Bronco

JasonG and I joined forces to tackle the (somewhat overrated) Gunn Peak massif on Saturday. We knew the approach was brushy and would be wet, but we also knew that at least the trail would be super slick and steep. It did not disappoint, in fact it exceeded all of those expectations. After arriving at the trailhead and chatting with another choss dawger waiting for her partners, Jason changed into his boots and placed his sandals in the back of my truck. I glanced at them and happened to notice some strange looking mud caked on the bottom of one. I picked it up to inspect closer. Upon further investigation, I determined it was poop. Not only that, it was probably human poop given the appearance and texture. Upon announcing this discovery to Jason, our new friend (who must’ve overheard) declared from the safety of her vehicle "its not mine!". With some trepidation, we shouldered our packs and ambled down the old road to Barclay Creek where I went upstream to stash some beer and Jason went downstream to clean off his shoe. A log with slickness level of 5.10d provided a butt puckering way across the stream. We both stayed dry but it was not to last. With the Fred Flintstone carwash effect now in full force, we clambered upwards on the well-flagged trail and continued along well past where the trail actually turns up a small watercourse, high in the approach basin. After realizing we had overshot the trail and finding ourselves in your typical North Cascades steep slide alder/fern/salmon berry thicket, we forced a way up until regaining the trail near the divide where we took in what little view the clouds yielded. Jason intelligently donned his rain gear for the wet brush, I decided I’d rather be wet from water than sweat and was rewarded many times over. I reached a point were if Jason had suggested bailing, I'd reluctantly agree. Annoyingly, he seemed oblivious to any suffering. After pouring water out of my boots and hiking up my soaked pants, we pressed on across what we believe to be a beautiful basin but couldn’t tell you because we couldn’t see anything. Jason correctly chose the “hidden ledge” that looks like a regular ol’ gully to access the upper part of Gunn. Spiraling up around the peak would normally afford one a grand vista, if not for the persistent cloudiness on that day. Supposedly it’s pretty exposed on the final 100’ to the summit but we wouldn’t know, it just looked like the “inside of a ping pong ball” as Jason succinctly put it. The summit (we're pretty sure it was the summit) is a comfortable place to take a break so we spread out our gear to try and dry it out. Ironically, the solar radiation felt relatively strong on the summit despite the thick clouds. Jason pretended to take pictures of the gloom. I took one of him doing what he does best, climb mountains and take photos. (have I mentioned how much I love the CC.com photo-uploader?) While chatting with Jason, he admitted that he's considered a "bastard" in certain friend groups as he has a strong anti-enabling instinct. While I think Jason's bar is relatively low for being an actual bastard, I agreed that I must be one as well. Recently I was chastised for suggesting that someone, (who'd repeatedly complained about not having a job and refused to take anything less than their dream job) should investigate openings at Home Depot. Though candidate Trump would probably also understand this sentiment, we agreed his campaign could use some "fine tuning". Anyway, we spent a good 45 minutes on the summit hoping for a view, anything really. Nada. We did encounter a nice boot ski down the short couloir to the basin and were more vigilant to keep the trail while descending. The boot mud skiing down the trail was exciting. Reaching Barclay Creek again, I waded through, as it would only result in clean water in my boots, instead of the muddy sweaty stuff currently inhabiting them. We caught up to the other group who had wisely turned around in the basin of despair and helped soothe their disappointment with a beer. Not much for views but a memorable day out in the mountains.

