NE Ridge Triumph conditions?

[ryland_moore]

Heading up to attempt NE Ridge of Triumph this weekend and was wondering the the moat to access the ridge is an issue this late in the year? How's the one exposed steep descent on the glacier? Still around 10-20 ft in length? Thanks for the beta!

[Alpinfox]

I climbed on 8/8/03 and had no problems. Crampons and ice axe were not necessary. Getting from notch down to the glacier, downclimb some easy rocks below the bivy site to avoid the steep snow. Or use crampons on snow. Traversing the glacier doesn't take as long as you think it will when you see it from the notch. We camped about halfway across the glacier, but our total crossing time notch-to-base-of-ridge was no more than 90 minutes. We saw some ice chunks calve off and slide down the basin while we were on the ridge, so move quickly underneath that stuff. The snow/ice was melting pretty quickly when we were there and we traversed along the bottom edge of the glacier/snowfield, so you might be traversing across those super-smooth slabs now.

 

Be sure to look for ice worms while crossing the glacier. Lots of the buggers.

 

Plenty of water available. Hardly any bugs. Route is mostly 3rd/4th class and most people should be able to safely simulclimb the entire thing with perhaps two or three short belays. Route protects easily. Bring a very small rack. Consider leaving rock shoes behind and climbing in boots/approach shoes.

 

Please take a knife along and cut off some rotten webbing off of the plethora of rap anchors. It's really out of hand up there.

 

Beautiful views of the Southern Pickets. Triumph wasn't as challenging or as aesthetic as I expected, but still a great climb.

 

Cheers.

[leejams]

Ryland, I could give you beta if we made it up that far this past weekend. I suggest only going with dry weather, for the climb and 2 days prior to going to make sure the underbrush is dried out. The trail up to the the high point above/before the lakes are easy and well maintained. From there on though quite a bit of underbrush which when wet (like last weekend) will get you and everything on you SOAKED. Had a hard time finding the gulley to the col/camp in the fog and cloud deck. When you come to the 2nd lake outlet start gradually heading up on scree and it will funnel you into the correct gulley. DON'T go towards the big slab under the 3rd lake. pretty sure in clear weather it would be quite obvious. Also, if possible Mt. bikes would be perfect for the first 2+ miles as it is a flat march and would save time and would be sweet on the way out. hope this helps out some. Can't wait to go back and finish it off when it is dryer.

[Alpinfox]

Actually you don't have to climb directly in the scree/talus above the second lake. There is a trail through the grass/heather to the climber's right of the scree/talus that leads up most of the way to the col and meets up with the talus and lingering snowpatch higher up.

 

In either case, the trail splits off well before you get to the stream connecting the second and third lake. It is quite obvious with good visibility.

 

Lots of ripe huckleberries and a few salmonberries on the trail!

 

Ranger lady we met said she saw a bear on the way in. We didn't see one.

[ryland_moore]

Do you need a permit if you are bivying up on the first pitch?

[erik]

of course ryland you are under the protection of the tool! you are entering a police state. please register your intent so that you may be tracked and have your personal info forwarded to headquarter for scrutinization. be prepared to be hassled and have your wilderness experience ruined by the police, because visting your public land is a benefit extended to you, only if you comply to destructive forrest service and nps policies.

 

thank you for shopping and disney lands north cascades entertainment facility.

 

and if you would like this message repeated in spanish, cantonesse, germna, japanesse, latin, pig latin, uruduku or ebonics please press #11

 

 

[Jopa]

11

[ryland_moore]

of course ryland you are under the protection of the tool! you are entering a police state. please register your intent so that you may be tracked and have your personal info forwarded to headquarter for scrutinization. be prepared to be hassled and have your wilderness experience ruined by the police, because visting your public land is a benefit extended to you, only if you comply to destructive forrest service and nps policies.

 

thank you for shopping and disney lands north cascades entertainment facility.

 

and if you would like this message repeated in spanish, cantonesse, germna, japanesse, latin, pig latin, uruduku or ebonics please press #11

 

Guess I will have to just crack out my camo a bit before hunting season starts this year!

