lukeh Posted August 17, 2012 Posted August 17, 2012 (edited) Trip: Little Tahoma - Camp on Summit (Night Photography) - Frying Pan/Whitman Date: 8/12/2012 Trip Report: Click for a larger picture. Getting to camp much later than expected. We settled for Meaney Crest despite the plan of camping in the middle of the Frying Pan Glacier for the best views. I hadn't taken this approach before as early season has quicker, snow-filled approaches. We had to scramble and route-find in the moonless night, but we finally made it. I woke up in the middle of the night to see a crescent moon had subtlety illuminated the rocks and glaciers, and meteors were sailing across the sky. These moments... I'll let the pictures mostly tell the story for this post. I had tried Little Tahoma before, but bailed when we were running out of light and ended up just snowboarding down the Frying Pan all the way to the Frying Pan Creek bridge crossing (more here). This time I had brought an alpine newbie (but experienced rock climber), Sveta. If I would've known how sketchy and long the crevassed, steep snow/ice slope was on the upper Whitman Glacier before taking the rocky summit block, I would not have gone with someone new. This was at the very end of an otherwise pleasant, leisurely climb. I ended up kicking the most elaborate staircase for over 1,000 feet up the hard, exposed slope, hoping the rope-attached Sveta would not fall as self arrest would've been difficult/impossible on much of this. Due to the step-kicking it probably took us 3x as long, but I don't regret a single swing of my foot. A mistake could easily meant a ~2,000ft. fall that would probably ended in a deep, crevassed tomb. My tension focus-level was at an all-time high, but taking it one step at a time got us to our goal. I really felt responsible for someone else's life at this stage, and it was a heavy burden. The rocky upper section was her element, albeit we had overnight packs on which made things really interesting (especially climbing some 4th class sections with 65 pounds on my back). I don't know if anyone has ever camped on top of Little Tahoma. Why would you? You'd have to be crazy because there is not a single reasonable spot to bivy. Not one. But we made it work after scouring the whole upper ridge for a spot that I dug out of dirt/rock. We couldn't camp lower due to rockfall danger, so the big packs went with us just short of the tippy-top. A giant rat made it clear it wasn't shy and would sometimes come with in 6 inches of Sveta. Sitting up in my sleeping bag without a tent and shining my light into the eyes of the biggest rat I've ever seen wasn't comforting. I was a little sick with fear in the morning. We had to now go down the steep section, roped together. After a benign fall by Sveta almost right away (thankfully in a safe spot), I opted to have us move to a scree field on the far right for the upper steep section. I belayed her out to it over a shorter, really steep section that would've been better with 2 tools, then I soloed after her. This scree field was in the worst rock fall area I've ever seen. Huge boulders were suspended above by what? I don't know, they looked like they were floating. I pictured them with brains and eyes just watching us through crosshairs. They were massive, intimidating. It took a long time to slide and down climb this area, but I prefered it to the steep, hard snow with someone who probably wasn't ready to win any self-arrest contests just yet. A couple of softball-sized rocks whizzed by my head. When we were halfway down I traversed back on the snow and found our tracks down the steep, crevassed bottom section. By this time the snow was soft. The steps I kicked the day before felt luxurious going down. I deserved them. We made it off the crevassed steep section quickly now that things were soft and a self-arrest would be easy. Sveta did a good job leading us through/over the crevasses near the bottom. I was elated being out of this section. The rest was nothing compared to this. Passing through Summerland on the way back was a gift. Wildflowers were everywhere. The place was an oasis within an already beautiful landscape. I wished I could stayed and watch the sunset again, and fall asleep under the stars. But life isn't that easy. Sveta near the summit of the 11,138ft. Little Tahoma, overlooking the Emmons and Ingraham Glaciers. The exposure/down straight down to the Emmons on the right here was so ridiculous (2-3,000 feet) it made me laugh. The summit scramble was super exposed, we ended up rappeling back down to the less exposed regions. On the way back we pass through Summerland again. This place is beautiful. A sight for sore eyes. Well the whole park is really. The forest beyond here is also mesmerizing in the late afternoon as the lights dim and things grow quiet. Three peaks, one mountain. Little Tahoma (11,138ft) left, Rainier middle (14,411ft at Columbia Crest), Liberty Cap (14,112 ft) right. Little Tahoma looks almost as big as Rainier here, but see here to put things into perspective from Rainier. The weekend before I camped on top of the Disappointment Cleaver (rock outcropping middle left on Rainier at 12,200ft), then on the summit crater. The Frying Pan glacier offered a B-line to the Whitman Gap without any crevasse crossings. The mountain from Summerland. Chipmunk's tried to ravage Sveta's pack here. Near the summit of Little Tahoma as climbers make their way up the Disappointment Cleaver route as daylight draws near. A late climber is just about to reach the DC, and is in the most dangerous area on that route right now for rock/ice fall. The Perseids meteors shower was in full effect tonight. Sveta close to the summit of Little T. There were zero bivy spots up here so I dug as much out of the dirt and rock to make something workable. A giant rat was not shy about hanging around. Sleeping without a tent with a huge rat around you was not comforting. I would sit up, shine my light, and there he was, getting as close as 6" away. The biggest I've ever seen. He ended up eating Sveta's unfinished freeze-dried meal we stored 30 feet away. Hearing him eat that made me feel good as it meant he wasn't right by my head. I also killed a few big spiders near the sleeping bag before going to bed. If I hadn't already gone through a white knuckle journey getting here it would've bothered me more. Two time-lapses were taken from this trip: One from Meaney Crest overlooking the Frying Pan Glacier, and the other from the summit ridge of Little T. Trailer for this project is here. Gear Notes: 1 picket (didn't use), 1 screw (didn't use), crevasse rescue gear. Copied from my blog. More photography here . Edited August 17, 2012 by lukeh Quote
JasonG Posted August 17, 2012 Posted August 17, 2012 Ah....the snaffle treatment. No summit bivy is complete without packrat battle royale. Excellent images as always! Impressive! Quote
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