[TR] Cashmere Crags - High Priest /Temple 6/20/08

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Trip: Cashmere Crags - High Priest and Temple

 

Date: 6/20/2008

 

Trip Report:

The Plan:

Fri - approach via Snow Lakes trailhead and Nada lake. Camp in Tamarack meadows.

Sat - climb High Priest first (N face) and Temple second (W side)

Sun - hike out in the morning

 

Summary Report: FAIL

 

Detailed Report:

 

Fri - got our asses kicked on the approach with (too) heavy packs and set up camp at the first nice spots in Temple canyon (around 6000 feet). I will not say how slow we were. It was slow. The weather was nice (a bit hot) and there were few bugs though.

 

Sat - hiked up to Tamarack meadows, slowly and painfully working up the snow and snow melt, cross-country.

 

 

At Tamarack meadows I convinced myself I was looking at Temple as seen on the left in the photo below:

 

 

My partner wanted to traverse west and see how far the ridge extended. We did and he convinced me that we could see Prusik and Prusik pass and that the peak I identified as Temple was actually not Temple, and the peak to the right of it (see photo above) is High Priest. I then convinced myself of this as well. We followed approach instructions to a small bench with trees, roped up, and then proceeded to get thrashed - both by harder lines than we were expecting and by intermittent rain showers. Either we were on the wrong peak, or were off route from the start. We couldn't find any blocky low 5.x route (up to 5.5), and tried powering over harder stuff in climbing boots for two half-pitches before finally giving up. We bailed, rapping into a steep snow-filled gulley in the photo above. We ascended that a bit, then scrambled to the top on rocks. The summit was lichen covered and didn't look too visited. We looked at surrounding peaks, but that didn't help with our bearings, so we scrambled down to to Tamarack Meadows. By then our on-and-off weather was getting worse, and it was past 3 pm, so we went back to camp. Here is a view from the summit of the peak we climbed to the peak on its left (West):

 

 

Sun: woke up early and hiked out defeated.

 

 

Gear Notes:

Ice axe, crampons (didn't need), picket or two (didn't need), small alpine rack

 

Approach Notes:

Snow above 6000 feet. Mostly make your own trail.

[spotly]

Sounds like a character building trip Sorry you didn't get your plan 'A' but at least you got a summit of some sort

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Also, I studied Beckey, Vol 1, 3rd ed., pg 251 before the trip. Didn't help, and still doesn't.

[AlpineMonkey]

[KaskadskyjKozak]

 

Thanks, man.

[davidjo]

The Temple we climbed last July is the peak just left of the one identified as Temple in AlpineMonkey's photo above. The route matched Nelson's description and the peak was definitely higher than the one to its right.

Edited June 23, 2008 by davidjo

[Lisa_D]

Temple-High Priest was my first ever multi-day climb. It was 100 degrees in L-worth that weekend. That approach is hard.

[telemarker]

Next time leave the fifth of Black Velvet at the car. Light and fast!

 

Nice effort. Would Aasgard Pass/Prusik Pass be a better approach choice for these crags?

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Next time leave the fifth of Black Velvet at the car. Light and fast!

 

Nice effort. Would Aasgard Pass/Prusik Pass be a better approach choice for these crags?

 

I did have 100 ml of whiskey... not quite a fifth.

[waterboy]

Hi Kaskadsky,

 

Glad you were able to get out there. FWIW, the Temple is the peak on the left in this photo. Leigh and I did it last June.

 

As for High Priest, this is the view from the base of the North Face. Having been up there, I agree that the route descriptions in Beckey and other readily available sources are confusing for High Priest.

 

[Kyle_Flick]

Years ago I took one of my sons up what I thought was the Temple and ended up on Stack Crag (immediate right of the Temple)--which Beckey points out from Tamarack Meadows looks taller than Temple on its left. Interestingly, there is a rock rib from the top of Stack Crag which will take you directly to the base of the climb on the Temple. As a side note for next time--The Professor would be a worthy objective accessed from Comet Spire--a cool looking 5.8 dihedral. You have all kinds of great climbing from Tamarack Meadows.

[catbirdseat]

Here's my general approach for finding The Right Crag.

 

First try to obtain route descriptions and photos from more than one source. Do your homework. Bring a good topo map and a compass and try to figure out in advance, which bump on the ridge in the topo is your target. You might not always be able to figure this out, but you can narrow it down to one of a few.

 

Do the approach and keep track of your position. Use the topo map to tell you where you have to be before you can see your target. Obviously, any intervening feature that might block view of your target must be considered.

 

When you think you are in a location where you can view your target, determine your exact location, if you can, by triangulating on summits and features you can recognize with certainty.

 

Determine the bearing to your target, and sight in that direction. There still may be confusion as to which of several summits might be your target.

 

Now get out your photographs. Compare shapes. Heights can be deceiving. The one that looks highest might not be your target.

 

If you are still in doubt, get out the route description. In the case of Temple, it might say something like "ascend a prominent snow finger or gully to a notch and the go left" (or some such). So you look up and see the gully and two summits. Your target is the one on the left.

 

Also use the process of elimination. You might be able to recognize a summit that is not your target.

 

And if all else fails, bring Fred on your trip.

[Stefan]

I get schooled all the time.

 

Hope you enjoyed those meadows.