Jump to content

olyclimber

Administrators
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    26626

  • Joined

  • Days Won

    91

 Content Type 

Posts posted by olyclimber

    [TR] Welsh Peaks > Silver Peak > Hawk Peak > Tull Canyon - traverse 08/20/2022

    in Olympic Peninsula

    Posted

    On 9/15/2023 at 6:31 PM, DrNate said:

    Looks like a great time! I plan to do this loop with Townsend as a bonus. Any suggestions from your variations or the original lap? 

    Yes, actually logistically adding Mt Townsend in is a great call as you have less road to hike at the end...the trail is almost across the road from the Tubal Cain trailhead.  Only reason I haven't done that is I like watching the sunrise from Welsh peaks, so I would have to start even earlier to make it to that point.  

     

     As far as variations, the first time I tried to stay on the ridge as much as possible and this last time I just went where ever it seemed interesting to explore.  Probably staying on the ridge is better from a views perspective, but can't go wrong either way.

    I would like to find a way to add in Worthington and go out via Buckhorn Lake as I've experienced the plane wreck enough, but not sure if some of that territory would be good for me to take my dog on.

    [TR] Austrian Alps - Stubai High Trail 09/05/2023

    in The rest of the US and International.

    Posted

    Trip: Austrian Alps - Stubai High Trail

    Trip Date: 09/05/2023

    Trip Report:

     

    Over 20 years ago I had personal blog with custom domain name, and posted pictures of what I had going (hiking, climbing, having a kid, etc) and one day I got an email from some Austrian who was looking for a part for his company from a US business that had a domain name similar to my blogs domain name.    We had a ton in common, including to him just having a kid as well.    Anyway, we chatted a bit and then just stayed in touch over the years, till last year.  My son was doing a quarter in Rome, and so I suggested they might meet if it worked out.  Turns out his daughter was working and an au pair in Milan, and so they ended up hanging out and then after his quarter was over my son travelled around Europe for a while, ending his trip with a visit to my Austrian friend's home in a little village in the Austrian Alps.

     

    I figured it was high time I pay him a visit myself, and so I bought the plane tickets.   We weren't sure how to spend my time there, but I suggested hut hiking as I'd never done that.  He suggested the Stubai High Trail.    So well after 20 years of our first contact a I showed up in Munich and he picked me up. 

    He had to work the first day I was there, so while he worked, I walked from his house over to a trail and climbed the mountain you could see from his kitchen window.    I was a great warm up and introduction to hiking the alps, a trail up into the alpine, with a little scrambling, a cable to two, and then a cross at the top....and an insanely beautiful view below.  On the hike back down I tore the crap of my feet, getting blisters all over my feet from my climbing boots.    After this we went and bought a part of Scarpa approach shoes which I used instead, as we figured out that we wouldn't actually need mountaineering boots for the peaks we would try. 

    We drove to Innsbruck and bought ourselves some jaunty Tirolian hats, and then headed up to Neustift im Stubaital.   We parked the car and headed up to the first hut, which gave me an opportunity to get into shape.  Was redlining behind my Austrian Machine.  Thom is pretty fit, for his 45th birthday he ran in the mountains, doing 26 miles a day for 10 days in row, running from his parent's old village to his own.   Our hike that day was only 5k,  but gain 4000ft in elevation.   The first hut is the Starkenburger Hütte, and as became our custom we celebrated with a couple cold beers.   The views from the hut were awesome.

    The next day, as we tried to do every day, we beat all the rest of our hut-mates to the trail.  We climbed some peaks:   Gamskogel 2659m,  Steinkogel 2589m,  Marchsaule 2598m, and Schwarzhorn 2818.    These were gained with hiking or minor scrambling.   We then dropped back down to the main trail, stopping for a beer and lunch at a sheep herders hut. 

    Then we continue up the valley, which had impressively steep slopes at parts.  At one point I was going through a steep gulley which obviously rockfall and heard crack! and saw a grapefruiit sized rock just graze my foot...I was lucky.   We continued to Franz-Senn Hutte, which was one of my favorite.

