Gannett Peak Summer of 2023

Gannett Peak from Pole Creek Trail Head. Sept 29, 2023

Gannett Peak Time Line

from Pole Creek Trail Head

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

2:00 PM Left Pole Creek Trail head. Tried to use the Miller/Sweeney Cutoff, encounter a large windfall that had all but erased the trail (Trees were so thick and tall that we had to go around some because they were over out heads.). Did all of this with full packs on. Ended up dead heading to the north to hit Pole Creek Trail.

8:00 PM Arrived at Island Lake and made camp as it got dark. (11 +/- miles)

We had thunder, rain and pea sized hail that night.

We were pretty tired and had lost a little time and steam with the windfall encounter.

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Got up around 7:00 AM

8:00 AM Broke camp and headed to Titcomb Lakes basin. 10:30 AM (4 or 5 miles)

(About two, plus hours from Island Lake to upper Titcomb Lake.)

We camped about the 10600 foot elevation, I didn’t want to pack any higher with our backpacks.

Might have been a good idea to go up to 10,800 but where we based camped offered a little better wind protection. Camped on the north side of a big rock, Joktan spent some of the day building up the wind break. That night we had a very strong south wind for most of the night, with a short period of rain.

Spent most of that day just resting, (took a nap,) did a little hiking around, went further up the valley to look at Dinwoody Pass. At first it looks like it was going to be a lot of loose scree, but when we got on it to was larger rock, much of which was lose but still passable. Most all the snow had melted off. Going earlier in the season would have made it better if you don’t mind going up snow.

We hit the bags pretty early that night. Joktan had set his phone alarm for 4:30.

I put earplugs in because of the wind noise.

Thursday, August 31, 2023

Joktan didn’t wake me up until 6:00 AM. I was a little freaked out because I had hoped to get on the route by first light or even before. We got ready and hit the route by 7:00 AM. We had a little further to hike because we had not gone up the valley more to gain the extra 200 feet but moved pretty fast the first mile. The further up the valley you go the bigger the rocks get until you hit the pitch for Dinwoody Pass. It’s slow going with the Altitude gain and the rock conditions. I think we were on top in just over two hours then started the descent down to Dinwoody Glacier (Most all of the snow had melted off and exposed a very few crevasses that were between six to twelve inches wide. They did look pretty deep.) and then on to actually getting on Gannet Peak. Did the scramble up to the ridge and then on to Gooseneck Glacier. Stayed one shoot left of the bergschrunds and ascended a snow and ice field with a pitch between fifty and sixty degrees, might have been a little more in one place. Snow condition was pretty icy. Even in our return it had not gotten very soft. If a person is ok with pitch, no rope is needed. (We had not even brought a rope because we had enough “confidence” after Mt. Rainier. Ice and crampons are a must though.) The base of the pitch levels out pretty good, so even if you slipped the whole pitch, you could get stopped at the bottom.

At the top of the snow field we exited to the right and made out way to the base of the summit ridge. Was surprised of the size of all the rock we encountered. Looking at pictures I thought the summit ridge would almost be “walkable”, it was not. The rocks are large enough your either climb over them or go just to the right of them on the snow field. There were a number of places you could look off to the west, and a LONG way down. Much of the west side of the mountain is almost a complete vertical drop.

Once on the summit ridge it’s still not a fast moving pace but the elevation gain is gradual. Earlier in the season a person might be able to stay more on the snow. I had left my ice ax and crampons at the end of Gooseneck Pinnacle ridge and didn’t really need them on the last ridge to the top.

About seven plus (at 2:00 PM) hours after we had left base camp were made the summit. It was virtually cloudless except for a little haze on the northern horizon. Joktan had gotten up there before me but I was moving at an “old man’s” (but determined man’s) pace. Resting much of the day before had been a very good idea. It gave me the physical and mental reserves I needed for the summit day. Neither one of us ever felt that day that we would not make the summit. There was a price to do it but we dug down deep and got it done. After about twenty minutes, a couple cell calls, (we both called our wives and sent a picture to family members from the top) and some pictures, we headed down. We did find the register in a large Box like rock structure just under and to the north of the actual summit. It’s a large tube but the seal had been long time compromised and all of the contents were wet or moist. We did sign a few of the items in there. It needs a new register book, maybe in a zip lock bag to keep it dry.

We headed back down. The normal half the time down that you take going up did not play out on this mountain, partly because of all the rocks that need to be covered, even the snow pitch we had gone up took a little careful down climbing. The wind picked up going back across Dinwoody Glacier, there were a couple of gusts up to sixty miles per hour, and it was a head wind to boot.

Now we had to pay the piper again and ascend Dinwoody Pass for the second time that day. Crossing Dinwoody Glacier wasn’t too bad going back up. (My son did it without putting his crampons back on but dad didn’t want to chance it.)

Dinwoody Pass is not nice any way you slice it. Careful route finding might make it a little bit better but there are a lot of lose rocks of different size, it’s had to get into any rhythm with your steps, so it’s hard to pace yourself, here again, if the snow had gone up higher (earlier season) it would have been better.

Made Dinwoody Pass between 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Made it down into Titcomb Lakes basin before it got dark. Made to back to base camp in the dark. (I had downloaded a map of the area on the OnX Backcountry App and marked my base camp. (All the big rocks look the same in the dark.) Once we were past the rough stuff My son took off to find base-camp before it got too dark. He’d set up a flashlight on the big rock right next to our tent.

Time from camp to camp was fourteen hours. Left at 7 AM was back by 9:00 something PM.

In hinds-sight, we could have/should have hit the trail before first light. It would be a good idea to be able to see well before hitting the pitch for Dinwoody Pass. The route finding going up the first time is pretty crucial. We stayed a little more right on the way up the first time.

The route to base camp (Above upper Titcomb Lake) from Pole Creek Trail head was ten times better (in our opinion) than coming in from the northeast. We’d done that route the year before and had turned around part way up Gooseneck Glacier, about 12400 feet. That being said, it’s important to get in your head that once the summit it reached, there it still a long, long way and 1200+ more feet to gain again before you make it back to base camp from this direction. The total elevation gain on this route is 2000