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Two full days of sun and colder than normal temps were forecasted. The crew had grown and shrank to 4 for the first day and 3 for the second day. Dave and Daryl Treadway, John Johnson and myself were in. I have wanted to get back to this peak for 4 years. With over 6700 feet of vertical it is one of the bigger faces you can shred top to bottom in the area. On March 31 2007 John Johnston,Jack Hannon and I climbed and shredded this face. It was all time. The hike up was way tougher than the ride down. 7 hours of being exposed to whatever might fall from the top is hard on the nerves. The run down was so amazing i remember it like it was yesterday.We wanted to try and figure out a way to get around the back on our snowmobiles. There would be a small boot back up the back. The main positive of this approach is avoiding being under a huge mountain for an extended period of time. The main negative is not knowing what the snow is like.
We rolled in on Thursday to get camp set up and the trail in for a Friday summit attempt.
Dave was hauling the gas station toboggan.
We had to shovel out the road a bit to get the toboggan through. Daryl is a natural leader.
Finally get in and see the objective.
A river crossing.
Good to go.
The alpine.
The last hill to get us up on top is steep and the snow was deep. After numerous attempts Daryl figures out a way to get up. You had to go into a wind tunnel of a big fragile rock tower. It was a bit sketchy with rocks randomly falling off the cliff and a crucial turn required mid rock. It was the only way.
The next hill to the start of the climb was steep but the traction was really good because it was south facing. The only problem was the slope was sloughing in the heat of the day. The piles of debris were soft now but in the early morning those little suckers are going to be hard as a rock.
We decide to do a test run on another peak with a similar aspect to tomorrows. This would give us an idea on the snow conditions.
At the top.
Daryl let me go first to discover a variable surface of ice,sun and wind crust. Not the run I was hoping for.
Dave and Daryl rode a more north west face that had much better snow. Since this aspect is similar to tomorrows aspect the snow should be good for tomorrows shred.
Daryl almost made the river crossing on the way home.
We woke up At 4 30 am to get on the top around sunrise. None of us had ever done a tandem river crossing before. Dave and Daryl`s clutch got wet and stopped them halfway across the river. Luckily they made it far enough across that there clutch was out of the water and dried out to finish the crossing. Time 5:15 am
John and I made it.(This time)
The steep hill required a high mark to drop off one person. This person would hang out in the wind tunnel encase things went wrong to maybe help out. The single rider then rode up the steep hill into the channel of potential death or dismemberment to get to the top.
Great way to wake up in the morning.
Almost there.
Epic sunrise.
An hour hike up the backside got us to the top.
Daryl hiking up.
John Hiking.
Sweet view from the top. Our trusty steeds wait patiently at the bottom right.
Dave and Daryl entered a different entrance. John and i stoked to be at the top.
The last time we were up here was 4 years ago with our friend Jack Hannan who passed away just over a year ago.
March 31st 2007
John had been spreading Jack ashes on top of all of the mountains jack and him had skied over the years. This was one of Jacks favorite peaks in the coast mountains. He spread the remaining ashes on top. Yeah Jack. R.I.P.
John dropping in.
Dave dropping in.
Daryl dropping in.
The top spines were 1500 feet of steep perfect snow. Sloughing like mad. We worked our way down the ice fields and hit this fun party wave on the way out.
An all time 6700 foot run. Down by 9:30.
We had to tandem back up to get the snowmobiles at the top. Daryl had to go back home but John,Dave and I went exploring.
We decided to go round two on the same peak the following day. The trail was in and it should be a piece of cake. The only problem was that there was only three of us. We would have to leave one snowmobile at the bottom and take two up. Once we got to the bottom we would have to trandem back up to get the two snowmobiles. I also had to be back ASAP! Should work out. We decided to leave earlier. Woke up at 4 am. John and i are tandeming up and Dave is riding solo. The river came up the day before and took out our drop in bank a little bit. Dave makes it across. John and i hit the water and his clutch gets soaked and we stop in the deepest part of the river. Engine is running but we cant move. Its pitch black and i am on top of the seat trying not to get wet. Johns feet already got wet going in so he gets off the snowmobile into the river. He grabs a ski and along with me hitting the gas we limp the snowmobile across. Next problem is that Johns boots are soaked and going into the Alpine with soaking wet boots is not a good idea. John decides to head back to camp. He barely makes it back across the river and is gone. And then there was two.
Moon setting on the way up the glacier
The next crux was the steep hill to wind channel. Dave drops me off on the high mark and i hike up and wait for him to blast past me in the wind tunnel. I watch as dave comes into the tunnel and almost stopped. He then pins it. His track is spinning but he is hardly moving. I see him look at the rock bank and aim straight for it. He hits the bank and gets just enough traction to get through and to the top. Super close call. We spend 20 minutes working on the trail to make it easier for the pick up later in the afternoon.
Dave hiking up the back.
Dave scoping out a line down the northwest.
Self portrait on the summit.
Dave T on the top.
Dave T. spine slaying.
The darkside looks juicy!
It was.
Lots of super fun banked walls on the way down.
The bergstrom was huge.
The run was another all timer.
