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Base Camp
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- Statistics:
- Date Hiked: April 25, 2009
- Miles Hiked: 6.0
- Elevation Gain: 2,800'
- Hiking Partner(s): Brian Kooienga &
Kevin Smith
- Description:
- Brian, Kevin, and I slipped through the gates of Rocky Mountain
National Park before 6:00 am to avoid the fee and made our way up to the
Bear Lake Trailhead. The weather and avalanche forecasts were
suspect, but we all wanted to get to the mountains after a moderate
hiatus. The Park got dumped on the previous weekend and snowshoes
were needed from the start of the hike. Brian suggested a moderate
gully on the north face of Flattop Mountain as our objective. We
followed a packed snowshoe trail and ski track all the way to Lake
Helene. The snow was the consistency of mashed potatoes. My
blood sugar levels were high all morning, so I didn't eat anything for the first 2+ hours of the hike. I quickly
bonked and was ready to throw in the towel for the day due to not
feeling well at the time, deteriorating weather, and questionable snow
conditions.
- Kevin told me to slam some energy gel, and Brian suggested we at
least hike to the base of the route. I've heard that
before. I started off again, but remained at a slow
pace. I quickly stopped again for some more food while Kevin and
Brian patiently waited for me. I finally recovered fairly well
after about 15 minutes as the weather began to clear. Once above
Lake Helene, we saw two skiers above us heading for the apron of the
Ptarmigan Fingers. Brian and Kevin identified our objective
further east of the Fingers, so we hiked to the mouth of Flattop Gully
and geared up. We were all skeptical of conditions which were
variable in the couloir. Some areas were good neve while other
required some wallowing. Since it was colder at a higher elevation
and the route was north facing, snow conditions were generally acceptable.
- We took turns kicking steps and were actually really enjoying the
climb with some spectacular views of Notchtop Mountain. We
approached a split in the climb, and due to some larger snow fields
above us in both directions we opted to climb a narrow chimney between
the Y in the couloir. There was a rock step in the chimney we
negotiated and then after about another 75', we managed to climb
ourselves into a corner. We were blocked by a large rock band
above us. We estimated that we probably only had about 150
vertical feet left to gain in order to top out on the route. Although we could have
exited left or right back into one of the main branches of the Flattop Couloir, nobody was comfortable making an exposed steep traverse out
onto questionable snow. I almost immediately began down-climbing
when Kevin and Brian started discussing our options. I simply
stated that I would continue up, but I wasn't going to be the first to
make the traverse. Neither Brian or Kevin volunteered either so
down we went.
- We had to down-climb face-in for a couple hundred feet back to
the split of the couloir. This allowed us to lower into the
previously kicked steps rather than plunge-step into them which would
have almost certainly blew them out. The rock step was a bit of an
obstacle to overcome, but we all made it down safely. Once below
the branch, we were able to face out and plunge-step to the base of the
route very quickly. Fog had rolled into the basin and visibility
was reduced to less than 50 feet. We took a break at the base of
the route where we converted from crampons to snowshoes and prepared for
the slog out.
- In hindsight, not finishing the climb could have been a blessing in
disguise. If we had topped out, we probably would have descended
the Flattop Trail instead of retracing our ascent route to avoid having
to down-climb the rock step. It may have been difficult to
navigate back down to the packed trail considering that there was so
much new snow in the area and visibility was severely limited. In
addition, the post-holing and trail-breaking might also have been much
more difficult since a a packed track all the way to Flattop Mountain
was not likely. Oh well, we climbed 85-90% of the Flattop Couloir
and now have an excuse to go back.
- Maps:
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Click
here to view a
map of the area where this hike is located.
- Photographs:
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