Canmore

Patsy and I just came home from two weeks of road trip travel from Sandpoint, Idaho to Canmore, Alberta; Revelstoke, British Columbia, and finally south again through Nelson, BC into Spokane.  I've got the place dialed for lodging and food - I'll try to ome up with some lists later.  Until then, a few photos:

Up Goat Creek to His, Hers, and Goat Creek Falls.

The best pitch in the Junkyard.

Hiking into Heart Creek Falls.

The view north of Banff, AB.

The food.  Bibo Bistro, Nelson, BC.

Gaiters

An essential piece of equipment for glacier travel - especially in the Pacific Northwest - are a pair of gaiters.  Beyond keeping the snow out of your boots, they also help keep rocks and mud out on the trails, and protect your $200 pants from your $150 crampons with only $60 of fabric.  But there are some do's and don'ts to fitting and wearing gaiters.

First - what not to do.  The goal is to minimize the number of things that can create a crampon tripping hazard on the inside of your feet.  Gaiter strap buckles are an excellent example of this - so they go on the outside.  Most models also have a velcro strip that runs up the front, and the logo also is displayed proudly on the outside of the ankle - not the inside.

Gaiters on the wrong feet creates a tripping hazard.
Having the strap too loose reduces their effectiveness.
Worse still, you don't look as cool!

I have three pairs of gaiters - for my approach and running shoes, for my lighter climbing boots, and finally for my heavier leather and plastic climbing boots.  Most people won't be able to get away with the same pair of gaiters they use backpacking for mountaineering - the boot cuffs are just too different in size.  I'll review my ankle gaiters in another article.  For now, here's a step-by-step idea of how to fit and wear gaiters effectively.

To fit your gaiters to your boots, unbuckle the stirrup strap
completely and open up the velcro.  Remember - the buckle
and the logo go to the OUTSIDE, and the velcro goes FORWARD.

Step 2:  Attache the velcro strip as evenly as possible to
maximize the velcro grip.  Don't worry about the stirrup strap
right now.

I find it best to work the velcro from the bottom to the top.

After the velcro is line up, pull the gaiter down as low as
it will fit, then buckle the stirrup strap as tight as it will go.

With plastic boots, I typically don't need to bother
with the lace hook in front.

Keep the velcro strap that's common on most models loosely
closed unless your wallowing in the snow past your knees.

For your other gaiter, simply buckle the stirrup strap to
the same number of holes as the first gaiter, then step into
it and close the velcro.  In really warm weather,
you can also roll down the gaiter to increase ventilation.

An example of what NOT to do...

One of my best friends once told me, jokingly, "Sometime you just need to accept that your purpose in life is to serve as an example to others of what not to do."  Earlier this winter, I heard a similar thought, with less joke intended, from an IFMGA Mountain Guide to his Aspirant. "You're never completely useless," he said, "you can always serve as a bad example."  Ouch.

This video, while artfully made and riveting, is an example of what not to do while ice climbing.  Will Gadd, who is an Olympic-caliber athlete in the discipline (which thankfully is not in the Olympics), does a fantastic job of a shredding analysis on his blog here.

Fall. from Jeffrey Butler on Vimeo.

What I took away from the first view:

1. The belayer shouldn't be victim to ice-fall.  Only once (sorry Patsy!) have I ever found it inevitable, and that was on an alpine ice climb, not water ice.  Shorten the pitches, traverse out to the side, tuck the belay out of the way!  This is one instance where moving the belayer far away from the climb is worth the extra slack in the system.
2. More protection, please.  Yes, this is ice climbing - so we can't carry enough screws to protect it every two meters like a sport route.  But a 18m (60') fall on a WI 4/5 route should never be called for.  And if you're feeling too pumped to stop and place protection.  THEN STOP AND PLACE PROTECTION!  Clip a sling into a solid tool to hang on - do whatever it takes NOT TO FALL!
3. You're crampons and tools are part of your security, which is why we tend to run it out further on ice.  The uber-athletes of the sport are now climbing without leashes.  I don't claim to be one them.  I climb with leashes, and I keep one of them on at all times.  In this instance, simply hooking the rope with a tool instead of holding the rope with one hand, and having a leash on may have prevented this fall.  Watch what happens - he's pumped (his forearms are tired and loosing strength), so he calls up to the team who just finished the climb to anchor a rope and lower a loop.  Then he shakes out of one leash to place a screw, and shakes out of the other least to hold onto the loop with his pumped, weak arm.  When his feet skid out (because of poor footwork), no one should be surprised that he wasn't able to hold on with one tired, pumped hand as his whole bodyweight is shock-loaded onto his grip.

