Tod Posted September 23, 2002 Posted September 23, 2002 After an early start Saturday morning from Seattle we arrived at the Thornton Lakes trailhead and were on the trail by 8:30. With a little extra time picking blueberries near Lower Thornton Lake we were at the notch by 1:00 and greeted by your friendly Volunteer National Park Ranger. Ranger: “Beautiful Day isn’t?” Me: “Incredible, it doesn’t get much better.” Ranger: “Do you have a permit?” Me: “No” I’ve finally been caught, other than on Rainier, I can’t remember getting a permit to go anywhere in the Cascades. My usual climb is not anywhere near any other parties other than maybe passing a few people in the early morning hours near major trailheads or campsites. Being that this is the first time I’ve seen a ranger in many years we apparently were entering an area where the hordes of climbers flock to and camp. Our Volunteer Ranger picked up her radio: Ranger: “What is the status of Triumph Backcountry Zone?” Voice: “Two parties are permitted already, it’s full.” Ranger: “I have two climbers without permits at Triumph Col. What do you want me to do?” Voice: “Get their info and let them continue after you talk to them about why we issue permits.” We got a smoothed over version of the permit system and how easy it is to get them ate hour lunch and went on our way. The crossing of the glacier over to the NE Ridge was uneventful for us, but the group we passed on their way to the col was having a lot of trouble with the 20ft. steep section. It took them about 1/2 hour to make the twenty feet, belayed. I think they didn’t have crampons. Overall, we passed three groups heading out Saturday afternoon. One of which highly recommended the SE Ridge descent, if you have double ropes. Apparently it has very airy rappels and is much much quicker. Too bad our planned camp is on the NE Ridge and we don’t have double ropes. We reached the NE ridge and by 4:30 we had made the easy but exposed scramble up the 1-2 pitches to the first major ledge. Voila! A beautiful bivy site just as described by cc’ers last week. An incredible view from Shucksan to the Central Cascades and the best view of the Pickets I have ever seen (other than the view from inside the Pickets). Not a ounce of breeze and a full moon during the night. We got up at 7am and after an overly lazy morning we were scrambling by 8:30. Since most of the climb involves Class 3-4+ scrambling we did a running belay through most of the climb (all but 2-3 pitches). It's pretty exhilerating scrambling along a ridge with so much exposure surrounding you while having little to no pro in. I had also left my rock shoes at home (by accident) so the scrambling was a little more interesting. The 5.7 pitch was pretty fun too with big lugsole boots and a pack on. At least the boots edge well. The climb was very straightforward and our relaxed pace made for a great climb. Nobody else was on the route or could be seen the whole day. We were on the top by noon and descending by 1:00. The descent with the simul-downclimbing mixed in with the rappels was a pain, but we were back to our bivy site by 4:00 and on the glacier by 4:30 and to the car by 8:15. Overall 20 hours of hiking and climbing (including two 1 hour lunches, 17-18 hours without the lunches and repacking our packs). With a light pack and long daylight hours this is definitely doable in one day. Great climb… Quote
Tod Posted September 24, 2002 Author Posted September 24, 2002 I figured one of the three groups would be posting to cc.com. It was good to hear that there is a better (and more interesting) option for descending from the summit. Our descent and traverse over to the col took us an hour longer (4 hours from summit to col) so it sounds like we didn't do too bad. We were set on bivying at the ledges 1-2 pitches up so we were pretty much stuck with out descent route (that and we had a single 60m rope). We only belayed the 5.7 pitch and a half pitch before and after. All others were scrambled/simulclimbed. It's surprising how much scrambling there was with so much exposure. Each time you look up you figure your going to have to set a belay, but the scrambling keeps going. I was more surprised than anything about running into the ranger. In the last 10 years of climbing the N Cascades NP I've never run into a ranger. Granted most of the climbing I've done throughout the park have not been in high traffic areas so I've never bothered with permits. I guess I don't have a problem with the permits, it's just not "convenient" for me. Lazy excuse to not spend an extra half day securing a permit. Quote
