Mt. Thielsen (Mazama Climb 265)

Anyone who has gone to Crater Lake, Diamond Lake, or the Southern Oregon Cascades will immediately recognize the pointed Mt. Thielsen, often referred to as the "Lightning Rod of the Cascades." The mountain's shape is imposing, perhaps even intimidating, but there's a secret about Thielsen... it's summit block is only a 5.0 climbing route, in fact Summitpost considers the difficulty of the summit block as 4th class. I had seen and read about Thielsen to know that it was a mountain that I wanted to climb, so I applied and got onto an end of September climb led my Mazama Climb Leader, Paul Underwood.

Though we were anticipating a full 12 person climb, two late cancellations and one no-show decreased our numbers to nine. The plan was to drive down to the West Thielsen View Campground on the west side of Diamond Lake on Thursday night and meet at the trailhead Friday morning at 7:00am. I rode down with one other person and we arrived at the campground at 10:45pm. We woke up at 6:00, ate breakfast, packed up our gear, and drove to the trailhead. After introductions, discussing the plan for the climb, and divvying up ropes and group gear, we started up the trail at 7:30am. The weather was a hazy sunshine. Aware that a cold front was approaching, we kept our eyes on the skies for any sign of building thunderstorms or otherwise inclement weather.



The first four miles up to the intersection of the Pacific Coast Trail was uneventful. The well maintained trail weaved through a pine tree forest with occasional views of Mt. Thielsen above and Diamond Lake below. We reached the intersection of the PCT at 9:15. From the PCT, the official trail ends, but there is enough indication of a trail to lead us all the way up to the summit block itself. Above the PCT, our trail increased in steepness significantly, but we kept going noticing that the winds had picked up dramatically. Paul stopped us for a break about 500 feet below the summit block and told us that he had concerns of the changing weather and reminded us all to keep an eye out for developing thunderstorms or a further increase in winds that would make travel too dangerous.



Though the winds never decreased, they never increased either We continued up the loose rock until we reached the summit block around 11:30. There we took a lunch break and put on our harnesses while Paul and the assistant, Gary, set up a fixed line. Once that was set, Paul and Gary went to the summit to set up a rappel while the rest of us, while monitored by a very capable climber, Kellie, attached our prusiks to the fixed line and made the climb to the top.



Since the summit itself is small, there was only room for two people at the high point, so Paul and Gary had set up a system where after climbing to the summit, we would each get a short break to take pictures and sign the climbing register, then we would rappel so others could get to the summit. The system worked well and I was back to the base of the summit block after a quick rappel down. From the summit, I could see part of Crater Lake, Diamond Lake, the three Sisters off in the distance, and a lot of smoke from forest fires both to the east and south of Thielsen.



Soon, all nine of us had completed the summit, so we took a break for "Leader Treats," coiled the ropes, put away our harnesses, and began our climb down. Despite a minor slip and fall on a steep section of rock, all of us made it back to the trailhead safely around 5:45pm. Though camping a second night was an option, all of us decided to drive back to Portland that evening. I was home and in bed before midnight.



Mt. Thielsen is a fun mountain to climb and I would definitely do it again. After reading the Summitpost description of the mountain, one may be tempted to climb to the top without ropes, but I wouldn't recommend it. Take the time to set up the fixed line because there are a couple spots where a wrong step could lead to a bad fall.

For the complete album, click on the photo:"

Mt. Thielsen Climb 09/30/11

Thanks to Paul for leading the climb, Gary for assisting, and to Howie, April, Adam, Kellie, Michelle, and Bob for a fun climb.

Mt. Rainier (Mazama Climb 004 and Glacier Snake Climb)

Having grown up in Olympia, I had great views of Mt. Rainier from my bedroom window. Over the many years of looking at that 14,411 foot peak, I never thought that I would one day be climbing it. This summer, I had the opportunity to climb Rainier on a Mazama climb led by Bill, aka Papa Snake. Bill is one of the leaders for the Basic Climbing school (BCEP) with the Mazamas. His BCEP group is called the "Glacier Snakes" and I am one of his assistants. A number of other Glacier Snakes assistants were on the climb, such as Hungry Snake (Dan) G-Snake (Geoff), Obi Wan Danobi Snake (Daniel), Sneaky Snake (Caleb), and Brian, who has yet to be named. It's always nice to climb with people I already know or with whom I have climbed in the past because it makes climbing safer and more fun.

