Petros Peak 11050 Feet

The approach to Petros Peak

While we were in Washington DC last week I received a text from Dan Robbins wondering if we were up for a climb the following week.  After swapping a few texts we decided on Tuesday to try Petros Peak.  Even though Tuesday was the day I was supposed to return to work, I really needed another day off to clear my mind.  Nothing like being up on a peak to clear the images and sounds of a tremendous amount of people surrounding you.

We met up with Dan and John Platt at 5AM Tuesday morning for the 3.5 hour drive to the Northern Lost River mountains.  We decided to roughly follow the route John had attempted earlier in the year, but with a different take off point.   As it turned out this was a great idea as we were able to drive up to approximately 7500 feet and had a short approach hike before the trail turned steep.





John and Dylan surveying the route





Getting into a bit of snow now.



The weather was absolutely gorgeous as we headed up the mountain.  After the first hour we had gained over 1000 feet and were well above the trees looking at a tremendous amount of scree on the steepening slope.  At this point John, Dylan and I decided to move over to some snow while Dan figured the scree wasn't looking too bad.







We stopped to put on the crampons and headed up the mountain.  Since the snow had not frozen the previous night it was not very firm, but was still slightly consolidated allowing John to easily take the lead and kick steps for us.  The slope was approaching 40 degrees making for a fun climb even though our ice axes easily slipped down to the head.  It didn't take us too long to reach the top of the ridge where we stopped to wait for Dan as he struggled up the nasty scree.  I think we made the better choice! 

  

Dan heading up the scree with Dickey Peak in the background.

Once on the ridge we had a relatively easy stroll up the last 600 feet across a broad snow filled field.  We reached the summit in a little over three hours in fantastic weather.  There we all relaxed in the windless sunshine and had a leisurely lunch. 



Dan looking at the large cornice off the summit



Summit shot

 

View to the North

After 45 minutes or so we figured we had better get off the summit before the snow turned to mush.  The walk down the large snow field was pretty easy with minimal sinking.  Once we came to the steep snow field it was a little different story.  The warm afternoon had made the snow a little rotten.  John took a quick survey and decided we should just follow our steps down.  The was a little easier said than done as I kept blowing out the snow and sinking to my knees.  After what seemed like an hour we were all on the scree slope.

Looking back up at the summit across the snow field

Heading down the scree before the last snow slope.

Once down below the bad scree we decided to find an easier way down the steep slope and veered off into a broad gully.  We were able to plunge step down this gully and made fast time to the bottom.  There had been a tremendous avalanche sometime that winter/spring that deposited debris almost all the way to the car.  We followed this draw and we were continuously amazed at the amount of snow still standing from the avalanche.

Dylan standing next to an avalanche debris wall

We made it back to the car at approximately 3:30 in warm sunshine.  Total time was 6 1/2 hours with over 3700 feet climbed and 6 miles travelled.  All in all a great day to be in the mountains with my son and good friends.





 



Antares Peak Attempt - Memorial Day

With the Memorial Day weather forecast calling for it to be partly cloudy in Boise, we figured we stood a good chance at some halfway decent weather to attempt a climb.  We selected one of the peaks initially discussed for the Idaho Summits spring outing - Antares Peak (Peak 10651).

Antares Peak is at the southern end of the Pioneer Mountains and located north of Carey about 25 miles up a gravel road.  Well the road is normally gravel, when it's dry.  Monday morning saw this gravel road interspersed with long stretches of mud which made for a tricky drive in.  Luckily, the road was open all the way to Garfield Ranger Station.  The weather looked a bit threatening as we packed up and started up the hill at 10AM.

The plan was to hit the peak and then pick a bowl to ski down.  As we had pulled in we caught a quick glimpse of the peak through the clouds.  Little did we know that would be the only clear view of it we would get.

The first portion of the climb took us through some thick sage brush, which was still soaked from the previous day's precipitation.  It wasn't long before we were up in a bit of snow.

As you can see, we spent the better part of the day walking in the clouds.  By the time we had enough snow to put the skis on and start skinning we were really in the clouds.  We skinned up to about 9800 feet where we were in white out conditions and could not go any further.  Since we could only see about 10-20 feet around us we sat down in the wind and snow and had some lunch to wait it out.

After 20 minutes the clouds lifted enough to see about 50 yards, so we decide to bail and get off the mountain before things got any worse.  We picked a line and started skiing down, mostly following our skin tracks.  After dropping about a 1000 feet we exited the clouds (we could see again!) and decided to ski down a small bowl to a mining road.

Unfortunately, the snow pack was a little tricky.  It had snowed the night before covering all the older snow and exposed rocks with a nice 6 inch layer of fresh snow.  Great skiing as long as you were on the older snow pack which provided a nice base.  I started out great, but while looking for a better line drifted into some of the rocky areas and did a little rock skiing!  Luckily no one got hurt and we were able to ski close to the road for a relatively easy walk out in the snow/sleet/rain.

We will be back to this beautiful area to do some climbing this summer!

Stats: Approximately 6 miles traveled, 5.5 hours car to car and 3000 feet gained.

Idaho Summits Spring Outing - Peak 10941

Friday evening saw us hook up with the Idahosummits.com crew in Hailey for the 2011 Spring Outing.  The original plan was to climb North King Mountain in the Lost Rivers, but with the current amount of snow in the camping area and the weather forecast, a command decision by Dan was made to switch to Peak 10941 in the Boulders.

After a leisurely dinner of Thai Food in Hailey, a rough night sleeping on a condo floor and coffee from Hailey Coffee Company we were off at 8:30AM.  In attendance were Dan, Margo, Steve, Dave, Alex, Nathan, Jacob, Dylan and I.  There were four skiers (Dylan, Nathan, Steve, and me) along with five trudging up in snowshoes.

