Scrambled up to the east ridge near the summit of Donaldson Peak and summited both Church and Donaldson from there. A friend joined me to the pond before the peak and I soloed both summits, putting me at 7 of 9 of the 12,000+. Round trip took about 10 hours.
Beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, though a lot of dust from harvest in the distance. View my photo's here.
Hiked in to Lake 9682' the night before, then did a solo climb up Church's north face. It was about 2500' feet of 40-45 degree snow climbing. I'd been daydreaming about this route for a couple years, and it didn't disappoint. Here’s a trip-report and some photos.
Trying to grab all the 12's Date Climbed: Sep 15, 2007
Not in near good enough shape. Nothing like taking a step back for every step forward. Became sick and crashed in the saddle. It was a good trip though.
We had a little route finding issue on the way to the Church/Donaldson saddle that made things spicy. Super windy across the ridge- I took off my pack becasue it was working like a sail- so no pics on top.
I had a bad day on this one, with an early wake up and bad luck with crumbly handholds, several near accidents, and slow pace. Also ascended Donaldson Peak while we were up there.
Route Climbed: East Ridge Date Climbed: August 29, 2003
Climbed as my second peak in the 9 summits record. Overcast day, that kept the heat away but elminated great views. Linked it with Donaldson before calling it a early day.
Positioned smack dab in the middle of all the peaks, the views to do not disappoint.