Though Mt. Rainier can be done in three days, Bill wisely scheduled the climb as a four day affair. Day 1 would be a strenuous hike from the trailhead to Camp Schurman, day 2 would be a rest day, day 3 would be summit day, and day 4 would be our pack out. Mt. Rainier is not a technically difficult climb, in that there is no rock climbing or crazy ice climbing involved, but it is a climb that is physically demanding. The presence of crevasses is the main risk to one's safety, though altitude sickness can be a major challenge in summitting Rainier.

Mt. Rainier has numerous routes in varying degrees of difficulty. The Disappointment Cleaver, also known as the "DC", on the southeast side of the mountain, is the most popular route. We would be climbing the Emmons Glacier route on the northeast side of the mountain. The Emmons route receives approximately 15% of the 10,000 summit attempts every year. Though it has more altitude gain than the DC, it has fewer crowds and is somewhat less technical from what I have had heard and read.

Day 1: White River Campground to Camp Schurman



The twelve of us on the climb met at the White River Ranger Station at 9:30 on Friday morning (7/8/11). There we obtained our climbing permits. The rangers gave us a short lecture on available water supplies, disposing of human waste, food storage, snow conditions, and anticipated weather. We left the station and drove to the White River campground which is also the parking area for climbers. We loaded up our gear and started up the Glacier Basin trail at 10:30am.




I had the feeling that the pack in to camp would be the most difficult of the four days, and is it turned out, I was right. On Day 1, we had to ascend 5,400 feet cumulative with a full pack, mine weighing about 55 pounds at the trailhead. In our first leg we ascended 1,500 feet over 3.2 miles to Glacier Basin which is a back country camping area at the base of the Inter Glacier. There we stopped for lunch, refilled water at the stream, and reapplied sunscreen. From there, we began the ascent up the Inter Glacier. We gained over 3,000 feet up to Camp Curtis, a ridge between the Inter and Emmons glaciers. The daytime heating softened the snow and there was a clear boot track all the way to Camp Curtis. We wore crampons but we did not need to rope up. The travel up the Inter Glacier was challenging because it was warm and with the sun shining directly on me, my energy was being depleted quickly despite eating plenty of food and drinking a lot of water. Finally, around 5pm, our tired group got to Camp Curtis. There, the winds were blowing hard and we were starting to lose the afternoon heat, so we quickly put on our harnesses and roped up for the descent onto the Emmons Glacier and then a 500 foot rise to Camp Schurman. We roped up because there were a number of crevasses beginning to open up.



The last stretch to Camp Schurman was the most difficult for me because my energy was gone. The first two rope teams got to the camp around 6:15, and my rope team, led by Obi Wan Danobi Snake, arrived at 6:30. The winds at Camp Schurman were not as strong as at Camp Curtis, but they were still brisk. We set up our tents, got unpacked, and began boiling water for dinner. After eating a tasty Mountain Home freeze dried lasagna dinner, we melted and filtered some water and went to bed around 9pm.



Day 2: Rest Day at Camp Schurman



The second day of our trip was a rest day. It is possible to depart for the actual climb at any of time of the day or night, but it was decided that we would have an alpine start of 2am on the third day. The advantage to the alpine start is since we don't have the daytime heating during the climb up, the snow will have had a chance to firm up overnight making glacier travel easier, and it makes snow bridges over crevasses a little more secure.



On Day 2 we just hung around camp. We had a leisurely breakfast, read our books and magazines, took a nap, and had some time to converse with each other. We had lunch and started some preparations for the climb. The day went by very quickly, so by early evening, we made our dinners, repacked for our climb, and off to bed at 8pm. Though the sun sets over the Wilson Glacier at 8, it doesn't get dark, until well after 9. And, since I don't sleep well in the light, I didn't fall asleep until closer to 10pm. A few short hours later, it was the 1am wake up call.



