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Change Of Plans
The approach hike to Terror Basin.
Our plan was to hit something in the Sierras over the long Independence Day weekend relying on historical data that said: North Cascades weather during this time is shit. But forecast surprised us and on Wednesday night we were repacking our junk with the intention of hitting one of our goals for the season: Inspiration Peak via East Ridge route. Good approach beta from Martin was obtained, TR’s on West Mac were printed (thanks Tazz!) and we was ready. This worked out well as Shirley couldn’t really take the extra day off meant for the Sierras (work bullshit).
This was going to be our first outing to the famed Pickets Group of the North Cascades Range. We were excited. Drove to Marblemount ranger station on Friday after work and slept in the truck. 6:30 am the sound of hordes of Mounties and other permit piranhas lining up woke me up. Wasn’t particularly worried as I figured that Terror Basin can’t be that popular. Was almost wrong on this one though did manage to scoop up 2 permits.
The Pickets
East Ridge Route.
After a rich breakfast we were soon hiking the overgrown opening of the Goodell Creek Trail (~500 feet starting elevation). Nice grade but we were slowed by appetites for the abundant thimbleberries. The initial ~4 miles shadow Goodell Creek below and make for a pleasant warm-up: nice trail and nice grade. After that, the business starts: a switchback-free climbers’ boot path that quite efficiently transports one from about 1600 feet to just above timber at 5000+ feet. There was no water available between the last stream crossing on the Goodell Trail and the ~5000′ bench (big waterfall there – my elevations might be off). We were both suffering. Chatting with two other guys from Seattle who were headed up for W. McMillan made for a nice diversion and we kept bumping by each other during our breaks. We lost the trail under snow at about 5200 feet but the going was fairly obvious and we regained the bootpath at an overlook point. The view from here confirmed that indeed the granite fin I’ve kept seeing through the trees was Inspiration. Shit – still farther than I’d like. Though we were prepared for a 4-day itinerary (unlike our Prusik outing the previous weekend, we had plenty of eats with us), I was quietly picturing us drinking celebratory beers at a warm beach on day 4.
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The base of the 5.8 lieback.
We woke up at 5am on Sunday and were hiking & losing elevation by 5:30am. Not exactly an alpine start but we figured we’ll catch up once on the rock (not quite). We were about 15 minutes behind the 4 guys headed for West Ridge. Down and then back up we went. Elevation loss is necessary to cross the outlet from a small alpine lakelet surrounded by shear walls. Glacier crossing was fairly trivial – crevassed for sure but still with abundant snow bridges. There was also no huge moat near the start of East Ridge. We reached the rock at about 9:30am and started up at (probably) about 10 am. We saw the party of 4 guys headed for West Ridge bailing. 3 or 4 pitches to reach the notch (bet. Inspiration and the closest tower) is probably right on. We simuled the first 400 feet or so and then pitched out for the next two rope lengths. Going was run-out but pretty easy – low 5th class with singular moves up to 5.7. I was probably off-route (though I saw a fixed nut – only piece of fixed gear on the route) on this final pitch as the terrain got noticeably harder (5.8+ ?) and really loose (was forced here by a large patch of snow in the gully proper). At one point I nearly pitched off as I grabbed a hold and a 2X3 foot block came out of the rock face. Gently set it in a crack away from the rope. I could not toss it off as I did not trust my stance and thus my throw to ensure I wouldn’t hit Shirley on an exposed belay 40 feet below. Scary shit #1.
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The 5.9 hand crack of the 7th pitch.
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Traversing to the true summit.
