[TR] Mount Triumph - NE Ridge 8/22/2016

[ilias]

Trip: Mount Triumph - NE Ridge

 

Date: 8/22/2016

 

Trip Report:

For Mike and Evan's grad climb with the Boealps ICC, we climbed the NE Ridge of Mt Triumph. Tyler and I were there as instructors, but really we just stood back as Mike and Evan as they did all the hard work of planning, navigating, and leading the route. Nice work guys! Awesome climb.

 

Here was our timeline...

 

Friday

9:00 pm - leave trailhead

11:30pm - arrive at camp at lower Thornton Lake

 

Saturday

6:00 am - leave camp

7:30 am - arrive at the saddle

9:00 am - arrive at the notch at the base of the NE ridge

12:00pm - climbing the 5.7 offwidth pitch

1:00 pm - summit

1:45 pm - leave summit

5:30 pm - back at notch

7:30 pm - back at camp at the saddle

 

Sunday

6:30 am - leave camp

9:30 am - arrive at car

 

Lot's of fun ridge climbing and great views. Best sights of the Pickets that I've seen from anywhere so far. Definitely gonna have to go there soon!

 

More photos here:

https://goo.gl/photos/dhyvV86dD7ozRvqD9

 

First view of Triumph:

 

Coming down from the Saddle:

 

Crossing the glacier towards the notch:

 

Looking back across the glacier:

 

Bushy climbing low on the NE ridge:

 

Even on the knife edge:

 

The 5.7 "offwidth" crux. It did not actually involve making any offwidth moves, it's a super featured corner that you could climb using just about any technique:

 

Summit group shot:

 

Tyler admiring the greatness of the Great Notch:

 

Views of the pickets:

 

Triumph at sunset with Google deciding to stylize the photo for me:

 

Gear Notes:

Single rack to #2 was plenty.

Crampons and axes were nice for a short section of steepish snow near the saddle before you get onto the glacier.

Edited August 22, 2016 by ilias

[DPS]

Nice report, I am shocked at the amount of glacial recession since I was there in July 2013. In a couple of years it will be climbable with approach shoes and no axe or crampons. Makes me sad.

 

[NDrake]

You forgot to mention the short lived bivy at Mondo Friday evening in your timeline!

[ilias]

Nice report, I am shocked at the amount of glacial recession since I was there in July 2013. In a couple of years it will be climbable with approach shoes and no axe or crampons. Makes me sad.

 

It was actually very close to climbable that way on this trip. We only had approach shoes, and the axe and crampons were only necessary for a ~100 ft section below the saddle going around left of that hump that's there. If we had cared to scramble down rocks a little ways and then back up, we could have avoided that one steeper snow bit and never put our crampons on.

 

I could tell that those slabs were very recently covered in glacier, super smoothly polished. At the same time, I was actually surprised at the remaining size of the glacier, given it's aspect and elevation.

 

I doubt there will be a glacier there at all in 10 years.

Edited August 22, 2016 by ilias

[eggplantalpinism]

Some say I've fully moved in and am bivying at Mondo to this very day.

[ilias]

Mondo really needs to be open 24/7

[dougd]

A little over three weeks makes a lot of difference on the snow field. There was a lot of water rushing under it though on the 27/28th of July...

 

Last pic is cool. I gotta get a real camera I guess.

 

d

[ilias]

A little over three weeks makes a lot of difference on the snow field. There was a lot of water rushing under it though on the 27/28th of July...

 

Last pic is cool. I gotta get a real camera I guess.

 

d

 

Lots of water rushing off it this weekend too!

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Mondo really needs to be open 24/7

 

Thank God Mondo exists and "Good Food" has given up the ghost!