Whitehorse, again. The outing started inauspiciously: my clock didn’t wake me, but Maisie did at 4:30 when Josh was at the door. So I got dressed as quickly as possible, grabbed some coffee and my muffin, and headed out the door. Thank God I'd packed completely the night before!

Josh has this really nice Quattro station wagon, which has, among other features, heated seats, front and back. Pretty posh. It’s 4wd, with pneumatic suspension, so it’s better suited to getting us up Mine Road than the Escort. (And, according to the website, it even has heated windshield washer nozzles! Order yours today!)

Then, to Lee’s, and north to Darrington. We were early enough that the little store wasn't open yet.

It was overcast, and by the time we got to the trailhead, it was starting to snow a bit. But we bundled up and headed out.

Heading up the hill. So far, so good... Josh blue, Lee red.

The bushwhacking was the same old thing, with the added unpleasantness that the snow made stuff more slippery, and hid what was underneath. I’d brought gloves this time, which simplified things enormously.

On up the hill. The snowfall increases.

Out of the bush, the snow continues. "Hey Josh, do these glasses make me look stupid?" Lee's photo.

We finally turned around when the snow got so deep we could no longer move through it, I just wallowed in snow that was literally chest deep. It took a minute to make a foot of forward progress. Josh and Lee were inclined to turn around because of the increasing avalanche danger, but I was so focused on climbing this mountain that I don't think I would have wanted to turn around if an avalanche swept past us as we stood there debating. I was comfortable, in fact, with the idea of letting them turn around and pressing on myself, and hitchhiking home. But the complete inability to make any forward progress put a finish to that intention.

Me, at our turn-around point. Lee's photo.

So, we turned around, in the falling snow, and headed back down the mountain. At one point, trying to cut off a nasty bit of descending through a cedar, we ended up having to glissade off a ten-foot drop-off. It was a bit exhilarating, but no injuries. I executed a perfect faceplant (trying to avoid falling backwards into the moat) but Lee's camera wasn't ready.

The rock outcropping we glissaded off. In some ways, the high point of the climb. Lee's photo.

And, as always, as we descended the snow, I thought “well, the bushwhacking isn’t such a big part of this climb after all.” Then, when we got to the bushwhacking, and spent another hour or more descending the slippery rocks, I remembered, yes, the bushwhacking is a substantial part of the climb.

Descending, above the bushwhacking.

This is still a really low snow year. At the base of the climb are these huge slabs of left-over snow from last year.
You can see Lee and Josh walking between them, the small blue and red specks.

Next time (if there is a next time) I intend to bring survey tape and supplement the trail marking.

Back into Josh's car, I realized that in my hurry to leave in the morning, I'd neglected to pack a dry change of clothes, and got to ride home in my wet duds. I was pretty pleased with those seat warmers!

Equipment notes: Josh has invested in Shoeller clothing, and it sure seems worth it to me. He stayed reasonably dry and clean the whole time -- in my Smartwool shirt, I was soaked and filthy. I think that stuff's going on to my wish list.

Return to Climbs page