What I took away from the second viewing.  Yes, I'm a glutton for punishment and couldn't believe what I had seen the first time.

1. The leader should never, ever fall.  I haven't fallen while ice climbing.  My friends and family know about some very ugly falls I've taken rock climbing and alpine climbing and skiing, but I have never fallen while leading an ice climb.  I have fallen on top-rope - a lot.  That's what a top rope is for.  Falling while leading an ice climb almost guarantees a broken something.  Not getting hurt from a fall like this is an exception - not a rule.
2. The belayer should be safe from harm.  Never ever ever should the belayer be positioned to be hit from anything from above - because falling ice is going to happen when ice climbing.  It should be expected.  The fact that I'm repeating this from my first view should mean that its really, really important to me.
3. Please check your partner's system before each and every climb.  Watch for 11:00-12:00 into the video, when the climber is lowered to the deck.  He's wearing a BD Alpine Bod harness that isn't doubled back, meaning the buckle can only prevent about 1kN (225lbs) of force instead of the 16kN+ (about 3800lbs) that its designed for.  The only reason this guy didn't fall out of his harness is because he bounced on four ledges on the way down, absorbing a lot of the impact forces with his own body instead of completely in the system.  This was preventable.

Hell, this whole thing was preventable.  Will argues that you should have about 150 top-roped ice climbs before leading.  I'd certainly consider having at least 100 top-roped ice climbs at a grade before leading at that grade.  I know that sometimes it can't be done, but you should still try!

So for my mom, my sisters, and all my friends who don't climb - this is a video of what I don't do.  I'll use up my nine lives in other ways.

Jesse Huey and The Real Big Drip

I count myself really lucky to know Jesse - he's an incredibly gifted climber with a huge heart and personality.  I received this PR email from Black Diamond, featuring Jesse's awesome ascent of the The Real Big Drip in the Ghost Valley, Alberta.  Truly inspiring!

BD grassroots athlete Jesse Huey on The Real Big Drip (M7 WI 6), Canadian Rockies from Black Diamond Equipment on Vimeo.

Drinking the Kool Aid: Training

I turned 38 last weekend.  And looking back at this past year, I realized that I've been more injury prone than ever before.  Not more accident prone - but more likely to get hurt from the trips and tumbles that I normally perform while trying to take a walk.  And I think its not just age.  I've relied heavily on doing the sports I love - climbing and skiing - to remain fit and capable to do the sports I love.  And I don't think its enough anymore, if it ever was.  Last October, I was climbing at my personal best, despite a broken toe.  Twelve months later, and I seem to struggle at three full grades below last October, and somehow 20 lbs has inched its way onto my belly.

I spent September being a good partner, unpacking while PG made the money that's paying our bills.  We're almost unpacked, and I feel like I can now finally take some time for myself.  I re-joined my old yoga studio, 8 Limbs Yoga, to try to put some flexibility into my 2x4 frame.  I've made a commitment to hit the climbing gym twice a week.  And I decided to try something new - Crossfit.

The people I know participating in Crossfit sometimes act like they're members of some cult, talking about "burpees" and "frans" and some "paleo-diet" thing.  Still, something must be in their water bottles because they all look fitter then they did a year ago.  So I'm taking a sip of the Kool Aid.  I'm going to give crossfit a dedicated practice, twice a week, until I leave for Antarctica.  My goal is simply to increase, in some sustainable way, my basic, core fitness.  I don't expect it to make me a better skier or climber.  I'm really inspired by Will Gadd's training blog.  I will need to actually ski and climb.  But maybe if I was a bit stronger I could have avoided hitting that tree in February, or taking that highball fall bouldering in May, or that scary pendulum in July.

Back in the World!

I've just finished 10 days of guiding, including 7 spent skiing the High Sierra Route.  Writin's a-happening, and starting today I'd like to give a shout out to all access, a collection of 10 climbing videos on one DVD.  Every cent of the $10 goes to the Access Fund.  A special thanks to Petzl for putting it together.  Check out the teaser and get your own copy @ accessfund.org/store!!


All Access Trailer from Petzl_NA on Vimeo.

Endless Opportunity of FA Ice Climbs!!

Its been several weeks of early mornings, long days, and late nights.  I traveled up to Whistler, BC, to attend the American Mountain Guide Association's Ski Mountain Guide Course and Aspirant Exam (SMGC/AE).   More about that soon.

