Index Peaks Traverse?

[scottgg]

I'm planning on trying the traverse car-car this summer... has anyone done this, or have any advice/ specific times? Thanks.

[mattp]

I think it is a spectacular traverse, and I highly recommend it. You gotta have a tolerance for vegetated rock and adventure climbing, though. It is not for everybody.

 

You and your partner better be pretty efficient if you plan on completing the trip in a single day. When I did it, my partner and I were far from efficient but we were both in good condition and neither of us was anything like a beginner. We spent the night on some heather benches descending from the Middle Peak even starting from Lake Serene.

 

Go fairly soon and you may still be able to find water (snow patches) on the route.

 

You'll find more information in a search of old threads.

[ivan]

there are several tr's on this one - highly recommend you listen to matt's advice and do it soon! josh and i did it last year at the begining of august and fahqing died int he tremendous heat and from no snow on route to quench our horrid thirst - very fun but unless yer some mutant such as colin there's no way you nail it in a day - the descent was a bitch too and would be tre diffcult at night!

[rat]

you didn't mention if you will be soloing or will have a partner. if you have a partner expect to simul-climb almost everything or you are likely gonna epic in the dark. it's been soloed in a day a number by at least 4 people far more over the hill than colin. if you don't take a rope, the crux is probably the downclimb between the north and middle peaks. it's an honest day.

 

lots of snow patches up there now.

[W]

Hi Scott,

Colin and I completed the r/t in about 15 hours. Two others I know did it in similar time the same summer.

 

The key advice I can offer is to solo or simul as much of the route as possible due to it's length, and be prepared to negotiate some rather loose rock and thick vegetation. If you are going for it in a day,the North peak summit is where you should evaluate your time and decide if you think you're moving fast enough to avoid the big epic. Once you rap into the north/middle notch, the seriousness grade ratchets up handsomely and retreat becomes more than a passing matter. If I remember it right, Colin and I reached the north peak summit in about 3 1/2 to 4 hours from the car. The remaining traverse from there to the tarns on the far side of the Main summit took about 7 more hours. We then lost a solid hour trying to find the correct descent gully. We made it back to the trail at the lake just 20 minutes shy of total darkness.

Colin and I did not take rock shoes, we climbed in boots. Our packs were nearly empty, just light windshirts, food and water. Colin felt that the half ounce vial of sunscreen I had brought for us to share was "too heavy", but I offered to carry it in my pocket. We took 2 liters of water each, and tanked up well at Serene Lake. We encountered no water or snow until the tarns near the top of the descent gully. We were lucky to locate the correct gully on only the second try- it is not very obvious from above, but the gully drops away from the tarns on the ridge and is the right hand one looking down. There is a fixed rope to make a short rap mid way down.

The bushwhacking just above Lake Serene, on a prominent buttress crest, is quite memorable. If you go in late August as we did, fresh blueberries will take the sting out of this part.

 

Oh, and when passing the eroded gully on the Main peak, it may be easiest to pass this ugly feature by going as high as possible before crossing it. Where we crossed, it was very loose and unpleasant.

 

Good luck. It's delightful, and very committing.

Mark