Redwic - Jul 12, 2010 11:05 am Date Climbed: Jul 11, 2010
A Little Bit Of Everything!!!
I went with Adam Walker (a.k.a. "Gimpilator"), Eric Noel, Dennis Poulin, and Ken Russell (a.k.a. "Dundeel", although Ken did not make the summit). Rock fall, avalanches, scrambling on loose dirt and rock, many veggie belays, steep snow climbing, plunge-stepping, glacier crossing, snowmelt waterfalls, rock moats, wet slabs, and even a whiteout to finish the trek back to camp. During the descent from the summit ridge, Dennis fell a couple of times and demonstrated the proper technique for self-arrest. We also saw an abundance of snow-loving invertebrates... such as tiny black worms, big black spiders, ants, flies, and even one caterpillar. Marmots were all over Sahale Arm. And when we thought the excitement had ended, my car had a tire blow-out just before the Eldorado Trailhead... which Ken helped out a lot afterwards, driving right behind us.
Even the "easier" southwest approach for Buckner Mountain is a grind, but this is one of my favorite summit treks to date, and one I will look fondly back on the experience in the future.
Also... I concur with peakbagging extraordinaire Edward Earl's assessment (along with MANY others) that the southwest peak is definitely higher than the northeast peak.
Redwic - Jul 12, 2010 11:05 am Date Climbed: Jul 11, 2010
A Little Bit Of Everything!!!I went with Adam Walker (a.k.a. "Gimpilator"), Eric Noel, Dennis Poulin, and Ken Russell (a.k.a. "Dundeel", although Ken did not make the summit). Rock fall, avalanches, scrambling on loose dirt and rock, many veggie belays, steep snow climbing, plunge-stepping, glacier crossing, snowmelt waterfalls, rock moats, wet slabs, and even a whiteout to finish the trek back to camp. During the descent from the summit ridge, Dennis fell a couple of times and demonstrated the proper technique for self-arrest. We also saw an abundance of snow-loving invertebrates... such as tiny black worms, big black spiders, ants, flies, and even one caterpillar. Marmots were all over Sahale Arm. And when we thought the excitement had ended, my car had a tire blow-out just before the Eldorado Trailhead... which Ken helped out a lot afterwards, driving right behind us.
Even the "easier" southwest approach for Buckner Mountain is a grind, but this is one of my favorite summit treks to date, and one I will look fondly back on the experience in the future.
Also... I concur with peakbagging extraordinaire Edward Earl's assessment (along with MANY others) that the southwest peak is definitely higher than the northeast peak.