Well this was exhausting…

Getting there

Friday night was Troopers bachelor party. After a long night of debauchery – we took Saturday to nap and gather gear. At midnight, we regrouped and headed for the mountain.

Up the mountain

Around 2am (Sunday) we arrived at timberline, signed a permit and started walking up the slopes. There were thunderstorms on the southern horizon, but they seemed to be moving away.

Even at this early hour, there was lots of activity on the mountain. Snowcats were busy grooming the slopes and a trail of headlamps could be seen farther up the mountain. Many climbers choose to camp or get a cat ride up to the top of the slopes.

The air was warm even before the sun came up. Soon I was regretting the heavy layers I was wearing.

Final push

Around 7 or 8am we passed Hells kitchen (a smelly sulfur vent) and put on gear for the final climb. The “hogsback”, shifted last year making the usual route much harder. Instead, we followed  the line of climbers up the old chute.

The view at the top was incredible, even though it was a bit hazy. Unfortunatly, we could not stay long. The cliffs were heating up fast and beginning to drop chunks of ice and rock.

Going down

Climbing down the chute was much slower then going up. The snow on the steep slope was now slush and it made for uneasy footing.  However, after that we made quick time down the mountain by glaciating.

I would estimate it took about 7.5 hours up and only 2 to get down.