     The next day we went Franz-Senn Hutte to Neue Regensburger Hutte, which seems out a movie set with a big waterfall just below it.   That day we also climbed Östliche Knotenspitze, which is 3101m.   It seemed improbable with no gear, but with a few strategic cables and then lots of narrow ledges and some scrambling it went fine.

    The next day we went from Neue Regensburger to Dresdner Hutte.  The Dresdner is located right on a ski run right below the glaciers above.   

    From the Dresdner to the Sulzenauhütte (where we had lunch) to Nürnberger Hütte was the best day for me, though there was not a bad day at all...they were all special and awesome.  On this day we went over yet another pass, going by a huge amount big cairns or "hippy stacks" an incredible view of a canyon below that used to house a glaceir as late at the 1950s, but now there is a just a lake....the glaciers had retreated to well above the lake.   There was a massive wall of a moraine below.  

    Then down to the Sulzenauhütte and up by the beautiful blue lake....named "Blue Lake".  Over a pass we headed down to the Nürnberger Hütte which was another favorite.   

    The next day we went from the Nürnberger to the Bremer Huttle and climbed Innere Wetterspitze at 3053m, which was great fun.   The views up there were amazing.

    The day after that we headed to Innsbrucker Hutte.  Our intention was to climb Habicht, another 3000+m peak, but it there was thunder and rain in the morning so the next day we headed up.

    I can't begin to convey how fun this trip was.  My friend Thomas is the nicest guy you could meet.  I might as well have been climbing a with a guide (he actually was guide for a while), but what was the best was having a local who pointed out all the local flora and fuana, history, and translate German for me,  and basically arranged everything.   

    We saw plenty of herd of goats and sheep high in the alpine trying to escape the heat.   This is the time of year they normally bring them down, but it was still so warm they didn't want to come down yet.   We saw a pair of Stienbock, which as very cool, and then smell and eventually saw another one that was dead along the trail.  We ran into a lot of other Europeans, and shared some of our time on the trail with a couple from Portland.  The company and food in the huts was great save the vegetarian fare they served at the Regensburger Hutte, which came out of me in a 3 second burst just below the steep pass you go through to get out of there.   I felt immediately better after.

    The scenery is quite amazing.  It is alarming to see how much the glaciers there have receded, they could be gone in 10 years.

    I took so many photos and videos.  Here a few photos.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Gear Notes:
    silk sleeping bag liner. approach shoes. no tent, stove, etc...

