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Hello all,

Planning on attempting Gannett the last week of July via the standard route - I had a few quick questions:

1. In 5 of the 6 trip reports I read for the time of year I would be climbing, no rope was used during the trip - Obviously if it can be avoided I would prefer not to carry in a rope.

2. Obvisously I understand weather can be unpredictible in any mountains - Is a 0 degree synthetic overkill for the last week of july, I would prefer to pack my 30 degree which is a lot smaller - would love input on anyone who has climbed around this time of year what type of bag they carried in.

Just trying to cut as much weight as I possibly can for obvious reasons - thanks for the input.

I am still looking for a partner if anyone is interested -again am planning the last week of july.

thanks.

We went during the third week of July and nights got down into the 30's in Titcomb Basin, but I have no idea if those are normal temperatures. I usually like to bring a bag on the lighter side of what I expect to need and sleep in a jacket or several layers of clothing if necessary. One word of warning, the mosquitoes there were the worse I ever encountered (think walking through black clouds). We all bought 98% DEET which made the trip bearable.

Dave Varga wrote:One word of warning, the mosquitoes there were the worse I ever encountered (think walking through black clouds). We all bought 98% DEET which made the trip bearable.

I second that. I say bring a lighter sleeping bag and make up the difference in DEET.

I might be in if I can get time off - keep me posted. I'm working in the teton all summer.

For sleeping bag decision you might want to note what you will be using for a shelter...

I used a 25 degree synthetic bag with a BD Mesa tent + fly, it was plenty warm for me. YMMV

The answer to your question is largly dependant on personal preferences and climbing ability which we don't really know, you need crampons and ice axe, if it was me, no rope and a thirty degree bag is fine. Expect, as everyone said, Misquitos as bad as you have ever seen.

CBakwin wrote:The answer to your question is largly dependant on personal preferences and climbing ability which we don't really know, you need crampons and ice axe, if it was me, no rope and a thirty degree bag is fine. Expect, as everyone said, Misquitos as bad as you have ever seen.

Ya, for sure was bringing Ice axe and crampons. I feel fine without a rope, but wanted to make sure. I'm thinking my minimalist 30 degree and then some light warm clothes - Just trying to cut corners where I can, I took a practice trip last weekend with a lot of my gear and was hopeing to cut weight more.

I used a summer bag. Pants that convert to shorts are helpful. You'll have a range of temps. Hot days - cold nights. One buddy brought a down vest and was quite comfortable. I brought 2 layers of long underwear and just piled it on. Crampons, axe, patience. Lots of patience. Get as close as you can to the summit, because if you leave from Titcomb Basin, your looking at a long day - I think we left at 3 am and storms came in around 2pm... You will get T-storms in the pm, I promise you that. Pencil in some extra days if you can. We didn't have trouble with bugs. I wish we had brought a rope, but no one wanted to carry it, including me. ;-D GOOD LUCK

We climbed it in mid-August and I used a 15° bag. I think I would have been cold in a 30° bag, but I'm kind of a whimp. We carried a rope but never used it, other than for ballast - we finally stashed it at the top of the Gooseneck Pinnacle.

Titcomb basin is an ice box most of the year. I took a 0 degree bag, on the third week of july, last year. The nights had some hard freezes, and I was glad to have it. Gannett can be done that time of year without a rope.you may want to hook up with another team, or people on the mountain, for safety sake, (There are crevass crossings.) the best piece of gear we took on that trip was a HEAD NET.

For our mid July trip we took a rope. It probably wasn't needed, but above the schrund was rock hard snow and it sure was nice having it to belay each other while traversing over it. One guy in our group had some pretty dull crampons and was having serious difficulty front pointing on the slope. He did slip and was caught by the rope, although he probably would have arrested the fall.

As for the bag- it all depends on your personal preference and of course you never know what the temps will be. I took a 30 degree bag and was fine, although I did wear extra layers a few of the nights.

Good luck!

We climbed Gannet the first week of September. We used 30 degree bags and were just fine. We slept on top of Bonney Pass. We used our 7mm - 30m rope and it was very helpful over and above the b'shrung. It was wide open and the snow bridge was in pieces. The nice thing about late August/early September, is we didn't see one single mosquito. The snow levels were low and we only encountered snow when we descended Bonney Pass to summit.
Good Luck!

We've been on the Titcomb Basin route twice now, the most recently two weeks ago. I used a 35° bag (17 ounces!) in a Megamid both times. Borderline on one night, but I simply slept in my puffy.

We did not use a rope, but the Dinwoody does have crevasses and I know of several accounts of people falling in. Also, for us the summit ridge was a little spooky. A NOLS group that followed us used a rope.

<a href="http://www.splattski.com/2010/gannett/index.html">Trip Report</a>

splattski wrote:We've been on the Titcomb Basin route twice now, the most recently two weeks ago. I used a 35° bag (17 ounces!) in a Megamid both times. Borderline on one night, but I simply slept in my puffy.

We did not use a rope, but the Dinwoody does have crevasses and I know of several accounts of people falling in. Also, for us the summit ridge was a little spooky. A NOLS group that followed us used a rope.

<a href="http://www.splattski.com/2010/gannett/index.html">Trip Report</a>

Good trip report, thanks.
You're right about the best instant coffee ever.

We are planning a climb of Gannett Peak starting from Dubois on the Glacier Trail on Saturday, July 17. SP members Catamount, edsclimb, Holsti97, and dalescout and 2 others will be heading out that day. We are shooting for a July 19 summit day, but have built in a bad weather day and could be in the Winds 4 to 6 days depending on how things go. Anybody else making an attempt the week of July 17 to July 22?