[TR] Three fingered Jack - 6/26/2010

[sneaky_steve]

Trip: Three fingered Jack -

 

Date: 6/26/2010

 

Trip Report:

Had part of a day off at Big Lake Youth Camp where I am working for the summer, so decided to cross the highway and climb three fingered jack. Parked at the PCT trailhead at Santiam pass. I couldn't find my NW forest pass so decided to risk it and hurry back hoping not to be ticketed. Left the car at 9:40. The trail was snow free for the first few miles. Scattered patches of snow after that until coming over the ridge where the trail drops into the basin. From there the the trail was completely snow covered and I just picked a line and headed up the ridge. I always enjoy one of the main benefits of climbing solo: speed. I was able to keep a good pace and arrived at the summit in 3 hours. With the heavy snow, climbing up to the summit pyramid was straight-forward. However the scrambling on the summit pyramid and the few exposed moves on rotten rock were quite dicey! I got off route at one point and traversed over air on a thin ledge until realizing that the dinner plates above that were balancing on who knows what would not bear any weight. I turned around and got back on route. The last 30 feet leading to the summit involved a V0 boulder problem up a vertical face of knobs. Thankfully most of them felt solid, and my nerves calmed a bit. The descent was uneventful other than stopping and chatting with a few hikers.

 

Gear Notes:

Choss morale

 

Approach Notes:

Total time: 5 hours and 20 minutes

[bgratias]

Nice Steve!