| December Newsletter | |
|
|
|
|
Skagit Alpine |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Skagit Alpine Club – December 2007 Newsletter Meeting: Our December meeting will be the annual holiday party: DEC 5th, 6PM PLEASE COME!! Hear Ye Hear Ye calling all the folks who have been hiding out in the backcountry, let’s get together, eat some good food, and celebrate the end of another year together and the coming of another. The party will be held at Reverie BBQ Restaurant, located on 1300 S 2nd St., for the second year in a row!
Secretary‘s Report:
Old Business:
REVISED NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER MINUTES: 1.) The club voted to send a letter to Congressman Larsen in support of Grizzly Bear Recovery. The club will not use club funds to sponsor a Conservation NW event. ***Revised from previous draft of minutes, which stated: The club voted to encourage individual members to send letters of support of Grizzly Recovery in the North Cascades to Congressman Larson if they so choose, but that the club as a whole wouldn't be sending a letter b/c the membership was not all in agreement that they support the bear recovery. We are going to continue the discussion at the November Meeting.
New Business:
Remember that membership dues will be due again in January. Some of you have received a year’s worth of newsletter without providing any monetary support to the club. Please be aware that this courtesy will not be extended for 2008.
Food and Drink Schedule:
Program:
PARTY!
Lookout: By Marie Erbstoeszer Park Butte Lookout Update – November 2007 We made it up to Park Butte Lookout on November 14 for one final 2007 trek. We found a fair amount of snow on the road and parked near the big sign that says, "Mount Baker Recreational Area." As we hiked up the road and into the parking lot area, we were surprised to see two new good looking toilets. Here's a big thank you to the Forest Service. We hiked through the snow to the switch back area and then decided it was time to put on the snow shoes for the rest of the trek. The Lookout was in good shape, left very clean and tidy by the last visitors. The outer storm door had not been secured and a small amount of snow had blown into the Lookout. Seems that the Lookout has shifted somewhat and the storm door was a bit difficult to fit into the door frame. With some adjusting it is now secured with wires. If anyone heads up there, please replace the storm door and secure it with the wires. We'd appreciate hearing reports of any winter trips up to the Lookout. We have a few light weight items that could be taken up if anyone is willing. Outing(s):
Conservation Report:
Special Announcement/Event:
Submitted by Jenny Baker
Update to Little Mountain Masterplan gets
underway! Updates to the Little Mountain Masterplan are being considered
and a committee has formed for this purpose. There is an online survey for
anyone to complete. I got wind of this recently and thought SAC members might
want to provide their input!
By Steve Trent
Our Canadian Adventure
The Canadian Rockies tick list had been circulating for some time now, and Mt Robson was at the top of each new variation. Mt Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies at an elevation of 3959 meters or 12989 feet, and being isolated it creates its own weather. The combination of no easy routes up the mountain and frequent severe weather (the summit can only be seen for about 14 days out of the year), results in usually just a handful of successful climbs each year. In fact, I have heard that Mt Robson has the highest failure rate of any major peak in North America, Denali included. I cannot attest to the veracity of that claim, although it sounds good. But even Dallas has failed twice on Robson. After a exploratory hike into Berg Lake at the base of the mountain last spring, I was hooked. I wanted to at least give it a shot. So Robson was on the top of the list. Scott had the month of August away from the fishing is Alaska, Kevin was already up north, and I had some time available for playing, so it was decided. Spend two weeks in Canada seeing if we can tilt the success rate on Robson to the positive side. We planned on doing the South Face route, which had a much easier approach than the more popular Kain Route, but a sketchier climb up some third to fourth class ledges threatened by seracs. Scott and I left Washington State headed north delayed by a day due to an untimely accident that left Scott’s Toyota in the shop for some major repairs. We had planned on nabbing Mt Sir Donald in the Selkirks near Roger’s Pass on the way up, but the weather was poor. So we pushed on to Canmore where we shacked up at Kat’s, a friend of ours that graciously allowed her place to be turned into a climbing base camp. A quick check on the conditions verified what we suspected about Robson; the ledges were snow covered and the forecast was not good. We decided on local objectives until the route was in shape. The next day we teamed up with two friends of ours from Canmore, Michelle and Christina, to climb Mt Fay. Mt Fay is an impressive looking peak near Lake Louise that is easily accessible and has some classic routes. We had in mind one of the north face ice routes on the peak, which had me a little apprehensive since the last time I was leading steep ice I took a fall. The approach into the Colgan hut was a typical Rockies approach, steep and technical. It was actually rated 5.6, which made it quite strenuous in boots and an overnight pack. Once up at the Neil Colgan hut, the highest permanent structure in Canada, we settled in for a comfortable night. A quick explanation of the hut system in Canada is in order. Huts have been constructed in Canada at places that have a high incidence of use. These huts can be reserved in advance and have propane stoves and lighting as well as all the needed cooking and eating utensils. It is truly luxury camping for those of us accustomed to the Cascades experience of having to lug a tent and cooking stoves to our overnight site. The next morning, Kevin, Christina, and Scott left to do the Centre Ice Bulge Direct! Route on the north face of Fay, while Michelle and I scrambled up a few smaller peaks in the area. The next day, Michelle and I climbed the same route on Fay, while the others had a scramble day. The ice bulge has shrunk in the past few years, but it is still an impressive route. The lower pitches go up to 60 degrees, while the crux bulge is 80-90 degrees. I