Day 3: Climb Day

Everyone's alarms went off at 1. We got up, got dressed, had a quick breakfast, put on our layers, crampons, and harnesses, and got onto our rope teams at 2. I would be on rope team 1, position 3 of 4. Admittedly, I was a little scared to be in team 1 because I know Papa Snake to be a moderately fast hiker and climber where I am slower. Furthermore, Papa Snake told all of us that if one person cannot reach the summit, the whole rope team doesn't make it. The crevasses are too dangerous not to be roped up. A person on team 3 was having some crampon issues, so we did not leave camp until 220am. To my pleasant surprise, I was able to keep up with Papa Snake, Andy, and Hungry Snake who were the other members of the rope team.



We made our way to the "Corridor" which is a straight route up the Emmons Glacier from about 10,000 to 11,200 feet. At the base of the corridor, we had to stop because of crampon issues on a climber on team 3. Being the middle of the night at over 10,000 feet, it gets pretty cold, so we had to keep moving. Once rope team 3 caught up, we continued up the glacier. At 12,500 feet, our route started to curve up and around the first of our major crevasses. We took a break at that point and waited for the other two rope teams to catch up. Again, it got cold and I could feel my toes were starting to freeze up. Fortunately, someone on the climb knew that to the keep the toes warm, it's important to squeeze the butt cheeks together. Sure enough, it worked. My fingers and toes had feeling again. At that level we enjoyed the sun rising though I did see some high clouds partially obscuring the sun which made me think in the back of my mind that weather could be an issue later on.



Shortly after our break, we came to the scariest crevasse crossing on the route. At 12,600 feet, there was a double crevasse. We would be required to take a step over a crevasse and then a second crevasse crossing less than 10 feet later. After reviewing our self arrest skills, we crossed the two massive openings safely and continued up the glacier. The boot track climbed along ridges and around crevasses up to above 13,000 feet. There was an impressive bergschrund with which we had to negotiate. Finally, we had our final push. Slowly, we ascended to 14,300 feet which is the east crater rim. It took a while to get to that point because we were all running out breath at that elevation. Fortunately, none of us on our rope team had any altitude sickness, however, a climber on the Obi Wan Danobi Snake's team did at 13,000 feet. He was getting to the point where he was no longer able to think clearly. A lucky break for that rope team is there was a group that turned around at 13,800 feet due to altitude sickness of one of their climbers, so he was able to rope on to their climb team to go back to camp. Those of us on the first two rope teams did not even realize we lost a climber until the third team got to the rim with only three people. Once at the rim, we got off our rope teams and hiked to the summit proper. There we congratulated each other and took some pictures. We did not stay long at the summit because the winds were blowing hard and the weather was changing for the worse. Apparently, a lenticular cloud had formed right over the top of us bringing snow, strong winds, and a drop in temperatures. Our summit time was about 10:30am, so it took a little over 8 hours to summit which is a respectable time for a team that large.



We walked back to where we left our ropes and had lunch on a northeast facing slope that had some protection from the wind. We quickly got back on the rope teams and started down about 11:30. We descended the exact same route that we came up. We were among the last ones to summit because the weather changed so quickly. The wind continued to blow strongly from the west and there continued to be blowing snow which partially covered our boot track going down. Fortunately, we were able to see the valley below for the most part, so we knew it was not a total white out. We would not want to lose our route coming down because of the crevasse danger. On our way down, we took multiple breaks because we were all tired. The snow softened up quite a bit which was a challenge because the snow balled up in my crampons rendering them less effective and causing a few minor falls. Of course, we could not glissade down the glacier because of the crevasses. Finally, at 4:00pm, we arrived back at Camp Schurman. We had a relaxing evening, but we were all so exhausted that we went to bed at 8pm and fell asleep immediately.




