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dmaron

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  1. Looks like fun. Thanks for the inspiration.
  2. Trip: Mt. Challenger - Challenger Glacier (Pictures) Date: 9/15/2007 Trip Report: A bit belated to be of immediate use...I apologize. Our group of five, previously defeated in an attempt on Challenger (2005), left the Hannegan Pass trailhead in the early afternoon on Thursday the 13th. -A view of Shuksan along the way- Our aim for the afternoon was the long trek up and over Hannegan Pass, down to the Chilliwack River, and then back up to the first camping spots on Easy Ridge--in all, this section took us roughly 7 hours, landing us in camp at 830ish. -Setting up camp on Easy Ridge- We woke up the next morning to perfect weather and horrible bugs...Started hiking in the 8ish range (I forget exactly). The route along Easy Ridge is a trail, and it continues to be straightforward even once you drop down off the ridge (at ~6100ft) and start traversing down towards the imperfect impasse. -A nice view along the way. The impasse, or massive chasm as it should be known, is quite a site. Do not underestimate this logistic! Because of good weather, we had no problem finding the high traverse above the chasm (a hint of things to come). Note to self and all: Make sure to cut as high as possible under the buttress until you run into the chasm (at ~5000ft), and then angle up left on 3rd/4th class rock… -Cutting high- until a short ~30 ft 4th/low 5th class section into a safer gully... -The few moves- to be followed by a short 4th class scramble back up and out of the chasm. We didn’t bring any rock pro, but fortunately our pickets fitted nicely into the larger cracks (just picture really big pitons). From there, the path is straightforward to Perfect Pass. Note: I spent time explaining this because it is the key logistic consideration between Easy Ridge and Perfect Pass. This all took a bit longer than expected...and thus we spent the night on Perfect Pass…not to be missed. -View of Challenger Glacier- -Route we took, roughly (you can’t see the final summit section)- -Looking west, with Baker and Shuksan in view- -More views west The next morning we headed off to tackle the beast, with the aim of summiting, hitting Perfect Pass early and then spending the night back on Easy Ridge (or just below). With somewhat bittersweet emotions, what ensued was not the plan. The route took longer than expected, due in part to the following: (1) we tried to cut the corner, and thus traversed higher on the Challenger Glacier…this ended up being super fun, as we got to maneuver a couple hundred feet of steeper (45-50 degree), broken glacier travel (pickets and screws), but took a bit longer… and (2) The bergshrund that has been all the rage on discussions about Challenger proved to be…well…true. The walls are 30-50 feet high and overhanging. Sh*t, we thought. And so, because the shrund was impassible to the right (due to its termination on the steep north-facing Challenger Glacier)... -looking north from inside the shrund (major wall to left) ...we trudged left, hoping to find a means around…and good news for all those wanting to climb the mountain via this route: there is relatively simple bypass. All one has to do is skirt to the left of the shrund, maneuver through the ice-blocky debris on its left, scramble up a little rock and then access a short steeper snow section (~50 degrees) that leads to the wonderful NE facing summit ridge. -The ice-blocky section- -The steeper snow section- -Moving onto the summit ridge- -Just below the summit block- Since it was late, and we didn’t have a group of rock climbing junkies, we opted to hang out 50 feet shy of the summit, and consider it good…and it was good…in fact, it was spectacular. The descent was pretty straightforward. We stayed on the rock to the right of the summit ridge, and then rappelled/scrambled down the final rock sections to the ice-blocky debris mentioned earlier. From there, we descended the Challenger Glacier to camp, which was, by the time we reached it, shrouded in clouds (damn). -Heading back to Perfect Pass, now in clouds (Main peak: Whatcom)- Change of plans: We decided to stay at Perfect Pass with hope that the clouds would dissipate by the morning hours, thus making it possible to find the keyhole pathway at the top of the chasm. -Morning time at 530: Dark, wet, foggy- We woke up early to thick clouds, and spent the next 6 hours wandering around the steeps between the chasm, Perfect Pass, and the valley floor. It was a utter pain, and somewhat discouraging at points. -Our views- We decided after sometime that it made more sense to hike down to the valley floor, where the chasm finally peters out, and then hike back up to Easy Ridge along the north side of the chasm. -Heading down to the valley floor- -Crossing the chasm near the valley floor (~3900ft)- -Heading back up the Easy Ridge (~4800ft) -It all looked the same (under Easy Ridge ~5500ft) It was a slightly epic decision, but in the end turned out ok. That being said, we decided to camp at our original Day 1 evening spot on Easy Ridge, and hike out a day late. We woke up the next morning (pictures above), and trekked out the remaining 11 miles to the trailhead. On the way (within a few miles of our car) we ran into a ranger coming up trail; due to our day-late return, she’d been told to find us…and she did. Gear Notes: two pickets (use as rock and snow protection), two screws, slings, one 2nd ice tool (used as snow protection) Approach Notes: Straightforward...except watch out for all the bees. Keep your poles on the trail.
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