JasonG and I joined forces to tackle the (somewhat overrated) Gunn Peak massif on Saturday. We knew the approach was brushy and would be wet, but we also knew that at least the trail would be super slick and steep. It did not disappoint, in fact it exceeded all of those expectations. After arriving at the trailhead and chatting with another choss dawger waiting for her partners, Jason changed into his boots and placed his sandals in the back of my truck. I glanced at them and happened to notice some strange looking mud caked on the bottom of one. I picked it up to inspect closer. Upon further investigation, I determined it was poop. Not only that, it was probably human poop given the appearance and texture. Upon announcing this discovery to Jason, our new friend (who must’ve overheard) declared from the safety of her vehicle "its not mine!". With some trepidation, we shouldered our packs and ambled down the old road to Barclay Creek where I went upstream to stash some beer and Jason went downstream to clean off his shoe. A log with slickness level of 5.10d provided a butt puckering way across the stream. We both stayed dry but it was not to last. With the Fred Flintstone carwash effect now in full force, we clambered upwards on the well-flagged trail and continued along well past where the trail actually turns up a small watercourse, high in the approach basin. After realizing we had overshot the trail and finding ourselves in your typical North Cascades steep slide alder/fern/salmon berry thicket, we forced a way up until regaining the trail near the divide where we took in what little view the clouds yielded. Jason intelligently donned his rain gear for the wet brush, I decided I’d rather be wet from water than sweat and was rewarded many times over. I reached a point were if Jason had suggested bailing, I'd reluctantly agree. Annoyingly, he seemed oblivious to any suffering. After pouring water out of my boots and hiking up my soaked pants, we pressed on across what we believe to be a beautiful basin but couldn’t tell you because we couldn’t see anything. Jason correctly chose the “hidden ledge” that looks like a regular ol’ gully to access the upper part of Gunn. Spiraling up around the peak would normally afford one a grand vista, if not for the persistent cloudiness on that day. Supposedly it’s pretty exposed on the final 100’ to the summit but we wouldn’t know, it just looked like the “inside of a ping pong ball” as Jason succinctly put it. The summit (we're pretty sure it was the summit) is a comfortable place to take a break so we spread out our gear to try and dry it out. Ironically, the solar radiation felt relatively strong on the summit despite the thick clouds. Jason pretended to take pictures of the gloom. I took one of him doing what he does best, climb mountains and take photos. (have I mentioned how much I love the CC.com photo-uploader?) While chatting with Jason, he admitted that he's considered a "bastard" in certain friend groups as he has a strong anti-enabling instinct. While I think Jason's bar is relatively low for being an actual bastard, I agreed that I must be one as well. Recently I was chastised for suggesting that someone, (who'd repeatedly complained about not having a job and refused to take anything less than their dream job) should investigate openings at Home Depot. Though candidate Trump would probably also understand this sentiment, we agreed his campaign could use some "fine tuning". Anyway, we spent a good 45 minutes on the summit hoping for a view, anything really. Nada. We did encounter a nice boot ski down the short couloir to the basin and were more vigilant to keep the trail while descending. The boot mud skiing down the trail was exciting. Reaching Barclay Creek again, I waded through, as it would only result in clean water in my boots, instead of the muddy sweaty stuff currently inhabiting them. We caught up to the other group who had wisely turned around in the basin of despair and helped soothe their disappointment with a beer. Not much for views but a memorable day out in the mountains.

JasonG and I joined forces to tackle the (somewhat overrated) Gunn Peak massif on Saturday. We knew the approach was brushy and would be wet, but we also knew that at least the trail would be super slick and steep. It did not disappoint, in fact it exceeded all of those expectations. After arriving at the trailhead and chatting with another choss dawger waiting for her partners, Jason changed into his boots and placed his sandals in the back of my truck. I glanced at them and happened to notice some strange looking mud caked on the bottom of one. I picked it up to inspect closer. Upon further investigation, I determined it was poop. Not only that, it was probably human poop given the appearance and texture. Upon announcing this discovery to Jason, our new friend (who must've overheard) declared from the safety of her vehicle "its not mine!". With some trepidation, we shouldered our packs and ambled down the old road to Barclay Creek where I went upstream to stash some beer and Jason went downstream to clean off his shoe. A 5.10d log provided a butt puckering way across the stream. We both stayed dry but it was not to last. With the Fred Flintstone carwash effect now in full force, we clambered upwards on the well-flagged trail and continued along well past where the trail actually turns up a small watercourse, high in the approach basin. After realizing we had overshot the trail and finding ourselves in your typical North Cascades steep slide alder/fern/salmon berry thicket, we forced a way up until regaining the trail near the divide where we took in what little view the clouds yielded. Jason intelligently donned his rain gear for the wet brush, I decided I'd rather be wet from water than sweat and was rewarded many times over. I reached a point were if Jason had suggested bailing, I'd reluctantly agree. Annoyingly, he seemed oblivious to any suffering. After pouring water out of my boots and hiking up my soaked pants, we pressed on across what we believe to be a beautiful basin but couldn't tell you because we couldn't see anything. Jason correctly chose the "hidden ledge" that looks like a regular ol' gully to access the upper part of Gunn. Spiraling up around the peak would normally afford one a grand vista, if not for the persistent cloudiness on that day. Supposedly it's pretty exposed on the final 100' to the summit but we wouldn't know, it just looked like the "inside of a ping pong ball" as Jason succinctly put it. The summit (we're pretty sure it was the summit) is a comfortable place to take a break so we spread out our gear to try and dry it out. Ironically, the solar radiation felt relatively strong on the summit despite the thick clouds. Jason tried to take pictures of the gloom. I took one of him doing what he does best, climb mountains and take photos. (have I mentioned how much I love the CC.com photo-uploader?) While chatting with Jason, he admitted that he's considered a "bastard" in certain friend groups as he has a strong anti-enabling instinct. While I think Jason's bar is relatively low for being an actual bastard, I agreed that I must be one as well. Recently I was chastised for suggesting that someone, (who'd repeatedly complained about not having a job and refused to take anything less than their dream job) should investigate temporary openings at Home Depot, where they had previously worked. Though candidate Trump would probably also understand this sentiment, we agreed his campaign could use some "fine tuning". Anyway, we bastards spent a good 45 minutes on the summit hoping for a view, anything really. Nada. We did encounter a nice boot ski down the short couloir to the basin and were more vigilant to keep the trail while descending. The boot mud skiing down the trail was exciting. Reaching Barclay Creek again, I waded through, as it would only result in clean water in my boots, instead of the muddy sweaty stuff currently inhabiting them. We caught up to the other (younger) group who had wisely turned around in the basin of despair and helped soothe their disappointment with a beer at the trail head but I'm pretty sure they called us old bastards under their breath. Not much for views but a memorable day out in the mountains.

