[TR] Mt. Triumph (bailed, stormed out) - 7/22/2010

[cascadesdj]

Trip: Mt. Triumph (bailed, stormed out) -

 

Date: 7/22/2010

 

Trip Report:

My son Dylan offered to schlep me up Triumph, and I was not to refuse. I've been drooling over the books with the 5.6 looming large in my imagination. We hiked into the bivy on the ridge on Wednesday, 7/21, enjoying the spectacular views of the Devils Mountains to the south, Eldo to the east, and, near the bivy, Triumph and the Pickets. the approach sucks, as Lower Thornton Lakes not an appealing destination for the alpinist--low, woodsy, buggy, etc. It all gets better when you get to the second lake and start up the steep slopes to the col. there is lots af snow around the glacier on the east side of Triumph--no slab walking below the glacier this time this year. We awoke to whiteout fog, blowing winds, and drizzle mixed with hard rain at times. We were not set

up for climbing in that, as we were expecting bluebird days, as predicted by multiple weather reports. We got the one day in 2 weeks on which the conditions up high sucked. Oh well, we'll be back. The route looked very appealing from the bivy at the col.

 

iPhone pics:

That's Dylan at the TH.

 

Middle Thornton Lake

 

Pickets from the col (bivy area)

 

The route is the obvious right ridge, and you have to cross the glacier in front. There is a lot more snow that I've seen some of the photos of this place.

[JoshK]

Wow, a LOT more snow than I've ever seen below that glacier this time of year...

 

Sorry the weather failed you, it's a good climb worth returning for though.

[mountainsloth]

that certainly is a lot of snow around that glacier. Get back there, the NE ridge is a true gem.

[alpenho]

Sorry to hear about missing the weather, its a great climb. Myself and 2 buddies just got back from doing the NE Ridge in perfect (maybe too hot) conditions. Of note: Probably the best bivy site is that knoll at the bottom of your last pic - Much wider views and liquid water can be had by digging at the edge of the snow to make a little puddle. The snow crossing is great, but getting soft in spots. There are a lot of stressed areas in the snowpack where gliding is pulling it apart. One of the guys in our group took a plunge to the hip, so gotta watch the weaknesses in the snow. Nice snow ramp leading to the ledge to the base of the climb so no real sketchyness to get to the start, but no good place to bivy until your at the top of the first step. With 3 on one rope we were pretty slow and were doing about half the descent after sundown. We also went back around to Triumph Pass to make a go for Despair but got weathered out. The approach to the pass is rugged. Ample evidence of a very large bear with cubs inhabiting the vicinity of the pass. Good luck if you have another go at it!