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357 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 08:56 AM
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My first real introduction to the Tantalus Range came in mid-July when our party was stopped by a thunder storm shortly after the summit of Mt Conybeare.
http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=51120
We’d attempted to complete a traverse from Echo Lake to Lake Lovely Water but found ourselves totally socked in on the second day with visibility limited to no more than 50 feet for a time. The prior night had afforded clear views of the jagged peaks forming the core of the range and since that moment I’d been unable to entirely escape what I can only describe as a need to return.
-Peaks surrounding Lake Lovely Water from Conybeare
A flurry of emails during the past week saw a more cohesive plan come together and I was pleased to know that feeling would be at least partially addressed. Originally we’d planned to helicopter into the Jim Haberl Hut but ended up opting to take a jet boat and hike up to Lovely Water under our own power. Honestly I was glad we chose to hike it since a part of me would feel like a heli was somehow cheating - as though the trail to the lake was a part of paying your dues (stupid, I know).
Day 1: “You forgot to say over, over” – Lake Lovely Water approach and Omega Mountain
I picked up Adrien and Bonn-Tien close to 7 on Saturday morning. Already running late, we rushed to Squamish and met with a punctual Leigh and Spring at the Watershed Grill. The boat was ready when we arrived so I tossed my gear in and we we’re en route moments later; I quietly hoped I hadn’t forgotten anything during this initial flurry of activity. The short jaunt up the Squamish River was great and I relished the cool morning air in anticipation of the steep ascent ahead of us. We stood on the small beach for a moment while the drone of the boat engine faded in the distance and I was presented with my share of the MSR Mutha Hubba that Spring, Leigh and I would be sharing. With just the poles it wasn’t too bad and I was sure glad I didn’t have to carry the whole damn thing (foreshadowing here...).
We passed the couple hours of ascent discussing our latest adventures and even spotted a pair of baby bears with no Mom to be found (bad parenting right there). I know someone got some good pictures so hopefully you guys can post them!
The steepness wasn’t as bad as I’d heard and we soon came to the small suspension bridge across the lake’s outflow.
Hoping to utilize a boat to shorten the journey to the Sandspit, we popped by the ACC hut but quickly reached an impasse with the people on the dock regarding a mutually acceptable arrangement. Deciding to hike it, we arrived at our new home quickly enough and set about arranging camp and dropping off the items we wouldn’t need on our pending climb.
 
Omega Mountain would be our destination for the afternoon and we followed a boulder filled creek bed to Niobe Meadows slightly above the lake.
-Niobe Meadows
From here we crossed a small snow patch and followed a roughly cairned route toward the Iota-Omega col. Occasional scrambling on the granite outcrops kept the ascent interesting but the eastern face of Omega sure looked intimidating as we approached.
   
Following the eastern ridgeline lead us to the scramble route and we found the going to be no worse than a class 4 throughout. I kept my camera in the pack for this portion since the front carry can really get in the way when scrambling so once again the pics are lacking – hopefully someone can fill in the blanks.
Adrien had brought a pair of walkie-talkies so we were able to keep in touch with Leigh as he lead the climb and fed us status updates as we went.
Reaching a flatter area slightly below the summit proper, I stopped to remove my camera and commented that it seemed the worst was behind us. Leigh retorted “famous last words.” No more than 15 seconds later Leigh had stepped on an innocent looking rock and badly rolled his ankle resulting in a partially torn tendon and rendering him effectively immobile in the process. Bonn-Tien assessed the damage by asking if he was experiencing any shooting pain or a burning sensation and Leigh initially responded that he was not. After waiting a moment he tried to put weight on the ankle and found the pain to be excruciating even on flat ground. Beginning to realize that this was more than a simple sprain, Leigh told us that he’d heard a series of crunching or popping sounds when the ankle had rolled and that the pain was in fact increasing. That whole afternoon the surrounding peaks had been sporadically shrouded in cloud and we could see that the weather was changing rapidly.
  
