[TR] East Fury - Standard 7/25/2016

[seano-]

Trip: East Fury - Standard

 

Date: 7/25/2016

 

Trip Report:

Short version: I dayhiked East Fury from Ross Dam trailhead via Access Creek. The weather was perfectly clear and a bit too hot. Because my timing was a bit off, I left the trail for Access Creek in the dark, and predictably screwed it up, wasting an hour or so thrashing upslope south of the creek before orienting myself. The steep chute up to MacMillan Col was mostly snow-free, with intermittent snow on the heather traverse to Luna Col. From there, the ridge traverse was efficient and no harder than class 3 (one tat-nest removed), but long and tiring. The southeast glacier was fairly broken up, and covered with soft snow, so the fastest route was mostly on the third class rock to its right. There were a couple of cracks below the summit knob, which were easy to get around. The chossy rock left of the summit snow dome felt safer than the steep slush.

 

Longer version.

 

Fury from the approach ridge:

 

The traverse to Luna Col:

 

Northern Picket panorama from summit:

 

Gear Notes:

Ice axe was helpful crossing some of the steeper snow slopes between Luna Col and Fury. Crampons were unnecessary -- trail runners were fine for the soft snow, and there was no bare ice.

 

Approach Notes:

There's still a logjam where Access Creek meets Big Beaver, but unlike last year, it is partly submerged, so it's a thigh-deep ford. Stay north of the creek until about 4000'.

Edited July 27, 2016 by seano-

[JasonG]

East Fury in a day? That is just plain nuts. In an impressively good way, of course.

 

We were marveling at your Depot Creek trip this past weekend when we were up there. Hard to comprehend the speed with which you move through the North Cascades bush!

[matt_warfield]

Ah the joys of a big day trip. We used to get some TRs from off_the_hook and a few others for those who aspire to such things. There are some discussions of 1-day efforts in the Enchantments a few years back. I did a couple reports from trips to Colorado but sadly some years have passed and my trips have gotten shorter as my age gets longer.

 

Many usual suspects in the high Sierra, Colorado, and S. Cascades like the Enchantments lack the brutish route finding, river crossing, and bushwhacking offered up in the N. Cascades.

 

Nice job and fun reading!

Edited July 28, 2016 by matt_warfield

[seano-]

@JasonG -- I actually enjoy Depot Creek, as the use trail is mostly decent, and the huge cascade is amazing. My shins will be recovering from Access Creek for some time, though.

 

@matt_warfield -- Thanks! Having done some of the remote peaks elsewhere, the Northern Pickets stand out to me as likely the hardest dayhikes in the lower 48. It seems like you have to go to Canada to find something more remote.

[bellows]

Dude, that's off the hook! Well, technically I guess Leor is "off_the_hook" but you're off the hook too! Inspiring, I'm way impressed. Nice job.

[Stefan]

whoa

[seano-]

@bellows -- Thanks! Leor's early TRs were part of what got me into doing longer daytrips. I still don't know if I could touch his Entiat 9000er time.

[matt_warfield]

There was a thread a few years ago about 1-day Enchantments stuff, including Peter Croft's 1-day solo linking of all the main peaks going in 8-mile (starting from the Icicle Road due to 8 mile closure) and out Snow Creek. Quite inspiring. Leor's trips made a person tired just reading about them.

 

In this day with many boulders and sport crags near the road and sleeping in is common followed by a grande latte, there is a little piece of heaven for those with big fitness and small packs that go big and go home in the same day. Remember it doesn't have to be fun to be fun!