Past Featured Trip Reports

A summer trip to Glacier and the Missions in 103 degree weather made me want to camp in some snow and cold. I also had 2 other objectives 1. To watch the Wolves of Yellowstone and 2. If possible try to scramble to the summit of a decent peak. I invited 2 friends from here in NC, Dan the Man ( an avid outdoorsman) and Corey ( a top notch Medic, SAR, firemen, etc) Dan had visited the west last year but did not get into the backcountry and Corey had never been west of Knoxville TN. We decided that with an emphasis on wildlife and secondly peaks, the Yellowstone area would provide more than enough opps for 2 weeks.

Some of my recent trip reports have focused on my changed impressions of areas that I had previously dismissed for varying reasons. Here is another. This trip report is at once an acknowledgement that I was wrong, an exhortation to others not to make the same mistake, and an encouragement to all to get out here and personally experience the magic of the Elk Range. In a trip report on Static Peak in the Tetons, I wrote that the Tetons had long turned me off because of their crowds, their overused images, and the pretentiousness of Jackson. Well, I could say essentially the same things here by just substituting the Elks for the Tetons and Aspen for Jackson. And, again, I would be wrong, about the mountains, anyway. The Maroon Bells belong in any debate about this country’s and maybe even the world’s most beautiful mountains. They also appear in advertisements, calendars, and postcards ad nauseam. One can therefore tire of these mountains very easily without ever setting foot in them, without even seeing them with his own eyes, in fact. A bad, bad idea.

Been counting down the days to our desert trip since our last desert trip. I think we live in the wrong region of the country. The truck is sitting low and the suspension squeaks under the load of gear, our dog, and the supply of 50 bottles of Oregon’s finest microbrews. Plans to leave work early on Friday fall through as both Shirley and I have some last minute bullshit to finish at work – oh well. We’re on the interstate by 4 entertained by the noises coming out of our new satellite radio. Mix of NPR and Howie keep me going…..and when Shirley falls asleep, I dare and venture into the realm of the PB channel! “So you take a frozen banana” …yes!?, “coat it in molten chocolate” Yes!! “and dip it in some peanuts…” YES!!?!…..sounds interesting. I’m bad – flying at 90 mph through the heart of this here red state listening to devil’s own word! Soon, though a fan of Ginger’s video work, I find myself falling asleep listening to her monotonous voice. OK back, to Stern.

“Just because winter has arrived in Colorado doesn’t mean that climbing has to come to a stop”, I thought as I was searching desperately for a partner to climb with on Saturday. It was my Thanksgiving Break, and most of my friends had either gone back home or decided to turn the hiatus into a ski-bum experience. I, on the other hand, had an incredibly strong allure to the rocks. My friends always give me a hard time for this. I just cannot get ‘into’ skiing or boarding. To me, snow and ice only add to the fun of technical climbing and mountaineering. I would much rather satisfy my craving for being outdoors at a slow pace vertically than at a fast pace horizontally. Nevertheless, I was bent on climbing at North Table Mountain, the closest local crag from where I was staying for Thanksgiving. It was also mostly Sport Climbing, the type that I love the most. Being able to climb a rock face that could otherwise not be protected is just awesome. If I cannot find anyone, I will just bring my crap and try to find another group to climb with. This is what I kept telling myself as I sent out e-mail after e-mail looking for someone. Finally, I got a response, the night before I planned to go to North Table. Fellow SP member Andy Leach and his wife offered to climb, and I we decided to meet the next morning around 10.

The name "Cucamonga" was derived from an old Spanish rancheria nearby. The meaning has been variously interpreted as "sandy place" or "place of many springs." That may describe the rancheria, but not the Cucamonga Wilderness, located at the east end of Southern California's San Gabriel range. The steep, rugged terrain rises abruptly from the urban San Bernardino Valley, ranging from approximately 5,000 feet to almost 9,000 feet. Most of the streams are intermittent and water is scarce, but the Wilderness offers a handy retreat to a beautiful sub-alpine setting on 18 miles of trails for the nearby suburban population. Numerous wildlife species do well in the area, including deer, bear, mountain lions, and bighorn sheep. The Cucamonga Wilderness is managed jointly by the Angeles and San Bernardino National Forests

For the last four years, my brother Steve and I have been trying to climb a multi-pitch route on Table Rock on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Until this year, we were consistently thwarted by weather. While it is usually raining or below freezing temperatures in the Linville Gorge Area this late in November, this year we had a lucky break. With no chance of precipitation and highs in the 60’s, we were going to get our shot. We had never climbed anything more than 2 pitches together, and were never high enough that rapping to the ground was not an option. Steve did not have my mountaineering experience, so he’d never had to deal with the exposure factor of climbing 200 plus feet off the deck.

We took a Grande Taxi from Marrakech to Imlil, we arranged this through the Riad we stayed at in Marrakech. This ensured that the taxi driver didn't pick up additional fares along the way and a price was agreed beforehand. If you don't mind additional passengers getting in and out along the way then you'll get a cheaper fare. Cheaper again would be to get a bus to Asni then a taxi onto Imlil. We left Marrakech at about 10am for a 1 & 1/2 hour drive to Imlil. This is a real white knuckle ride as everyone drives extremely fast and love to overtake, whether on a blind bend, hump or otherwise. On arriving at Imlil we were accosted by the usual men selling a variety of wares from pieces of crystal to the obligatory slippers. Usefully they also sell water / chocolate / maps / bread etc. The map we bought was a 1 : 50,000 scale and did not prove particularly useful along the way. There is a cicerone guide available that was useful to us.

Long before my first real trip to the Alps I started my planning of the trip. I bought a map in scale 1:50 000 of Dachstein. Summitpost page also helped me a lot. I´m still only a hiker who absolved some trips with crampons (Tatras) and with skialps in Krkonose mountains and enjoyed some I grade ridges in the Tatras. The reason is that I am still financially dependent on my parents and they are against my climbing career. So my first trip to the Alps must have been planned within borders of my abilities and possibilities.

It actually started a few years ago when Joe gave me an old copy of Camping and Climbing in Baja by John Robinson (La Siesta Press). In that book is a description of the various routes up Picacho del Diablo. That got me thinking, and as do many of my schemes, this one began as only a thought: “What about climbing it?” Fast forward a few years, and the thought had become a verbal invitation to a select few friends. In the end, it was down to three people who had the time to commit to the dates I had chosen for the attempt. Matt has been a long time friend, with whom I have spent many trips in the mountains over nearly thirty years. Joe (the unknown instigator of this whole endeavor) has also been a long time friend, and we’ve spent many nights in the Sierra together over the years as well. Joining us would be another friend of Matt’s, Eric. Although a few years younger than the rest of us and perhaps with not as much mountain experience, Eric’s fitness and personality were a perfect match for this experience. The group was set.

“I know of an easy, unclimbed six thousand meter peak that I might try up Chapursan way” mentioned Peter. To date the unclimbed peaks above 6000m that we had tried to climb during our long summer in Pakistan had proved to be either very hard or very dangerous – or both! Twice we had summited a virgin peak only find the altimeter reading less than 6000m. Much of the summer had been spent climbing soft snow, sugary ice and poor rock. I was tired of crap climbing conditions. The walk-ins had been long and many-a-day had been spent crossing glaciers and climbing endless scree. One peak had involved a day and a half walk from base camp just to start the climb! I looked forward to being able to take a cable car from Chamonix up to the Aiguille du Midi station and be on a route next morning without too much effort. I liked the sound of the peak Peter had in mind… short walk-in… over 6000m… easy… unclimbed… exactly what I was looking for to round off the summer!