Day 4: Pack Out



Wake up call was at 6am. We had breakfast, got dressed, and packed up camp. We left camp before 9. We roped up to descend the Emmons Glacier and then the ascent back to Camp Curtis. At Camp Curtis, we put away the ropes and harnesses. The snow was still to icy to glissade safely, so we walked down the Inter Glacier about 1,000 feet. Then most of us glissaded from the 8,000 foot level down to 6,500 feet where the Inter Glacier started to level off down to Glacier Basin. We took a short break at Glacier Basin then we finished our hike out to the parking lot arriving at 12:30pm. We changed our clothes, packed up the cars, and then drove to Packwood for a celebratory lunch at Cruisers Pizza. Most people had pizza though I had fish and chips. After lunch, we said our goodbyes and drove back to Portland. I got home at 6:00pm.



Mt. Rainier was definitely a strenuous climb. The hardest part, in my opinion, is the pack in to Camp Schurman. The climb overall is beautiful. It was too bad that we did not have any views from the very top. I would recommend climbing Mt. Rainier, but it is essential to be in good physical condition and have good rope travel skills.


For all the photos from my trip, click on the link below:
Mt. Rainier Photos

Glacier Snakes are participants and/or assistants for Bill McLoughlin's group of the Basic Climbing School (BCEP) with the Mazamas, a mountaineering non-profit located in Portland, OR.

Middle Sister (Mazama Climb 296)

We were supposed to do this climb a few weeks ago but it was cancelled due to rain. Our climb leader, Bruce, rescheduled it to July 2 and 3. I knew it would be difficult, but I got special permission from my wife to go climbing over the holiday weekend. With a great weather forecast, I was excited to climb this mountain.



Middle Sister stands tall at 10,047 feet. I climbed the slightly higher South Sister a few years ago without any problems, so in some ways, I knew what to expect. However, I also knew that Middle Sister is steeper and involves glacier and snow travel. Having attempted Mt. Baker last year, I knew what to expect for traveling in rope teams.

Three of us in our climbing group rode together. We left Portland at 5:45 am and headed to the town of Sisters where we had a hearty breakfast at the Gallery Restaurant. I had a delicious corned beef hash. We then drove to the Pole Creek Trailhead arriving around 9:45am. Other members of our climbing party arrived shortly thereafter. After introductions, divvying up the group gear, and doing our final pack adjustments, we started up the trail a little after 10:30.

The elevation gain to camp was minimal. We started at 5,300 feet and headed up to 6,800 feet. However, the gain was stretched over 6 miles and there was plenty of snow above the 6,000 foot level. The hike to camp was a slog because we were trying to find the correct route over the snow covered trails and the warm weather was draining a lot of energy out of us. But, around 3:30pm, we saw some exposed dirt and rock with a small stream running through that patch that indicated our campsite. We set up our tents with me and my tent mate opting to camp on the snow. Around 5, Bruce called us together to discuss the next day's plans. He also wanted to review rope travel and fixed lines. After some rope practice, we made dinner, filtered water, prepared our packs, and headed for an early bedtime as we had a 2am wake up call for a 3am start.



I tried to go to bed at 8:00pm which is about the time that the sun set over Middle and North Sisters, but it remained light for another hour and a half so I never did fall asleep until closer to 10. I can't say it was the most restful sleep I've ever had either. We rose at 2:00am. Instead of messing with boiling water for breakfast, I had the remaining freeze dried dinner that I did not finish the night before. Though the temperature was above freezing, the snow had stiffened up enough where the call was made to wear crampons. There was a moderate west breeze blowing, but not a cloud in the sky. The group gathered at 3 and we were on the trail at 3:15.



We climbed up to 7,700 feet with no problems at all. At that point, we got into our rope teams. I was the last person of Team 2 (of 3 teams). We ate some food, drank water, and resumed our climb. The next thousand feet up the Hayden Glacier was steeper than our previous 900, but we did not have any issues up to 8,800 feet. The sun rose illuminating Middle Sister that was directly to our southwest. At the 8,800 foot mark, we took another short break and got out of the rope teams. We needed to get to the saddle between North and Middle Sisters. The wind continued to blow briskly, so we kept moving.



