| Duane in the Cascades | | James on Telescope Peak | | James on Mt Langley in June | | James and Duane return to Utah |
| Dan, Duane, & James do the Beatout Hike | | James on Mt Langley in August | | Dan & Matt name Mt Venture |
| James on San Jacinto | | Keith & James climbing at Suicide | | James on Mt Whitney | | Keith & Duane on Mt Venture |
With all of the guys split up all over the country, we will have a lot of different mountain ranges and places covered.
Jon and Chris did a lot of backcountry skiing over the winter. They never took a camera, but highlights included Beartrap Fork and Grizzly Gulch. Jon, Chris, and Keith also did a little ice climbing, but the ice wasn't very good this season. Matt and Dan also climbed Guardsman Peak to ski off of it.
| Matt on the snowmobile road below Guardsman Peak |
Duane was able to visit the Cascades and Mt Rainier in April, and has some pictures.
Duane in the Cascades |
One of the ridges leading to Mt Rainier |
Some mountains in Rainier National Park
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For the weekend of the 16th to 18th, James hiked up to Cottonwood Lakes, and tried to do Mt. Langley (14,042). He drove up to the trailhead on Friday and spent the night there. On Saturday he departed the trailhead, and headed for the lakes. Partway there, he realized he forgot his camera, so he went back for it. He finally reached the lakes and made camp. After lunch and a nap he decided to go for the peak. He got to the east-southeast ridge, and it began to cloud up. He was also feeling the effects of the altitude. James was forced to stop short of the summit because he saw lightning, and was getting a headache and nausea from the altitude. On the way down, it began to hail and rain. He made it almost all the way to camp before it let up. On the way down, he noticed he was camped near a fish and game cabin. He stopped in to say hi, and met Dave and Dan, the Dept of Fish and Game guys. They were cool to him and gave him some noodles to help him recover from the altitude sickness. On Sunday he just hiked out, disappointed that he didn't get his first 14,000-footer.
One of the Cottonwood Lakes |
Looking down on the Cottonwood Lakes |
Looking at the south face of Mt Langley Looking at the couloir leading to the north ridge of Langley |
Looking up the ESE ridge of Langley at the summit A self portrait of James on the ESE ridge of Langley |
Leaving the Muir Wilderness Looking at the Mt Whitney area on the drive out
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James and Duane returned to Utah in July to do some hiking and climbing. One of the first days back, James and Keith did Pentapitch, but no pictures. A few days later, James and Duane did Red Baldy (11,171). It was an uneventful hike, except for the heat.
A few days later, James went up Silver Peak with his dad's friend, Ted. They made it up Beartrap Fork in about 2/3 of the guidebook's time, and then continued on to the summit. They had trouble finding the trail at the bottom, since the only time James has been in Beartrap, it was covered in snow. James, Duane, Keith, and Jon went climbing in Stairs Gulch, and did a 3 pitch 5.8. They all lead pitches, and this was James' first lead since he broke his leg.
A few days later, James, Keith, and Duane went rock climbing at the Iron Curtain Wall. They did a 5.8 or 5.9, but weren't sure what route it was. They then tried the route out, but weren't able to do the crux, which is odd, since Keith and James have done it many times before, and it is easier than the route they had just done. A few more days later, James, Duane, and Jon tried to go climbing in Ferguson Canyon, but it rained and got the rock all wet, so they couldn't climb. They ended up waiting under a rock for the rain to let up, since they didn't bring rain gear.
Looking at the summit of Red Baldy |
James on the summit, White Baldy and the Pfeifferhorn behind James on the summit, Timp and Silver Lake behind |
Duane on the summit, American Fork Twins behind James on the summit of Silver Peak James and Jon in Ferguson Canyon
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The last hike in Utah for James and Duane was the Beatout hike, with Dan. They started about 8:00 from the White Pine Trailhead, and headed up Red Pine Canyon. They reached Lower Red Pine Lake, and took a break before heading for the Pfeifferhorn. The hike up to the Pfeifferhorn was uneventful, and they had lunch on top. Then the guys headed for Chipman Peak, skirting the summit of Unnamed 11,137. After starting along the ridge towards South Thunder, they stopped for water at a small snowmelt stream below the ridge. After topping out on South Thunder, they decided not to head for North Thunder as originally planned, but just descend Bells Canyon. It took a while to reach the reservior, but they made it, thanks to Dan leading down the gully. From the lake, James led the way down the canyon, since it is nearly impossible to find the trail, but he's found it nearly half a dozen times. They finished around 10:00, which is a longer than usual time for the Beatout, but they still did it, and now Dan and Duane join James and Keith for having completed the most challenging hike in the Wasatch. Here are some pics.
