[TR] North Twin Sister - West Ridge 8/29/2010

[yasso1am]

Trip: North Twin Sister - West Ridge

 

Date: 8/29/2010

 

Trip Report:

This route has been profiled before, just giving you some useful beta for the next few days. Coming from Glacier, off Highway 542, the bridge is closed on Mosquito Lake Road right before the turn onto FR38. There is a road block and a back hoe blocking the road. Can be circumvented with a smaller vehicle. The bridge is solid, just the guard rails haven't been put up yet. It's probably clear by now.

 

 

We just really wanted to scramble...

 

 

Gear Notes:

Approach shoes, bikes for the descent, and a small car.

 

Approach Notes:

Hit Mosquito Lake Road from the Acme side (south) instead of Glacier to avoid this road block.

Edited August 31, 2010 by yasso1am

[DyP]

Dude....no pics of the peak?

[JoshK]

Fwiw, driving around a "ROAD CLOSED" sign, particularly one with a giant backhoe parked next to it, is a fantastic way to arrive back at your car only to find it blocked in.

[jshamster]

josh - maybe so, but not there. moquito lk. rd is a loop. hwy 542 to hwy 9. these guys probably just didn't want to drive the extra 30 or so miles to go around the backhoe. i don't blame 'em.

[JoshK]

Aye, me either. We were confronted with a "road closed" this past weekend which could have been easily moved, as the road was drivable past that. When we got back to the car, a backhoe had destroyed the gate and was parked across the road. It was strange because it happened on a Sunday, but I'm glad we resisted the temptation this time. Obviously a loop road is less risky.

[Juan Sharp]

Do you think Tiger Woods ever drove AROUND a ho?

[yasso1am]

Yeah, it was a Sunday and we knew they probably wouldn't have ripped the bridge up while we were gone. Also, we knew the road looped around so we weren't too worried. Saw a ton of cars at the gate before the uphill approach, yet we were the only ones on the West Ridge of the Twin. Didn't see anyone else all day. Where did they all go?

[G-spotter]

Saw a ton of cars at the gate before the uphill approach, yet we were the only ones on the West Ridge of the Twin. Didn't see anyone else all day. Where did they all go?

 

Maybe they were climbing some sick-hard boulder problems in the talus up there.

[cdweiland]

Yeah, it was a Sunday and we knew they probably wouldn't have ripped the bridge up while we were gone. Also, we knew the road looped around so we weren't too worried. Saw a ton of cars at the gate before the uphill approach, yet we were the only ones on the West Ridge of the Twin. Didn't see anyone else all day. Where did they all go?

 

I was part of a group of 4 (2 cars) there, but we did the west ridge of South Twin. Luckily we came in the south end (in Feb. we did NTS and had to come in the north side because the other bridge was out).

[yasso1am]

I was part of a group of 4 (2 cars) there, but we did the west ridge of South Twin. Luckily we came in the south end (in Feb. we did NTS and had to come in the north side because the other bridge was out).

 

Cool, what is the W. ridge of the STS like? Pretty similar?

[cdweiland]

Cool, what is the W. ridge of the STS like? Pretty similar?

 

Yeah its pretty similar. Longer/brushier approach (more blueberries) and bike ride but same great rock. The scrambling route is longer as it is 400' taller, but I thought the scrambling was slightly easier. We brought ropes to try to climb the final 400' via the ridge direct that goes at 5.something but we abandoned that idea when we heard thunder and just did the easier scramble quickly.

[yasso1am]

Oh that sounds good. We heard the first thunder, waited about 30 seconds, and then heard the second thunder and decided to bail. We were maybe 150 feet from the top but it was still shrouded in clouds and all we could see was the fog billowing up and building in the thunderhead.

 

Basically what I'm trying to say is, our weather, 1/4 of a mile away, was worse then yours. That's right, I made it a competition.

[cdweiland]

Oh that sounds good. We heard the first thunder, waited about 30 seconds, and then heard the second thunder and decided to bail. We were maybe 150 feet from the top but it was still shrouded in clouds and all we could see was the fog billowing up and building in the thunderhead.

 

Basically what I'm trying to say is, our weather, 1/4 of a mile away, was worse then yours. That's right, I made it a competition.

 

Maybe we're just dumber

[AlpineK]

Fwiw, driving around a "ROAD CLOSED" sign, particularly one with a giant backhoe parked next to it, is a fantastic way to arrive back at your car only to find it blocked in.

 

A long time ago friends left their car in the upper lot at Alpental. They spent the night out and it snowed quite a bit. On returning to their car they found their car buried in a ton of snow pushed there by a plow driver.

 

Since they needed a good way to move a lot of snow they walked over to a parked plow with an operator in it. After explaining what they needed to do the plow driver handed them a shovel from the rig and told them he expected it to be returned.