The Hulk

Every aspiring alpine rock climber knows of the Hulk.  Time and time again, we open the mags to see images of Peter Croft stemming his way up the perfect granite dihedrals that the Hulk is know for.  Drawn to these aesthetic lines, we image what it is like to tiptoe our way up them.  For Kyle Neeley and I, we decided this year it was time to get a first hand look.

After 16 hours in the car, we found ourselves at Twin Lakes and the trailhead to the Hulk.  We gather the necessary permits and began the hike in.  The approach turned out to be mellow, heading up the valley to Barney Lake before turning left for a slight grunt to the upper basin.  After 2.5 hours we were at camp and the base of the Hulk.  The granite fortress stretched tall above us and all of the striking features we had seen in mags were now at our fingertips. 

The short approach gave us plenty of time to crag a little so we decided to start out with a stinger: Venturi Effect.  Kyle’s goal was to take a look at the crux pitch (3^rd) and possibly give it a go.  From the moment you leave the ground, Venturi Effect is on ya.  Very delicate smearing and stemming kept forcing our best technique.  I took on the second pitch, which started out quite casual then became real.  More delicate moves with spaced out gear kept me on edge.  Eventually we were at the base of the crux pitch and looking up one of the most impressive stem corners either of us had seen.  Unfortunately it was baking in the heat and we were tired from the other two pitches.  We decided to head back to camp for shade and some dinner.

The next day we got on Sunspot.  An amazing 7-pitch climb up one of the stunning dihedrals.   It shares the start with Positive Vibrations then branches off left.  It follows an amazing finger crack up the dihedral for four long pitches.  Barely letting up at all, we stemmed and lie-backed our way up the beautiful line.  Clouds were building over the valley so rather than continue to the true summit, we stopped at the top of the difficulties and began our descent.  A single 70m line allowed us to rap another route and quickly reach the base. 

For day 3, it was time for another classic, so we decided to climb Positive Vibrations.   This time after the first two pitches, we branched out right towards a slight chimney pitch.  This route followed closely to an arête giving it great exposure.  Different from Sunspot, Positive Vibrations threw at us a variety of climbing challenges.  We worked our way up some amazing pitches: stem corners, finger cracks, and some of the best granite hand cracks I’ve ever climbed.  After 9 pitches of brilliant climbing, we reached the top with soar hands and feet.  Again, with the 70m rope we were able to rap down most of Venturi Effect and reach the base without a problem.      

Our final day turned out to be just a descent day.  Hoping to climb Red Dihedrals, we decided it best to pass when we woke to find 4 other parties gearing up for it.  It was at the bottom of our priority list and we were very please with what we had already climbed.  After a casual morning, we packed up and hit the trail.  Eventually back at the car, we mentally prepared ourselves for the grueling drive home.  We drove through the night and after another 16 hours on the road all strung out on energy drinks, I found myself back in Missoula and easing back into reality. 

  

                                      

 Pitch 1, Venturi Effect

 Pitch 2, Venturi Effect

 Pitch 4, Sunspot

 Pitch 5, Sunspot

 Pitch 6, Sunspot

 Pitch 7, Sunspot

 Pitch 1, Positive Vibrations

 Pitch 4, PV

 Pitch 5, PV

 Pitch 6, PV

 Final pitch, PV

Nothing like a peanut butter burrito when you are all out of water!

Mt. Temple

The North Face of Mount Temple first caught my attention about 13 years ago while on my first alpine trip to Canada.  It’s hard not to get captivated by this monster.  With a nearly 5,000ft North face capped by seracs, it dominates the Lake Louise landscape and calls to all alpinist. 

 North face of Mt. Temple

Ben scouting the route from Lake Annette

Timing had finally worked out and I was on my way North with Ben Brunsvold to attempt Temple.  Mid season conditions made it apparent that the best route choice would be the Greenwood/Jones.  It’s a rock rib left of center on the face, protected from the obvious objective hazards above.   I had some friends climb it a few years back and they were forced to bivy on route, so we decided it would be best to camp at the base the night before and bring the bivy gear on route. 

Nightfall from our bivy at Lake Annette

Ben low on the route

We had a fairly sleepless night due to pikas trying to get in our gear and worries from the recent bear activity in the area.  5 am came too quickly and I was rudely awakened by the alarm blaring in my ear.  While I was discovering that our gear made it through the night, I was startled by voices.  I scanned the landscape and then spotted them, two climbers hiking through the talus.  “We are totally screwed”, I thought.  There was only one route they would be going for and sure enough it was the same we planned on climbing.  With the objective hazard high and the loose nature of the rock, I thought it would be a horrible idea to follow these other climbers.  After some serious thinking, Ben and I decided to assume the responsibility and risk associated with climbing behind another party.  We quickly packed up and headed for the base of the route.

Ben mid-route

Sunrise from our bivy

The other group had an hour start on us so we started climbing as soon as we reached the base.  One short pitch got us to easy forth class climbing and we put the ropes away.  As we were scrambling up, we noticed the other guys climbing a dihedral.  There was some easier looking terrain to the right so we headed that way and continued soloing.  After about 12 pitches, we worked our way back to the prominent rib and pulled the ropes back out.  We had passed the others and were about a pitch and a half in front of them.  Ben and I started dispatching pitch after pitch of loose limestone rock.  Route finding proved to be difficult from time to time, but we were always able to work our way through it. 