Dan and James on the summit of the Pfeifferhorn |
Duane and James on the summit of the Pfeifferhorn Dan and Duane in front of the NW Coliour of the Pfeifferhorn |
Pfeifferhorn from the low point below Chipman James hiking along the Lightning Ridge |
Duane and Dan on the summit of South Thunder, North Thunder behind Lone Peak as seen from South Thunder |
James and Dan on the summit of South Thunder, Pfeifferhorn behind Looking down Bells Canyon from South Thunder |
James and Dan along the Bells Canyon Trail Looking down Bells Canyon from partway down |
Looking at Bells Cleaver from partway down Bells Canyon
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The last day that James and Duane were there, they got all their friends together for dinner, and later hanging out at Greg's house. Here are some pics.
| James, Jon, and Greg at Greg's house | | Ryan G, James, and Ryan K at Greg's house |
The first weekend in August, James attempted Mt Langley via Cottonwood Lakes again. This time, he had more time to acclimatize. After a Poison concert Friday night, he drove to Lone Pine, and camped at a BLM campground near the Whitney Portal road. On Saturday morning, he hiked up to Cottonwood lake #3, and made camp. He did some bouldering around camp, nad then got ready for the hike up Langley Sunday. Sunday morning, he left camp around 8:30, and was on the summit by 12:30. He took the second of 3 gullies on the west side of the canyon Cottonwood lakes are in. It runs parallel to Old Army Pass, which is the first gully. The upper area of the mountain is quite desolate from climate and altitude, probably one of the most barren summits ever visited by James. This was also the first 14,000-footer he has ever climbed. After returning to camp, James met 4 guys who were climbing Langley for one of the guys 60th birthday, so he hung out with them for a while, and exchanged mountaineering stories. He then hiked out and drove home Monday, meeting 3 other cool people on the hike out.
The south face of Langley on Day 1 |
James' campsite near Cottonwood Lakes James on the summit of Mt Langley with Mt Whitney behind |
Looking at Mt Whitney from Mt Langley
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Dan and Matt placed a sign on Mt Venture. All of the guys had agreed on the name of the peak, since it was previously unnamed, and we had decided to name it Mt Venture.
Dan on the summit of Mt Venture with the sign |
The sign Dan and Matt placed on the summit of Mt Venture
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There are some small mountains near where James lives in California that he hikes in a lot, especially in the San Mateo Canyon Wilderness. These small mountains are alright for hiking.
| Looking toward Sitton Peak from the trail | | A self portrait of James along the trail |
Over Labor Day weekend, James went to the San Jacinto Mountains, southeast of Riverside (suburb of LA), with a few Navy people he knows. They did a 20 mile loop near Idyllwild and Mt San Jacinto (10,804). They ended up finishing in the dark, and summitted Mt San Jacinto.
James on the Devil's Slide trail heading up to the mountain |
James near the trail junction below Mt San Jacinto Looking down the ridge toward Taquitz |
James with Taquitz Rock in the setting sun behind
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James and Keith were able to go rock climbing together since they live near each other. They went to Taquitz Rock and Suicide Rock, which is the best place for rock climbing in southern California. They didn't do much climbing, but had a great time on the climbing they did. Taquitz/Suicide is where the Yosemite rating system (5.0-5.14d) was developed. Taquitz/Suicide is also in Idyllwild, where James went over Labor Day, and found out about this place.