[Alpinfox]

 

Ryland,

I think you are SUPPOSED to have a self-issued permit to camp anywhere in NCNP. If you wanna please The Man, get one at Marblemount. However, I didn't get one and had no problems even though we met a ranger (albeit a volunteer ranger). Keep in mind, it's your land and you have a right to use it.

 

As an aside, the ranger told us that it is SOP to record the license plate numbers of all cars parked at the trailhead. Supposedly so they can follow up on break-ins etc. I didn't know they did that... .not sure how I feel about it. Creepy, but if it helps em catch jackass car prowlers.... I dunno.

 

I don't recommend doing the bivy on the ridge thing. You won't save much time, the bivy site is really really small and not that comfortable. There are a couple really nice tent platforms just below the notch/col (before you cross the glacier) that are level and have easy access to water. Unless you plan to belay every pitch and spend 12 hrs on the route, I don't see the point in bivying on the ridge.

 

Do as you wish, but that is my rec.

 

[Off_White]

As an alternate opinion, I found the bivy spacious and the views delightful, and would recommend it to anyone. Its more like a pitch and a half up than a single pitch though.

[Raoul]

I agree with Off_White. The bivy site on the ridge rocks and has this view of the Southern Pickets.

 

You may need to haul some snow up from below for water this late in the season.

[Alpinfox]

Same views available from the notch.

 

Maybe I didn't see the bivy site that Raoul and Off White used... I wasn't really looking for it though.

 

Anyway. Enjoy.

[ncascadesranger]

ryland_moore said:

Do you need a permit if you are bivying up on the first pitch?

 

Ryland / Alpinfox,

 

You do need to get the wilderness permit for anywhere in NCNP for overnight trips. Bivying on a route just means the permit is gonna be in a crosscountry zone, not a designated camp permit. The reference to a "self-issue" permit comes from how the system allows people to show up after hours in Marblemount and if a permit is still available (you must look at the list on the board posted at closing) then you can self-issue the permit. Otherwise just get one at the desk inside the Wilderness Info Center.

 

Yes we do sometimes record license plates at trailheads. Is that "creepy"? It's just merely a time saver for us sometimes at the ranger station. Worried family member calls because their wife/husband/kid is overdue from Triumph or they think the w/h/k was gonna climb Triumph when actually they changed their mind and went elsewhere. I ask what car they had, check the plate list from the ranger that drove down at end of the day, and save myself a trip up there. Or see that the car IS there and go from there. Sometimes doing this does come into play for law enforcement reasons too, but no plates are ever run unless used for an investigative reason. I think most people like the fact that rangers are trying to thwart car clouts or discourage little country road meth labs. All of the above (esp the "why isn't x home for dinner" call) happen more often than you might think.

 

Anyway, I think Triumph's NE Ridge is one of the funnest routes in the Park, and that going on over to the first pitch of the route to bivy is a nice time saver on the climbing day if you have to go out then. But there is also a rock outcrop just below Triumph Col on the glacier side with a view of the Pickets too. I think 2 nights there if you have it, is the way to enjoy this climb.

[chucK]

Hey ncascadesranger!

What's the official skinny on riding bikes on the first couple of miles of the approach (flat, abandoned road, part)? Verboten?

[kklimber]

When we did this route about 10 years ago our car WAS broken into at the trailhead. What hurt the most (my husband, that is), is that they stole his clean, dry cotton change of clothes. And maliciously enough, they got under the hood and cut wires. Another good reason to carry a first aid kit - we were able to tape the stuff back together and limp back to town. OK route, glad to have DONE it. Definitely got the speedo rappel routine down on that trip. Spectacular scenery.

[Dru]

kklimber said:

Definitely got the speedo rappel routine down on that trip. Spectacular scenery.

 

 

A Dulfersitz is painful enough without doing it in a Speedo

[kklimber]

[ncascadesranger]

Re: the old road - Well...it's now in the trail system, where bikes are prohibited. Admittedly, not the nicest stretch of trail to walk, does look like a nice mountain bike cruise downhill after a climb. But lots of hikers on it, no plans to move the trailhead up, in fact maintenance on that road barely keeps a couple of stretches driveable. So - it's a trail, no bikes.