We started off with snow at the highway in partly cloudy skies. This was the view I had for the entire ski/climb up - every one's rear ends.

The snow conditions going up weren't too bad, a bit icy in spots causing some minor slipping and sliding. Here, Dylan and I take a quick breather.

Once we were above treeline, at approximately 9800 feet the snow conditions as well as the steepness increased.  This necessitated Dylan, Steve, and I to remove our skis and trudge up in our ski boots.  Nathan, who was so far out of my sight by this time apparently continued to ski his way up to the summit!

Dylan trudging up

The crew above treeline with the summit to the right

Yours truly with Galena Peak in the background

For some reason I was really having a difficult time this morning.  Don't know if it was the Thai food or the altitude, but I was struggling.  Dylan, being the good son that he is, hung back with me so I had someone to take pictures of.  It wasn't long before rocks started showing through the snow on the ridge and at this point Dylan and Steve had switched to crampons.  I had inadvertently left mine back in the car (bone head move!)and because of this, I took care in placing my steps.  We didn't run across anything that seemed too dangerous Mom, so no need to worry.

Nearing the top.

Once on top, we had spectacular views of all the surrounding snow covered peaks.  Since there wasn't much wind to speak of and the sun was shining we all took a leisurely break for lunch.  That is all of us but Nathan.  After tagging the summit he dropped down to a saddle and headed over to tag Cierro Cento and Easley Peak.  This peak was enough climbing for me and I was eagerly anticipating the ski down.  Our plan (Steve, Dylan, and I) was to drop down to the saddle between 10941 and Cierro Cento and ski the bowl.


heading down to begin skiing


Once down to the bowl we transitioned to our skis and took off one by one.  The snow was OK, not too good and not too bad.  About what you could expect in mid afternoon on April 30th.  It was tough for Dylan to try tele turns with the mixed bag of conditions, but he fought through it.

Looking back up at our tracks.

As it worked out we were able to ski all the way down to the highway.  This made for an excellent decent since we didn't have to put up with all the typical jarring on the knees.  About halfway through our descent Nathan came cruising through the trees to join up with us other skiers.


A view of the summit


This turned out to be a fantastic trip, great peak, great weather, and great friends.  All told we did close to 7 miles, though half of that was skiing down, and climbed 3800 feet.  Can't wait for the fall outing.

Link to Margo's trip report: http://mslasky.blogspot.com/2011/05/85107-peak-10941-idaho-summits-spring.html

Link to Dan's trip report: http://idahosummits.com/trip_reports/trip_report.php?trip_id=45

Copper Mountain March 26th

We've been bugging John Platt for the last couple of weeks to join us on a backcountry ski trip and he agreed to head out with us Saturday for a run up Copper Mountain.  This was the site of our first BC ski trip and we were pretty excited about getting into some sweet powder.

We had some great conversation on the drive up as the snow fell.  As you can see above the weather was great - windy, snowing, with occasional glimpses of the sun.  The previous week's weather had been snow, snow, snow with light accumulations each day.  Looks like it's going to be a great day!

This was the view I had all morning - the rear of John and Dylan

A glimpse of sunshine on the way up

John took the lead since the snow had covered up any sign of a skin track.  He didn't relinquish it much all day, breaking trail; while I struggled to keep up with him and Dylan.  It was a good move on our part to invite him - the guy is a machine.  After a couple of hours we had climbed just below the summit and decided to de-skin and make a run down a protected line.

Dylan blowing smoke

This was a great run with a bit of powder on top of a crust.  After this quick run we stopped and had lunch since Dylan was about to keel over with hunger.  While eating we enjoyed 10 minutes of sunshine!  But that quickly ended and the clouds and wind took over.

We skinned all the way to the summit for our second run.  John pointed out a big crack in the cornice that must have been 30-40 feet from the lip.  It was hard to imagine that back on Jan 2 we were at this very spot looking over the edge of a much smaller cornice. 

This second run was a bit tricky.  It had warmed up a bit and with the wind blowing there was much more of a crust. Still had a great run, but it was a little tough for the tele guys!

After the second run we called it a day and skied on out to the car.  All told we climbed 3000 feet and skied about 2500 feet of vertical.  Another great day!

Mores Mountain Take 2

After last Monday's trip to Mores Mountain we were excited to get back out.  The 6 or so inches of additional snow had something to do with that excitement.  Since Mom decided to stay home and get caught up on some things, it was our duty to get out and enjoy the windless sunny day!  The cold temperatures kept the snow in great shape all day.  The pictures say it all.

Mores Mountain Backcountry

Tam skinning up to the summit

The snow has continued to fall this last week following the January drought and after a little convincing Tam agreed to try out back country skiing. We rented randonee gear from IMT and headed up to Bogus. John Platt gave Dylan some beta on dropping down Majestic and exiting through the gate. Great call! In no time we were skinning our way up through the fog and snow.

For some reason there weren't many tracks on the north east slopes so we enjoyed some great 6-8" of untracked powder.

Dylan enjoying a short break

We ended up making three trips up the summit and with each trip the weather cleared a bit.  We went from not being able to see where we were going in the fog, to relatively clear.  The trips back up to the summit had an established track that wasn't too steep.  There was some great scenery to enjoy when we stopped to allow our heart rates to decrease to an acceptable level.

Tam thinking, "What the heck did I get into?"



Sun trying to break on through



What a great run!



Enjoying the sunshine at the end of a great day!

Hopefully, this will be the first of many family back country ski trips.