Bugaboos Part II

Chad and I were up early, departing our east creek bivy site shortly after 4am under socked-in foggy conditions.  We hoped it would burn off with sunrise as we cruised the 1000ft of scrambling to the base of the route.  I linked the initial 2 5.5 pitches with approach shoes and gloves still on due to the cold and windy conditions.  Despite the cloud cover, cold and wind, we continued upwards, both wearing all the layers we had brought (base layer, R1, puffy and shell).  Maintaining feeling in fingers and toes became a challenge as the pitches went by and despite the perfect forecast, the sun remained predominately veiled by the clouds and the winds continued to whip.

pitch 3 with a good perspective of the day's visibility

the great dihedral looms above

We lost some time and got passed by another party on pitch 6 as I lead us up an attractive splitter left of the great dihedral which started as great 5.8 finger/hands but slowly deteriorated into 5.hard tips and then into a mere seam.  I pendulumed over to the great dihedral before leading the stellar pitch 7 – most of a rope length of sustained 5.8 hands in a corner.  At the pitch 8 ledges we discussed bailing but ultimately decided to continue upwards and reassess at big sandy ledge below pitch 11 and the start of the great white headwall.   Time was wasted as I got us off-route again on pitch 10, following another party up a clean L-facing corner located too far R of the actual route that was much harder than expected.  After a few unsuccessful attempts to pull a small roof/bulge of .75 size crack, I pulled on some gear to get through it and continued up to a belay on big sandy ledge. 

the great white headwall pokes through the clouds 

unknown height on the beckey chouinard - hood and gloves were worn
whenever you weren't climbing and sometimes when you were (photo: chad hiatt)

The gorgeous headwall above would disappear and reappear as the clouds swirled overhead.  The lure of the summit would urge us upwards despite the continued shivering belays and lack of forecasted sunshine.  The remaining 5 pitches were Chad’s lead block but he hadn’t been feeling great all day and was forced to end pitches 11 and 12 early due to cramping in his hands and biceps.  From a hanging belay on the headwall atop our pitch 12 (closer to topo pitch 11), we realized we had put ourselves in a bit of a predicament.  Chad’s cramping and overall feelings of mediocrity along with our mutual feelings of fatigue made us begin to question our ability to safely get off the route, knowing from this height the fasted way down was likely up.

pitch 13 with snow/ice in the gully

Neil belaying atop pitch 13

Just then, the leader of the party behind us attempted to pass our hanging belay but was clearly having his own issues with fatigue as he was visibly shaking and on the verge of taking a large fall.  He franticly told us he was about to fall and asked if he could clip our anchor and we obliged, passing him an alpine draw to clip his rope moments before he cut loose from the wall and fell.  As he (Neil) hung on the rope and rested and expressed similar feelings of fatigue and concern over getting off the route, we formulated a rough plan to band together as a party of 4 to ensure we all got off safely.  I proceeded to lead the next pitch (12) while Neil rested who would then lead pitch 13.  I was forced to hang twice from gear (not wanting to fall), due to the nasty combo of fatigue in the forearms and numbness in my fingers and hands due to the cold. 

the top couple hundred feet of the S howser tower, route is low 5th class on looker's R

Our system involved the leader belaying 2 seconds from above for a given pitch, followed by one of them leading the next pitch while the other belayed the fourth and final climber up the preceding pitch.  Due to snow and ice in the dihedral of the great white headwall, we were forced to climb the excellent splitters on the face to the left.  Neil lead a 60m rope stretcher for pitch 13, I lead a short pitch 14 and Neil led the final pitch, shamelessly tensioning the crux (5.10+ free) due to time’s sake.  A short rappel put us below the final few hundred feet of low 5^th class terrain to the summit, which we found partially covered it snow and ice.  We soloed what we could but felt the need to simul a lot of it for safety sake.  We finally found ourselves atop the south howser tower at nearly 9:30pm, a little too tired and concerned about the descent to fully appreciate the moment. 

forcing a smile atop the south howser tower (photo: chad hiatt)

