[TR] Mt Redoubt - Dodging Da Po-Po on Da Depot 6/25/2008

[ivan]

Trip: Mt Redoubt - Dodging Da Po-Po on Da Depot

 

Date: 6/25/2008

 

Trip Report:

Dodging Da Po-Po on Da Depot

 

The augors read poorly – amerikkkan official vehicles at the canuckistan trail head, deep in enemy territory on depot creek – were we being watched? Could they hear?!? Who needs a police state when the natural state of things is a road as wretched as this? – sapling thickets everywhere stretching over and against and across and into – 2 miles “bent double, like old beggars under sacks, knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge” – safety check at the border, tin-foil helmets ON – advice for the depot creek trail: stay on the FUCKING trail! do not, we beseech you, we implore you, cross the creek on a lark unless the devils club is your true scepter and mistress huckleberry your domina

 

The reward for our first few hours of labor

 

 

A swift kick in the nuts later we emerge into alpine snowy/swampy goodness to see mt redoubt

 

 

We wander across a broken and barren flood-plain to find pimp-station #1 nestled amongst the blocks and slag of the seasonally slicing torrents

 

 

Joshk in full uniform and featuring his highly developed game-face, proudly on parade on the depot

 

 

The author surrounded by the distractions of civilization too dear to be left behind – note the serious shellacking to which the vital vino has already submitted

 

Clouds came and went the night as we spent the intertwining hours in the “riots, banquets and sports” which those who are addicted in the vain courses of eternal youth do in order that they may, by them, become The Bard's circumspect, unlettered, rude and sallow companions– in the morning it was up and bacon and fruit-bits and cigarettes and moving over the vast and flat expanse of the redoubt glacier – the mathematical perfection of every snow line and the untrammeled majesty of the surreal scene was pronounced, but off set perhaps by the perceptible degree to which the predicted sunny weather was dematerializing

 

 

Wisps of mist streaking over the angelic-upper pitches of redoubts ne face – I can see why this jewel must be so sought after

 

 

At the col, we beheld the folly of the forecaster - woe from the west! Bear bedraggled and bedrenched!

 

 

“I too am untranslatable…I sound my barbaric yawp from the rooftops of the world!”

 

Start epic…now.

 

 

A week and another long trip later, what the gap in the extant pictures indicates to my quailing memory is clear – quotes, merely snippets, and priceless ones, you must furnish he image to fit – “why is it so much more goddamn cold/dark/windy/icy on the SOUTH side of this mountain?” - “‘redoubt’ means fortress” – “rock!” – “why did I bring aluminum crampons again?” – “did you get this rope at toys’r’us?” – an exchange: “you want me to throw down the rope? I think I could hold you over the other side” “uhh, I dunno. How hard were those first moves?” “um, well, they weren’t too hard, but if you fall here, you will die” “throw it down!”

 

Nervous memories – rain – wind – hail – fog and rending fog – rappelling on a joke rope, maybe 15 meters long? - rappelling off a loose block with a nut in a piece of tat I salvaged higher up and our only gear! – big long slide into the whiteness and the end of earth waiting there if’n it pops

 

In the end we persevere and count it climbed – backtracking on our foot-track across the now ping-pong rendered depot glacier, the clouds begin to break as we turn the bench and begin descending towards lake ouzel

 

 

Hanging snow glaciers over the lake

 

 

Blocks awaiting the Great Reduction

 

 

At camp Scotland came for a visit and brought the Moors with him, but damn it, where’s the whiskey with the wine gone?

 

 

There is but one remedy when a man’s soul and spirit has become a damp and drizzling November

 

 

The bluebird arrived a day later then the goat entrails portended

 

 

Redout’s ne face is a clarion call

 

 

 

In the end, like everything, it meant nothing and everything – we saw god – really, no shit – he’s from Serbia, he hides out on the chilliwack river road – we saw him, josh and me – no shit, you can google it – there he was, we’d pulled over to retch and puke and drink some more after the gut-pounding first 3 miles of road back down – stopped beside us, the first person we’d seen in days – he drove a mini-van w/ a jesus-fish on the back – he had a Molotov cocktail in an mgd bottle and a scaling knife – he introduced himself but we didn’t understand his name – he needed food – he needed money for fuel – he offered us a leather jacket for 10$ - he settled for 2 american spirits – stories of Kentucky, of jail, of the pope and jews and authorities out to get him – “are you in the army?”– a great big box’o’wine smile on my face and the other on my prison-shank – the cloud of dust as we gave up on salvation and settled for being merely ordinary men

 

[Off_White]

It's lovely and artistic and all, but am I to understand you and Josh did the NE Face with a 15 meter rope and a couple of ski poles?

[G-spotter]

If you read it it sounds more like they did the scramble on the south side

[jmace]

Dude not another person who writes TR's and refers to himself as the author

 

"the author climbs here..."

 

reading too many magazines me thinks, and can you give me the coles notes, i.e wtf did you climb?

[Off_White]

Okay, I re-read and gleaned this:

 

“why is it so much more goddamn cold/dark/windy/icy on the SOUTH side of this mountain?”

 

so I think you're right.

[ivan]

quit fucking w/ my enigma-maticness

 

but yeah, in less artistic speak, we climbed the s side route, though stopped about 20 meters below the summit when the rain switched over to hail - we had no gear at all - toy ice hammers for me, but steel crampons - josh w/ an axe, but alum-cramps - josh was in charge of all the beta and i was just detailed to bring my award-winning personality - i'd have advised at least having a 50 meter rope in the conditions, which were pretty much snow, snow, snow - saw the tracks of the team that just did the tr on the ne face and ascended their descent line till where we jumped off onto a rock rib left, just 30 meters or so below the notch. climbed a pitch and a half or so of rock up and right, went around a corner left and ended up a steep snow section below an easy looking chimney below the summit - low vis, rain/hail, lack of long enough rope to rap back down w/o any other webbing/gear and other general lame-factors led to our plenty-hasty descent - glad we did it too, as the whole mountain faded into cloud by the time we reached camp

[gruntled]

...and what kinda "amerikkkan official vehicles"??.. I go there occasionally, and have never told authorities about my intention to make that unreported crossing. Your mention of this makes me nervous.

[ivan]

park service truck - entry log said they were from marblemount-me and going up to crystal lake

[JoshK]

I'm still convinced it was the evil border patrol elite mountain unit.

 

The vehicle was blue and only said "official u.s. government" on the plates. Tinfoil hats are NOT optional on this trail. :[]

[pope]

That was the goofiest damn trip report I've ever read. But...it sure got me excited about Redoubt, a hill I've been looking at for years. One of your images made it onto my desktop. Thanks for posting your adventure.

[olyclimber]

its all about the right balance of beta to keep the mystery alive. thanks.

[JoshK]

That was the goofiest damn trip report I've ever read. But...it sure got me excited about Redoubt, a hill I've been looking at for years. One of your images made it onto my desktop. Thanks for posting your adventure.

 

It's a peak well worth the time. The scenery is amazing, and the "incredible waterfall" is not overhyped - it is truly beautiful. Sure, the drive is long, but if you are able to, throw in an extra day for a "bonus" climb of easy Mt. Spickard. It's summit features great views of Redoubt itself along with a full spread of incredible peaks on both sides of the border.

[Phil_Smith]

I have good detailed Redoubt road, climb and trail info if you want it- I've been up redoubt ( the easy way) twice and am going back for Mox in a week if the weather holds,