|
Base Camp
Up
| |
- Statistics:
- Date Hiked: November 11,
2010
- Miles Hiked: 5.3
- Elevation Gain: 2,500'
- Hiking Partner(s): Brian
Kooienga & Kevin Smith
- Routes: WI3
- Description:
-
On our jaunt up the West Gully the previous weekend,
Brian and I noticed that All Mixed Up looked in relatively good shape.
Kevin had not been up the route and was looking for something to do on
Veteran's Day, so the three of us decided to go and check it out despite a
questionable forecast. We met in Denver (CO) at 4:00 am and were
hiking from the Glacier Gorge trailhead at 6:00 am. The approach to
Mills Lake went quickly, and the initial section of the scramble to the
climb wasn't too bad. Once out of tree line, progress slowed as we
wallowed, post-holed, and slipped our way to the base of the climb.
The weather was actually very good and light snowfall was on and off
throughout the day.
-
Kevin took the sharp end of the rope for the first
pitch which was in fatter than I'd ever seen before. He did a good job
on the run out pitch and built an anchor in the ice as he couldn't locate
the fixed pin and webbing. This was partially my fault as I directed
him too far right and away from the fixed anchor. After he brought
Brian and I up the first pitch, I found the gear so we moved the anchor to
the standard location. For the first time out for the year, Kevin
looked good with stable footwork. Now he just needs to get rid of the
old Trango ice tools he climbs with.
-
Brian had led pitch 2 once and pitch 3 twice before on
AMU. I had led pitch 2 twice and pitch 3 once before, so it only made
sense that he took pitch 2 and I took pitch 3 on this trip. Brian led
out from the anchor on good ice for 20 feet. Like the Sirens song from
mythology that lured sailors to the rocky shores of their island only to
shipwreck, the better ice lured Brian to the left where he climbed into a
corner and was also sunk. This was again partially my fault as I
remained silent and wasn't vocal about traversing right when he started
heading left. We easily lowered Brian off a fixed anchor to where he
could get back on route and finish the second pitch to the right and
then up on better ice to another fixed anchor. The middle section of this pitch was
super thin and mixed with limited gear. Brian did a great job staying
in control on the pitch which was pretty much a free solo.
-
I traversed left out of our second anchor across a weak
curtain with thin feet and then up to easier ground and the snow pitch to
the base of the final "money" pitch. I anchored into the rock to the
left of the base of the pitch. After Brian and Kevin joined me, we
restacked the rope and I headed up the third pitch to the top of the route.
The ice was generally acceptable with a few thinner sections but overall
quality climbing. Once Brian and Kevin climbed the last pitch, we
decided to rappel the route instead of going down the standard walk off.
-
We threaded some cord through the rock and did our
first rappel which got us to the base of the snow pitch. From here we
slung a large boulder with more cord and got all the way to the first anchor
station at the top of the first pitch. The third rappel took us to our
gear at the base of the climb. We ended up hiking out in the dark, but
were happy to have completed the climb. After a beer to celebrate our
climb, we cruised back to Denver (CO) to sort gear and head home.
- Maps:
-
Click here
to view a
map of the area where this hike is located.
- Photographs:
| |
www.
just
hiking
.com
|
