| Whitetail-Silver Run Trip Report |
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| Whitetail-Silver Run   | 
| Page Type: Trip Report Location: Montana, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 45.08900°N / 109.587°W Date Climbed/Hiked: Jul 5, 2000 | Page By: mr kieran Created/Edited: Jan 24, 2004 / Object ID: 169238 Hits: 486 Loading... Page Score: 0% - 0 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Whitetail Peak is one of those mountains which has captivated me for some time, ever since I first saw a picture of it. In a range of massive, flat-topped mountains, Whitetail rises as an elegant pyramid between a pair of deep, picteresque glacial canyons. It is also one of the loftiest vantage points around; only three Beartooth summits sit higher. On a previous trip (in fact, only my second backpacking trip ever, at the tender age of 12) we had traveled up to Sundance Pass by way of an excruciating route from First Rock Lake, then scrambled to the summit of Mount Lockhart to view the final 1,000 feet of Whitetail's northeast ridge rising grimly in against the overcast evening sky.
Years later, while I was in college at the University of Montana, I was able to finally climb it. Back home in Helena that summer, I concocted the scheme somewhat on a whim and even succeeded in tricking one of my friends, who was home from college in Chicago, to come along with me. We drove my POS Jimmy down through Red Lodge early in the morning and started up the Lake Fork Rock Creek trail probably around 10:00 or so. The hike up the trail is rather easy and flat, and in fact somewhat tedious, but picteresque and pleasant enough for all that, with the creek roaring and fuming behind the willows that screen the bank from view and rubbly avalanche paths along the way offering splendid views up-valley toward Thunder Mountain and, of course, Whitetail Peak itself. Just after a bridged crossing of the Lake Fork (5 miles up or so), the trail divides, with the left hand junction headed up the main canyon toward the Keyser Brown Lake and the Rock Lakes, and the right hand path climbing along the valley edge toward Sundance Pass. This portion of trail gains quite a bit of elevation before the grade abates near September Morn Lake, but the slope at no time seems that severe. Additionally, the view for much of the grade is fantastic, which takes one's mind off the climb.
We ended up camping that night not at September Morn Lake, which would have been smart, but a mile or so above the lake in a gorgeous alpine basin at treeline just before the final climb to Sundance Pass. Our itinerary was to climb both Silver Run and Whitetail Peaks, taking one day to do each, then return the fourth day of the trip. As Silver Run is a bit easier on the legs and is a touch closer to Sundance Pass, we resolved to ascend it the next morning as way of getting used to the altitude and familiarizing ourselves with the area. Thus, we climbed it next day. At least I did. My friend seemed to have come down with a moderate case of altitude sickness that left him vomiting just 200 or so feet below the top, so I ran on up, rapidly took in the view of the spectacular thunderstorm bearing down on us (it was just 11:00 in the morning--storms usually roll in around 3 p.m.) and we both skedadeled. The descent to our campsite, by a different route from our ascent was a bit more interesting than we had hoped, and we ended up picking our way down broken cliffs to the little basin in which we were camped.
The next morning my good friend Ben lay on the tent floor in misery, unwilling to rise. I asked him how he slept that night and he groaned and told me he hadn't slept at all. Strange: I thought I hadn't slept at all, and every time I looked over I had found him insolently snoring away. Nevertheless, noting his ill condition, I resolved to take a little walk up toward the pass just to stretch my legs a bit, then pack up and get out before he REALLY got sick. One hour and 58 minutes later, I stood on top of Whitetail Peak. It was a refreshing little stroll indeed.
A little about the final scramble from the Whitetail-Lockhart saddle:
The northeast shoulder is steep, but nothing more than a boulder hop. At the time I climbed it, there were broad bands of snow which had to be crossed, and in places the slope is pretty steep. An ice axe is a useful object when snow is present on the shoulder. Needless to say, I left mine leaning against the wall at home, and was fervently wishing I had it with me. That's about it. The rest is pretty self-explanatory. I stopped just below the final summit pyramid and peered down the famed Whitetail Couloir into the head of the West Fork. There were boot tracks all the way up it. Not only is this couloir a popular ascent route, but it also one of the better known ski descent routes in the range. Reflecting upon this made my little scramble up the ridge seem very commonplace.
Nevertheless, the fact that the northeast ridge is easy and that hundreds of people have done it etc does nothing to diminish my enthusiasm for this particular climb. The view is incredible, the mountain is prominent, and the scenery on the approach is unbeatable. Whitetail Peak is an incredible mountain from any aspect, and an ascent of it by any route is a worthwhile outing.
To conclude our trip, I returned to camp, we packed up, we hiked out, we ate ungodly amounts of pizza at Bogart's in downtown Red Lodge, and we drove home to our warm beds and hot showers.
FINIS
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