Trip: Lane Peak - Zipper

Date: 1/24/2009

Trip Report:
This weird weather we have had the last couple of weeks wreaked havoc on my climbing plans this weekend. Originally I had planned a climb of Chair Peak because the avy conditions were so extremely low. Unfortunately the inversion layer, while creating a nuclear winter at sea level, was creating beach-like temperatures higher in the mountains. This eliminated any chance for good ice on Chair. So I started looking for a climb that I'd want to do in low avy conditions but without a need for ice to make it fun. Lane Peak it would be!

The approach to Lane Peak has to be both the shortest and most enjoyable I have ever done. One heads up the slope above the Narada Falls parking lot, walks down the road towards Reflection Lake and heads straight down the slope through the woods (at the sharp turn in the road) towards Lane Peak.

After a quick descent through the woods we reached a stream crossing. It is best to stay skier's right of the stream crossing as you approach Lane. Eventually we came to a big open meadow where we cached our snowshoes, put on our harnesses, helmets, and crampons and started up.

We reached the base of the Zipper 1.5 hrs after leaving the cars. On the route we encountered 5 pitches of 45-50 degree hard snow with a few bulges of a slightly greater angle. After topping out it took us about 45 min to get back to the snowshoe cache in the meadow and then 45 minutes back to the cars from there. As you descend the summit stay right and descend into the gentle bowl and then move left down the steeper slopes towards the meadow. When you reach the trees take the gully on the far left (skier's left). The other gully systems cliff out. The left-most gully provides a clear shot back to the meadow.











Gear Notes:
4 pickets per rope team. We brought screws and nuts but did not use them. Some parties in light snow years report using nuts to get past moats. There were moats, but none that posed a problem this time.

Thank you for the steps! I went yesterday 1/26 for a solo outing to Lanes peak. The weather was perfect, blue skies and around 20 degrees. The light snow that fell Sunday night was not much, but the wind had transported quite a bit into The Zipper, knee deep in places, obscuring your tracks on the bottom third of the gully. I was able to avoid the potential slab by climbing on the far left side of the snow/ice.

I'm glad you were able to make use of our steps. Truth be told, the party ahead of us kicked 'em. We just made them deeper.

I finally got the TR up on my website. Since it's too late to edit the post, here's the link: http://alpinetarn.com/lanepeak.aspx