With full service at the summit, I knew a SAR extraction was likely but Leigh was hesitant and initially wanted to extricate himself. I told him that once we left the peak we wouldn’t have any access to cell reception - our only recourse if he found himself no longer able to move may be a SPOT activation on tricky terrain with night approaching. Accepting the truth of it, Leigh gave us the word and soon enough Adrien was on the phone and initiating the disturbingly familiar process. We passed the time shooting photos and scouting out a landing location. It also turns out that Adrien was quite a stickler for walkie-talkie protocol and he had to remind me multiple times to end my transmissions with an “over”.
   
Not much more than 45 minutes after the initial call we saw a helicopter entering the valley and begin to circle the peak. Adrien indicating a good landing zone to the pilot and he dropped off 2 SAR members and took off again. These fine ladies tended to Leigh and briefed us on the steps we would follow to load him and Spring into the chopper. Touching down again, we got everyone on board the heli and gave the thumbs up to take off. Being right at the nose of the chopper was a pretty unique experience and the down draft when he took off again was a little frightening up close. As the helicopter receded into the distance there was a moment of silence as Bonn-Tien, Adrien and myself contemplated how the weekend had changed.
               
The time was now about 6:30 and we began to hustle down to try and descend as much as possible before darkness. Not wanting any further incidents, we opted to rappel 2 sections of the scramble and returned to the base of the climb.
  
-Iota, Pelops and Niobe (L-R) in the background
  
Collecting Leigh and Spring’s poles and ice axes, we continued back on the ridge and found ourselves in almost complete darkness by the time we exited the last snowfield below the glacier. With headlamps the last portion was exceedingly slow and all of us were pretty exhausted as we closed the last few hundred meters to camp. Arriving shortly after 10:30, we exchanged greetings and briefly chatted with a group of 4 who’d also setup camp on the spit. After a quick dinner we set out rehanging our food but managed to break the line in the process... Too beat to fix it properly, we simply put the food in our tents and hoped for the best. After listening to various critters sneaking around camp for almost an hour I fell into a deep sleep inside the empty feeling tent.
Day 2: Alpha Dog – Lambda Lake, Russian Army Camp and Alpha Mountain
Opting to sleep in after a long night, I awoke to here our neighbours discussing their plans to summit Alpha that morning. At one point I heard one of them exclaim that something had stolen our food in the night.
“It’s been totally ripped down from the tree!”
I snickered to myself but didn’t correct them. By the time I got up the boys were almost ready to head out so I wished them good luck and they were on their way. Just then a helicopter entered the valley above the lake and after briefly circling overhead, it set down on the spit beside our camp. I told Adrien that it looked like the heli from last night but we figured it was just a group of hikers chartering a flight with Black Tusk. When 2 guys got out and asked us if we were aware of any missing hikers in the area we told them that we weren’t but that we were a part of the group involved in the evac off Omega the previous night. I thought this was too much of a coincidence and before the party of 4 got out of sight, the SAR members called them over after stating to his partner “I see cotton, let’s talk with those guys”.
Well it turn out that the guys got worried when we didn’t show up by dark and had tried to call 911 to report us as missing. Unable to complete the call due to spotty coverage, the SAR guys were here to follow up on the multiple disconnections from the previous night. After interviewing us all and satisfied that everyone was indeed accounted for, they jumped into the chopper and left. I felt really bad that we had caused another SAR call out but I don’t know what we could have done! Despite the guys good intentions, I guess they should have waited until morning to report us missing since there wouldn’t be any forthcoming evacuation at night anyway. I was surprised that they didn’t mention that to us at all but I guess they planned to call the authorities from the outflow that morning where the service was better.
Finally on our way, we stopped to rummage through Leigh and Spring’s food supplies before departing. Not wanting to carry the extra weight down presented us with a rather unique situation on a multi-day trip – too much food! I kind of felt like a thief digging through someone else’s gear but I have to say I’ve got a few things to learn in terms of packing maximum calories into a minimum volume. Thanks Leigh and Spring – the date bars were probably my favourite (in addition to the pineapple/coconut bars, cheese, pita bread and bagels with cream cheese)
By the time we’d circled the lake and were passing the sketchy bit with the chain I was starting to feel nice and toasty and a little like I hadn’t showered in 30 hours.
 
