[TR] Ingalls Peak - South Ridge 12/5/2008

[Lisa_D]

Trip: Ingalls Peak - South Ridge

 

Date: 12/5/2008

 

Trip Report:

As we all know, snow is still sparse, and I haven't filled the scrapes in my skis from my most recent quest for turns (all 12 of them). But the weather looked perfect for Friday. So Jon and I decided on a winter ascent of North Ingalls Peak via the classic South Ridge. In the summer, this is a mellow grade II 5.4 outing, known to be crowded with large parties of climbers. This was a much more fun way to climb this route - beat the crowds, do our first alpine climb together, and get my first winter summit!

 

 

It had been one of those marathon end-of-the-quarter weeks. So I welcomed the chance to throw everything in the car and head East to the mountains on I-90. The Teanaway River Road was open and completely clear to the Esmerelda Basin trail head.

 

We began hiking at 7 AM on a frozen but snow-free trail. Thankfully, the day turned out to be pretty mellow, with mostly calm air and beautiful winter skies. Making quick time to Ingalls Pass, we hit snow and kicked steps to the base of the route. We didn’t bring snowshoes, which resulted in a few post-holing moments. The final slog up to the route dragged on and on. At that point I was feeling pretty dehydrated and drained, but after resting for half an hour and eating a sandwich I was ready to go! Beautiful light on the snow:

 

 

We made quick work of the route, and had a lot of fun climbing together! At 11:45 we were sorting gear. By 12 Jon was leading the first pitch, which was a mix of steep snow and slippery serpentinite rock.

 

 

Pitch 2 was the fun crack climb, made more enjoyable by wearing boots and gloves. Climbing in gloves and freezing temperatures was not as hard as I expected. Actually, it was really fun! The final pitch was a short crack and corner climb. The upper part of the route had only a little snow.

 

 

By 12:50 we were on the windy summit, taking pictures and enjoying panoramic winter views. Summit shot:

 

 

Then, we made 3 raps and scrambled back to the base by 1:45.

 

 

The quick hike out was accompanied by a beautiful sunset and a sky full of lenticular clouds. Maybe those winter storms will begin and next time we can bring skis. At 5:45 we were driving down the road blasting music and hungry for delicious pizza in Cle Elum. I climb a ton in the summer months, but had never tried it in wintery conditions. This was a perfect introduction. I look forward to trying some ice and mixed routes in the future. Great climb with a great guy!

 

 

[G-spotter]

Looks nice!

 

Technically, though, you're gonna have to wait until Dec 21st before you get your first "winter" summit.

[OlympicMtnBoy]

Technically, though, you're gonna have to wait until Dec 21st before you get your first "winter" summit.

 

I didn't wanna have to be the one to say it first. ;-)

 

Nice job though Lisa, looks like fun! At this rate we'll have exactly the same conditions when we hit winter.

[Lisa_D]

ok, ok, if you're really technical about it... "almost-winter" climb.

[Dane]

Dorks Looks like winter out there to me...even though it is a low snow year with above average temps so far. The kind of year most of us dream about to get a lot of "winter" climbing in. Short approaches and no avi danger is a good thing.

 

Nice climb, great pictures, good for you!

 

Winter for me typically runs Thanksgiving through till Washington's birthday. Not like I am going to write Dec 20 to March 20 in stone.

 

Astronomically, winter starts with the winter solstice and ends with the vernal equinox, though in popular usage the word "winter" is more often defined by cold weather. By this definition it would be approximated by the calendar months of June, July, and August in the Southern Hemisphere and December, January, and February in the Northern Hemisphere. By still another definition, the seasons are not seen as quarters of the year, but as elastic periods in a particular place determined by the weather, winter in that reckoning running from when the weather turns decidedly cold until a definite warming trend begins.

 

[marc_leclerc]

I love how when you mention 'winter' months everyone thinks of December when there are only 10 days of winter in December...

 

Looks like a nice route, thanks for the TR!

[belayerslayer]

way to go! looks like a more "classic" climb in winter!

[rbw1966]

That sounded like fun! Nice pics and thanks for the TR

[goatboy]

Hey Lisa,

 

I met you up on Liberty Bell once I think -- nice work on picking a good wintry objective!!!

 

Nice photos. Any panoramic, summit shots of nearby peaks (like that BIG ONE just Northeast of you???)

[Lisa_D]

Hey Lisa,

 

I met you up on Liberty Bell once I think -- nice work on picking a good wintry objective!!!

 

Nice photos. Any panoramic, summit shots of nearby peaks (like that BIG ONE just Northeast of you???)

 

Hey goatboy, yeah, I remember meeting you guys! Maybe I'll see you out in the mtns again sometime. Here are two pictures of said mountain, taken that afternoon. We were definitely checking it out too. Who knows what it looks like now!

 

[goatboy]

Fabulous light sweeping across the larch tree!

[kevbone]

Looks nice!

 

Technically, though, you're gonna have to wait until Dec 21st before you get your first "winter" summit.

 

I suppose its all in how you look at it. I would think it is a winter accent. Good job and sweet pictures.

[rangerskye]

well darn it all i guess all the snow melted since november.... we went up there a month ago and had quite the winter conditions -- rock was totally iced over. id have given a lot for the great looking rock you had! nice climb.

 

november snow :

 

TR:

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=850714

Edited December 20, 2008 by rangerskye