patrickg

Climbed the Emmons Glacier 6/25/05. The route is in great condition all the way to the top. The rangers suggest snow shoes for the Inter glacier, and we packed them in and used them, but they were too cumbersome and not worth the weight- would have done boots and risked post holing, but we packed them so we used them. The creek at the foot of the Inter is totally thawed, so it's a great place to pump water & fill up the water bottles. There are a couple crevasses opening on the Inter but nothing to worry about right now. Dropping down from Camp Curtis to Emmons glacier was a bit tricky because the mud and pummice is loose & sloppy and a bit sketchy, but OK. Camped at Emmons flat that had 1 really significant crevasse opening, but there is plenty of room to dig out good and safe sites. The first 1,200 ft of the route has good stpes kicked, but after that the wind drifted snow in the steps and froze, so there was plenty of steps to kick- we were also the first team up that day. Started the climb at 12:45am There are a ton of wands so the route is very clear to follow. Summited at 7:45am to a spectacular view. The crevasses all the way up are pretty mild and easy to see and negotiate. About half way down to Emmons Flat started balling real bad so took off the crampons & plunge stepped. There was a glissaded shute the entire length of the Inter on the decent which made for some fun butt sliding!