It was about 4 pm when we started down the west ridge – no sped records broken here. The initial 3 or 4 raps went smoothly. Nice established rap stations. At this point, a snow gully appeared on the north side of the west ridge. The fixed anchors seem to run out (people drop down the south face at this point?). We wasted time scrambling around looking for the best way down. Finally spotted an old nest of slings. Two more raps and I could see that the next rap (plentiful slings visible from above) would bring us to the glacier. Happily rapped to it (~58 meters) only to find that the slings were total shit – I tore two of them with my hands. The downside of the situation was that the slings were slung around a 15-foot block. Out went the final cordallette but the set up looked flimsy and after searching around for alternatives (all loose shit), I made an expensive choice to back up the final rap station (merry Xmas to the next party through there who’s willing to take some more risk). We switched to boots and crampons and rapped 60 meters onto a snow tongue protruding out of Terror Glacier into a gully. I found a decent landing zone on a tiny rock stance inside the moat. Shirley came down and ducked as much as possible inside the moat. The ropes dropped smoothly until one end caught some blocks dislodging them. The last thing I saw was a 2X2 chunk of rock flying towards me 20 feet above as I was trying to squeeze deeper into the moat. The block bounced off the rock face above my head and harmlessly hit the snow. Scary shit #2. We belayed each other on the initial traverse above a huge crevasse and the steep downclimb.
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We landed on the steep snow finger.
We slept and slept till we could sleep no more. Ate a big breakfast the next morning and casually hiked out (process begins by reversing a pain-in-the-ass steep climb up to a saddle overlooking camp). Reached the trailhead at 6pm on the dot and made a quick drive to Good Food in Marblemount for some greasy food (scary shit #3). Back in Portland before midnight.
The Best Part Of A Climb
Nothing like a nice day at the beach.
Happens after the climb. The next morning we picked up our dog from the kennel and hit the beach in Oregon. Three days of perfectly sunny and hot weather in the mountains and I nearly caught hypothermia on the Oregon coast. It was COLD! Went back home, fired up the bbq and let two six packs of Moose Drool carry us away on a cloud. Ahhhhhh, life is good.
Photos
Shirley on the approach hike to Terror Basin/Inspiration Peak somewhere along Goodell Creek Trail. Sure is green and dense (July 1, 2006).
Initial (flat) part of the approach somewhere along the Goodell Creek (July 2006).
Typical trail scene on approach to Terror Basin and Inspiration Peak. This is probably the easiest of Pickets peaks to access (July 1, 2006).
View of Terror Basin, Terror Glacier, and the eastern half of the Southern Pickets (L to R: West McMillan Spire, Inspiration Peak, The Pyramid, Mt. Degendardt). Note the tents in the standard camping area. Also compare this shot to one from Martin here (from August the year before). This photo was taken July 1, 2006.
Inspiration Peak (trapezoidal shaped formation in center) as seen from basecamp (south). East Ridge route climbs from the right hand side ridge. The Pyramid and Mount Degendardt are further left. Terror Glacier leads up to the base (July 3, 2006).
A ptarmigan somewhere by our camp in Terror Basin (July 2006).
Shirley cooking pasta in basecamp on the evening before the climb. Busy place – fortunately West McMillan absorbed 99% of the crowd (one party headed for West Ridge of Inspiration ended up bailing at the base). Inspiration Peak is directly above Shirley; Pyramid and Mt. Degenhardt are to the left; McMillan Spires are on the right (July 1, 2006).
Shirley hiking up the snow fields below Terror Glacier (July 2006).
Shirley strapping on crampons and getting ready for the quick glacier crossing to the start of the East Ridge route on Inspiration (July 2006).
Shirley on approach to the East Ridge of Inspiration Peak via Terror Glacier (July 2, 2006).
Shirley on the moat crossing from the Inspiration Glacier and onto the start of the rock climbing on East Ridge route (July 2006).
Leading the steeper pitch just below the start of east ridge proper – loose and steep (5.8-ish?) but with OK pro (July 2, 2006).
Shirley nearing the top of the loose and steep final pitch below ridge proper of East Ridge Route. Terror Glacier is below; Mt. Triumph is the pointy peak in the far background (July 2, 2006).
Shirley nearing the start of the east ridge proper on the East Ridge route of Inspiration. Terror Glacier approach is below (July 2, 2006).
