Climb: Inspiration Peak-South Face
Date of Climb: 8/14/2004
Trip Report: Justin, Ross, and I climbed Inspiration Peak by the S Face Saturday. We left Seattle too late and were stuck in torpid traffic until Marysville. Justin stopped there and some lady in a truck was nice enough to back into the front of his car while we were getting gas. Beware Friday the 13th in Marysville.
All the traffic delayed our arrival at the Goodell Creek TH until 7 pm or so. We had almost enough light to hike to the nice camp sites at the end of the trail without head torches.
We started the trail up the ridge just before first light, around 5 am. The climber's path is good, but the distance is longer than the Terror Creek approach.
Justin and I had stupidly forgotten crampons, but we managed our way up Terror Glacier somehow. It's a bit broken, and a more impressive glacier than I thought it would be, but very easy with crampons for sure.
We got on the face at the lowest point where it meets the glacier. We scrambled a couple hundred feet of 4th class with a couple sections of easy 5th.
From a ledge where the highest moat meets the south face, Ross lead a slightly awkward chimney pitch to the major ramp that leads up the south face. We simul-climbed a couple hundred feet of 4th class with Justin and I both leading a rope and Ross trailing. Then I lead up another couple hundred feet of 4th and easy 5th until I made a belay a very short pitch below the beginning of the great gash.
Ross lead to a good belay at the beginning of the gash. I lead the first pitch, which featured spectacular face moves and stemming on a very exposed ledge below the overhanging bulge of the gash. There was a perfect belay with enough room for all three of us just before reaching the end of 30m of rope.
Justin lead the next pitch, which featured more face moves with the pro a little scarce in a spot or two. Once again there was a perfect belay around 100 ft.
This left Ross with the pretty chimney pitch that exits to the West Ridge. I got some cool pictures of him leading up the chimney with the overhanging summit block in view. The chimney pitch was exceptionally fun for all of us with sleeping pads on our backs. It was nice how the climb allowed each of us to lead one of the really interesting pitches of the gash.
From where the chimney pitch meets the West Ridge it was one easy move and some 4th class to the summit. It was 6 pm. The views were hella cool.
We were uneasy about the apparent rain down McMillan Creek, as we had been uneasy about thunder and rain to our south while on the face. We made four rappels down the West Ridge, then a bit of downclimbing to a sketchy rappel down the South Face. Five more rappels, including one in which shenanigans ensued after someone forgot to untie the end of the rope before pulling on it, and it was dark; we were a couple hundred feet above the glacier.
Ross and I agreed that the glacier was no place to go in the dark, despite the fact that we were all out of water. We settled for the night. I made proud use of my Jagermeister and Rasta bivy kit. There was a shower or two, but we were grateful for the generally dry night without wind.
Sunday morning we rappelled twice more. Justin and I had mad fun working our way down an icy, crevassed section through a couple bridges without 'poons. Ross talked a lot less shit than I would have, had the situation been reversed. Oh well, his bad. And now for a quote from Yvon Chouinard's
Climbing Ice:
"There are many situations when you could be caught, whether by method or madness, without crampons when they could be useful."
Here's to madness...
The hike to the car was long and my feet hurt like hell. Now I remember why I never wear those boots.
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