Coming to Lambda Lake, I was struck by the awesome view towards Lydia, Red Tusk and the Crescent Glacier – all names I was familiar with but hadn’t seen up close before.
-view from Lambda Lake
After passing Lambda the trail became steep for a bit and we soon found ourselves entering Russian Army Camp – a broad bowl with a “strong wilderness feel” to quote Mr Gunn. The name alone made me want to see this place and I wonder how it got that unique moniker.
   
Encountering some campers, Bonn-Tien and I were warned by Adrien to not spend much time talking with them as we needed to keep moving quickly. She and I proceeded along after exchanging a few words while Adrien hung around talking with them for a good 10 minutes – good thing he’s fast and quickly caught up
 
A huge serac fall from the glacier below Ionia and Pandareus punctuated out climb up the gully leading to the Alpha – Serratus col and we briefly stopped to drink in the beauty of our surroundings.
 
Shortly after exiting the gully we proceeded through boulder fields and across a series of flatter areas before stopping for lunch around 1600m. After a few bites Adrien informed me that considering the late start, iffy weather and events of the previous day, he and Bonn-Tien were going to stop here to avoid rushing back to camp after dark for a second time in as many days. While the logic was sound I was determined to push onward and after grabbing a walkie and Adrien’s SPOT, I rushed up a grassy ramp to try and catch a couple I’d seen ascending earlier to ask if I could join.
 
Finally closing the gap after ascending the snowfield below the crux scramble, I was disappointed to learn they’d be turning back here. A little timid and absolutely sure I’d have no more involvement with helicopters this weekend, I took my time and slowly made my way up to the col separating the true summit and western sub-peak. All told I didn’t find the scrambling to be too demanding and thought the moat crossing when transitioning from snow to rock was probably the most dangerous part.
 
-looking up the crux after getting off the snow
 
It was here that I caught sight of none other than our camp neighbours from back at the sandspit. Thinking they’d be descending, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that not only were they still climbing, but that they’d be happy to let me join they’re group! Together we entered the loose gully described in the scrambles book. I was apprehensive considering some of these dudes were pretty green so I directed them to stay out of each other’s fall lines at all times and to try and keep a close spacing to avoid any catastrophic rock fall should someone dislodge something. The group was incredibly supportive, attentive and receptive to my suggestions so the climb was a real pleasure. These guys could make a great mountaineering team with a bit more experience I think.
   
Topping out shortly before my 3pm turn around, we were thrilled to have awesome views considering the peak had been socked in throughout most of the day.
  
-summit crew including myself, Caleb, Matt, Dave and Adrian
   
After relaxing for a bit and completing my check in with Adrien we began the descent and took great pains to ensure everyone did the utmost to keep each other safe from rock fall.
 
Descending the crux gully was a fun experience and I managed to snap some shots of Matt downclimbing it.
-crux downclimb
The transition back onto snow was severly undercut so due caution was necessary.
Since I was the only one with an ice axe and proper boots, I kicked steps for the rest as the snow was much harder than I’d anticipated.
A pleasant walk down saw us back to Russian Army Camp after a fun bit of glissading and when the boys decided to take I breather I threw in my ipod and continued on.
  
As I approached Lambda Lake I checked in with Adrien and discovered that if I hurried, he could pick me up below the chain assisted portion and cut off a significant amount of the return trip.
-Alpha from Lambda
Almost jogging, I made it back in ~10 minutes and hopped into the waiting boat for a quick return trip across the lake – thanks for arranging the lift Adrien, it was a great time saver and an awesome perspective on the surrounding mountains!
By the time the boys got back to the lake we were ready for dinner and we shared whatever food items we could in the hopes of lightening our load the next day. Leigh and Spring had gone to the trouble of bringing up a couple of beers which Adrien and I thoroughly enjoyed ;)
Enjoying a spectacular sunset I went to bed around 10 and fell asleep with ease.
 
