Dragontail scramble route question?

[pete_a]

Thinking of hiking through the Enchantments this weekend, and I'm trying to decide whether I can knock off the scramble route on Dragontail (you know, up the backside of the peak accessed via Aasgard Pass). I know that the snow creek glacier is probably going to be rock hard ice right now...just wondering if its low-angle enough to just walk up with lightweight crampons on running shoes and a lightweight axe. If I need anything heavier-duty than that, I'll just do the traverse and skip bringing the gear for snow travel.

Thanks!

[erik]

there is a good boot pack in it....

 

your ankles will ache...

 

it is a short bit o crap...

 

gets early sun..

[haireball]

I've descended this glacier in late season w/out crampons, and lived, but I wouldn't care to do it again. You should be fine with light crampons and either ski-poles or a relatively long ice-axe. Might want to carry a file...

-Curt

[JoshK]

I went down in it 2 weeks ago with aluminum crampons and a rock for an "ice axe." It was icy but low angle enough that I walked right down with the aluminum crampons no problem. This was just my experince; make sure you adjust for your personal comfort level, etc.

[klenke]

I tried the punter route of Dragontail a few years back in late September. I did not bring crampons, so found the glacier too much to do with just an iceaxe.

 

What I did: climbed up the extreme right side of the glacier/neve (no crevasses and if you slip you slide down to talus). As soon as I could get to it, I tried shimmying my way up the shallow right-side moat until the snow/icefield comes to a headwall where you have to go left to get around it. Now the moat had a drop off in it which meant I'd have to traverse on ~30-degree snow/ice (at circa 8,500 ft) for about 25 feet to get to the other side. Even this was too much for me w/o crampons, so I bailed. The top-most part of the glacier is the steepest. The bare ice parts, however, are mostly down at the bottom near the pass.

 

Not to worry though about my failure, for the wind was houling and it was completely socked in. To come back another day would be much more enjoyable.