Mt Jeff TR

[cuz]

Climbed Mt. Jefferson on 7/3. Ascended via Jeff Park and descended via Whitewater glacier.

 

The road is completely snow free and the Whitewater trail has snow on it starting about halfway between the parking area and the PCT intersection. We camped on snow near the PCT / Whitewater trail junction.

 

Jeff Park glacier is in good shape. All crevasses can be easily avoided or are small enough to be stepped over with the exception of the Bergshrund. After watching a party struggle up the right side of the glacier to avoid a large crevasse below the shrund we decided to stay to the extreme left, then traversed under the north ridge / Mohler tooth towards the shrund. This proved to be a relatively easy line.

 

The shrund extends across the entire width of the glacier, except for a narrow, steep snowfield on the right end. We crossed by going up a ~15 ft section of the upper wall near the left end of the shrund. Although vertical, it proved to be easy even with just a single ice axe.

 

The knife edge ridge was mostly snow free. We traversed on the south side of the ridge (3 pitches). It's less than obvious what is holding this ridge together. It's composed of blocks of rock that are haphazardly stacked on top of each other. Although there are plenty of places for pro it's not clear that a tug on this stuff wouldn't take down part of the ridge. Best not to fall.

 

The main north-south ridge and the pinacle itself still had a healthy covering of snow. We traversed a steep snowfield under the southwest side of the pinacle on the way down. By this time it was early afternoon and the snow was pretty soft, plus the pinacle was periodically unloading itself of snow and ice, making the traverse interesting. It was now that I realized we should have started the climb earlier, but hey, hindsight is 20-20.

 

Headed down from the saddle just south of the pinacle, mostly on snow (fun glissading!) all the way back to camp. Whitewater glacier is mostly crevasse free aside from one large crevasse which was bridged.

 

Total time from camp and back was 14 hours.

 

Good trip overall. This is an excellent route, combining rock climbing, ice climbing, steep snow, scary traverses, glacier travel, and a good bit of exposure.

 

Cuz

[Richard_Pumpington]

I climbed JPG on July 4th and saw your guys boot

track. Did you know that where you were walking

on the north ridge over to the summit pinnacle,

was a gigantic cornice (that whole ridge-line is

corniced) that is getting ready to peel off any

day now? Anyway, we stayed on the crest of the

knife-edge ridge(more fun climbing and more safe

than traversing under all those loose blocks) and

then climbed a ramp system to an ice arete, to the

summit. We were the only people climbing on the

4th and the climbing conditions were perfect. Lots

of fun!

 

[ 07-06-2002, 02:50 PM: Message edited by: Richard Pumpington ]

[MtnHigh]

Give Jefferson a gold star

 

Climbed Jeff Park Gl route 7/7. The glacier, bergschrund crossing and the knife edge ridge are in very good condition. Beyond the ridge including the Pinnacle the snow surface is soft, but in general very doable. Descending the same route cuts a lot of time. Round trip from 6400' camp was just under 9 hours. Lucky for us the rain started as we were driving down the FS road.

 

There was a group of 5 tele-heads just breaking camp as we arrived on Sat. They summited via JPG on 7/5. They were the only people we saw in two days on the mountain. Ah, peace and solituted on a PNW moutain. It's getting rare.

[cuz]

Dick, we also noticed the cornice on the north ridge from the knife edge ridge and made a concious effort to stay towards the downslope side as a result.

 

BTW, I made a mistake on my post. We actually climbed on the 2nd, not the 3rd. We packed out on the 3rd and ran across two climbers on the trail who were heading in. Maybe that was you? There were three of us.

 

I agree with the two of you, Jeff doesn't seem like a very popular mountain, which is great. We only saw another party of two the whole time we were on the mountain.

 

I've experienced similar solitude on the west side of North and Middle Sisters, but IMHO Jeff Park is a better route than what the Sisters have to offer.

 

Cuz

[iain]

MtnHigh, thanks for the climb. One of the best this year.

[MtnHigh]

Iain, diddo, it was a great climb. The route offers a variety of challenges. We'll have to hook up again this season. First my heels need to recover. I really messed them up bad.

I'm still limpin' around.