Our motto for the 11 rappel descent was safety over speed but by leapfrogging our way down with 4 ropes, our pace seemed reasonable (2.5 hours).  There were numerous moments that felt like we were in Patagonia with the wind hollowing, some rain and even snow showers blowing through as we made rappel after rappel via headlamp down towards the dark glacier.  Once over the bergschrund and on the glacier at approximately midnight, we coiled ropes and were thrilled to have footprints to follow around the crevasses to the pigeon-howser col.  From the col, we made the easy descent down to east creek, Chad and I arriving at our spot approximately 21 hours since leaving.  Our hot and salty freeze-dried dinners tasted live heaven before we crawled into our tent and collapsed to bed.

leaving east creek in the morning

We awoke to beautiful blue skies in the morning (go figure) and one of the first things Chad and I expressed to each other was concern over permanent damage to our respective toes (thankfully they made a full recovery).  After a lazy morning of sleeping in, drying gear in the sun and breaking camp, we hiked up to the col to the base of pigeon spire, unable to forgo a beautiful day on the “world’s best 5.4” despite our feelings of overall fatigue as well as significant swelling in our fingers and toes.

W ridge of pigeon with S howser tower in the background 

hanging out atop pigeon spire

The W ridge was easy but exposed scrambling that we felt comfortable soloing in approach shoes (mostly 3^rd & 4^th class with a few spots of low 5^th).  The views from along the route in every single direction on a clear day were outstanding – easily the best views of the trip.  It was a real joy to be out on such an easy route, in the warm sun in contract to the previous day.  We were back at our packs in about an hour and continued our trek to the BS col and to applebee.  With rain in the forecast for the following day, Chad and I decided to depart in the morning, pretty damn content with our trip.  We climbed 5 routes on 5 spires, including two mega classics (NE ridge bugaboo & beckey chouinard) and a mere half day of tentbound bad weather.   That final evening I scrambled up the NW ridge of eastpost spire above camp alone, where I spent at least half an hour on the summit soaking in the views and reflecting on my first bugaboo experience.  

soaking it all in atop pigeon spire (photo: chad hiatt)

drying gear and swapping stories back at applebee (photo: chad hiatt)

Rose: the combination of great weather, great climbing and great position on the NE ridge of bugaboo spire made it my favorite of the routes we did

Thorn: hours and hours of shivering on the beckey chouinard

Bud: returning not only for more climbing but also someday in the spring for the classic bugaboo to rogers pass ski traverse

Thoughts: we had a small margin for safety on the beckey chouinard route considering the conditions we encountered and the fact that we both had to belay/climb every pitch wearing every layer we had brought.  Fortunately we made it down safety but we spent many hours flirting with the necessary ingredients for an epic.  It would be great to return someday with improved climbing fitness/endurance and send the route in better style and better weather

Bugaboos Part I

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  But what about a thousand pictures?  Well not even that can do justice to the beauty of the Bugaboo Provincial Park.  Wildly aesthetic granite spires, adorned with splitter crack systems, rise up from the glaciated terrain in a way that captures the hearts and dreams of all climbers that gaze upon them.

snowpatch spire from the top of bugaboo spire

After my bugaboo plans last august fell through, I was super excited to visit this summer.  The morning after my summer internship ended, Chad and I hit the road, knocking out the 10 hour drive and 2 hour hike-in to camp at Applebee.

classic TH picture of chicken wire to protect against rubber eating porcupines

With rain in the forecast for the next day, we opted for a short route close to camp – Ears Between (II 5.7 6p) on Crescent Tower.  By simuling the first 3 pitches followed by 2 pitches of 5.7, we made good time and were back in camp before noon.  With the weather still looking good, we grabbed a snack and a larger rack before heading up to the classic McTech Arete (II 5.10- 6p).  The climbing was spectacular and we topped out minutes before the rain arrived, which came and went as we rappelled down.

looking down towards camp from the base of Ears Between

Chad on McTech pitch 4

splitter 

With better weather forecasted for the following day, we were up early and headed for the ultra classic NE ridge of bugaboo spire (IV 5.7 10p).  We passed 3 parties on the approach and luckily were the first party on-route.  By the time we were climbing pitch 2, there was a party on pitch 1 and 5 additional parties cueing up at the base!  We led in blocks, with Chad taking the first 3 pitches to gain the ridge proper before I took the sharp end, leading the pitch 4 corner and an excellent hand crack variation on pitch 5 before we entered the prominent chimney and simuled the remaining 5 pitches to the top in 2 large blocks.  

