Nitrox Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 Trip: Mt. Jefferson - South Ridge Date: 8/21/2010 Trip Report: Long, Tedious, Choss Pile! Went up with a friend on Friday night. Got a bit of a late start and didn't leave the trailhead until 4:00pm. We camped at Shale lake as result, which ended up working out well because we could filter water and didn't have to carry the packs any further. I didn't sleep well Friday night so we got a late start (again) and left at 5:00am. We had a clear route planned but deviated on the fly and went up the gully between the southwest ridge and west ridge. The trail is marked with a cairn every 10 feet (seriously, it is kind of weird). The choss climb up to the saddle sucked bad but we maintained a steady pace. We reached the Red Saddle at about 10:00am. There was still snow on the traverse but the sun hadn't hit it yet so it was still solid. We brought rope and pickets but decided not to use them, just crampons and ice axes. It took us less than a half hour to make the traverse and gain the final scramble, we dropped our gear at the end of the traverse. Once to the scramble I forgot what the easy route was so I climbed up under the rap slings. I'd estimate it to be a low 5th class but felt comfortable so I didn't bother with going back to get gear. I didn't want to down climb the same section so we looked a little harder for the easy down climb and went down that way. We only spent a few minutes up top. Once off the rocks we made our way back across the traverse which was now in the sun and softening up. It still felt comfortable without pro but had I been crossing it on the initial traverse in this condition I'd have protected due to post-holing at the very end. Still in control, mind you, but it was rapidly becoming too soft. We were off the saddle and headed down by noon. We went down as quickly as we could and hit camp by 2:45pm. At this point we decided not to stay the last night so we filtered water, ate the dinners we had, and tore down the tent. We had everything packed and were jogging out by 3:45pm. We made it to the car by 5:00pm (7.5mi I think). Coffee and Lemon Meringue pie at the Marion Lake restaurant. Gear Notes: Carried: Rope, Pickets, a few wired nuts, Harness (w/biners), Ice Axe, Crampons. Used: Crampons and Ice Axe. Approach Notes: Lightweight boots or approach shoes are a must. I went light and my feet are still wrecked...need new boots! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whatcomboy Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 Did the Pug go with you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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