Earlier this week, I received a note from a friend on Facebook.  "Chris, there's this entire @#$^ing valley cover with possible routes and no FA's!!" He screamed, "This makes Canmore look tame!"  He was from Canmore, so I forgave him for that blasphemy, but checking out the forwarded article left me with the shakes.

Of course, I have to figure out how to get to Mars.

Incredible first ascents await!  This is a 2 mile section of the ice terrace that makes up a portion of the Mojave Crater wall in Xanthe Terra, Mars.  Photo courtesy of the Daily Mail.

Winter Mountaineering and Mt. Morrison

With a rest after ice climbing at the SoCal Retailer Demo Days (see my last post), Larry and Scott met me at Sierra Mountain Center's office in Bishop, California, for four days of movement and technical skill instruction in winter mountaineering.  School started immediately with - breakfast!  Climbing in the winter is a calorie-intensive sport, we needed to charge up!!

Saturday was spent at Cardinal Pinnacle, learning how to use snow shoes, step kicking, and climbing in big plastic boots on the Regular Route.  We made it back to the truck just ahead of dark and made plans for the next day.

Sunday we met in June Lake and went climbing on lower Horsetail Falls.  For Scott and Larry, the three laps we climbed were a high point of the week.  Afterwards we had a few beers at the Tiger Bar, talked books, and made plans for Mt. Morrison.

Andrew, SMC's intern, joined us at Convict Lake on Monday and we hiked up to Lake 2980 in the upper Tobacco Flats at 9777 feet.  The snow was very wind-packed, and it took the four of us two hours to dig out a two-man snow cave for Larry and Scott.  Andrew and I opted to sleep on the benches of the snow kitchen instead.

Hiking to camp in upper Tobacco Flats

In the morning, we started to climb just as the sun reached the bottom of Mt. Morrison (12,277 feet).  First we climbed to the North Col, which seperates Morrison from Mini-Morrison at 10,827 feet, in just over an hour.  Here we cached our snow shoes and ski poles, donned crampons and pulled out our ice axes, and started up the hanging snowfields that seperate the East Slopes from the North Face.  You won't find this route in Secor's guide book, so I informally nick-named it the Northeast Corner.  But very quickly, I started pushing through deep snow that slowed us way down.  We even resorted to a short 30-foot mixed rock climbing to avoid trying to push through the belly-button deep, 35 degree-steep snow.  But as noon approached, our progress continued to slow down.  It couldn't be helped - it was taking three sweeps at the snow to move upward.  Once with my knee, twice with my foot, then 6 inches of progress.

The poor weather that threatened us all day finally hit us at 11:30am.  Suddenly the wind picked up, driving snow at us from all directions.  At noon we had only climbed 650 feet above the Col, and we still had 750 feet to climb.

I turned around.  "That's it guys!" I yelled above the wind's howl, "I'm pulling the plug!"

"Thanks Chris!" Larry yelled back, "It was startin' to get hard!!"

We reached camp again just a little after 1:00pm, amazed at how the wind had scoured so much of the hillsides in just a few hours.  Looking back, we could see how close we had come, reaching the bottom of the final snowfield just below the summit.  Now, though, the clouds had lifted and the sun was out again.  Still, we packed up confident that we had given the climb our best.


Statistics:  Cardinal Pillar, Regular Route, 4th class and 5.6, Bishop.  Lower Horsetail Falls, WI3, June Lake.  Mt. Morrison (12,277 feet), NE Corner, Steep Snow, Mammoth Lakes.  4 days total.

The SoCal Retailers' Ice Demo - Lee Vining Canyon

2010 02 17 & 18.  The shop employees of Southern California get to climb some incredible rock.  Joshua Tree, and the Needles are less than a half day drive, and the Valley, Eastern Sierra, and Red Rocks are all within a day.

But winter sports are a little harder.  The skiing surrounding Orange and San Diego Counties is, well, wanting a little bit: wanting for acreage, terrain, and snow.  Of course, Mammoth and June Mountains are only 6-8 hours away, but seriously - if you had only 2 days off and a minimum wage job, would you:

1. participate in a year round sport with a one-time investment in gear like surfing or  bouldering, or;
2. buy a season pass annually at an over-priced ski area, or;
3. buy lots of gear for to climb frozen water at a few published locations in California when the conditions are just right.