approaching the NE ridge

crowds at the base, luckily we got up early and hiked fast

all smiles atop pitch 4 (photo: chad hiatt)

pitch 5 handcrack variation

nate and kevin on the traverse

me atop the N summit of bugaboo spire (photo: nate duray)

view of the howsers and upper vowell glacier

The traverse of the multi-tiered summit made for exposed but easy simuling before making the long, slow descent down the kain route (we did 4 rappels and downclimbed raps 5 and 6).  Once at the BS col, we shared ropes with another party to make 2 60m raps since we had opted not to carry axes on route.  We were back in camp slightly over 11 hours since departing, stoked on a great day on such an incredible route.

descending the kain route

climbing the BS col (fortunately there was enough snow so it was in great shape for the duration of our trip)

the nasty W side of the pigeon-howser col

pigeon feathers from east creek

We awoke to rain on day 3 and spent a few rainy hours sleeping/reading in our tents before the weather cleared.  We then packed up for a hike over to the east creek bivy sites, to put us in position to attempt the world famous beckey chouinard route (V 5.10 15p) during the upcoming weather window and to get away from the noise and crowds of the packed Applebee campground.  Climbing the BS col with heavy packs was a bit rough but we topped out about an hour after leaving camp and departed across the vowell glacier.  Descending the pigeon-howser col was straightforward and we were pleasantly surprised to find we had the gorgeous east creek bivy area all to ourselves for a few hours before 2 other parties arrived that evening. 

S howser tower and the minaret as seen from our east creek bivy

Stay tuned for part II for our adventure on the beckey chouinard route as well as pigeon spire on the return to Applebee.

Hyalite Peak to Mt Blackmore Traverse

After spending the past 2 weekends climbing in loose preparation for an upcoming trip to the bugaboos, I was extra excited to get out for a long run/scramble in the mountains. 

looking S at the bulk of the route with hyalite peak in the distance, L of center

My route of choice was the somewhat classic hyalite peak to mt blackmore traverse.  I elected to go in a S to N direction to take advantage of the easy runnable grade of the hyalite peak trail but there are certainly other advantages to doing it in reverse (deal with the rough, slow terrain earlier in the day, easy to bail down the trail into the shower creek basin if needed and be able to swim in hyalite lake prior to running the trail down at the end of the day).

one of many beautiful sections of hyalite creek

closing in on hyalite peak 

looking down canyon from atop hyalite peak

I parked at the blackmore TH and ran an easy warmup 4 miles to the hyalite TH.  Another 6 miles of great running put me in the basin below hyalite peak where I filled water and hiked to the top (one snow-covered switchback but easily avoided).  I ate and left a quick note in the summit log while soaking in the incredible view of mountains in nearly every direction.  I then headed N along the ridgeline on some fast, easy terrain over a series of unnamed highpoints.  I was a little surprised to cross paths with another runner shortly before divide peak who was in the midst of the same traverse in the opposite direction. 

scenic shower creek basin, hyalite peak in distant center

shelter for those benighted on route? 

rougher than it looks section from mt bole to elephant mt

optional but fun class 4 section on really unique rock

always cool to cross paths with mt goats in the mountains

From divide peak the pace slowed a bit as the terrain grew rougher but it was still easy going to mt bole.  Unfortunately storm clouds were building overhead put I pressed onwards towards elephant mt on the slowest and roughest terrain of the route.  It was cool to see a large group of 15+ mountain goats through here.  Once down from elephant and on the blackmore trail, I was pleased the legs still had enough pep to comfortably run to the top.  With storms clouds still threatening, I quickly finished my food and water before bombing down the approx. 6mi trail to the truck.  A quick swim in the reservoir rounded out the day.

Stats: about 24mi/7k vert in just over 8 hrs (4mi/40min of that was road between the two trailheads)

Rose: just a great day out in the hills exploring some new country

Thorn: stressing over storm clouds for multiple hours (but fortunately nothing materialized til back in town running errands)

Bud: returning for a similar traverse on skis, including a descent of this beauty

pinner couloir?