We got to the saddle at 9,100 feet. We turned south and saw Middle Sister directly in front of us. We began climbing up the ridge but the north facing side had a fair amount of rime ice. Since we had crampons, we were able to kick our way up to 9,400 feet. Bruce set up two fixed lines at that point as the next section was steep. Our final 400 feet or so was uneventful, though we were starting to get a little tired. Finally, around 9:30am, we summitted. Since I was one of the last ones on the fixed line, I only got to spend about 15 minutes at the summit while the first ones spent about 40 minutes there. There continued to be a brisk west wind, so after taking a few photos and eating some food, we started our descent down the mountain.



We had to downclimb using the fixed line, and the north side of the mountain was still icy, but we got back to the saddle safely. The snow softened up considerably below the saddle all the way to camp, but we still made good time and arrived back at camp around 12:30pm. Bruce gave us an hour and a half to rest, eat, filter water, and pack. We left camp at 2:20pm and arrived back at the trailhead at 5:50pm. We were all exhausted. I literally felt like I was going to fall asleep while hiking, but fortunately I was able to stay awake and we all made it back in one piece. After getting cleaned up, debriefing as a group, and saying our goodbyes, our car left and we arrived back in Portland before 10pm.



I had a great time on this climb. Middle Sister is definitely harder than South Sister partly because of the slog from Pole Creek to camp, partly because of steepness, and partly because of the snow and glacier travel. But, it was a lot of fun and I highly recommend that climbing that mountain.

Middle Sister Photos

Thanks to Bruce, Sue, Francisco, Jered, Anna, Hans, Heath, Roger, Doug, Jen, and Marie for a fun climb.

Unicorn Peak (06/04/11 Private Snake Climb)

After a cold and wet spring, we finally had a forecast for nice climbing weather. "Opa Snake," decided to lead a private climb up to Unicorn Peak in the Mt. Rainier National Park. Unicorn is one of the peaks in the Tatoosh Range that sit on the south side of the Nisqually River across from Paradise Lodge. On a clear day, views of the "Big Mama," Mt. Rainier, are spectacular, as are views of Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens to the south.

Eight of us met at the Mazama Mountaineering Center at 5am to drive up to the park. A ninth would meet us at the trailhead. There were six Glacier Snakes, "Opa Snake," "Bakey Snake," "Wounded Snake," "Ruby Snake," Jean (a recent BCEP graduate who has yet to be named, and me (Clumsy Snake). We also had three other climbers with experience, Jim, Gary, and Bridget. We arrived at the Snow Lake trailhead, got our gear together, and began our climb.



The weather was beautiful... perhaps too beautiful. There was no wind, not a cloud in the sky, and mild temperatures. At already 9am, it was getting warm and the snow was starting to soften up. The amount of snow at that level was substantial. All the roads were cleared, but there was good 10 feet of snow on the ground at 4,500 feet.




To get to Unicorn, we would first ascend gently to the south approximately 500 feet and travel one mile to Snow Lake, then turn west to go up a chute to the base of the peak itself. We left the snowshoes in the cars to keep our pack weight down. We started our climb which turned out to be a slog. The elevation gain is very gradual, which would be great if there was no snow, but with soft, deep snow, the one mile to Snow Lake was a real energy drainer. We made good time considering the conditions and got to where Snow Lake should be, but it was almost entirely snow covered. Opa Snake stopped us for a break and we discussed how to get up the chute that would take us to the base of Unicorn. As we were discussing, we saw large cornices directly over the chute that clearly looked ready to break off. We also heard some minor snow slides nearby and saw avalanche debris just prior to Snow Lake. We had a lengthy discussion of whether it would be safe to go up the chute considering the avalanche danger. Though I and a few others wanted to continue up the chute, clearer heads prevailed and as a group we decided to turn around. We descended back the route we took up, but since the elevation gain is so gradual, we had to slog through the snow with no opportunities to glissade. We got back to the trailhead around 11:15 and decided to drive to Reflection Lake and the adjoining trailhead, have lunch, and decide what to do next.





