fettster Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Trip: Little Annapurna - North slog Date: 10/1/2007 Trip Report: We had an awesome trip to the Enchantments this last week, the first time any of us in our group of four had been there. Didn't get the hoped-for clear fall conditions, but still made the most of the opportunity. I was surprised how in-your-face Dragontrail Peak and Aasgard Pass were from Colchuck Lake, something I hadn't got a sense of from online pics. Aasgard Pass was about as much fun as advertised carrying a full pack. In fact, the scrambling on the south side of the lake which I hadn't known about ahead of time was a real gem of a time too; a definite advantage in the winter getting to cut straight across the lake. We made it 3/4 of the way up Aasgard Pass Saturday before getting caught by the big system which moved in that night into Sunday. The rocky pass we'd been scrambling on seemed to turn instantly into a heat sucking mass kissing our fingers numb. Out came the gloves and extra layers. The ranger we passed made sure we were prepared and let us on our way. With darkness coming we continued though the upper basin until we hit some patches of larch where we wound up making camped at about 7400 feet with a view down to Crystal Lake and over to McClellan Peak. There was another tent setup in the area which by morning was gone without a trace, no tracks to be found in the new snow. System catches us on the pass Last clearing of the day Camp - first night Sunday was a lovely drag of a day with no views and pretty much snow all day, so we did some exploring from camp down past Inspiration Lake to Perfection Lake. We didn't see signs of anybody. Camp - day 2 Hot bun service on a cold platter Monday things dried up in trade for wind and periodic clearings, good enough to hit Little Anna. Compared to Sunday's wet snow, by Monday it was real powdery and forming drifts across the rocky landscape. We had to be careful about ice when moving along the powder-covered granite boulders while testing for holes between the buried rocks, but there wasn't enough coverage to warrant snowshoes which was good since we didn't have any. The clouds seemed to break over Dragontail and Little Annapurna giving us some fresh white views on the upper Enchantments, over to Prusik Peak and The Temple. On the ascent we did spot a group of five down below passing through the basin towards the lower Enchantments. It didn't look like they had backpacks, but evidently they did fine coming up the pass with the new snow. Crystal Lake from camp viewpoint All the rock up top Anna was starting to get covered with rime ice, and wind gusts from 20-30 mph kept us cautious as we stood on the summit. A few times the clouds cleared enough we could eerily see the finger of rock which protrudes up just south of the summit. What's the name of this outcropping? All in all, even with the snow it was an awesome first trip to the Enchantments and we got enough of a taste to know we need to get back! Gear Notes: Go gaiters! Approach Notes: Wasn't enough snow yet to require snowshoes. Probably recommended by now. Rebar leading down from Lake Viviane was partially iced over, but got by with our trekking poles. Not likely to be okay with just poles much longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyclimber Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 awesome pics...before and after the snow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Nice color in the larches too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountainstyle Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Great pics; lucky to hit the Enchantments and only see one other group of people! On a side note...so excited it is snowing in the mountains! I hope we have a good winter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magellan Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Great TR David. I'm glad you guys got in before it got too deep. Awesome pictures considering the weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottP Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 What's the name of this outcropping? That looks like the Nightmare Needles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spotly Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 That's the Nightmare Needles. With the exposure there, I imagine it would have been very earie watching them move in and out of the clouds. That pic of Crystal Lake is very nice - what a great spot to camp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fettster Posted October 7, 2007 Author Share Posted October 7, 2007 Cool, thanks for the ID! There were a lot of features I didn't know having not been there before. It is nice to see a solid start for winter snow. Now that it's here might as well keep it coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 tits!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayB Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Mmmm. Hiking through fresh snow atop bare talus. The only thing that can surpass the experience and transport it into the realm of pure alpine perfection would be adding a bit of verglass to the talus prior to the snowfall and a few pounds to the packs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telemarker Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 It's Pennant Peak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fettster Posted October 8, 2007 Author Share Posted October 8, 2007 How much prominence do the Nightmare Needles have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serenity Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Great pictures! Thanks for posting them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dross Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 Hiked up Little Annapurna from our campsite at Leprechaun Lake. This was early August 06. The dusting you rec'd took away from the summit experience. If you go in August, you can get away with just trekking poles and good boots to kick-step into the snow pack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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