Here's where you peruse WACer trip reports and post your own for everyone to see. Remember: Never let the truth interfere with a good story!
| Trip Reports |
|
|
|
| GuideBook | Summit Routes, CAG |
| Weather | Mostly sunny |
| TrailConditions | Snow |
| Owned By | SusanAshlock |
| Mailed to WacList | |
| RowId | 484 |
|
| Mountain |
Elevation |
Summitted |
|---|
| Abernathy Peak |
8321 |
true |
| Reynolds Peak |
8384 |
false |
|
| Report |
|
Ah, snow.
White goodness that makes getting down mountains fast. The ultimate post-holing prophylaxis. Sometimes a highway straight to the top (with a highly-treed offramp), as was the case with Abernathy (and most of Reynolds). And sometimes a soft mask for loose blocks of exposed rocks.
Thus was the tale of two summits, Reynolds and Abernathy, on Saturday and Sunday.
Despite sub-optimal weather forecasts (chance of thunder?!), Miles, Alex Ford, and I headed to Twisp River Road's South Creek campground on Friday night and started up Abernathy around 7:30 a.m. from the TH at 3200'. We put on skis around 5000' and after a leisurely lunch at Scatter Lake at 11, we topped out around 1 p.m. We were back at the car at 3:30, despite some slow going through dense trees between about 6000-6600'.
Lounging in gorgeous sunshine in our own semi-private campground ('semi' because a handful of deer kept wandering through) helped us forget the flailing through the trees, the 1800' of hiking in ski boots, and the face plants we had done in the soft snow on the way down. By dinner time we had rejuvenated sufficiently to construct a cribbage board that would server for evening entertainment.
We aimed to start a bit earlier the next morning with the hopes of firmer snow and an earlier return to Seattle, but a 7 a.m. start was all we were sufficiently motivated to muster. This time we were able to put skis on around 4500'. The much-dreaded slide alder had somehow been replaced by firs; the tree skinning/skiing was so far, far better than the Saturday's. However, the summit pyramid was, well, far, far more 'interesting' than Saturday's, complete with steep snow on rocks. Upon arriving at the base of it, Miles was uninterested in making an attempt, but Alex and I were willing to 'giver', as the Canadians would say. So upward we went, until we reached a spot, about 50' short, that wouldn't 'go' and Alex pointed out the likelihood of death should we fall from our current perch.
The 3000' of skiing on wide open slopes under blue skies helped console us all after the near-miss on the summit, and the descent through the trees was fine, too. It wasn't until the skis came off and the postholing began that the f-bombs dropped from my lips. (This, despite the fact that I kept my skis on longer than my ski partners.)
Back at the car by 5:30, we then coaxed 'Slag', Alex's intrepid Vanagon, home via bratwurst-laden Leavenworth.
All in all, a very satisfying weekend.
My pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/susanashlock/sets/72157623906462087/
Miles' pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevernevermiles/sets/72157623912741077/
Our track for Abernathy:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/susanashlock/4594356255/in/set-72157623906462087/
Our track for Reynolds:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/susanashlock/4594356539/in/set-72157623906462087/
|
|
|
|
WASHINGTON
ALPINE
CLUB