Day 3: Solo Duo – Niobe and Pelops
It was our last day in the Tantalus I found myself wide awake shortly after 4am. Realizing I wouldn’t fall back asleep, I got up and made some coffee and breakfast in the cool morning air. I’d been eyeing Niobe and Pelops from Omega on the first day and knew that despite the short window of time, I had to give them a try.
I set out around 5:45 after letting Bonn-Tien and Adrien know my plans. Armed with a walkie and a firm 9am turn around time I moved quickly. Niobe Meadows came and went in a flash and I soon found myself donning crampons and ascending the snow field towards the Omega-Iota col.
 
The standard scrambles route follows the south ridge of Pelops through krumholtz to the summit but I was more interested in ascending from the lower snow field to the Pelops-Niobe col directly. I knew from the ascent of Omega that there were 3 open crevasses on the final slope but it seemed that all but the top one were safely passable on climber’s right. Deciding I’d at least take a closer look, I front pointed my way up the increasingly steep snow but found the final snow bridge to be too sketchy for my taste.
 
-maybe Dean could cross this but not me!
Luckily the downhill edge of the topmost crevasse was essentially horizontal which made traversing to the left side easy enough.
Looking down the near vertical snow into the lower 2 openings kept me on my toes but shortly afterwards I arrived at the col.
Glancing up into a cloudless patch of sky, I was dazzled by the deep azure blue framing the moon and surrounding peaks. With Niobe now but a simple scramble away, I left my axe and crampons behind and topped out shortly before 8am.
 
-Niobe scramble
I really wanted to tag both peaks and after ascending that crevassed slope I knew that I’d be downclimbing Pelops from the scrambles route anyway.
I came up to the small summit cairn and took a look down the near vertical north face at the lake far below. The views of Alpha, Serrartus, Lydia and the surrounding peaks and bowls were amazing and I thought this summit to be quite breathtaking.
  
  
-Alpha ascent snowfield and crux
-Sandspit
-Lambda Lake
-gully exit above Russian Army Camp
After collecting my axe and crampons I set out making my way up a well cairned route to the summit of Pelops. With two distinct summits up top separated by a small snow field I decided I’d better visit both to be sure I tagged the true peak. From the more eastern “summit” I could see back down into the crevasses I’d passed as well as great views out toward Omega.
   
Upon arriving at the more western summit I finally had a view I’d been waiting some time to see; the north face of Conybeare as well as the connecting ridgelines which would have lead us to here had we not been caught in that storm.
  
-Conybeare detail
-this ones for you Jeremy!
I wasn’t entirely sure how to descend to the Iona-Pelops col from here but just kind of guessed and found the odd cairn after a bit. Picking my way through thick bush I avoided the sketchy looking rock that characterized the areas close to the south ridge.
 
Unfortunately I missed my 9am check in by 30 minutes because I didn’t have a line of sight back down to the camp. Arriving at the col I radioed Adrien and told him I’d be down in 2 hours or less. I decided not to glissade the snowfield even though the runout looked minimal so I donned crampons and took the slow and safe route down. I talked with a group we’d seen the day before at Russian Army Camp just getting onto the glacier and then sped up for the last half through the creeks and boulder fields to Niobe meadows.
   
I arrived at camp by 10:30 and after relaxing for maybe 10 minute we set out to meet the rest of our gear at the lake outflow. I guess the guys from Alpha had kindly offered to canoe our gear over to lighten our load for at least a bit (thanks Matt, Caleb, Dave and Adrian!). Our bags were pretty heavy with all the extra gear but I think Bonn-Tien was really the hero here! After rearranging her pack at least a half dozen times I don’t know how managed with such an akward load putting all that pressure on her neck.
-Bonn-Tien hero shot
I was really slow for the descent but we still made it to the boat for our 3pm pick up.
As we cruised down the Squamish River I caught sight of Dave just completing the Tyrolean crossing of the cable and waved goodbye.
 
