[TR] Spider and Magic - South Face sort of 7/4/2009

[Le Piston]

Trip: Spider and Magic - South Face sort of

 

Date: 7/4/2009

 

Trip Report:

My friend Rod had one last Ptarmigan Traverse peak left to bag and convinced me to go with him instead of heading for a rematch with Spickard. It is a beautiful area, so the arm twisting was minimal. The snow conditions on the hike in were pretty nice. We took a short break at Cache Col and then descended to Kool Aide lake and set up a sweet camp near the outlet (running water beats melting snow any day)We saw a grizzly about 200 yards below our camp, which was really cool. We were soon joined by Haley and Valerie, who came in to climb Formidable. I was smitten by Formidable and wished I was going there...what a beautiful peak! But, I was in to climb Spider with my friend and didn't want to let him down. I thought the trip was over in the morning, as I ate some bad peanut butter on my English Muffins and puked three times on the way to the Red Ledges. Once past the ledges my stomach seemed to settle down so we pressed on to the Spider/Formidable col following Haley and Valerie We dropped down and headed for what we thought was the Southeast Gulley on Spider. We ended up going up the South face on steep snow and horrible rock to the long ridge The traverse was airy and a little spooky with all the holds suspect. The summit was awesome though, with killer views. The last register entry was 2006. Names like Skoog (multiple times), Viesturs, and Klenke caught my eye. Now the fun part came...descending was downright scary. The gulley was slimy, loose, and steep. I felt great relief when I was able to traverse over to 50 degree snow to downclimb. I've never been happier to get to level ground before...I was totally gripped. We ran into the girls on their way back from Formidable. It was a long slog back to the Red Ledges, but the snow was still in good shape...though the tracks were pretty melted We came back to goats in the campThe following day we went up and I climbed Magic. My friend waited on the false summit and let me solo to the true summit. We came back down to more goats, packed up, and headed to the land of cold drinks and burgers. I hope to go back for Formidable some day...what a beautiful area

 

Gear Notes:

I wished I had 2 tools for the steep snow, but made do with an axe and picket. No rock pro needed, as there isn't enough solid rock for more than psychological pro.

 

Approach Notes:

Some breaking through snow into rocks above Cascade Pass. Otherwise conditions were great for approach.

[JoshK]

A Grizzly Bear? Are you certain? If so, the man would be very interested in hearing about a Grizzly sighting. I highly doubt it was an actual Grizzly though.

[timmy_t]

Nice job, thanks for the TR.

 

Not a grizzly.

[Val Zephyr]

Nice TR. I was hoping to get to see a few pics of your Spider Mountain adventure. It was fun to talk with you guys up there. Here's a pic of your awesome camp; complete with goats!

 

[Le Piston]

I've been mistaken before, but it appeared to have a hump and was bigger than most black bears I've seen. Here's a picture...I'm open to more expert opinions.

[Le Piston]

Likewise I enjoyed meeting you and Haley. I was truly sorry you didn't summit Formidable and wished Rod was into repeating it...Formidable looks like a much nicer climb. Thanks for the steps by the way...much appreciated on the way out. I got tons of pictures, even some panoramas (which I will include) Good luck on your next climbing project! Cheers!

[Val Zephyr]

I'm not an expert either, but Hayley reported seeing a Grizzly in Boston Basin near the base of Forbidden last August. She said that it was much larger than a black bear, lighter in color, and had the characteristic hump. Anything is possible.

[bvl]

Thats a black, Ursus americanus. The head an neck profile give it away.

[Hayley Sierra]

Likewise, it was great having you and "The Oracle" around to give us some pointers and share steps! Valerie and I are already trying to talk ourselves into giving Formidable another try. Here's a photo of when we met up at the col (strange that we came back to that spot at the exact same time after 8 hours, huh?).

[Rad]

Yep, black, and a real beauty. They come in a wide range of colors. The shoulder hump and shovel nose are the hallmarks of grizzly. And size, though that's harder to judge from a distance.

 

Nice trip.

[Le Piston]

I hope you guys make it back in there. If the "Oracle" was more open to repeating climbs I'd try to arrange a rematch with someone who's climbed it before. Spider was the last of the Ptarmigan Traverse peaks he wanted to climb. Formidable is beautiful...I'd have rather done it than Spider.

[Le Piston]

Another view. Looked like a hump to me.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Another view. Looked like a hump to me.

 

I have seen signs posted about there possibly being a small number of grizzlies in the N. Cascades. You should let the NPS know about your sighting (if you already haven't).

 

 

[tazz]

that is NOT a grizzly. It is a cinnamon colored black bear. I just saw a huge one at rainier. They are all over and folks all freak out thinking its a grizz. its not!

[shannonpahl]

Do you have an original/large pic of one of the pix showing Formidable? I'd like to get a closer look at what the conditions are like there now

 

Thanks

 

Edited July 20, 2009 by shannonpahl

[danhelmstadter]

Nice climb, thanks for stoke.

 

I (one of many) worked for the FS in 04 in the Bob Marshel Montana area on a grizz survey project - best job i've had, anyway we got edjumacted real good about the differances between blacks/grizzs. Grizz have a dished in face, blacks have a sloped forhead/head, grizz have small rounded ears, blacks ears are larger/pointier. Too bad you didn't see the tracks - that is is the easy giveaway - blacks have small claws and their toes form sort of an arc/semi circle around there foot pad, while grizzes claws are fkn HUGE, and they have a fairly straight toe profile relative to thier pad. I'd be stoked to see grizzes make a comeback in the cascades - this place with all its rugged and raw wild deserves to be gaurded by the king of beasts.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

that is NOT a grizzly. It is a cinnamon colored black bear. I just saw a huge one at rainier. They are all over and folks all freak out thinking its a grizz. its not!

 

yes, I've seen those. coloring alone is not sufficient, but the poster claims he saw a prominent hump.

 

 

[Le Piston]

I tried to respond earlier, but I couldn't access CC.com site until today. Sorry for the delay. Here are a couple of pictures that I hope will help. You might also try contacting Haley Sierra, who was attempting Formidable when we were there.