Being an Idiot on Snowking

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Snowking Mountain

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Being an Idiot on Snowking

Snowking Revisited

Snowking Kindy Ridge: solitude, a mountain bike, and a taste of wilderness

Being an Idiot on Snowking

Page Type: Trip Report

Date Climbed/Hiked: Nov 30, 1999

Season: Summer

Page By: tazz

Created/Edited: Jul 24, 2006 / Jul 24, 2006

Object ID: 210057

Hits: 1196

Page Score: 88.28% - 12 Votes

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I am a Dumb ass!

“I think we should turn around here, I am not feeling well at all” I said.

“Really it is so close?” replied Matt.

“Ok a bit further and we will see what time it is and see how we are feeling then”

We were running out of time. I had plans to turn around by 11am. The sun was so intense I was feeling dizzy and nauseous. I couldn’t even walk strait and had not one once of energy left. I couldn’t get enough water. I knew I had to cool down and drink more. The sun was sucking all the water and life right out of me.

Thursday and Friday I hooked up to climb Snowking with a dear friend Matt. I knew it would be a good peak for Matt because he hikes or climbs only a couple times of year. Class 2-3 was perfect for his level. We had done some good peaks and traverses in the Goat Rocks and he rides a bike everyday for transportation so I figured Snowking was not out of his comfort zone.

This was one of those trip where I just could not stop being an idiot and making dumb ass decisions and mistakes. Here is what not to do if you want to summit. And I know better than to make stupid mistakes like these, but still did it anyways.... DUH!

1. I forgot my thermarest and slept on my pack in the bivy sac with just a fleece liner, no bag (couldn’t help but think of how comfy Matt was in his tent on his thermarest with his sleeping bag. Grrrr). I would not have been cold if I had the thermarest to insulate the ground. Got about 2-3 hrs of sleep total and most of that was in the morning when I was supposed to be waking up and climbing.

2. Took both our cell phone by accident. So there was no way for Dan and I to contact each other. I could not call him to say we would be late because it took longer to summit. I had to stick to the time I said I would be home because Dan had plans to leave as soon as I arrived that night to go to the Olympics. I planned on being home by midnight. NOT! I was still late! Of corse dan worried.

3. I was hot and tired so we decided to camp at the top of the first point on the ridge. Thinking would be an easy day Friday without packs. The route was slower than what I had thought it would be. This mistake was not huge but if we pressed on we might have had better chance at the summit.

4. I slept a bit late in my most uncomfortable bed. Got a late start in the morning. The heat was horrid at 9am. My thermometer said it was 120 + in the sun. I put it in the shade and it dropped to 94 degrees. I have never been just below the summit of a peak in the NW in heat like that.

5. I was an idiot and thought we might be able to traverse over from the lake to the saddle(looks doable on the map). NOT don’t go that way! We followed a slight track and then it just disappeared. We are so close by this time I didn’t want to turn back but that meant we had to go up. I knew the climbers path was up there on the ridge some where. We climbed strait up a VERY steep heather slope using ice axes for belay in the duff. Then bushwhacked our way up to the top of the ridge. That was fun but cost us precious time we didn’t really have.

All of the above was the DUH factor.

The route is in good shape. All spots one would get off trail have been flagged. The snow on the route is in great shpe but melting fast! The views are incredible. The lakes are like a treat for the eyes. Cyclone lake should be thawed after this weekend of 100 degree weather. What a beautiful place.

We got within 900' of the summit and turned back because we ran out of time and the heat was the worst I have ever hiked in.

Our descent was slow because Matt has not been hiking or climbing for over a year and was feeling it on the way down. I got home at 3am Sat morning after a loooooong drive home!

I would say the only things I would do different is never plan a time schedule for the return. That along with no communications with Dan had me stressed about time. Push myself a bit harder and DRINK MORE WATER. Stop having Duh days. I feel like an idiot who couldn't even climb one of the easiest peaks in the North cascades.

With all that said I enjoyed hanging with a good buddy. What a nice area! I will come back to finish the job when it cools down and maybe do a traverse over to Mutchler too.

Our accumulated gain for the trip was 9200' With about 12-13 (? Seems like more ) miles RT Now that was a good workout! Kick ass route.

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Viewing: 1-7 of 7

mvs

94 in the shade?

Voted 10/10

Man, that is hot, and so early in the morning. It will feel so much better in Sept/Oct, plus you'll get some nice colored heather for photogs!

Posted Jul 25, 2006 6:40 am


	mauri pelto	Re: 94 in the shade?
	Hasn't voted	Great shots of the lakes. Particularly the couloir leading right into it. Glad to see such adequate snowcover on Snowking Glacier still. I am glad I missed the joy of that heat, I am heading in tomorrow to Blanca Lake, should be nicer. Hard to avoid your heat problem, at least you fared better than photohiker in Montana. I was commenting the other day on how in the last decade how seldom we get a hard mountain frost at this time of the year. In the 80's we got one a week or so. Having spent the same three weeks in the Cascades for 23 years, I no longer need as warm a sleeping bag.
		Posted Jul 25, 2006 3:14 pm


	tazz	Re: 94 in the shade?
	Hasn't voted	heat records all over the NW were broke that day. Glad I was not on the east side of the crest. I think that the thermometer would have dropped another couple of degrees if had waited longer...but not much. Night temps hung around 60-65 and then dropped to 58 in the early am. By 8 am it rocketed back up to 80+ by 11 it was in the 90s. The sun was CRAZY HOT!!! I will get back to finish the job but never in that heat again. YUCK. thanks guys it is a Beautiful rugged area!
		Posted Jul 25, 2006 7:31 pm

MountaingirlBC

we need shirts

Voted 10/10

"I was an idiot in the mountains and lived to tell about it." We've all had those 'duh!' moments. They make some of the best stories when you get back :)

Posted Aug 9, 2006 7:14 pm


	tazz	Re: we need shirts
	Hasn't voted	LOL yes! It really bad when you finish a good scramble/climb and not one thing goes wrong and you say to yourself "what the hell am I going to write in the TR? Yup climbed up, made it to the summit, climbed down." How boring huh? LOL Thanks :)
		Posted Aug 9, 2006 8:48 pm


	MountaingirlBC	Re: we need shirts
	Voted 10/10	I hear ya... we were just commenting on this a couple weeks ago when we did a climb without incident. Just didn't seem right.
		Posted Aug 9, 2006 9:47 pm

cp0915

Stunning photos

Voted 10/10

Thanks!

Posted Jun 2, 2009 12:05 pm

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