MtnHigh Posted September 24, 2002 Posted September 24, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Tod: near Lower Thornton Lake we were at the notch by 1:00 and greeted by your friendly Volunteer National Park Ranger. On our way out Sat afternoon we passed the Ranger lady down by the second lake. She told us about climbers without a permit. You're in the N Cascades National Park. The Rangers patrol all the popular areas. quote: Originally posted by Tod: Overall, we passed three groups heading out Saturday afternoon. One of which highly recommended the SE Ridge descent, if you have double ropes. That was us you spoke to just below the col. We descended the SE Ridge. It took 3 hours to descend from the summit to the col camp. It can be even faster but we had one stuck rope situation and a bit of indecision on the raps. When looking down the two long raps the thought crosses your mind, what the hell are we rappelling into? Will this link up with something or will we be juggin' back up this friggin rope? Details of the descent will be posted here in the N Cascades section shortly. The rock on the NE Ridge was solid and enjoyable. We climbed the entire route without a rope except for the 5.7 pitch. Quote
Pencil_Pusher Posted September 27, 2002 Posted September 27, 2002 Tod, great trip report. Thanks for all the info. Don't worry about the permit or the folks that feel the need to remind you about such. Quote
Tod Posted September 27, 2002 Author Posted September 27, 2002 I'm not too worried about whether people think I need a permit or not. For the people that want to subscribe to the theory that you have to have a permit or you shouldn't be there, they can live that way, I have no problem with that. One year I spent over 130 consecutive days backpacking through 6 different NP's, countless wilderness areas and never was asked for a permit nor did I carry one (or want to). To each their own. I just travel as part of the ecosystem, not a visitor. Quote
ncascadesranger Posted September 28, 2002 Posted September 28, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Tod: I was more surprised than anything about running into the ranger Check out Nelson, Vol II, pg 188; North Cascades National Park climbing ranger on Triumph Quote
geordie Posted September 28, 2002 Posted September 28, 2002 ncascadesranger= Kelly Bush, Wilderness District Ranger (Geordie's Boss) Quote
Lambone Posted September 28, 2002 Posted September 28, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Tod: To each their own. I just travel as part of the ecosystem, not a visitor. uh huh, yeah sure...whatever...humansare a critical part of the ecosystem... Quote
allthumbs Posted September 28, 2002 Posted September 28, 2002 quote: posted by Tod: I just travel as part of the ecosystem, not a visitor. What a crock of shit. [ 09-29-2002, 12:19 AM: Message edited by: trask ] Quote
Tod Posted September 30, 2002 Author Posted September 30, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Lambone: uh huh, yeah sure...whatever...humansare a critical part of the ecosystem... quote: Originally posted by trask: What a crock of shit. I was wondering if people were going to slam that comment. It may be a crock a shit, but it all depends in how you look at it and it's a good mindset to travel in when you are out in the wild. As far as the "humansare"(?), all animals do shit in the woods, why should a human be that different? If you can travel through an area as light as a large animal would, how does that leave more of an impact? Even small rodents dig up large amounts of turf (not that one should dig holes in the wild). There are some people that could never travel as light as an animal, they'll always leave an impact that they don't know that they are leaving, but there are others whom you and the surrounding enviroment will never tell they were even there. Nobody can really tell whether or not they really traveled as part of an ecosystem, but with the right mindset and practice you can come close to it. Quote
allthumbs Posted September 30, 2002 Posted September 30, 2002 Whatever hippie -- now go suck some spooge. Quote
j_b Posted September 30, 2002 Posted September 30, 2002 quote: Nobody can really tell whether or not they really traveled as part of an ecosystem, but with the right mindset and practice you can come close to it.and with the right mindset you can also imagine predators, just to keep your numbers to the sustainable level ... Quote
Pencil_Pusher Posted September 30, 2002 Posted September 30, 2002 We humans smart animals, we carry guns. Quote
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