Old Gabe 50k race

With an 8 week internship in Bozeman for the summer, I knew I’d be running on the trails in the bridger range outside of town quite a bit.  Therefore it was kind of a no-brainer to sign up for old gabe.  Plus, it encompasses most of the things I love about running – steep (11,000 vertical), exclusively singletrack, and through beautiful terrain.  On top of all that, it’s a refreshingly low key race environment and one of the most affordable races around ($50 for 50k).  All in all, highly recommended.

After a quick check-in and warmup, we were off, a combined group of nearly 100 runners for both the 25k and 50k.  It was a little strange in the initial mix-up for the few minutes of passing and getting passed, not knowing whether your fellow runners were in it for the long haul (50k) or doing the 25.  I tried to ignore it and just stick to a fairly easy pace for the initial 4mile climb.  I topped out feeling great and dropped into the snow and mud of the N facing terrain of the bostwicks.  Two muddy descents and 2 short climbs put me atop truman gulch where a newly re-routed trail apparently added a half-mile to the course (each way) which I cruised down to the truman aid station (9mi).

looking N at the course across the bostwicks a week before the race on an excellent saddle
peak to baldy mountain loop from middle cottonwood

A few minutes shy of 2 hours, I was right where I wanted to be and scarfed down some food and refilled water before starting the long climb back up Truman.  It was fun to see and cheer on fellow runners on the out-and-back format.  I set a goal of passing 5 people on this 5mile climb and succeeded, passing my 6^th on the snow just before the top with a big smile on my face, thoroughly enjoying the steep climbs and beautiful morning thus far.  I tried to cruise the big 4mile descent back to middle cottonwood without beating up the legs too much.

Jeffrey was hanging out (having done the 25k) and was nice enough to refill my bottles (thanks!) as I ate some food.  I soon exited, feeling great and ready to tackle the latter “half” of the course (the sypes portion is a few miles shorter than the truman “half”).  The sun was glaring and the heat would clearly be a factor for the remainder of the race.  I soaked my buff at the creek crossing for sypes (and all future creeks) to try to combat the heat.  I set a goal of catching 3 people on the sypes climb but only managed to reel-in and pass 2 runners before making the 3mile descent to the sypes aid (25mi).  I was feeling okay, positioned slightly behind 2 runners and anxious to give chase.  In retrospect I should have eaten more here but exited quickly. 

upper middle cottonwood drainage from the highpoint of the course (same vantage point as the prior photo)

The legs were feeling heavy on the climb back up sypes and I had to walk a good bit of runnable terrain but was otherwise moving well (I passed one runner on this climb but was unable to catch christi richards who would go on to beat the women's course record).   At the sypes/foothill junction as the trail turned downhill and with about 4miles to go, I tried to really pick up the pace but out-of-the-blue, my right hamstring cramped severely, forcing me to drop to the trail on all fours in agony.  I was able to slowly stretch and walk it off but despite the downhill grade, running wasn’t happening and I scampered along as best I could.  The final climb of the course soon began (I call it heartbreak hill), and I was moving well til my quads began to cramp, again forcing me to stretch and really slow the pace.  I couldn’t help but frequently glance at my watch, knowing my sub 7-hour goal was quickly slipping away with this new stretch and hobble pace.  I eventually crested the top of the climb, leaving a little over 2 miles of downhill trail to the finish.  The cramping only allowed walking for a few minutes but finally resided to a point where I was able to run at a moderate pace the last 1.5 miles to the finish.  Done in 7:06 for 7^th place. 

Rose: beautiful morning and pure enjoyment of the truman “half” of the course

Thorn: 2miles of major cramping and hobbling along near the end

Bud: I’d considered the HURL elkhorn 50miler in august but am excited to instead be focusing on my endless list of mountain adventures for the remainder of the summer before toeing the line at the RUT 50k in September

Thoughts: I was disappointed to have not broken 7 hours and the rough 2miles of cramping near the end but otherwise I had a great race.  Hanging out at the finish chatting with the 6 prior finishers and race directors was fun and a great example of how friendly and low-key this race is.  Don’t skimp on fueling, particularly in the last quarter of a race.

