It was Spring Break for Jon and I needed an excuse to get his wedding gift to him so we planned a ski trip... I met a very interesting character right outside Belgrade I think it was, he needed to get to Bellingham - so I had company to keep me awake all the way to Seattle. Life had dealt this dude some hard cards, but it was amazing the stories he told about encounters in his life he had with the supernatural and prophetic. God bless him with a big catch of fish this summer! It was interesting to hear his stories about life in Fairbanks, it sounds expensive.
So Jon and I headed out near Leavenworth, a quaint and quirky resort town (with GREAT granite). Believe it or don't it was my longest winter camping trip, and it was perhaps my most nights in a tent in a row too... only 3, but its a start. We (I) sallied out on the commitment to do the bigger routes, there is some great objectives out there but I was not feeling the energy - it may have had something to do with my choice of food... see notes below.
As an overview we trekked in the first afternoon, the next day we skied both sides of Dragontail as it put on some fresh for us. The next day we went back up the East side and up to the summit and then lounged the rest of the afternoon. The next morning we had cold feet about leaving – literally, so after a leisurely time of drying things in the sun we headed out. Not super great skiing out, but interesting… I was going fast and crashed on the flats – as my face was grinding through the corn I was thinking that I should have been wearing a helmet. Maybe next time. Back out in Leavenworth we resupplied with food and energy-drinks and hit the CastleRock crag for a couple pitches. Sunday after a bit of cluelessness in Seattle (lost) we watched Jon's wife ride in a Collegiate bike race. After going to church with them that evening I went to my cousins on the other side of the metro... I arrived late. Strangely I got lost in the same place as I did the last time... Anway here are some pictures.
Super light tent & I didn't bring too much extra junk. But still our packs were half our body weight...
Camp - before we built a wall... should camped in a sheltered location but because of the view this pre-packed camp site was too much to pass up. We suffered a very windy night the second night.
Balance Rock, as seen from camp at Colchuck lake; a 5.12 classic to come back for!
Dragon Tail Peak from camp. Triple Couloirs, that we coulda-shoulda-woulda done, goes right up the middle.
On the way up Asgard Pass on the East side of Dragon Tail Peak. We also skied the Col. on the West.
Prusik Peak, the reason I packed too much climbing stuff (that we never used).
Interesting snow/rime ice in Washington.
On top of DragonTail Peak, Mt. Rainier on the horizon.
Some of the best turns of my life on the backside of Dragontail... No picture of the 45 degree ice that made me chicken out further down below the pass. Finally toward the end of the run the Carl Douglas tunes in my brain kicked on and I was zipping around looking for rocks to jump off... I was trying to dance the Kung-Fu.
Food notes to self (or others):
- I tried not to over think the food situation, in retrospect I should have given it a little more thought. Powdered potatoes get old real quick. CousCous, sausage, cheese - yummy.
- No breakfast = No energy + cold hands and feet
- palatable food gets eaten, icky stuff doesn't. GU is good.
- A double BOMB borrito... maybe not the smartest way to start the trip.
- melting snow for water and meals we nearly ran out of fuel: 3 nights, 2 full days and a 1/2 day on each side in &out. Whisperlite is painfully fiddly. 1 med & 1 small bottle of fuel.
Gear notes:
- I need to practice sleeping on my back otherwise a Ridge-rest is too hard-core for me.
- a second stove would be awesome.
- full width skin and crampons for Cascade touring!
0 comments:
Post a Comment