We met Spring and Leigh in Squamish downtown and gave (most) of their items back. I was relieved to see Leigh was able to move without crutches and we all exchanged stories for a few minutes before heading out.
I wanted to thank everyone who came on this trip – you guys are an incredible team and the planning was very much appreciated. Big thanks to the selfless men and women of SAR, we are all so grateful for your services and caring attitude. In the end I think this trip only served to enhance my taste for this area, the only thing I’m sure of is that there’s a return trip in my future and hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.
Hopefully others can post some pictures and fill in some of the blanks - there was kind of a lot going on during this trip and I doubt I covered everything. |
Edited by - DoubleE Alpinist on 09/07/2012 09:33 AM
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 Happy go lucky, plaid wearin, postholin, safeway gaitor sportin, old-school film shootin, giver of many regards
Abbotsford, B.C.
Canada
13440 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 09:16 AM
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I can relate to the feeling of wanting to return. I got a few of those as well.
Great Summit Shots...nice one for the group.
K |
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Powell River, BC
371 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 09:18 AM
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| What a wonderful TR, and I hope Leigh's ankle recovers quickly. I love your shots where your finger is pointing out various features of the landscape. |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
559 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 09:31 AM
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| Outstanding trip!... |
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Outdoors addicted flyfishing, skiing, snowshoeing, hiking car crooner and resident motormouth
Da'Wack, BC
Canada
5368 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 09:36 AM
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Good to hear that things worked out so well for Leigh's extraction and that he seems to be doing okay. Beginning to think Tantalus really IS his nemesis. What a great area though. Thanks for the glimpse.
Cool that Bonn-Tien was able to help pack out so much of Leigh and Spring's gear.
And the hardship of consuming that extra food....and beverage. |
Edited by - exscape on 09/07/2012 09:42 AM |
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Burnaby, BC
Canada
1293 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 09:41 AM
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Most awesome TR! You guys rock.
Hope leimrod recovers quickly. |
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357 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 09:48 AM
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Great report Ben!!
We owe the 3 of you alot of beer for carrying out all our gear, you guys are AWESOME! 
Great shot on Coneybeare NF, that is definitely a huge wall. Good beta for future trips!
I still can't believe this happened, just goes to show how small an incident it takes in the mountains to incapacitate a person. And I can't get over how great SAR is. They were so quick to respond and so gracious about the whole situation, especially letting me come along with Leigh. They are an incredible service and team of people.
Well I have been checking everyday and the mountains have went anywhere yet so I guess a return trip is in our future.
Oh and so happy to hear that you love the date bars!! I'll have to make another batch for our next hike. |
Edited by - Springbow on 09/07/2012 11:22 AM |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
1111 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 10:03 AM
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Holy crap Ben! BIG weekend! When I said you needed to do extra epic trips for me I was sort of joking!!
Get well Leigh! |
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Squamish, British Columbia
Canada
1002 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 2:10 PM
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In my last Tantalus Range trip I mentioned how it appeared I was being punished in a similar fashion to King Tantalus.
http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=51120
It was a funny thought back then. Now, I don't know.
Great TR Ben. Love seeing the trip in entirety. On Sunday and Monday we were staring over at Alpha and Omega from our driveway hoping you guys at least could summit some more peaks. Some good beta for future trips also.
Anyway, here's a few of my pictures from my 7hrs on this weekend:
   
1. BT on the Riverjet in
2. Sorting gear and shooting the breeze at the sand spit
3. The mellow trail. I guess for us hardened hikers we didn't find it as crazy steep as expected
4. Bear Cubs. We passed through a section of blueberry bushes and seen a yearling, then a few cubs who seemed to be more curious than scared of us. Even when we were all yelling in unison "GET AWAY BEARS!" they weren't phased. I was definitely more worried about the sow that we couldn't see. I didn't want to inadvertently get between it and its cubs.
   