    Approach Notes:
    south of Innsbruck

    IMG_3969.jpeg

    IMG_3848.jpeg

    IMG_3847.jpeg

    55D44DA6-2CE7-4FE0-B98B-D2B7B39908D9.jpeg

    E3E1AE07-FF91-40ED-A457-AF421C4F7A83.jpeg

    IMG_3732.jpeg

    IMG_3744.jpeg

    IMG_3810.jpeg

    IMG_3819.jpeg

    IMG_3836.jpeg

    IMG_3881.jpeg

    IMG_3896.jpeg

    IMG_3920.jpeg

    IMG_3932.jpeg

    IMG_3950.jpeg

    IMG_3978.jpeg

    IMG_4003.jpeg

    IMG_4022.jpeg

    IMG_4024.jpeg

    IMG_4033.jpeg

    IMG_4052.jpeg

    1CA1A71F-11AA-4D5C-8ACD-AD77E5E988BA.jpeg

    IMG_4099.jpeg

    IMG_4102.jpeg

    IMG_4153.jpeg

    IMG_4204.jpeg

    IMG_4249.jpeg

    IMG_4261.jpeg

    IMG_4298.jpeg

    IMG_4307.jpeg

    IMG_4322.jpeg

    IMG_4356.jpeg

    IMG_4396.jpeg

    IMG_5276.jpeg

    IMG_0196.jpeg

    IMG_0251.jpeg

    IMG_0237.jpeg

    IMG_4484.jpeg

    IMG_4521.jpeg

    IMG_4547.jpeg

    IMG_4556.jpeg

    IMG_4621.jpeg

    IMG_4645.jpeg

    IMG_4708.jpeg

    IMG_4715.jpeg

    IMG_4731.jpeg

    IMG_4749.jpeg

    IMG_4765.jpeg

    IMG_4797.jpeg

    IMG_4812.jpeg

    IMG_4842.jpeg

    IMG_4872.jpeg

    IMG_4876.jpeg

    IMG_4888.jpeg

    IMG_4900.jpeg

    IMG_4935.jpeg

    IMG_4939.jpeg

    IMG_4943.jpeg

    IMG_4961.jpeg

    IMG_4967.jpeg

    IMG_4981.jpeg

    IMG_4990.jpeg

    EA3CEE0E-3D6A-4EBC-A68B-C2DC43901E10.jpeg

    IMG_5039.jpeg

    IMG_5043.jpeg

    IMG_5061.jpeg

    IMG_5222.jpeg

    IMG_5190.jpeg

    IMG_5268.jpeg

    IMG_5271.jpeg

    IMG_5307.jpeg

    IMG_0594.jpeg

    IMG_0602.jpeg

    IMG_5440.jpeg

    IMG_5460.jpeg

    IMG_5472.jpeg

    • Like 2
    • Rawk on! 1
    • Wow!!! 1

    [TR] mt ellinor - summer trail 08/27/2023

    in Olympic Peninsula

    Posted

    IMG_3256.jpeg.7a867b7d013d6b743281854d993fd641.jpeg

    IMG_3257.jpeg.a54a2557b63291c04dd0566f6337febd.jpegIMG_3248.jpeg.e986222a14833a9753328fa05b9c8e8f.jpegIMG_3246.jpeg.23761b35bbe5203914afc8ecb1c4a98f.jpegIMG_3234.jpeg.250f8f73fdbf1eb1a42ea5c717ead990.jpegIMG_3210.jpeg.a591bdf80eb954db076a99cf939be5ea.jpegIMG_3191.jpeg.40c63bfcfbca85b8d30dca19906446c9.jpegTrip: mt ellinor - summer trail

    Trip Date: 08/27/2023

    Trip Report:

     

    Kiba and I hiked up the summer trail Sunday morning, joining the other million of visitors this peak has every summer.  I've always avoided Ellinor and Washington because of the crowds, so I've never been up either before, but due to the fact that I had never been plus that I could bring Kiba....well we had nothing better going so we went up Sunday morning. Its just a less than two mile hike, but still a cool position to view the rest of the Olympics.

     

    The trail is unreal, especially up higher.  The Mt Rose Trail Crew really put in an insane amount of work to make this accessible to the masses that go up in every year.  How many bolts did they drill to put in the wood steps?  Also just some innovative trail building methods in use.   Also...the first via ferratta I've even seen the Olympics!  Webbing hanging on bolts right by their trail tool box or whatever it is.

    Anyway, while it was smokey, we watched the sunise from near the summit and saw all my old mountain friends.  The Sawtooths and Cruiser,  Mt Olympus holding court in the distance.   Mt Skokomish, Stone, Lena, Bretherton, Constance, the Bros, etc. 

    I think it would be fun to climb Ellinor with a guide as recommended at the bottom of the comment section here:

    https://www.summitpost.org/mt-ellinor/151552

    What do you think Bob would charge to guide you up Ellinor? What do you think Bob looks like?  I'm going to guess he will be wearing a hickory shirt, arms cut off at 3/4 length.  Wearing Romeos, and Carhartts with holes in them.  Or at least that is how hope he would look like.  Maybe a can of Copenhagen.   Due to inflation I could see Bob charging you $200 plus a 6 pack of Hamms.

    Gear Notes:
    wear shoes

    Approach Notes:
    fine European trail

    • Like 2
×
×
  • Create New...