Hmmm.  Not a hard decision.  Still the sales reps for the ice climbing gear companies know that shop employees who can speak with some experience and a lot of passion for the sport will sell more product then those who pull on pebbles all winter instead.  So they host an ice climbing demo for the SoCal shops, an opportunity to come up and use the latest tools, crampons and boots.  I came along with Sierra Mountain Center for safety management.

Raphael Slawinski, a wicked hard ice climber, physics professor, and Arcteryx athlete, joined us to add to the stoke and gave a kick-ass (and ass-kicking) slide show of climbing mixed and pure ice in the Canadian Rockies and, of all places, Pakistan.

It was a great two days, and I'll show photos of them to you once I find the cable to my camera, lost somewhere in the backseat of the Subaru.  Until then - Cheers!

2010 02 25 - Finally found that cable - accidentally left back in Lake Tahoe.  So here are the photos!

20090218-19 Lee Vining Ice Climbing

After climbing the Dana Couloir in late summer conditions, John H. was keen to try out water ice climbing.  After a couple of false starts due to warm temperatures in December, we finally were able to make schedules and the weather meet to climb in Lee Vining Canyon.  We met at John's hotel in the village of Lee Vining at 7:00am on the 18th.

At the Power Station the trail looked to be in good shape, but almost immediately after the second creek crossing our progress was halted - blown snow had filled in the trail and wiped out any sign of it.  Tricked by conditions below, I hadn't brought snowshoes - doh!!  So I ran back down and ran back up to where John waited for me.  The snowshoes helped, but it was still a repeat of last week.  Thankfully, all the new snow and wind compaction allowed us to set a more direct and friendlier track then last week.  Still, we didn't start climbing until almost 11:30am.

 getting ready / Lee Vining Canyon / photo John H.

Just as we reached the base of Chouinard Falls, Eric catches up, with John and Nick behind him.  John and Nick had attempted to climb Mt Emerson with me last fall, but we were stumped by the first storm of winter.  They had come back to make a winter ascent of Mt Whitney, but the same storm that had filled in the trail in Lee Vining Canyon had loaded the the slopes and cliffs in Whitney Portal as well. They had to turn around at the Eberbacher Ledges, and chose to spend the two days left ice climbing.

eric, nick, and john getting ready to climb "classic tree" / WI3 / a redirected variation of the tree route / photo john h.

John's read all the books, understands all the theories, and has climbed AI3, so this trip was to focus on movement, not concepts.  So I quickly ran up Piolet, WI3, so that John could warm up, use the same rope to TR Aqua Seal, WI3+, and try out my personal leashed tools - an old generation of BD Cobras with Android leashes - compared against the new leashless pair of BD Vipers that I was leading with.  After just a few laps it was already 4:30, so we wrapped up the day.

The next day we were surprised to see that the wind had completely blown and filled yesterday's trail again, forcing us to spend time kicking it in all over again.  We were able to get started a little sooner then yesterday, and I set up the anchor at the top of Colonel Clink, WI 3+, which allowed us to do laps on Conrad's Corner, WI 4-, and Waterlogged, WI 3.  John was also able to jump on Eric's TR of "Classic Tree," WI 3, which is what I call the bottom half of Classic Curve using a redirected anchor from the Tree Route.

To cap off the weekend I tied a second rope to the first to climb "Scrappy's Corner," WI4- M6.  This is a link up of the lower-half (and crux) of Scrappy's Child, WI3 M6, and the top half (and crux) Conrad's Corner, WI4-.  John did a great job climbing his first mixed route without being told the grade.  He got to see the con to leashless tools when my feet popped off the WI4- crux, leaving me six feet below my tools.  Ooops - I had to be lowered down, grab a second set of tools, and run up to fetch the leashless jobs and finish cleaning the anchor.

looking up scrappy's child / M6 / red line: bottom half (crux) / yellow line:  top half / red circle: lost tools - oops! / "scrappy's corner" is a 40m+ line gaining the anchor at the top of conrad's corner / photo john h.

We finished off with soda and a bite at the Mono Market, talking about all the things we could climb this spring and summer.  A great trip.