1. The bridge crossing before the Tantalus Hut
2. Here I am approaching the boat dock. Excuse me now while I rant for a second. We went to the dock hoping to use the boat to ferry our stuff over to the sandspit camp.
Upon arriving at the dock I could see a few women lying around sunning themselves and reading. They'd been flown into the lake and their partners were climbing "something over there" as one of them pointed at Alpha. Nobody even acknowledged us until I said "Hey guys?"
I was quickly met with the response: "we've booked out all the spots in the cabin"
I just said ok, and said we weren't staying at the hut. I then asked could we use the boat for a few minutes to ferry our stuff to the sandspit.
The same pleasant woman that informed me about the accommodation situation at the hut said, "well we need it, we're going to be having a picnic in a bit"
We tried saying we only needed it for a second but it was like walking into a beach resort and trying to get someone to take their towel off a sunbed. Hours later I looked back down at the dock and could see nobody had taken the boat out.
As I was leaving I innocently said, "ok we'll leave the boat with you guys". To which I heard back "well it comes with hut reservation, it's ours"
She also didn't look to impressed that we'd be camping on the sandspit. If they could have reserved that beach also for themselves I'm sure she would have.
3. Moving on. The awesome vista from the sandspit camp
4. Hiking up towards the Iota/Omega col.
   
1. Getting high above LLL
2. Some nice slabby sections
3. A roughly cairned route up
4. Spring and Ben with the Glacier behind
   
1. BT on an undercut section of snow
2. The ridge to Omega. It's west face looking imposing
3. Ben on the scramble up Omega. Mostly mellow class 3 ramps and chimneys with an occasional class 4 step
4. solid scrambling. Adrien looking out for thunder. We'd heard a loud crack and didn't know if it was a storm of just a serac falling nearby
   
1. Leading a line up. The route is fairly obvious and the odd cairn confirmed our choices
2. Communicating with the others which line to follow
3. BT topping out on the last of the stiffer scrambling
4. Spring at the top. Plain sailing from here
   
1. Shortly after I'd rolled my ankle. I tested it out for a few steps, it felt fine at first and I wanted to push through it but after a while it was just too sore to put my full weight on it.
2. Kind of stumped at my bad luck. The Tantalus Range strikes again.
3. Hopping and crawling my way to the summit. A distance that would have taken me 2 minutes on foot took me nearly 45 minutes of crawling, hopping and being carried.
4. "No helicopter yet. Remember to say over.... over"
   