Reflection Lake is one of the prettiest areas in the park because the reflection of Mt. Rainier off the lake is spectacular. I can attest to the beauty of this view because I was there last year for a climb of the Castle in the Tatoosh Range. However, with the winter's high snowpack, the lake was completely snow covered and there was a large crevasse eight feet deep between the trailhead and where the lake should be. We sat on top of a huge snow pile, ate our lunches, and discussed our post lunch plans. We decided to climb up to the basin on the south side of The Castle and then if time permitted, climb either The Castle or Pinnacle Peak.



There are three peaks that can be climbed from the Reflection Lake Trailhead: Castle, Pinnacle, and Plummer. The summertime route is nothing more than a set of switchbacks that rise about 1,500 feet to a saddle between Pinnacle and Plummer. From the saddle, you traverse to the southeast to get to the basin below the Castle. But, with so much snow, it was possible to just kick step our way to the Castle Basin or to a ridge between Castle and Pinnacle. We saw fresh steps and started climbing up just below Castle and Pinnacle. About halfway up, the steps went two different directions. One that went straight up and the other that went off to the east with a more gradual climb. We incorrectly chose the route straight ahead that quickly curved around to the southwest. We followed the steps through some trees then across some snow chutes. The snow chutes were fairly steep, so we used our ice axes to get across. The route continued to the southwest, below Pinnacle Peak and we realized we were heading straight towards the Pinnacle / Plummer saddle, exactly where we did not intend to go. However, we did know where we were going and thought we could just make our way to Pinnacle from a different direction. We continued the traverse and then eventually starting climbing up towards Pinnacle and the saddle. Since it was so warm and we were in the hottest part of the day, and since I was already tired from our aborted attempt of Unicorn, I was struggling to keep up. But, we continued our ascent made it to the saddle.



Finally, around 3pm, we got to the saddle. We saw a clear boot track to the climbing route of Pinnacle on the southwest side of the peak. We could see climbers above us making the final pitches to the top of Pinnacle. We kept ascending along the boot track but the snow was very soft and we were triggering small avalanches and snow slides as we went along. Eventually we got to where the rock and snow meet right below the summit of Pinnacle. Unfortunately, there were 20 high school students and adult leaders using their ropes to get to and off of the Pinnacle with a number of them waiting in what was probably the only safe platform below the Pinnacle. While the group was starting to make their way off of the summit itself, we knew it would be a long wait. And because there were too many people in such a small area of rock with a very steep snow slope below us that we decided it would be safest to abort our attempt. Since we were on such a high angle slope, we down climbed using our ropes and Prusiks. We then traversed over to the saddle between Castle and Pinnacle. We put away our harnesses and started our descent.



From the saddle, we had a nice glissade immediately. Though the snow was soft and deep, a glissade track was present that we were able to use. Opa Snake, who Bakey Snake had teasingly called a "glissade whore" earlier in the day, started the second glissade down the next slope, but as he was glissading down, started a small avalanche behind him that ended up covering him up to his waist at the bottom of the hill. Ruby Snake, Injured Snake, and I rushed down to dig him (and later his poles) out of the snow. We did not try any more glissades after that and the snow really was just too soft and deep anyway. We hiked down to the trailhead, packed up our gear, and headed down to Ashford for dinner at the Copper River Inn. After a nice dinner, we headed our separate directions with Opa, Ruby, and Bridget staying back for a second day of hiking inside the park, while the rest of us headed home.



Though we were unsuccessful in completing our climbs, we had a lot of fun. Obviously, the high snow pack put a dent to our plans, but it did give a unique experience of a very beautiful part of the Northwest. On hindsight, if we really wanted to climb Unicorn, we could have traversed from the Pinnacle/Plummer saddle, but until the National Park Service puts in a webcam at Snow Lake looking at the chute, we'll just have to roll the dice when there is snow up there.



To see the photos, go here: Unicorn Peak Photos 6/4/11

Thank you to Opa Snake for coordinating this climb. It was a lot of fun.

Glacier Snakes are participants and/or assistants for Bill McLoughlin's group of the Basic Climbing School (BCEP) with the Mazamas, a mountaineering non-profit located in Portland, OR.