Jeff Park Glacier TR

[ckouba]

Hey all-

 

Tried JPG with my friend Colin on Thursday and it turns out it's in fantastic shape.

 

With the stretch of excellent weather we've been having and my incessant desire to top out that route, I was able to convince him that it would be a smart idea to head out to Jeff Park in the rain Weds afternoon to take a shot at the summit on Thursday. He was silly enough to agree.

 

We left Whitewater trailhead around 2:30 pm and arrived in Jeff Park around 4:30 or 5. The trail was basically completely clear and we made great time. The weather was far from perfect but we had some naive faith in the weatherman that it would clear up.

 

We found a spot in the trees on dirt next to Scout Lake and made camp as darkness fell. After chowing down a hot meal, we sorted gear set an alarm for 2a and sacked out by 7.

 

Sleeping through the alarm, I woke at 3 and got us moving. A quick cold breakfast got us moving and when we poked our heads out of the tent, the skies were clear and the stars were shining beautifully. It was nice and cold and the snow we set out onto was wonderfully hard and crunchy.

 

Navigation was very easy through the snow and trees to the base of the glacier. We geared up and stepped onto it around 5:30 and as the sky started to lighten, it became apparent that its crevasses had already started to fill in for the winter.

 

We set out climber's left of center, but after gaining a little altitude we headed out into the center of the glacier. We ended up doing a number of end runs and a lot of poking with our ice axes but everything was remarkably solid where there was snow, and ROCK SOLID on the exposed glacial ice.

 

The lower half of the glacier's slope was fairly mellow, but as we moved up to the upper third or so, it became a bit steeper. There were a number of crevasse fields that we navigated around and we negotiated some steep terrain to facilitate our passage, but we actually placed very little protection. I had a selection of screws and two pickets on me but placed only 3 screws as we simul-climbed to the bergschrund.

 

Just shy of the schrund was a very steep roll. As I topped out on it, I hoped profusely that it was connected to the uphill side of the glacier via some sort of bridge. But that was not to be...

 

To my right, the chunk we were on narrowed down to a chisel point like the bow of a large ship, and to my left it did largely the same, ending up in a small field of seracs that didn't have a line through them for us.

 

Left was looking like the lesser of two evils and after a few minutes of traversing, I found a ramp to downclimb. At its bottom was a bridge in the crevasse, and it connected at a place where we climb out through a gulley on the other side. A few minutes of downclimbing and a little more traversing and we had it cleared. Shortly thereafter we pulled up under the bergschrund.

 

This area was nothing like it had been in May of this year. LOTS of the snow had melted away and the headwall above it was much steeper. The schrund itself was largely filled with the spindrift being raked off the upper reaches of the mountain or blown in from the Milk Creek Cirque area, but there was a discontinuity from the top of that fill onto the steep firn snow above the schrund.

 

Our best shot was to climb steep, hard, dirty ice just next to the left (east) tower (Smith Rock?). There was a ~20' snow ramp followed by ~45' of ~65° ice leading to a slightly gentler snow slope above. The ice took the tools nicely, with a little bit of dinner plating, but generally very secure and solid. I placed a single screw midway up the ice and another picket in the hard-pack snow just above it.

 

With Colin clear of the ice, we again kicked steps in steep snow up to the col above the glacier. Gaining the col, we turned our sights uphill toward the ridge and the summit. I was moving onto new ground for me now...

 

The ridge connecting the top of the glacier to the N-S ridge to the summit was REALLY interesting. It started out fairly mild and narrowed down to boot-track wide with enormous exposure on each side. We headed up and over it, climbing directly on it and heading for its junction with the other ridge.

 

As we progressed, the climbing became more and more intense. I went from walking cautiously, to using tools as canes, and then to actual rock climbing on some pretty pushy stuff. I was using my gloved hands to hold some nice juggy grips, and when things got thin I used my tools as my hands- hooking rock flakes, camming the adze or hammer into cracks, using the pick however I could. It was a really fun alpine experience.

 

There were numerous little faces to climb, some covered in a little snow and everything having a little bit of rime ice on it. The setting was fantastic and the weather was holding. We had some gusts (my guess is ~30mph) but nothing crazy. The route was awesome.

 

As we moved along the ridge, I was constantly watching the next ridge to the summit, trying to figure out where we could ramp over to it. I was still on the ridge proper and about to downclimb a small face when my rope stopped moving with me.

 

I would tug on it from time to time but over the course of a few minutes and a LOT of shouting in the wind, I figured out that Colin was done. Painfully, I was about a rope length away from hitting the mild ground of the ridge to the summit, but life goes on and the mountain will be there a while longer.

 

I waited for Colin to pull in the slack and belay me back in. When I got to him he said he had reached his limit and didn't feel comfortable continuing. I told him no worries and said let's split if he wanted to do. And we did.