1. Niobe and Pelops
2. Black Tusk sticking out like a sore thumb
3. Garibaldi Park
4. SAR team being dropped off |
Edited by - leimrod on 09/07/2012 3:01 PM |
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1058 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 3:05 PM
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Nice pictures. A good way to deal with problem sunbathers is to strip down to your birthday suit, join their sunbathing party, and engage them in nonsensical conversation. You would have had the dock and boat to yourself quite quickly, methinks.
Also, radio protocol is agency or event specific. On a climbing trip like this, any pedantic effort to enforce strict protocol should be thoroughly refused, and met with a passionate "blow me", or in this case "soufflez-moi". |
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South Surrey, BC
Canada
625 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 6:19 PM
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Epic trip report.
Sounds like an amazing adventure you had there.
Leigh - hope you have a speedy recovery ! |
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Vancouver, bc
Canada
1008 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 6:21 PM
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We encountered a guy whose ankle was taking a strange swagger. A half full/empty bottle of Jack was playing with his balance. He let us have anything we wanted - dropped our stuff off at the sandy beach and took a ride around the lake before returning to find him wobbling on the deck with just a sniff left to drink.
A wee difference in dress code here: Erez was wearing sneakers and yes that's a borrowed single hiking pole striding up Pelops. |
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Campbell River, BC
Canada
754 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 7:11 PM
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| Nice report. Too bad about the injury. |
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Squamish, British Columbia
Canada
1002 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 7:13 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Gearhed
A wee difference in dress code here: Erez was wearing sneakers and yes that's a borrowed single hiking pole striding up Pelops.
We brought the rock pro for Omega specifically. There wasn't much info on the route up from the west ridge and it's classed on bivouac as between class 3 and 5 which wasn't helpful. We ended up not needing any of it as the route is easily only Class 3. I'm sure you could make it Class 5 if you wanted.
Hopefully Omega will make it into Matt Gunns next edition. I believe it was omitted as he never got a chance to investigate the peak from that aspect. |
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canine loving, machete-toting bushwhacking lake seeker, Indiana Jones hat-wearing off-road 4x4 guru
Surrey Hole, BC
Canada
6768 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 9:35 PM
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..had a feeling some shit was gonna go down sonner or later for some reason.
you guys been going hard.
good thing that there are friends to make it all possible and help out in this event.I cant magine a solo, no reach scenario.
Luckily you were within contact, or this would have been alot rougher.
Heal quickly 100% eh? |
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West Vancouver, B.C.
Canada
288 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 10:08 PM
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Congratulations on a nice trip. Omega is certainly tougher than the more impressive looking (from afar) Pelops, Niobe and Alpha. A few years ago we climbed the 'Scrambles Guide' peaks and Omega by the north ridge (not terribly difficult but quite exposed). Although Omega was not on my 'must do list' it was very satisfying.
As far as the accident/injury goes, "shit stuff happens". You are obviously competent, well prepared and equipped etc...
Thankfully SAR exists! I would recommend writing a nice letter to the Squamish Chieftain (or equivalent) praising their work.
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831 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2012 : 01:18 AM
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| Quite an adventure, great TR. Best wishes to Leigh's ankle. |
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Squamish, British Columbia
Canada
1002 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2012 : 11:45 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Aqua Terra
..had a feeling some shit was gonna go down sonner or later for some reason.
you guys been going hard.
good thing that there are friends to make it all possible and help out in this event.I cant magine a solo, no reach scenario.
Luckily you were within contact, or this would have been alot rougher.
Of all possible places for this to happen I was extremely lucky for it to happen where and when it did.
The SAR members told me I was lucky that everything went so smoothly. The turn around on the helicopter landing, the SAR team prepping me and extraction probably took less than 5 minutes. The SAR team just happened to be close to the airport and there was a helicopter and pilot already there available to assist. Omega also just happens to be the closest summit to the Squamish airport.
The cloud ceiling was also hovering around 100 or so meters above the summit. There was also clouds below the summit licking up it's east face
Visible in this photo:
Had the cloud ceiling dropped or the clouds below the summit risen we could have been up there for the night.
The biggest shock for me was how a simple injury such as a sprained ankle completely changed the day from a mellow scramble/hike into a serious, possibly life threatening, situation.
It was an abrupt reminder that at no point in the mountains is it safe to let your guard down. The mantra "the mountain doesn't care" came to mind.
Ironically I rolled my ankle as I was distracted thinking about a tree we'd passed that had some old rap slings around it. Adrien mentioned using it for our descent. I was thinking about whether it would be safer to just downclimb the crux rather than rappel it. (I remembered a recent blog post by Will Gadd: http://willgadd.com/rappelling/) As I was mulling over the options for, what I imagined would be, a more dangerous part of the day, a rock I put my foot on just rolled awkwardly underneath me causing my left ankle to collapse.
I also don't take for granted that I could easily just be whisked off a mountain by trained professionals in a helicopter. Nobody needs to tell me what I owe them.
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
145 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2012 : 10:10 AM
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| Impressive comitment and great trip report DoubleE Alpinist. Hope you recover soon Leigh. |
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Topic |
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A Tantalus Affair - Sep 1 - Sep 3, 2012