Funny story, good job making the climb anyway.

What make and model of rope is it and how old is it? How much use has it seen other than the two weeks it sat out in the mountains?

I'd personally start with the pitching staff, especially after today's debacle.

I've looked at quilts to reduce weight and pack space but they don't seem to save much on either and are relatively expensive. Quilts do seem like they would be more comfortable than a traditional bag but I can't justify the purchase for that reason as I was trained that all bivies are supposed to be uncomfortable, with little sleep and always either too cold or too hot. The Feathered Friends Vireo seems like a great lightweight idea but I worry about a lack of temperature regulation. I have a hard enough time with that issue in my 3/4 zip bag.

If they were bad to start with it'd be easier to watch but I can't take it anymore.

Crossing the North Fork of Bridge Creek is going to be spicy this early in the season, especially with the precip forecast for later this week. For the rope, if you're carrying over and descending to Park Creek, you can get away with a single 60m for raps, that's the way we went. There were just two 25m raps in the SW Coulior. If you're descending via Storm King col, I'm not sure, it sounds like a PITA to me.

I alway thought those big tri-cams were heavier than a comparable cam. I'm curious why you guys took one instead of the recommend #4? Great story by the way, glad your buddy didn't get hurt worse. Pulling off a torso sized block would be terrifying. We've all had some "so this is how it ends" moments over the years. Nobody needs that. Also interesting how much snow you guys encountered, I would've thought it would be gone with the heat this spring.

HI Turtlefarmer: I know you and your friend mean well but anyone with information on the accident should provide it to the authorities, not directly to an individual requesting it on the inter webs. Sorry for your loss.

My hero - [video:youtube] [video:youtube]

Looks like a nice day trip! I'm curious out of the four of you, who has the most ski descents of Baker?

That's pretty cool, what a bad ass!

My advice is to come out and be prepared to camp at Muir (assuming you're planning to attempt the Disappointment Cleaver Route) waiting for a weather window. Looking at Erik's link to the MRNP climbing webpage, the guide services have established the boot pack on that route so you're good to go if you get a solid forecast.

Photos work for me, great looking tour!

Amazing story of recovery and resilience Josh. You're an inspiring guy for sure.

Your mom's in a faction.

All gone

He sure is getting popular in Montana: Montana Supreme Court to hear Krakauer case at MSU http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/crime/montana-supreme-court-to-hear-krakauer-case-at-msu/article_20fb46c8-2f01-507f-83c8-f43cf7e6f662.html Makes me wonder who decided to hold the hearing at the arch rival MSU campus instead of in Missoula. Deserved or not, Krakauer is not well liked in either town due to the prior Mortensen (Three Cups of Tea) debacle that he instigated a few years ago. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out. Here's the first comment on the article:

Nice save!

How many trees need to be removed from the road to ED?

The traverse to Eldorado is commonly done as a ski tour in early season, probably due to the glaciers being pretty broken later in the summer. Here's a recent TR: http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=36253.from1460395852#new I may be wrong, but my perception is that the traverse from Forbidden to Eldorado is a long ways. Have you guys considered doing the N. Face on Buckner? It's a pleasant steep snow climb in a great setting that you probably wouldn't see many other folks and relatively close by. I personally haven't done Boston Peak because of its reputation as the chossiest peak in the area.

Whats up Eric, lots of folks skin up to the top of the Palmer lift, some skin to the top of the Hogsback, it depends on the conditions at the time and your ability. Definitely do take your boards, very much reduces the suck of walking down, even if the skiing isn't "enjoyable". In April 2014 I had good snow on the upper mountain, mashed potatoes mid mountain down to the bottom of the Hogsback, frozen suncups from there down to the groomed run so it can vary quite a bit. I don't know that many folks rope up for the Southside route this time of year, do they? It seemed pretty benign when I was there but I was by myself so I didn't really think too much about roping up. Read up on your snow travel skills, chapter 13 (in the 6th ed) of Freedom of the Hills contains a lot of good info on ropes/snow/mountains. There's a bunch of factors to consider when deciding to rope up or not. Anticipate crowds and goofy stuff going on. Obviously if the weather turns or the masses are hindering progress, get on down the mountain quickly.

I heard Theodore Cruz rides snow blades but his are made in the USA!