. We made a small route-finding error when we bypassed the creek crossing and began to climb up and around the west side of the second lake and up into cliffy terrain. Back tracking, we corrected for this and were soon talus hopping and grinding uphill on grassy slopes, rock and snow to the col. I’d remembered this part of the approach as a sufferfest due to the steepness of terrain and southern exposure and it measured up the same this time as well.

After about six hours on the approach, we arrived at the col (5,900’), to find the upper glacier to be in great shape, but with potential challenge involved in getting onto the ridge due to the amount of snow on the ledges at the transition point. We had the evening to contemplate this, while enjoying the fabulous views of Snowking, T-bone Ridge, Eldorado and other peaks to the south. At sunset, we reveled in the awe-inspiring colors illuminating the west slopes of the Southern Pickets.

We woke to another cloudless day and embarked on the glacier traverse along the eastern slopes of Triumph at the casual hour of 6:30. The transition off the glacier was less difficult than it had appeared from afar, however we did have some finagling on steep exposed snow to get onto the ridge proper. We were picket-less to protect this, but Alex (in his usual confident and fine fashion) led and belayed the group onto the ledges to start the climb. We had decided up front to climb as two independent rope teams, so Rick and Alex took the lead, while Jim and I chased them up the ridge.

Most of the climbing on this route is 4^th class to mid-fifth class, with mostly sound rock. However, it is a long and committing day of climbing with considerable exposure. The views are amazing all day long, but on a hot day, you can’t haul enough water to stay hydrated. For the most part, we pitched out the entire route with some simul-climbing. The crux pitch of this route is a 30’ off-width crack that goes at 5.6/5.7 at the final tier of climbing. At the belay, Rick, Jim and I watched Alex who worked the lower end of the crack, then transitioned onto the face left to up the ante a bit. While there is apparently an easier way climbers right, I opted to climb the entire crack, which was made more “interesting” by the fact that I was experiencing cramps that were causing my fingers to curl unnaturally.

Once through this portion of the climb, the difficulty eases off considerably, but the rock on the heather ledges is loose and difficult to protect. We all cautiously made our way to the summit where we enjoyed stunning views of Bacon-Hagan-Blum, Despair, Baker, Shuksan, the Pickets etc… Water bottles empty, we made haste for the nearest snow bank at the great ledge several feet below. Other than taking a long time, the down climb was uneventful and involved too many rappels to count. Our final rappel allowed us to bypass the somewhat sketchy bit of snow we had to maneuver on the way up. Back to the ledges and geared up, we made our way across the glacier to camp roughly 13 hours after we had departed.

Having a good whiskey-induced night’s sleep, we woke fairly early and made our way out again via Thornton Lakes. While we’d discussed heading up Trapper’s Peak on the way out, we all felt like we’d had enough climbing for the weekend, so forewent this option and boogied down to the trailhead instead.

My reflections of the climb are as follows:

·         I really enjoyed climbing with Rick, Jim and Alex who are solid, reliable, safe and efficient climbers.

·         I was particularly happy to have helped Rick (a great mentor to me in my climbing career) get the Mount FMITA monkey off his back

·         The route is truly a Cascades classic due to location, scenery, exposure, and challenge. Should be on every climbers “to do” list.

·         Could have climbed more quickly and efficiently, but allowed folks who wanted to lead to get their turns in and appreciated doing the trip over 3 days.

·         Carried too much clothing and crampons (not used) and wished for a picket or two to protect snow-ridge transition.