20090211-12 SoCal Retailer - Reps' Ice Demo

Continuing a 10-year old tradition, Sierra Mountain Center hosted the Reps' Ice Demo - a two day event for retail employees from southern California to come and experience ice climbing with new boots, crampons, and tools provided by Black Diamond, Petzl, La Sportiva and Scarpa - Rab and Arcteryx also made a presence. While the participants had breakfast and collected equipment, Eric, Trish and I - helped out by two rep employees - pounded in the trail to Chouinard Falls in Lee Vining Canyon.

eric and trish wallowed in snowshoes / team posthole sunk even further

Recent fresh snow made pounding in the trail even harder than we suspected. Eric and Trish, on snowshoes, passed the three of us without and still kicked in a trail knee deep. We were able to follow - mostly - but at several passages we resorted to re-distributing our weight on four points of contact. This is also known, colloquially, as crawling. Kicking in this trail took us almost two hours - the first participants caught up to Team Posthole before we reached the ice.

Dale Remsberg, the BD/Arcteryx guest speaker and another IFMGA/AMGA Guide, quickly put up the top rope for Conrad's Corner / Colonel Clink / Water Logged, while Eric set up Curley, Moe, and the WI3 first step to Heal-Toe, and I climbed Classic Curve to set up ropes on Aqua Seal / Piolet and a second rope on the Tree Route.

topping out on colonel clink / this anchor can also be used for conrad's corner and watter logged / add a second rope and you can top-rope the bottom half of scrappy's child and the top half of conrad's corner for "scrappy's corner" WI 4- M6

Many of the employee-participants were first-time ice climbers. Those with some experience took advantage of trying out the different leashless tools from BD and Petzl. Dale passed out technique advice and put on mini-clinic for ice protection and anchors. SMC provided a stove running all day to make hot drinks. To minimize the impact of 40+ people, we designated a pee hole and set up a toilet tent to pack down solid waste.

That evening the reps provided pizza and salad, and the employees provided beverages, and a huge amount of schwag was passed out or "raffled" off. Dale had a slide show about climbing and guiding hard ice in the States and Canada.

finishing piolet / an extended anchor allowed us to use one 60m rope / this anchor can be used for piolet and aqua seal

Day Two was a little shorter than day one - but not by much - as participants wrapped things up to head home. We coiled up frozen ropes and gear before heading back to Lee Vining for beers and burritos at the Mono Market. Mission accomplished.

Conditions Report: Chouinard Falls is in, all routes, except the crux on Conrad's Corner (WI 4-) is verglass and curtain. Main Wall is mostly in - P3 on Cave Man isn't fully formed. Harrington Wall has very little ice again this year.

20090110 & 11 / Ice Climbing with Sierra Mountain Center

After living, breathing, and thinking skiing for the last two months, I jumped at Connie's call.  She was wondering if I was interested in coming down for the weekend and take Megan, Lohit, and Kartnik ice climbing in June Lake.  Of course I was!  But just in case, I packed my skis.

I was amazed to see how little snow there was in June Lake - which means a lot of the WI2 and WI3 lines that usually get buried by snow are still visible and climbable.  Anyone interested?  From talking to my friends in June Lake, it sounds like a rain-shadow event has existed from June Lake to Sonora Pass, so while Mammoth and points south have gotten a decent amount, and Lake Tahoe was hammered down by the Christmas storms, there's still bare ground in June Lake.

We spent two days at Horsetail Falls climbing the three different lines on the right side of the flow.  Everyone had prior experience belaying from climbing in the gym or outside, so we were able to focus on the specifics of climbing ice, including efficient tool use and crampon technique.  On Sunday I introduced mixed climbing as well, and we were able to climb a thin line that occassionally forms on the far right side of the falls.  Connie came out on Saturday to see what this show is all about, and swears she's coming back with her husband.
Sunday evening we toasted the weekend with coffee and hot chocolate:  I had to get back to Lake Tahoe, and Kartnik and Lohit had to drive all the way back to the bay.

Don't let the forecasts and weather reports fool you - there's still plenty of ice to climb in June Lake and Lee Vining.  I bet a couple of the less trafficked routes are still accessible right now too!



I posted a similar article on Sierra Mountain Center's blog: smcblog.wordpress.com. Check out SMC at sierramountaincenter.com - Chris

June Update

The lack of entries in the blog should be an indicator for the reader about how busy Sierra Mountain Center has been this past month. All of us have been moving from one trip to the next with barely enough time to wash clothes, buy food, and give our families a kiss. I’m not complaining – its summer time after all!