 

Back over the ridge from which we came, down the rock faces and over the catwalks connecting us to the top of the glacier. Back down the steep face and downclimb the ice pitch to the schrund. We were able to move quickly once off of the exposed ridge.

 

Heading down we stayed skier's right, hugging the margin of the east moraine. This was much more expeditious and continuous, with only one end run for crevasse avoidance. A very straightforward descent.

 

We got off the glacier, took off gear, and called the people who were keeping a watch on us to let them know we were actually down off the glacier. We headed back to camp, had a hot meal and packed out in the darkness that evening- still under clear skies and stars!

 

If the weather holds, the route is in really FUN shape right now for anyone possessing basic dry-tooling and strong rock skills. You should also be comfortable with large exposure and the other normal things one needs to be in tune with for climbing. Drop me a line if you want any other info.

 

Chris

 

ckouba@hotmail.com

[cuz]

Nice report Chris!

 

Some friends and I completed this route over the week of July 4th. It's the most fun alpine climb I've been on to date.

 

We stayed to the left on the way up after seeing another party struggling up the middle. It turned out this was the way to go, at least when we were there. We then traversed right under rock towers towards the left end of the shrund. A short pitch of vertical ice on the uphill side of the shrund, then up the headwall and we were on the ridge.

 

We traversed the knife edge ridge on the north side instead of staying on top. This turned out to be rather long (4 pitches) and time consuming. Once you finish the ridge it's relatively easy going to the base of the pinnacle. We came back via the Whitewater glacier route, which, aside from a traverse under the NW side of the pinnacle, is a pretty straightforward but rather long route.

 

Another buddy (who's never been on this route) and I are thinking of heading back over the coming holidays. Two questions:

 

1) Did you need any rock pro for the ridge? I'd like to try going over the ridge instead of traversing it.

 

2) What was the headwall downclimb (above the shrund) like? I'm thinking that descending via JPG would be faster than Whitewater.

 

Thanks!

[iain]

People don't seem to head into JPG in the fall and early winter for some reason, but when I was there a year or so ago it was a blast! Tons of ice bouldering up the middle of the glacier and an exciting run up a thin snow ramp on the right of the schrund. It can be a much longer route than when covered though. Nice report!

[ckouba]

cuz-

 

We took rock pro (a selection of stoppers, no cams), but used none. We also used little of the ice (6 screws) and snow pro (4 pickets) we took with us (we were WAY over geared, but I prefer to have and not need than need and not have).

 

As we climbed on the ridge, we used the rock to afford truly "natural" protection, slinging a horn or two and weaving the rope over/around others. It also had a tendency to get blown around up there, so be cautious that it stays where you want it.

 

The thing I really enjoyed was the dry tooling aspect of the climb. I haven't ever really done that before and it was certainly the best way to get around up there. We used our ice tools (we both had C-M Quasar hammers and adzes) in all manners- hooking, camming, jamming... It was really fun!

 

As the rock gets more snow in it, the character will obviously change and the cracks might not be so visible or accessible. I know that people have both rapped off into the Milk Creek Cirque area as well as traversed over the way you did previously to gain the summit ridge. I didn't really want to do either- I wanted to go via the ridge straight on.

 

The descent from the col back to the glacier is going to depend on the conditions. We had good ice for the steep stuff and it was fairly straightforward to downclimb. I am making a guess here, but I think the reason many people descend the Whitewater is because they usually climb in the summer. If snowbridges are necessary for the route, they may be too soft by mid-day in summer.

 

This mountain has been my opus- this was my 7th shot at it. Three times I have made substantial vertical progress on the glacier (including topping out twice, this trip and May '02) and each time we have descended via the glacier. There would have to be some serious motivation for me to descend via an alternate, especially when I know how long a slog it is to come back via WWG.

 

My feeling is if I can get up the glacier and bergschrund, I should be able to get down it as well. Additionally there is reasonable access to the north ridge once below the schrund, so if the snowbridges of summer are melting you can always head off into the rock on the ridge.

 

I anxiously await the trip when I finally do top out on this route. Colin felt pretty crappy about bailing off it, especially when we were so close. It is a patient mountain though, and has waited this long already for me.

 

If you go over the holidays, best of luck and I look forward to the TR.

 

Chris

 

ps - there should be an attached pic of Colin downclimbing the wall above the schrund.

[Crackman]

Excellent TR Chris! Took me right back to when my friend Steve and I climbed Jeff in early June this year. It was actually “plan B” after Hood was shut down due to the Helicopter crash fiasco but ended up being one of the best climbs ever.

 

At that time the knife ridge and summit pinnacle were still encased in rime ice although the knife ridge also contained a lot of soft snow and wet rock. I had the same experience of having to back down the ridge after one full rope length when my partner didn't feel comfortable with continuing. Fortunately, we were able to detour up the gully along the left side of the ridge and climb a couple short vertical pitches before gaining the ridge leading to the Pinnacle.