| 20071212 Telegraph Peak West Face Attempt Trip Report |
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| 20071212 Telegraph Peak West Face Attempt   | 
| Page Type: Trip Report Location: California, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 34.25745°N / 117.60774°W Date Climbed/Hiked: Dec 12, 2007 Activities: Mountaineering Season: Winter | Page By: TacoDelRio Created/Edited: Dec 12, 2007 / Jun 15, 2008 Object ID: 364910 Hits: 509 Loading... Page Score: 87.69% - 6 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
The ConceptLive in SoCal? Like Alpine Climbing? Don't have much money?
I made a list before this fall of all the possible routes I'd like to try and climb in my mountains, the San Gabriel Mountains. I'm slowly ticking them off, one by one, avoiding ones that don't look right in person, and finding some other new ones along the way.
Telegraph and her sister peak, Thunder Mountain |
The Beautiful West Face |
One really aesthetic line I still wish to climb is on Telegraph Peak, an ignored peak in the Cucamonga Wilderness. This is one of my favorite peaks in the area, and it is really a beautiful mountain from all sides. I climbed up its' Northwest Face just before New Years Day 2007, and this peak has had me ever since.
Several couloirs heading up the West Face |
When viewed from Cow Canyon Saddle, or from any point south of Baldy and west of Telegraph (with enough elevation), you can see a white line running up Telegraph's West Face, like a snake. I first saw this couloir when I hiked to the top of Sunset Peak in late summer. I quickly added it to my "to-climb" list, which was already crowded with a bunch of other crap that I'll probably never climb.ExecutionOn the morning of December 12, 2007, I set off to attempt this climb.
Bulletproof Ice |
Icehouse Canyon was rather quiet, normally being a major tourist attraction. Met a few folks on the way up, all friendly. I wore crampons from the entrance all the way up to about halfway up Chapman Trail, due to the hard ice encountered in several spots. I'm sure some purists can do without them, but I don't have health insurance like they do.
I stopped about halfway up the trail to Cedar Glen, as my right heel was getting a blister. I stopped, took my crampons, boots, and gaiters off, and checked it out. I was glad I brought my athletic/climbing glove tape, and some stretchy-grabby-whatever tape you see folks using on pets at the vet. The stretchy-yeah tape works as a nice padding, while the athletic tape does a great job of holding it and reducing friction on the area in question.
There was another blister, in the same spot but on the opposite foot. The flesh under the thick flap of skin that was hanging off was so bright red, it surprised me. I run a lot through the various cities near where I live in LA County, and I typically get 3-5 blisters per 10-20 mile night run. I hadn't seen a deep blister like this in a long time.
Taped them up, casually kitted up, and left at a slightly slower pace.Good Old PostholingI reached Cedar Glen Campground, and kept following the trail. I marked a spot I assumed was the right gully to follow, hoping this gully would head up to the face, where it would narrow into the couloir I wished to ascend. I marked the spot, and kept walking to make sure I didn't miss anything.
The start of the approach gully |
Turned back, and headed up the gully. The snow wasn't very deep, 6 inches at the most, and I wasn't yet in the territory of boulders with moats and hidden logs that cripple unfortunate climbers. But, to my relief, that was just up ahead a few hundred meters!
Ah, avalanche debris! |
By this time, my brain told my heels to shut up, and so the pain from the blisters was gone. I didn't require crampons yet, but I removed my general mountaineering axe from my pack and used it as a probe for deep spots and moats, and also for self belay where I could get some purchase.
Just about there... |
I made it up to very near the base of the West Face, within view of the beautiful lines heading up the face, but I decided to hold off. it was nearly 2pm, and I didn't want to be on reaching the top of the route some 760 meters right up, before sunset around 4:50pm. I would much rather come back some other day, and do it in the early morning, starting by headlamp, and climbing the majority by the early morning light.
I began descending the approach gully carefully. I hit my left shin on several logs, nearly torquing my leg as if to break it several times. All the hidden obstacles under the snow, the freshly uprooted trees, and boulders everywhere display nature's power to those who recognise the signs.
Got back on the trail, drank some water, and headed down at a good clip. Put on crampons when I reached the frozen steps in Icehouse Canyon. The ice here made me think of how I'd like to do some "ice farming" someday, in case I ever had a ranch of my own with all the fixin's.Next time, Gadget. Next time!A roll of the dice will tell me when the route will be in condition, if ever. I hope to try this route again soon, by hiking up to Cedar Glen and camping out the day before. Wake up early, and try to top-out by around 11-noon, before the sun can turn the place to mush.
Better luck next time |
My apologies if there are any spelling and/or grammatical errors.
All images are set "Medium:Center", as it was too beautiful a day to just have thumbnail images here and there on the page. Images
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San Gabriel Mountains > Telegraph Peak > 20071212 Telegraph Peak West Face Attempt