 The final summit slopes 

Finally cramponing up

Eventually after enough route finding issues, the other guys caught up to us and we began working as one team.  Despite have 3 different route descriptions; it still wasn’t obvious where to go.  The others (Mikael and Rafal from Canada) were pushing for a day ascent, but weren’t insisting on passing, so I continued to lead the group.  We finally reached a feature on the wall that lead us to believe we were close to the summit slopes.  I traversed, rappelled, traversed, and climbed a pitch just as the light was fading.  I belayed everyone up to this meager ledge I was on just as darkness overtook us.  It appeared we were one pitch from the summit slopes, but we were now on a ledge that could support a four-person bivy.  The decision was made to call it quit and settle in for the night.

Rafal on the summit ridge

Summit!

Mikael and Rafal were without bivy gear so we spread the 2 bags that we had between the four of us.  It was a cold uncomfortable night, but we all managed to get some rest.  When the sun began to rise at 5am, we knew it was time to get going.  We were all eager to get to the summit slopes and off the wall.  Rafal climbed through the final barrier and brought us all up.  We could finally see the summit slopes and were just some scrambling from them.  We quickly packed the ropes away and scrambled to the snow. 

View from the top of Moraine Lake

Ben enjoying success on his first Canadian giant

Once we had our crampons on, the going was easy.  We roped up and trudged up the ridgeline to the summit.  It was 9:30 in the morning and we were psyched to be heading down to food and water.  After a 3-hour descent we were at Moraine Lake and Rafal’s amazing wife showed up with food, water, and beer.  We laughed as we walked past the tourists who had no idea what we just experienced.  But unfortunately for us, it was time to return to that same comfy reality.  Until next time….

Lake Koocanusa

Forth of July weekend was Linsey's b-day weekend so she and a few of us headed to her favorite place to climb...Lake Koocanusa.  We enjoyed the slow drive up there hitting a bar along the way and eventually getting to camp shortly before dark.  It was a nice weekend filled with climbing and swimming. Its always a nice way to spend a few days with friends.

 Linsey

 Noxon bar

 Jessica

 Kelly and Linsey

 Gunner

Flathead River

A few weeks ago Justin and Lexi asked me if I'd like to join a trip on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.  Well it was a no brainer and I was quickly in the car headed north.  This was a stretch of river I wanted to float for a long time.  Justin and I planned on hiking in 14 miles to Shaffer Meadows while the others flew in with the gear.  The hike was pleasant with a few showers and we reached the meadow shortly after everyone else had.  We set up camp and enjoyed a beautiful night in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

In the morning we packed up and hit the river.  We spent two days covering 25 miles, running long stretches of class III and IV rapids.  It was a blast and I'm looking forward to the next time I can do a trip like this. 

Justin and I hiking in

 Camp at Shaffer meadows

 Justin and Lexi

 Justin and Spanky

 The Flathead at Shaffer Meadows

 Camp 2

 Spanky having a blast

Skiing Mt. Rainer

It had been years since my last attempt on Rainer, but with a weather forecast matching up perfectly with my schedule, I thought; “What the hell, I’ll try it again, but this time ski down.”

Muir snowfields 

Camp Muir

With all the success I’ve had around the world climbing, Rainer’s summit has always eluded me.  Several attempts ended with poor weather and I never really gave the mountain much thought afterwards.  Yeah it would be cool to stand on top, but it really didn’t matter much to me.  Last week when the weather forecast looked great, Ben suggested we try to ski Rainer.  It sounded like a fine idea.  Even if it didn’t happen we would still have a good time.

Sunset and sunrise from camp

Our friend Blake joined us and after a quick pack job Sunday, we were on the road.  We spent the night at Rimrock Lake then drove into the park the next morning.  Neither Ben nor Blake had been to Rainer before and both were psyched at the magnitude of the mountain.   We got the necessary permits and casually packed for the ascent.  It was around noon when we finally left the car and began the slow climb to Camp Muir.

Blake working his way up

It’s a casual ascent up the Muir snowfields to camp at around 10,000ft.  We got up there with plenty of time to relax, cooking dinner and watching the sunset from above the clouds.  Since we were planning to ski down, it wasn’t necessary for an early ascent so we set our alarms for 5am and hit the bags. 

Summit pic

In the morning we watched the sunrise and casually had breakfast while getting our gear together.  It was 7am when we left camp and the day was looking amazing.  Light winds and blue skies.  The snow was still firm so we put our crampon on and started up.  One foot in front of the other, we slowly made out was up.  Sections of the climb were steep and the guide services had fixed ropes, but overall it was pretty chill hiking.  After many small steps, and a few crevasse crossings, we found ourselves at the summit crater.  It was a short distance to the summit and soon we were standing on top.  The slight breeze on top had a bite to it so we quickly clicked into our skies and dropped it to a more sheltered position.  After a quick bite, the fun began.

Blake skiing the top of the cleaver

The snow up high was a bit icy, but still soft enough to get an edge in.  Since the slopes weren’t too steep, it made for some really fun skiing.  We worked our way down the variable snow, crossing crevasses and following our ascent trail.  Icy sections gave way to soft snow and we occasionally got some excellent turns in.  Eventually we made it to a spot where we felt it safer to boot down towards a more mellow section.  Once near the Ingram flats, we clicked back in and continued our ski descent back to camp.

Ben sneaking through the rocks

Once at camp we all refueled with some food, water and took a nap.  Eventually we broke down camp and started the next section back to the car.  The Muir snowfields were a blast.  We casually made turns having a blast all the way back to the car and the warm temps.  We got back down in the early evening and enjoyed some cold beers before beginning the journey home. 

It was nice to finally stand on top of that mountain and wonderful to have descended on skies.  After being shut down by weather so many times, it was nice to finally get a break.  5^th time’s a charm….