Climber: John Holden Gibson III
Andrew called at 9:30pm PST with the following dispatch: Yesterday we climbed Crescent tower. The route is called "Ears Between" the direct route in 8 pitches, there are basically two granite donkey ears topping the route and we were able to summit the east ear. The route has a couple really cool airy spots where you have to step out over open air to transfer past a chimney or traverse to the next line, while mostly moderate in grade it was really exciting.
It was a great day the weather report was not great but it ended up being great weather. From the top we had a great view of Howser towers, pigeon spire and some of the other peaks in the area that you can't see from camp.
The descent took us as long the ascent. There was still snow on a lot of the rappel stations so we had to improvise some. We had a beautiful descent on the snow and passed several amazing glacial tarns. They were a stupendous deep blue color that you would never find anywhere else.
My favorite part of every trip is dinner though. Last night we had some excellent white and yellow cheddar Annie's mac and cheese. We added some Hempler's sausage with some salsa and a little carrot (because we care about our health up here!) Basically, I'm teaching Holden how to cook for college up here. No Ramen for us.
We also got a weather breakdown from the climbing ranger. As predicted today has been windy after rain all night last night and a little rain today. So, we're taking a rest day today and work on skills. Then the next four days we have a high pressure system forecast so we plan to hit it hard with full engines tomorrow.
We're going to try and tick off a route on each of the big towers. Pigeon, Snowpatch and Bugaboo. Our other goal is to eat everything we brought in here. Currently we are eating well and are the envy of all those around us. Our giant tent and solar panel and virtual multi-media center are keeping us pretty comfortable around camp.
Holden wants to say thank you to his parents and grandma for giving him this opportunity, and Andrew is likewise grateful for this opportunity to be spending time in such an epic place. It's actually really amazing to see granite in every direction. Surrounded by glaciers and incredible alpine terrain.
It was a great day the weather report was not great but it ended up being great weather. From the top we had a great view of Howser towers, pigeon spire and some of the other peaks in the area that you can't see from camp.
The descent took us as long the ascent. There was still snow on a lot of the rappel stations so we had to improvise some. We had a beautiful descent on the snow and passed several amazing glacial tarns. They were a stupendous deep blue color that you would never find anywhere else.
My favorite part of every trip is dinner though. Last night we had some excellent white and yellow cheddar Annie's mac and cheese. We added some Hempler's sausage with some salsa and a little carrot (because we care about our health up here!) Basically, I'm teaching Holden how to cook for college up here. No Ramen for us.
We also got a weather breakdown from the climbing ranger. As predicted today has been windy after rain all night last night and a little rain today. So, we're taking a rest day today and work on skills. Then the next four days we have a high pressure system forecast so we plan to hit it hard with full engines tomorrow.
We're going to try and tick off a route on each of the big towers. Pigeon, Snowpatch and Bugaboo. Our other goal is to eat everything we brought in here. Currently we are eating well and are the envy of all those around us. Our giant tent and solar panel and virtual multi-media center are keeping us pretty comfortable around camp.
Holden wants to say thank you to his parents and grandma for giving him this opportunity, and Andrew is likewise grateful for this opportunity to be spending time in such an epic place. It's actually really amazing to see granite in every direction. Surrounded by glaciers and incredible alpine terrain.
1 comment:
I'm glad you had a successful day. Wish I could see the granite views. I'll be praying for good weather the next few days.
Miss you!
Tash
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