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[TR] Agassiz to Humphreys traverse- 3/27/2005


Chriznitch

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Trip Report:

 

Agassiz (12356') to Humphreys (12633') traverse

 

Arizona is having one of the wettest, snowiest seasons in recent years. Having just

moved from Oregon, forestry co-workers are thanking me for bringing the rain with me.

Luckily, after a week of snowstorms, the weekend cleared up and my girlfriend Amy and

I ventured to Flagstaff to visit Humphreys Peak--Arizona's highest point...

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This is not a technical peak, more of a Mt Adams or St Helens type snow clmb that

completely melts out in the summer. However, with 300% of normal snow load, this felt

like a cascade giant instead of a southwest volcano.

Starting over 9000' makes for a convenient start. Most of the climb up Agassiz followed the

Snowbowl ski lift, which ends 1000' below the summit. There were relentless freezing winds

above timberline until a couple hours after sunrise...

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After summitting Agassiz, we followed the ridge extending north and then east towards

Humphreys, probably for 2 miles or so. Most of this is above 12000...

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We had the summit to ourselves and enjoyed the warmer temps that were moving in...

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The ridge offers great views of the northern part of AZ and of the skiers who ride

the lift up and then drop into the east bowl...

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Following the ridge back towards Agassiz, we dropped off and plunged down to

timberline and eventually the truck. We enjoyed the soft plunge down to the truck,

often with drifts to my waist...

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Definitely a scenic time to visit the state's highpoint!

From Flagstaff looking back at Agassiz:

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Nice dude! That looked a little bit more exciting that I expected, based on what I had heard about Humphreys... Cool traverse too. Any interest in busting out those Atomics on a trip like that?? Looks like the skiing would be amazing. Glad to see that you are still getting to play in the snow down there... I'm guessing that you are going to have an unfair breathing advantage when you roll back for Memorial day! Now if you could only find some steep ice down there (or up here for that matter...)! bigdrink.gifthumbs_up.gif

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