Crazy Peak skiing

A combination of final exams, a week in colorado, weather, and moving to bozeman for my summer internship have limited the “blog worthy” outings lately.  Plenty of 3-4 hour runs but no real full-day mountain adventures. 

top of the crazy couloir

However just as the calendar turned to June and I thought I might be done skiing for the year, the stars aligned for a high pressure system to coincide with an unexpected 3-day weekend.  After weighing a number of options, I decided to head to the Crazy mountains, excited to explore a new range.

looking NW from atop crazy peak

After a great night of sleep at the half moon campground, I hit the trail slightly before first light (should have been earlier but without a partner, its easy to hit snooze a few times).  I left the trail at the 2^nd bridge and cruised through some easy bushwhacking to the basin below crazy peak’s N face.  After stashing my shoes and putting on boots/crampons, I climbed the N face directly.  A shallow overnight freeze made for fairly slow and frustrating climbing conditions. 

From the lower N summit, a short downclimb put me atop the crazy couloir.  Having not skied in a few weeks, the steep and narrow jump-turns demanded my utmost attention.  After just a few turns, the couloir opened to a wide apron, which was disappointing since I was expecting the steep angle and soaring rock walls of the upper couloir to last for most of the run. 

crazy couloir's apron on R, moderate run I ascended on L

nice E-facing run I ascended above hidden lake

SE ridge.  all the rocky walking/scrambling today did some damage to my DyNA EVO race boots.
nothing major but also not sustainable for future use on rocky terrain.  

Despite not yet being 9am, the temps were already soaring so I skied slush down to hidden lake for a water refill.  I then skinned the prominent E-facing run looker’s L of the couloir to gain the SE ridge before scrambling a few hundred feet to the higher S summit.  I took an extended break on top to eat, relax and dry my socks and liners in the sun.  Next up was the S bowl, which held good corn up top followed by slushy skiing for over 2000ft til I ran out of snow, slightly above the unnamed lake downstream from crazy lake. 

a group of skier's on the lower N summit, directly above the snowy chimney you down climb to access the saddle 

S bowl down to unnamed lake.  a portion of crazy lake is visible on far right

such a sad sight...

The skin back up the S bowl was a real scorcher and a slow grind but I persevered.  From the summit, I was little worried about figuring out how to scramble down the broken, rocky terrain to the saddle between the summits but fortunately I found some old mountain goat tracks in the occasional snow patches which helped show me the way.  Once in the saddle, I could see the W couloir became more rock than snow after a mere few hundred feet so I was denied my goal of a 4x4 tour (ski 4 runs on the 4 aspects).  Instead I scrambled up to the N summit where I again took an extended break to dry out my socks and liners before dropping in to the N face. 

W couloir.  note all the rocks 

higher S summit from the north.  note the bootprints to traverse around the rocky tower

dropping in to the N face 

Relying on my memory from the morning’s climb, I was able to forge a route down the rocky upper portion of the face before skiing 2000+ ft. of slush down to my shoes.  A ribbon of snow in the runout zone of the N face provided a nice ski egress before a short jaunt through the woods (mostly skiing) brought me to the trail.  Given it was early June, I was pretty stoked to able to ski to within a 1000 vert of the trailhead.

rocky upper portion of the N face

a lean N face of crazy peak

Less snow coverage in the range than I had hoped for and the super warm temps. prompted me to bail on more skiing the following day and instead head back to bozeman to spend the remainder of the weekend relaxing and running.

Stats:  just shy of 9k in 10.5 hours car-car

Rose: despite the heat, an all-around great day exploring the high point of a new range on skis

Thorn: with non-ski plans in place for the next 2 weekends, my ski season is most likely over…always a tough pill to shallow

Bud: running and climbing adventures in the high country for the next few months!

Thoughts: the scrambling between the 2 summits is slow and non-trivial, there appears to be an abundance of great looking ski terrain in the Crazies, a return trip is certainly warranted ideally in early spring once you could drive within a mile or 2 of the trailhead