ALONE AND TOGETHER ON GLACIER PEAK / AUG 2003

What's in a picture? Looking at the attractive image of the elegant snow ridge leading up to the Rabbit Ears on Glacier Peak's Frostbite Ridge, I was sure right away that this was a route worth doing. Apparently most of these snow routes get done early in the summer, a lesson I have yet to learn.

Betsy and I tried the route in early August of 2003 and while we didn't summit ... we did get lost in the fog and didn't see a soul on that side of the mountain. So, that still added up to a good adventure and something she truly enjoyed.

I came back a week later by myself with a lighter pack and enough beta to know it was most likely doable as a solo effort. The disadvantage of all the missing snow and the elegant images is that the glaciers are safer to travel alone this time of year.

Rather than all the mystic low clouds and rolling fog, my summit day was almost anti-climatic in its horizon-to-horizon stability. Coming around the corner on Kennedy Peak was a bit of a shocker when the full impact of how far you have yet to go hits you full in the face. Other than that, I was quite a ways up the slope below the Rabbit's Ears when the sun hit the slopes of Kennedy Peak and faraway Mt Baker. Beautiful sight no doubt.

The view from the notch in the Ears was sobering but intriguing also. The icy summit slopes were virtually bare of any lingering snow. The line up thru the broken slope to the north edge of the summit crater was easy enough and while there?s not much you can do about it, the drop down into the crater is necessary in order to get up over the other side and onto the summit. The final slope was the technical crux and while quite doable with one short tool, it was a bit exposed. Conditions, however, were perfect, so it went quickly.

The summit was rendered inhospitable almost immediately when traffic from the south side of the mountain began to show up. All that time alone and the hard work of doing the mountain the long way gets wasted when the crowds arrive. It wasn't a bad idea to keep my stay to a minimum anyhow since I had to down climb the same technical crux I had just come up. Not wanting to give it too much time to warm up, I was glad for an excuse to get moving.

The descent was easy enough and the full round trip took about 7 hours from high camp at 7000ft. The rest of the day seemed far too warm and it was hard to relax in the wee bit of shade the sleeping bag provided while drapped over the tent. I was fairly motivated to beat the heat the next morning, so got up and going early. By evening I was camped on the east side of Washington Pass and on my way home to NH.