[TR] Eldorado - Standard (Eldorado glacier) 05/13/2018

[Mia]

Trip: Eldorado - Standard (Eldorado glacier)

Trip Date: 05/13/2018

Trip Report:

Went up Eldorado this past weekend (05/13-05/14) with one partner. First time for both of us. We had planned on giving the NW couloir a shot, but ended up bailing after an unexpectedly tiring approach day and late night getting to bed.

Log crossing is quite in, look right after coming across the first bit. You'll know you've found the trail on the other side when you see the signpost. Trail is easy to follow (albeit steep and full of down trees) up to the boulder field. At the boulder field you more or less just go up. Starts being snow covered around 4800ft. The snow coverage is quite spotty with lots of holes forming. Crossed the arm into the Eldorado basin at 6,200ft - there is a clear path and two trees marking the crossing spot. Not sure how much longer it'll be in for. Crack is starting to break through at the bottom of the chute. Long, long, slog up all the mushy, slushy snow to the inspiration glacier. 

Ate dinner, melted snow for water and headed to sleep around 9:30pm. Took us just shy of 9 hours to get from the car to the camp: 2 hours on the trail, then a slow time through the boulder field, stopped for lunch and then pushed up, kicking slush the rest of the way. 

After a loud night of tent-flapping-in-wind, we woke up at 5:30 to harder, but not solid snow (didn't need crampons, wore them anyways / just in case) and followed the boot pack up towards summit. When we came over the ridge right before the knife edge, the wind hit us much harder than lower down, literally knocking my feet out from under me. We both wound up crouching, in self belay with axes to avoid being blown all the way over. We tried to find a route out of the wind, hmm'd and haa'd for a bit, and decided to turn around. Very frustrating, but when you need to balance on a ridge, you can't have wind knocking you off the ridge. 

Heading back down to camp I fell through to a crevasse (one leg and just hip deep, was able to roll over onto stable snow) which runs parallel to the boot pack. Watch out! Walking parallel to a crevasses does not give your rope team much opportunity to arrest your fall. 

The crevasse is somewhere between 20 and 30 feet deep, probably. There is another one open, but perpendicular to the path, just above the rocks. 

 

After all that adventure, we packed up and headed home, after screwing up the exit to the boulder field. All together a disappointing but fun, and beautiful weekend. 

 

Gear Notes:
Rope for glacier travel and gear for (thankfully not-quite-necessary) crevasse rescue.

Approach Notes:
Snow starts just below 5,000ft. Boulder field is annoying. Snow bridges are failing and crevasses are opening above high camp.

[Off_White]

Someone else posted a found cell phone on this route, is that your partner, or is one of you perhaps the person who lost a phone?

 

[Alisse]

Wow! Fell hip-deep in a crevasse! Glad it wasn't worse. Nice pics!

[JasonG]

Ah....May on Eldo.  The month of Slupree Death (apologies to @skykilo).  You'll get it next time!

Is the most scenic crapper in the world melted out yet?

[Mia]

17 hours ago, Off_White said:

Someone else posted a found cell phone on this route, is that your partner, or is one of you perhaps the person who lost a phone?

 

Hmm, nope - not us! Hope the phone and owner get together again 

[Mia]

14 hours ago, JasonG said:

Ah....May on Eldo.  The month of Slupree Death (apologies to @skykilo).  You'll get it next time!

Is the most scenic crapper in the world melted out yet?

Nope, it's still very much under snow