was glad that Michelle led the crux pitch, since my ice climbing karma still was not in balance. We used eight screws, and topped out four hours after leaving the glacier. The ice was solid and the climbing was fun. After hiking out the next day and once again checking on the forecast for the Robson area, we decided to do another route in the local area. We opted for the Grassi Ridge on Wiwaxy peak, a rock route rated at 5.6 that the guide book called a Rockies classic, with rock solid for the range. The rock was supposedly more solid due to the fact that instead of the typical limestone choss, it was quartzite. To get to the climb we had to get ourselves to Lake O’Hara, which was only serviced by a bus that took a specific number of people per day, or walk the 11 kilometers. The bused were booked up, so we showed up in the morning hoping for a cancellation. No such luck. So we started walking, envisioning a long day. To our delight, a very nice park ranger picked us up in her pickup and gave us a ride to the lake where the approach to the climb started. We climbed the peak in 13 pitches, the last 8 or so being old school 5.6. This is the first time that I have ever climbed an overhanging 5.6! The climbing was enjoyable on (somewhat) solid rock with OK pro. The next three days the weather moved in and we were stuck in Canmore sampling the local flavor. We did manage to get out cragging at Lake Louise one day. There are some impressive limestone cliffs with fun routes at the south end of the lake. By now we knew that Robson was looking like a long shot. We had agreed not to invest the time into the drive or approach without a good forecast and conditions. The recent spate of poor weather had dumped snow on the ledges, and conditions were poor. We decided on another objective. Athabasca. Just the name envisions a northern giant. Scott and I decided on the North Face, a steep ice climb to a rock band with some mixed moves to gain a steep snow face to the summit. After an early wake up and drive to the peak, we got our first look at the route. The upper snow slope looked dangerously loaded with the new snow, so we decided to do the Silverhorn, another route on the north face but less steep along a snow arête to the summit ridge. After a long trudge up the moraine, and one covered crevasse fall, we gained the snow arête. The climbing from there was up 40-50 degree ice and snow, and was very enjoyable. After a long descent and drive back to Canmore, we once again looked at Robson. It was not going to happen for us this trip. A recent report verified what we already suspected; the ledges were snow covered and sketchy,and the forecast was not great either. We decided to leave Robson for the next trip, and go for Assinibione, the Matterhorn of the Rockies, a popular climb in the southern Rockies. Kevin bailed on us due to his car getting hit while parked by a driver with no license. It was Scott, Christina and me on this trip. Due to our limited time (three days) and the 25 kilometer approach, we decided to take the helicopter option. The Assinibione Lodge runs a helicopter shuttle for their guests, and offers it to hikers and climbers for $120 per trip. I was somewhat reticent about taking the easy way up to the peak, but it was the only way we were going get a chance at the peak and make it back to Washington on time. My knees thanked me in advance. The helo took us to the lodge next to Magog Lake, which left us with a 700 meter climb up to the hut. (Those awesome huts again!) The approach was up the “G’moser’s Highway”, a series of third and fourth class ledges up to a bench near a col at the base of the climb where the hut is located. There were five teams attempting the mountain the next day. One team of locals were attempting the NE Face, while the rest were going for the North Ridge, our route of choice. The weather had been poor, but was forecast to improve in the morning. The next morning ,we let the other teams get the alpine start and left the hut at 0700. After a slog up the scree, we started the real climbing. A lot of third to fourth class scrambling and a few low fifth class moves took us past a band of red rock to the base of a grey rock band. Here, due to the amount of snow and ice, we roped up and donned the crampons. The rest of the climb was on an airy ridge with considerable exposure on both sides. The snow on the route made the climbing interesting and very alpine in nature. We summited about four hours after leaving the hut. The only other team to summit were the locals on the NE Face due to the snowy conditions on route. The descent was tedious requiring multiple raps down the ridge and careful down climbing in some sections. Once back at the hut, we rested a bit then scrambled up two smaller peaks, both near 10,000 feet tall. The next day, a leisurely hike back to the lodge and a helicopter ride out enabled us to drive home that night. It was all three of us in the truck now due to Kevin’s truck still being in the body shop. Overall, my first impression of the Canadian Rockies was excellent. There is a large variety of excellent climbing to be had, and there are some great ice routes that are in shape all season. The rock, which is mostly limestone and shale, tends to be loose by Cascades standards, but good rock routes can be found. The scale of the mountains is much larger than the Cascades, but the approaches tend to be easier in the respect that they do not involve much brush or a lot of time commitment. They do, however, tend to involve actual technical climbing. The hut system is great and does take a load off of your back and gives the experience a more social feel. More adventure to follow; Robson is still at the top of the wish list for next year!
Officers: President – Paul Sherman 293-2984 or 391-6078 (cell), pshermanpt@verizon.net Vice President – Jeff Smith 425-478-2698 Treasurer - Kim Griffith (360) 419-7480 jkgriffith@gmail.com Secretary - Angie Vandenhaak Angela.Vandenhaak@wwu.edu (360) 756-6950 Newsletter - Corrina Marote corrina.marote@gmail.com Webmaster - Steve Trent skagitalpineclub@comcast.net Programs – Jason Griffith (360) 419-7480 jkgriffith@gmail.com Lookout - John and Marie Erbstoeszer erbst@cnw.com Outings - Lynn Postler sancho999@comcast.net Conservation Com- Maggie Sullivan 724-3158 Social Com- Wade Bessett bessettw@hotmail.com Climbing Com- Rick Rodgers stillyfish@valleyint.com, Chris Danilson (mentee)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||