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Base Camp
Up
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- Statistics:
- Date Hiked: December 16, 2011
- Miles Hiked: 4.0 (Estimate)
- Elevation Gain: 1,800' (Estimate)
- Hiking Partner(s): John
Balciar
- Routes: WI4
- Description:
- John and I left Denver (CO) around 4:15 am so that we would get
through the Rocky Mountain National Park entrance before 6:00 am and
avoid the fee. The drive went quickly with good conversation and
fresh Del Taco burritos. We were hiking from the Glacier Gorge
Trailhead parking lot at 6:15 am and made quick work of the approach
hike to The Loch and our ultimate destination, The Crypt. After 1
hour and 25 minutes of hiking on perfect trail conditions and a
relatively good boot pack to the ice, we found ourselves at the base of
the route wondering if we could pull it off. We refueled with a
snack and Red Bull before finally gearing up and preparing for the
climb.
- I led out on the far left side of the flow up steep but manageable
ice for my leading ability. I hung out in a cave for a while with
a no hands rest to shake out the arms and prepare for the crux. I
had to make a somewhat awkward traverse to the right to get to the base
of the crux of the line we climbed. I started up and placed a
screw from a semi-hanging stance after several moves. I quickly
continued climbing after clipping the draw rather than relaxing and
shaking out after getting the pro in. As a result, I started to
get pumped out after two moves and had to retreat back down to my gear
and hang from the screw before continuing. I regained my
composure, finished the climb, and built an anchor around a tree at the
top of the route.
- After rappelling back down to John, we each made several laps on top
rope on the ice and had a great morning of climbing. We spent most
of the morning in the sun and climbed in only two or three light
clothing layers. At breaks between climbing, we enjoyed the views
and couldn't believe what a beautiful day it was turning out to be.
We had our fill of climbing and beat the ice into submission by 11:30
am, so we packed up and quickly hiked back to the trailhead. We
enjoyed a beer and some awesome cookies John recently made before
driving back to Denver (CO) by 3:00 pm.
- Maps:
-
Click here
to view a
2D
map of the area where this hike is located. The blue line from The
Loch leads to The Crypt.
- Photographs:
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www.
just
hiking
.com
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