My adventures started on 21 May, when Paul and I attempted the North Ridge of Lone Pine Peak. This III 5.4 climb is a fantastic early summer route, when lingering snow on the ridge provides us with water and allows us to bivouac 2/3^rd of the way up on the first day. Unfortunately we woke up the next morning to a forecasted “partly cloudy, 10% chance of snow” that had already snowed three inches! Visibility was down to 100 feet, and it continued to snow, leaving us with no choice but to descend. What had taken us only five hours to climb the day before now took us 10 hours to retreat, as the blanket of snow made down climbing a test of nerve and the snow slabs obstacles that we had to negotiate around and rappel to avoid. A true epic!

 

 poor visibility during the retreat / that's the

north ridge of lone pine peak fading in

the clouds / view from the meysan creek bivy

Just a few days later on 24 May I met Edwin, Melissa, Ramses and Steve to attempt the Mountaineers Route on Mt. Whitney. We were under no illusion as we kicked through three inches of settled snow in the car park, and our impression of the conditions never improved as we hiked up to our camp at Upper Boy Scout Lake. It snowed off and on throughout the day, and visibility rarely lifted to more than a quarter of a mile. I was surprised to see that the Eberbacher Ledges were largely snow free, and we passed a descending team who had stayed at Upper Boy Scout Lake the night before. At UBS we built a great camp and settled in for the night, wondering if we could even leave camp in the morning. I woke up at 3:00am and looked out the tent: snowing and 100 feet visibility. And after waking up again at 3:30, 4:00, 4:30, and 5:00am to the same conditions I was resigned to cancel any attempt on the climb. The team woke up a little later at 7:30am and voted to head down to the Whitney Portal for Doug’s pancakes at the Portal Store.

The storm had lasted seven days, and put down enough snow that we were still dealing with the effects weeks later. Lew met me at Tom’s Place on 2 June for a climb of Bear Creek Spire. He was really looking for an alpine rock climb, and there was so much snow on the North East Ridge that you couldn’t tell it was supposed to be a great low 5^th class granite outing. We opted for the North Arête instead, knowing that we’d find snow on every ledge the next day. And we did, with ice choking the cracks and forcing us to face climb a little more and suffer cold feet on the ledges. On the second pitch Lew decided that this wasn’t worth the suffering, and we rapped off the route and returned to the car.

lew makes it across another creek / approach to bear

creek spire / just visible in the center background 

Peter, Lance, and George joined Connie and I for another go at Whitney’s Mountaineers Route on 13 June. The weather couldn’t have been more different from my last trip, so warm and sunny that we hiked up in shorts and short sleeves to Upper Boy Scout Lake. We reached the summit on the 14^th at 10:30am. According to Doug Thompson, local guidebook author, Whitney historian, and owner of the Whitney Portal Store, suggested that at 11 years old, Lance might have become the youngest person to climb the Mountaineers Route! Keep watching the blog for Connie’s perspective of this trip.

the burly adventurers / a successful ascent of mt whitney

moynier couloir / III AI3 M3 / mt thompson

On 27 June I met Corey, Ray, Sean and SMC’s new intern Braden for a trip into Mt. Thompson and Mt. Gilbert. SP joined us later that evening in our camp. In the morning SP, Braden, Ray and Sean climbed the Harrington Couloir (III AI2) while Corey and I climbed the Moynier Couloir (III AI3 M3). The two teams met on the broad summit plateau and hiked over to the summit before rappelling back down the Harrington Couloir to camp. The next day Corey and I climbed the North Couloir on Mt. Gilbert (III 5.4 AI3 M2) with Braden and Ray following close behind. We re-joined SP and Sean in camp and hiked out the same day. I’m going to egg Braden to write a trip report from his perspective too.

Finally, just a few days ago Ben and John met me at the Whitney Portal for another Mountaineers Route climb. Only thing is, we planned on doing it in two days instead of the typical three, making for a much more strenuous trip. We had to hike to Iceberg Lake the first day, where we bivied without tents, got a true alpine start the next morning and were on the summit by 7:40am! But then it was a long descent back down the route to camp, where we packed up and continued out to the trailhead for burgers and beers at Doug’s.

That’s my month. Like I said, a lot went on! Fresh snow skunked us for the end of May, but we’ve had warm (some say hot) and clear days ever since. Well, sort of clear – the 1200 fires in western California have blown so much smoke over into the Reno-Bishop corridor that some days we couldn’t see the White or Into Mountains from the other side of the valleys! As I left to go home Sunday evening the visibility improved dramatically. Here’s hoping for blue skies!

Cheers

Chris

This post was originally published on Sierra Mountain Center's blog.  Since then I've started co-publishing my trip reports on both blogs.  You can learn more about Sierra Mountain Center at www.sierramountaincenter.com.