sleeping bear
New member
We met at 6:30 at Pinkham to get set and were on the trail by 7:30. The group consisted of Guy, MEB, Bob, Woody, Arm, Hamtero, Suebiscuit, Frodo, Shawn, Frodo, and myself. At the trail junction we split up with Guy, MEB, Bob, Woody, Arm and myself going to Central Gully in Huntington, and the rest going to Tuckerman's. We made a stop at the Harvard Cabin to put on harnesses and get a quick snack. It was a beautiful sunny day, but the clouds were being ripped across the sky by the wind.
When we came out of the woods we finished gearing up and did a quick practice running belay. This was MEB’s and my first time on a roped snow climb, so some practice and instruction was welcomed. Jeff arrived shortly before we started out for the top, putting our group at 7. The first rope was led by Guy, followed by MEB, Jeff and then Arm. I was on the second rope, led by Woody with Bob pulling up the rear.
It was pretty easy going up the first section and I was able to get the hang of it pretty quickly. The snow was soft and it was easy to get a good self belay with my axe. The view was amazing, and we could see other climbers in another gully to our right.
The sun was shining furiously and was causing ice to fall on the outcropping immediately to our right. While we were in no real danger of that ice, it was unnerving to see the chunks rocket down the slope. We did have our own falling ice to contend with, although generally it wasn’t too much and the chunks weren’t huge. There was a point where we got showered with some good size pieces from some climbers in Pinnacle Gully (?). I was glad to pass that spot. Continuing up we came to the ice bulge, which was hardly a bulge at all, but definitely ice. Up until that point I had not been scared, but that soon changed. Climbing over the hard ice was extremely unnerving for me. The wind had been blowing pretty good all morning, at times strong enough to throw me off balance a little. In the bulge, each blast of wind sent a surge of adrenaline through me.
I was freaked out, but concentrated and made it through with little difficulty. Above the bulge it was steeper than it had been and required more frontpointing. At one point Woody yelled “rock” from above, and a good size one whizzed down about three feet to my right. Scary. A little higher we came to a frozen fracture in the snow. Fortunately, I never looked far enough to the right to see that it opened into a gaping 6 foot deep crevasse. The higher we got, the stronger the wind became. There were times I thought for sure it was going to tear me from the snow and leave me flapping helplessly in the wind, anchored only by my axe (and of course the rope). That, thankfully did not happen.
Just below the top, Woody, Bob and I stood together behind a rock on a small ledge to regroup before the last push. The wind was so loud it sounded like jets overhead. I suppose it might have been jets, but we never saw any, and we heard the same noise on several different occasions. Climbing out around the rock we were met by more ice, which in some spots had water running down it. This was the only point in the day that I got cold; as my gloves were damp from pressing against the snow and ice. At this point too, my legs were very tired. I was glad to be within sight of the top, but first I’d have to climb through some ice with exposed rocks. I tried to get through it fast, but was afraid of sending rocks down on top of Bob. I picked my way up carefully and all of the rocks stayed where they were supposed to.
Once on top the wind was insane! It was so strong that standing, and evening sitting was difficult. We regrouped, coiled the rope and headed down the Alpine Garden Trail. MEB and I were not thrilled about the prospect of going down Right Gully, as Guy proposed, and instead suggested we take Lion’s Head down. Having never been down that trail I, at least, was hoping for a nice gradual descent void of anymore adrenaline rushes. Wrong! Lion’s Head was steep, icy and included a wet rock scramble down that required some coaching from those below. Once back on the Tuckerman’s Trail, it was an easy walk back down to Pinkham.
Much thanks to everyone for your sharing your knowledge, support, equipment, and snacks.
Thanks to Guy especially for organizing the trip.
Bob, Woody, Jeff and Arm, it was nice meeting and climbing with you guys!
What an excllent day! I had a great time.
pics are here
When we came out of the woods we finished gearing up and did a quick practice running belay. This was MEB’s and my first time on a roped snow climb, so some practice and instruction was welcomed. Jeff arrived shortly before we started out for the top, putting our group at 7. The first rope was led by Guy, followed by MEB, Jeff and then Arm. I was on the second rope, led by Woody with Bob pulling up the rear.
It was pretty easy going up the first section and I was able to get the hang of it pretty quickly. The snow was soft and it was easy to get a good self belay with my axe. The view was amazing, and we could see other climbers in another gully to our right.
The sun was shining furiously and was causing ice to fall on the outcropping immediately to our right. While we were in no real danger of that ice, it was unnerving to see the chunks rocket down the slope. We did have our own falling ice to contend with, although generally it wasn’t too much and the chunks weren’t huge. There was a point where we got showered with some good size pieces from some climbers in Pinnacle Gully (?). I was glad to pass that spot. Continuing up we came to the ice bulge, which was hardly a bulge at all, but definitely ice. Up until that point I had not been scared, but that soon changed. Climbing over the hard ice was extremely unnerving for me. The wind had been blowing pretty good all morning, at times strong enough to throw me off balance a little. In the bulge, each blast of wind sent a surge of adrenaline through me.
I was freaked out, but concentrated and made it through with little difficulty. Above the bulge it was steeper than it had been and required more frontpointing. At one point Woody yelled “rock” from above, and a good size one whizzed down about three feet to my right. Scary. A little higher we came to a frozen fracture in the snow. Fortunately, I never looked far enough to the right to see that it opened into a gaping 6 foot deep crevasse. The higher we got, the stronger the wind became. There were times I thought for sure it was going to tear me from the snow and leave me flapping helplessly in the wind, anchored only by my axe (and of course the rope). That, thankfully did not happen. Just below the top, Woody, Bob and I stood together behind a rock on a small ledge to regroup before the last push. The wind was so loud it sounded like jets overhead.
I suppose it might have been jets, but we never saw any, and we heard the same noise on several different occasions. Climbing out around the rock we were met by more ice, which in some spots had water running down it. This was the only point in the day that I got cold; as my gloves were damp from pressing against the snow and ice. At this point too, my legs were very tired. I was glad to be within sight of the top, but first I’d have to climb through some ice with exposed rocks. I tried to get through it fast, but was afraid of sending rocks down on top of Bob. I picked my way up carefully and all of the rocks stayed where they were supposed to. Once on top the wind was insane! It was so strong that standing, and evening sitting was difficult. We regrouped, coiled the rope and headed down the Alpine Garden Trail. MEB and I were not thrilled about the prospect of going down Right Gully, as Guy proposed, and instead suggested we take Lion’s Head down. Having never been down that trail I, at least, was hoping for a nice gradual descent void of anymore adrenaline rushes. Wrong! Lion’s Head was steep, icy and included a wet rock scramble down that required some coaching from those below. Once back on the Tuckerman’s Trail, it was an easy walk back down to Pinkham.
Much thanks to everyone for your sharing your knowledge, support, equipment, and snacks.
Thanks to Guy especially for organizing the trip.
Bob, Woody, Jeff and Arm, it was nice meeting and climbing with you guys!
What an excllent day! I had a great time.
pics are here
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