[TR] Dumbell- Testicular Retraction Col 9/12/2006

[tvashtarkatena]

Climb: Dumbell-Testicular Retraction Col

 

Date of Climb: 9/12/2006

 

Trip Report:

Dumfounded on Dumbell

 

Route Summary:

Day 1: Phelps Creek TH > Leroy Ck trail > Pass W of Seven Finger Jack

Day 2: Drop to lake W of Seven Fingered Jack, then go N up S Fork Big Crk

Ascend to upper bench S of Dumbell Lake, proceed to Lake. Ascend slope N or Dumbell Lake to upper Dumbell Lake.

Day 3. Run away.

 

Pics: http://flickr.com/photos/60919971@N00/sets/72157594313051605/

 

 

Trip Summary: When a ThermRest Becomes PermaFrost.

 

I admit it. I’m sometimes lax about repairing gear. When I do, however, I go big. Take my ThermRest, for example. Who else’s sleeping pad sports a patch fully a foot long, adhered with about a pound of glue, because its owner threw it in a gym bag with a machete?

 

I suspected it still had a slow leak at the start of my trip to Dumbell Mtn. I just didn’t know how much it would hurt.

 

During my last trip (see “A Walk Around Sitting Bull”), I spied a pretty, white mountain named Dumbell. Beckey describes it as ‘strategic’. I liked that. Below Dumbell, the Peak, was Dumbell, the Lake, which Beckey describes as ‘attractive’. I liked that, too.

 

‘Strategically attractive.’ Kind of like Iraq. Simple reasons for a simple man.

 

I got a crack of 4:00 pm start on Sep. 12th from Phelps Creek, and took the Leroy Creek trail up. At the start of the basin, I left the trail and headed up towards Seven Finger Jack, where I made use of a pre-existing bivvy site several hundred feet beneath the col west of Seven. At that point, my ThermaRest’s leak was no more than a minor inconvenience.

 

The next morning I left at daybreak and proceeded to find a way over the ridge and down to the lake west of Seven Fingered Jack. Any route over this ridge this late in the season is steep and chossy.

 

From the lake I down climbed a short, fractured rock band (a broad, loose gully is another option) to gain the upper talus slopes of the south fork of Big Creek. Once in this drainage I saw no sign that humans had ever walked the earth, barring the occasional satellite, which could be, after all, of alien origin.

 

The route to Dumbell Lake in late season is not obvious, but not particularly brushy, either. I followed Big Creek down on skiers left until the brush became too thick before crossing it to walk more open forest. The creek steepens into a stepped cascade at this point. I re-crossed this cascade about midway down, then pried my way through some tight conifers to gain the lower talus slopes beneath the lake. From here I traversed to and ascended a steep, dry creek bed at the talus’s northern (far) side. This provided passage through the slide cliffs and slide alder below the lake. Not a good route if wet, obviously. Dumbell Lake has a lovely camp spot surrounded by larches. How I wish I’d stopped there.

 

Visions of victory compelled me to I continue up to the saddle and tarn east of Dumbell’s main summit. An obvious creek bed provides passage through the lower rock bands.

 

At the top I came upon what might be North America’s smallest active rock glacier. This glacierette is only about an acre in size, and feeds into a small pocket lake. The entire system is nestled on top of a moraine, which leaks like a sieve. Every hour or so a few rocks tumble into the lake. I had to bivouack so close to the lake outlet that a really large boulder might have sent a mini tsunami over my sleeping bag. Not that it would have affected my comfort, much.

 

The rock on the east side of Dumbell is anything but white. It’s more of a geological goulash; steep, heavily dyked, and rotten as hell. I explored the mountain’s east face and north east corner as thoroughly as time, a toy axe and six point crampons would allow, but the few manky lines I found made poorly dressed sirens.

 

Swirling clouds and a determined, frigid wind stiffened my resolve to cut and run and little else. I bedded down for one of those nights you’ll always remember for what you’d rather forget.

 

My ThermaRest no longer held any air at all. Dinner was served on a limp nylon crepe over a bed of chilled rocks. Temperatures and wind speeds in the 30s provided the ambience. To pass the night, I blew sweet muffled curses into my inflation valve, thought about where one could get one's bladder stapled, and checked through my peephole for dawn’s early light.

 

When daybreak came it was colder and windier than ever. I shot a few digitals from my peephole, and ate a hurried breakfast by headlamp fully enclosed in my bag.

 

I was dressed, packed, and doing the ancient celtic "Fuckitscold" dance within five minutes. I wanted to find an alternative descent because my ascent route, well, sucked. Instead of backtracking down the dry creek bed I had ascended to get to Dumbell Lake, I traversed southward via the upper talus bench to its end. From there, I veggie belayed down a short, steep game trail to a boulder strewn bench, which I followed south and slightly upwards. At the end of the bench, I dropped into a steep gulley to Big Creek.

 

So, in summary, a more efficient way to get to Dumbell Lake is as follows:

 

Ski it. Or…

 

While descending into Big Creek from the south, look for the largest talus field on the creek’s western side. A stand of trees grows right out of this talus at its far end. This stand hides the ascent gulley which leads to the aforementioned boulder strewn bench and vertical game trail (which might require some hunting and pecking to find), which in turn leads to the upper talus bench and Dumbell Lake.

 

Rather than backtrack to Leroy Creek, I descended to Phelps Creek directly from the lake west of Seven Fingered Jack. Here’s how:

 

Follow the gently sloping drainage down, trending skier’s right, to its very end, then descend, again trending right, through the steep, tall timber. Don’t drop into the tempting, open hanging valley to your left, or you’ll be soundly rewarded with a horrendous labyrinth of brush and cliffs.

 

I wouldn’t exactly recommend this trip (particularly late season) with or without a working ThermRest, although Dumbell Lake is attractive. As for the peak itself, the northeast corner of Dumbell might have a more solid line on it, but the steep yellow lichen at its base bore too much of a resemblance to the stripe up the middle of my back. Plus, who wants an obituary that reads “Dumbell kills local climber”? (Although "Sitting Bull kills local climber" wouldn't have been much better...too reminiscent of that regretful Enumclaw incident). In any case, it’s a long way in for a 700 ft climb. If, however, you seek solitude with absolute certainty, you’ll certainly find it here. There are dumber ways to spend a weekend, but, uh...what was I just talking about?

Edited October 5, 2006 by tvashtarkatena

[still_climbin]

Well, once again you've writen a tolally entertaining TR. Thanks. Could'nt seem to get more than a single thumbnail photo,though. Was there more?

[cman]

an entertaining read. try this link http://flickr.com/photos/60919971@N00/sets/72157594313051605/

[tvashtarkatena]

Thanks cman. link fixed in TR.