The sled pick up had some spice to it. Almost didn't make it across the river and the climb up through the wind tunnel was close to claiming another.
The last view on the way out.
Stoked to have the sleds in the truck in mostly one piece.
This trip pushed all of us further than we thought was possible. Its amazing what you can do when you put your mind to something. Thanks to John and jack for sharing there spots and Dave and Daryl T. for being such mountain Jedis.
Miss you Jack.
We rolled in on Thursday to get camp set up and the trail in for a Friday summit attempt.
Dave was hauling the gas station toboggan.
We had to shovel out the road a bit to get the toboggan through. Daryl is a natural leader.
Finally get in and see the objective.
A river crossing.
Good to go.
The alpine.
The last hill to get us up on top is steep and the snow was deep. After numerous attempts Daryl figures out a way to get up. You had to go into a wind tunnel of a big fragile rock tower. It was a bit sketchy with rocks randomly falling off the cliff and a crucial turn required mid rock. It was the only way.
The next hill to the start of the climb was steep but the traction was really good because it was south facing. The only problem was the slope was sloughing in the heat of the day. The piles of debris were soft now but in the early morning those little suckers are going to be hard as a rock.
We decide to do a test run on another peak with a similar aspect to tomorrows. This would give us an idea on the snow conditions.
At the top.
Daryl let me go first to discover a variable surface of ice,sun and wind crust. Not the run I was hoping for.
Dave and Daryl rode a more north west face that had much better snow. Since this aspect is similar to tomorrows aspect the snow should be good for tomorrows shred.
Daryl almost made the river crossing on the way home.
We woke up At 4 30 am to get on the top around sunrise. None of us had ever done a tandem river crossing before. Dave and Daryl`s clutch got wet and stopped them halfway across the river. Luckily they made it far enough across that there clutch was out of the water and dried out to finish the crossing. Time 5:15 am
John and I made it.(This time)
The steep hill required a high mark to drop off one person. This person would hang out in the wind tunnel encase things went wrong to maybe help out. The single rider then rode up the steep hill into the channel of potential death or dismemberment to get to the top.
Great way to wake up in the morning.
Almost there.
Epic sunrise.
An hour hike up the backside got us to the top.
Daryl hiking up.
John Hiking.
Sweet view from the top. Our trusty steeds wait patiently at the bottom right.
Dave and Daryl entered a different entrance. John and i stoked to be at the top.
The last time we were up here was 4 years ago with our friend Jack Hannan who passed away just over a year ago.
March 31st 2007
John had been spreading Jack ashes on top of all of the mountains jack and him had skied over the years. This was one of Jacks favorite peaks in the coast mountains. He spread the remaining ashes on top. Yeah Jack. R.I.P.
John dropping in.
Dave dropping in.
Daryl dropping in.
The top spines were 1500 feet of steep perfect snow. Sloughing like mad. We worked our way down the ice fields and hit this fun party wave on the way out.
An all time 6700 foot run. Down by 9:30.
We had to tandem back up to get the snowmobiles at the top. Daryl had to go back home but John,Dave and I went exploring.
We decided to go round two on the same peak the following day. The trail was in and it should be a piece of cake. The only problem was that there was only three of us. We would have to leave one snowmobile at the bottom and take two up. Once we got to the bottom we would have to trandem back up to get the two snowmobiles. I also had to be back ASAP! Should work out. We decided to leave earlier. Woke up at 4 am. John and i are tandeming up and Dave is riding solo. The river came up the day before and took out our drop in bank a little bit. Dave makes it across. John and i hit the water and his clutch gets soaked and we stop in the deepest part of the river. Engine is running but we cant move. Its pitch black and i am on top of the seat trying not to get wet. Johns feet already got wet going in so he gets off the snowmobile into the river. He grabs a ski and along with me hitting the gas we limp the snowmobile across. Next problem is that Johns boots are soaked and going into the Alpine with soaking wet boots is not a good idea. John decides to head back to camp. He barely makes it back across the river and is gone. And then there was two.
Moon setting on the way up the glacier
The next crux was the steep hill to wind channel. Dave drops me off on the high mark and i hike up and wait for him to blast past me in the wind tunnel. I watch as dave comes into the tunnel and almost stopped. He then pins it. His track is spinning but he is hardly moving. I see him look at the rock bank and aim straight for it. He hits the bank and gets just enough traction to get through and to the top. Super close call. We spend 20 minutes working on the trail to make it easier for the pick up later in the afternoon.
Dave hiking up the back.
Dave scoping out a line down the northwest.
Self portrait on the summit.
Dave T on the top.
Dave T. spine slaying.
The darkside looks juicy!
It was.
Lots of super fun banked walls on the way down.
The bergstrom was huge.
The run was another all timer.
The sled pick up had some spice to it. Almost didn't make it across the river and the climb up through the wind tunnel was close to claiming another.
The last view on the way out.
Stoked to have the sleds in the truck in mostly one piece.
This trip pushed all of us further than we thought was possible. Its amazing what you can do when you put your mind to something. Thanks to John and jack for sharing there spots and Dave and Daryl T. for being such mountain Jedis.
Miss you Jack.