Keith on top of a large boulder at the base of Suicide Rock |
Keith at the base of Suicide Rock the next morning Looking at Taquitz Rock from Suicide Rock |
Keith climbing a route on Suicide Rock James climbing a route on Suicide Rock |
Keith at the base of Suicide Rock James at the base of Suicide Rock |
James and Keith at the base of Suicide Rock
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Andrew made a trip to San Diego for marching band in October. He hung out with James, and they went to downtown San Diego and Tijuana. They didn't do any climbing, but had a good time anyway.
| James and Andrew hanging out in San Diego |
To get in shape for Mt Whitney, and keep in shape through the winter, James did a lot of hiking in the local Santa Ana Mountains. They never recieve snow, so it is good to go hiking in them all year.
| The mountains above Orange County where James got in shape for Mt Whitney |
James decided to climb Mt Whitney at the last minute in early November, realizing he would be outside the permit quota zone. He left the Whitney Portal trail head, the morning following his drive up to the trailhead. He had met a few cool people who he would talk with often throughout the trip. James headed for Trail Camp at 12,000 feet, stopping for breakfast and lunch along the trail. He arrived at Trail Camp (12,000) at 3:00pm, and it was 10 degrees F. By the time he had set up camp, eaten dinner, and got into bed, it was down to about -10 degrees F. He didn't get much sleep due to the cold.
| The trail heading up to Mt Whitney | | The view along the Mt Whitney Trail | | Looking at Mt Muir from the Mt Whitney Trail |
The second day, James got up at 4:30 so he could depart Trail Camp by 5:00 to head up the mountain. The first part of the hike to the summit is the infamous "99 Switchbacks." These are very tiring, especially since they were covered in fresh snow. He arrived at Trail Crest where he had a late breakfast/early lunch. From there, James followed the trail north along the ridge to the summit. The trail winds around the base of the west face of Mt Muir, and the huge boulders there. From there, it ascends the rockfield, which seems to stretch on forever, to the summit. James got somebody to take pictures of him on the summit, as well of snapping some of his own scenery pics. After about 45 minutes on the summit, and a call to his mommy, James headed back to Trail Camp. As he got to Trail Crest, the sun was setting, and the switchbacks were already in the shade. He put on his crampons, and headed down. Once James arrived at Trail Camp, he ate some food, and packed. He was back on the trail down in less than 1 hour. He was able to use the moonlight most of way down, but had to turn on his light just above Mirror Lake. Unfortunately, the light died just below Lone Pine Lake, so James had to make his way down in the dark. He moved a little slower, but made it to the Pathfinder okay. It was 10:30pm, and he had been hiking since 5:00am. He then got a warm shower at a local motel, followed by a warm meal. James drove home the next day, glad he hiked down at night, instead of that day.
| James at Trail Crest (13,600) | | The view along the upper part of the Whitney Trail | | James on the summit of Mt Whitney |
| Looking at Iceberg Lake from the summit of | | Looking west from the summit | | James on the summit of Mt Whitney (2) |
| Looking north from the summit of Mt Whitney | | Looking north from just below Trail Crest |
| Sunset seen from high on the Whitney Trail | | James descending the infamous "99 Switchbacks" |
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Over the Christmas holiday, Duane and Keith climbed Mt Venture to climb it, and check on Dan and Matt's sign. They were unable to find the sign, but found a great climb in unusually warm weather. They watched the lights come on for night skiing at Brighton, then made a quick retreat realizing the sun would set soon. This Christmas' climbing was a lot more uneventful for everybody. No broken bones this year. Here's the pics.
Keith on Guardsman Pass Road |
Duane on Guardsman Pass Road |
Mt Venture from Guardsman Pass Mt Venture from Gaurdsman Pass (2)
Looking at the false summit of Mt Venture from Mt Venture Looking at the Guardsman Pass Road from Mt Venture |
Keith on the summit of Mt Venture Keith basking in the setting sun on the summit |
Mt Venture from Guardsman Pass |
Keith and Duane on the summit
The sky before sunset |
Duane on the summit |
The sun setting behind Monte Cristo |
Monte Cristo after sunset
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| Mountaineering 2001 |
