Our climb leader was Bruce. I had climbed Middle Sister with Bruce in 2011 and I liked climbing with him because he is a good teacher and is thorough in his instruction. There were 9 of us on the climb, none of whom I had climbed with previously.
The plan was to meet at the trailhead on Saturday morning at 5:00am. Our group of 3 left Portland on 7pm on Friday and arrived at the trailhead around 11:00pm. We quickly set up our tents and got a quick 4 1/2 hours of sleep. We woke up in the morning, ate a quick breakfast, and packed up our gear for the trip. Bruce's plan was to hike into Green Lakes, refill our water bottles, and be at the summit around 10:30 am. After a quick meeting with introductions, we divided up rope and gear and headed up the trail.
Green Lakes is 4 miles from the trailhead with about 1,300 feet of elevation. We arrived at the lakes a little after 7. We got out our water filters and pumped some water. Knowing it was a hot day, I made sure I had a full 4 liters of water which turned out to be a very wise move later on. After eating some snacks, we continued up an unmaintained trail to a saddle on the northwest ridge of the mountain, at around the 8,000 foot mark. We were in the shade most of the way up and enjoyed great views of the Three Sisters to our west.
Once at the saddle, we took a break and made sure we had sunscreen on. At the we no longer had the shade from the mountain, but there was a slight breeze that made the ascent more bearable. We continued up the ridge that had some significant drop offs to the north. While the ridge was wide enough where we did not need ropes, the drop offs were significant enough where we had to pay attention. Eventually, we got to the base of the summit block. At the summit block, I was not thrilled by the exposure onto the Bend Glacier, but we were on a flat area where we could get our harnesses on and prepare for the rock climb to the summit.
Once Bruce and the assistant set up the ropes, we began the technical section of the climb. We first had to climb a 15 foot rock band using a fixed line. Once there, we took a catwalk across while still on the fixed line. We then switched to a second fixed line to another ledge and the up a final pitch to the summit. The summit itself is not a large area, but we were able to be at the top as a group. We got some summit photos, shared a few treats, basked in the sun for a few minutes, and then started our descent.
We traveled down the fixed lines until we got to the first rock band which we rappelled down back to our original starting platform. When I got off my rappel, I noticed there were two young women who were trying to climb to the summit without any gear and helmet. One of the women was able to climb around the first rock band, but she then realized that she would not be able to summit. Bruce, who had yet to rappel, called for a harness from our team, and he had to help the young woman down. This took a chunk of time and by the time Bruce got down, it was already 2:30pm.
After having a snack break, we put away gear and coiled the ropes. We then "scree skied" down the west face of Broken Top which was like taking plunge steps only the scree keeps rolling down carrying me with it for distances of time. I took a small spill at the top before I could get the hang of it. A few others took minor falls as well. Finally, we got to the base of the slope. We were all hot and getting tired. A number of climbers were running out of water, but I still had nearly two liters yet.
We made our way back to the trail, but one of the climbers was really struggling. He had run out of water. Bruce and I stayed back with the climber and I gave him some water to get us down to Green Lakes. By the time we got to Green Lakes, it was past 5:30pm. We filtered enough water to get us back to the trailhead and finally, around 7:30pm, we arrived back at the trailhead. Bruce gave us our climbing certificates and we congratulated each other before driving away. My car stopped in Bend at the Bend Burger Company for burgers and shakes and we finally arrived in Portland around midnight on Saturday night.
All in all it was a fun climb. Broken Top has some sketchy areas that require attention and I certainly would not climb it without ropes. But, the view from the summit is spectacular. The Three Sisters were right in front of us with Mt. Washington, Three Fingered Jack, and Mt Jefferson off in the distance. It was a good day.
Thanks to Bruce, Kevin, Kaitlin, Erin, Mary, Ben, Gregg, and Trevor for a fun climb!
For the complete album, go to: Broken Top pictures