Shirley approaching the base of the 5.8 lieback pitch on East Ridge (IV 5.9) of Inspiration. West McMillan Spire dominates the background view (July 2, 2006).
Shirley climbing above the notch on Inspiration's East Ridge (July 2006).
Leading the 5.8 lieback pitch (#5) on East Ridge of Inspiration Peak. Great rock (finally!) and fun climbing (July 2, 2006).
Leading the crux pitch of East Ridge route - a stellar 5.9 handcrack (July 2, 2006).
Shirley on the 5.9 hand crack of the 7th pitch of East Ridge (IV 5.9) route. A 4-star pitch in a 4-star setting (July 2, 2006).
Shirley nearing the top of the crux pitch (#6, 5.9) of East Ridge route (July 2, 2006).
Shirley on pitch 8 of East Ridge route on Inspiration Peak. McMillan Creek and Glaciers are below. Across the valley on left is Luna Peak (thanks for the confirm. Tazz; July 2, 2006).
Shirley on pitch 8 of East Ridge route on Inspiration. McMillan Cirque glaciers are below (north side of Peak; July 2, 2006).
Shirley arriving at the 8th belay on Inspiration's East Ridge route (July 2006).
Shirley belaying from just below the false summit of Inspiration Peak on the East Ridge route (July 2, 2006).
Beginning the exposed and beautiful ridge traverse (P9 of our description) towards the true summit of Inspiration (overhanging horn on left) on the East Ridge route. The Pyramid/Degenhardt complex are on the right (July 2, 2006).
Traversing to the true summit of Inspiration Peak on the East Ridge Route. Spectacular location and this pitch makes the climb (July 2, 2006).
Looking back east from the summit of Inspiration towards the false summit. This is the spectacular last 2 pitches of East Ridge route. Shirley is in the notch below the main summit spire. West McMillan Spire forms the backdrop (July 2, 2006).
Shirley arriving on the summit of Inspiration Peak via East Ridge. West McMillan Spire is in the background. For a flipside view taken at ~same time (courtesy of Mr. Klenke) see here (July 2, 2006).
Daddy on the summit of Inspiration Peak after our climb of East Ridge. This is looking roughly SW. Mount Despair is over my right shoulder. Mt. Triumph is just out of the shot on the left (July 2, 2006).
Northern skyline as seen from summit of Inspiration. Mount Terror is on the left; Mount Fury (thanks for confirmation Tazz) is just across valley at center; Luna Peak is the prominent formation further right. McMillan Creek is below (July 2, 2006).
Shirley searching for first of the West Ridge rappells after tagging the summit of Inspiration. Mt. Terror is on far right; The Pyramid is in center; Mt. Degenhardt is leftmost (July 2, 2006).
Shirley downclimbing the snow finger to the heavily crevassed Terror Glacier following our descent down the west ridge of Inspiration Peak (July 2, 2006).
West ridge of Inspiration Peak as seen from its base (shitty looking West Ridge route III 5.7 follows this line). This is the descent route for most parties. We landed on the steep snow finger on the right (July 2, 2006).
Shirley crossing the Terror Glacier in the late afternoon following our climb of the East Ridge route (July 2, 2006).
Tired Shirley back in camp in Terror Basin after our climb of Inspiration's East Ridge (July 2006).
Shirley hiking out of our nice basecamp on day 3 of the outing. Spectacular Terror Basin (and glacier) dominate the background. Furthest right is West McMillan Spire; Inspiration is near center; The Pyramid and Mount Degendardt are leftmost in the photo (July 3, 2006).
The long hike out - Shirley traversing the snow and heather slopes high above Terror Creek on our hike out day. Inspiration is in center of photo in far background (July 3, 2006).
Shirley taking a last looksee at Inspiration before dropping down into the timber on our hike out (July 2006).
Shirley somewhere on the climbers trail below timberline (duh!) and before hitting the forest road (July 2006).
Shirley back on the forest road...almost at the car on our hike out (July 2006).
Nothing like a nice day at the beach after a good climbing outing!
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