Friday, September 12, 2008
Olympus Attempt Sept 12 2008
I set out at 6:30am to climb Olympus. It's not an 11er, but for the SLC skyline it rules supreme and after heading up it may well be the greatest summit view in SLC. It's not as high (9,000+ft), but the views of the major 11er peaks are great and the view of the valley is awesome since the peak is so close to it. This is a 4,200ft climb in 3.5 miles!It took me an hour to cross the stream in Tolcat Canyon, slightly ahead of the book time of 1:15, but the saddle was rough. Very, very steep and wet and cold in the morning after light rain. I was the first to the saddle in the morning and I tried my best to navigate the difficult west face of Olympus, just 500 feet from the summit. I went up what I thought was best, then retreated to look again. It seemed like the right way so I tried again and made it up 2/3 and got too nervous climbing the rocks. Since I was the only person on the face, I listened to the Spirit and turned home. If I was with someone who knew it was right, I could have made it, but alone it was time to go home probably 300 feet shy. No problem, a fabulous morning hike with great views the whole way. Here was the sun coming up.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Red Baldy Summit September 2008
Red Baldy on the left and White Baldy on the right. This was a tough hike and a sample of what it is going to take to climb them all. Getting through these meadows up to the face was easy in 90 minutes.It took a while again to find my way up the face, but I am getting better at it than I did at Superior last month. The face was very steep and full of thistle. It took me 90 minutes to get to the summit and it was probably less than a mile. Once at the saddle, the boulder hopping was fun and relatively easy. The tundra face was rough. It reminded me of the toilet bowl on Kings Peak coming down. On the way up the face, I got a call from a nursing home which I took without a problem. After I turned around and saw the picture below. The Pfiefferhorn view was the most incredible mountain view I have had yet. It literally took my breath. Here is what I saw and picture does not capture the scale of this unusual peak.
You can see a road in the picture above which leads to White Pine Lake (RT 10 miles). If this was the only destination it would be a pretty easy hike. The peak - more specifically the face, was the tough part. Here are the pictures from the summit:
This is one of my favorites since you can see White Baldy and Pfiefferhorn, future goals.
Here is the view from the summit towards Timpanogos.
Another view to the west from the summit into SL valley.Hey, remember these are cell phone self portraits. Looking into the SL Valley.
Sugarloaf Mountain Summit August, 2008
This summit was awesome. While it is apparently the easiest of the Wasatch 11ers, it was one I will do again. In a relatively short hike (I made it to the summit from the parking lot in 90 minutes) I got to see incredible views and sample a lot of the types of terrain and route finding needed to climb an 11er. Above is the view to Sugarloaf from Cecret Lake in Albion Basin. I made it to Cecret Lake in 20 minutes from the car and refilled the Nalgene with water. This is the last water on the trail. Then I headed up the 'switchback' like cuts in the mountain you can see on the left.
The face on the east saddle approach is above. It is a lot steeper than the west saddle, but so much more interesting. I highly recommend the east saddle approach. You can see Devil's Castle on the left. A great face ascent.
The saddle (see above) was AMAZING! I had no idea I was going to get such a view of the backside of Timp from the saddle. A total surprise and one of the reasons to hike the east saddle. From here I turned west and navigated an easy boulder field (although I fell once on a loose rock and gashed my hand pretty good). Here are pictures from the summit, my second Wasatch 11er.
A great view into the backside of Timpanogos (below).
Superior and Monte Cristo are the peaks just to the left of my cap. Those are both 11ers. (below)
Approach to Superior/ Monte Cristo, August 2008
This was my first attempt at an 11er in Little Cottonwood Canyon and a great learning experience in route finding. The trail has NO signs or directions and I figured out quickly that I need to learn the mountain and pass names. I got there about 5:30am, but wasted 45 minutes trying to find the trail head. I also made a wrong turn that a hunter helped me find the way. This trail is up Cardiff Pass. A couple of keys. The trail breaks off the road straight north. Don't take any other spur. Stick to the main trail and use the switchbacks. The trail to Cardiff Pass (to the west) follows the electrical wires. It is very steep to Cardiff Pass.
This was my first time to the ridge between Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. Pretty amazing just to crest Little Cottonwood. When you head to Superior, I recommend cutting in front (to the south) of the first peak contrary to the book. There is a lot less exposure. I ran out of time to summit Superior. It looks pretty intimidating as can be seen in the picture above from the saddle. Apparently on the other side is one of the worst cliffs in Salt Lake. I am looking forward to going back and making the summit. I could probably do it inside of four hours.
This was my first time to the ridge between Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. Pretty amazing just to crest Little Cottonwood. When you head to Superior, I recommend cutting in front (to the south) of the first peak contrary to the book. There is a lot less exposure. I ran out of time to summit Superior. It looks pretty intimidating as can be seen in the picture above from the saddle. Apparently on the other side is one of the worst cliffs in Salt Lake. I am looking forward to going back and making the summit. I could probably do it inside of four hours.
Timpanogos, My First
In July 2008, I climbed my first 11,000ft peak, Mount Timpanogos. It was a nine-hour trip. We went up Timpooneke Trail and it was a great place to start. GPS files showed it closer to a 14 mile loop. We looped down the south ridge (see above) and headed for the snowfield in the cirque. We slid about 800feet down the snowfield on what looked like a very fast ride, but was fine. Sliding down in shorts is brutally cold, especially my hands which I used as brakes. It took the rest of the day to lose the numbness. Going down the cirque is definitely longer and not recommended if I couldn't slide. You get to see the lake and its amazing blue color where it meets the snowfield, but you also have to climb back up a little bit. Fabulous views, flowers, and scenes. An amazing hike.
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