Previous :: Next Topic |
Author |
Message |
Tom Admin
Joined: 15 Dec 2001 Posts: 17854 | TRs | Pics
|
|
Tom
Admin
|
Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:21 pm
|
|
|
Mike has been busy bagging peaks this week so I guess I'll be writing this TR. Kyes is a long and strenuous day trip so we decided to do it as an overnight. After a late start we hit the Blanca Lake trail a little before noon. Took our time on the way up to Virgin Lake, feasting on ripe berries. After a quick lunch at Virgin Lake we found the obvious boot path up the ridge and followed it all the way to the pass below point 5845'. Here we left the boot path, dropped to the talus below and sidehilled (on steep slopes) to the pass on the other side where we rejoined the boot path and followed it up the steep ridge until it breaks out at around 6100'. After filtering some snowmelt (the first water since Virgin Lake) we ascended on pumice sized scree towards the pass just left of what Mike called "the sharkfin". From here the true summit is visible and the approach is straight forward.
From the pass we rose above the low cloud layer to a magical scene just below the summit as the sun set to the west. After getting his fill of pictures Mike continued up to the summit while I snapped away in the fading light, opting to save the summit for the next morning. After Mike returned from the summit we scoped out the slabs below looking for a spot to camp and settled on a nice level slab next to running water. I gathered rocks to anchor tent stakes while iPhone Mike posted some facebook entries and cooked dinner. Headed up to the summit the next morning and took our time on the way out. As always, I took too many pictures...
First Views of Blanca and Columbia from Ridge Blanca Inlet and Columbia Peak from Ridge Dayhike Mike on Ridge (Kyes in Distance to Left) Blanca Inlet, Columbia Peak and Glacier, and Kyes from Ridge 8 labels Kyes from Ridge (w/ Route Labels) Goblin Valley from Ridge Mike Much Happier On Level Ground After Sidehilling SE Shoulder of Kyes (Route Stays on Ridge to Left) Zooming Down To Falls Above Blanca Inlet Blanca Lake from Ridge Approaching South Shoulder of Kyes Sharkfin on South Shoulder of Kyes (Pass to Left) Dayhike Mike on Pumice Sized Scree Dayhike Mike on Kyes (Columbia in Background) Tom on South Ridge of Kyes (Photo by Dayhike Mike) Glacier Peak from Pass on South Shoulder of Kyes Fog Approaching Sharkfin on Kyes Alpenglow Falling on Sharkfin (Goblin Valley to Left) from Pass on South Shoulder of Kyes Fog and Ice on Kyes Columbia from Kyes at Sunset Rainier from Kyes at Sunset Sea of Mystery from Kyes Wilmans Peaks and Del Campo from Kyes at Sunset Silvertip to Whitehorse from Kyes (Monte Cristo in Foreground to Right) Columbia to Whitehorse from Kyes at Sunset NE Ridge of Columbia from Kyes at Dusk Three Fingers from Kyes at Dusk Fog Rolling Over Gothic, Del Campo, Wilmans, and Sperry from Kyes at Dusk Facebook Mike at Camp Daniel to Big Snow From Camp Rockstanding Tent and Summit Block from Kyes Camp Glacier Peak from Camp Big Four, Three Fingers and Whitehorse from Kyes (Cadet and Monte Cristo in Foreground to Right) Rainier and Spire Mountain From Kyes Monte Cristo and Cadet from Kyes (Whitehorse and Baker in Distance) 5 labels Del Campo, Silvertip, Vesper and Sperry from Kyes Wispy Clouds and Views to Northwest from Kyes Sliver of Goblin Lake from Kyes Glacier on NE Shoulder of Kyes Looking Down to Glaciers and Pride Basin from Kyes Cadet, Sloan, Pugh, White Chuck, and Baker in Distance from Kyes Looking Back to South Ridge from Kyes (Rainier in Distance) Columbia Peak and Glacier from Kyes Looking Back to Summit Block of Kyes Goblin Mountain from Kyes Facebook Mike Looking for iPhone Coverage on Kyes (Glacier Peak in Background) Remnants of Surveyor's Target on Kyes? Snow Cave on Kyes (Mike at Top Right for Reference) Looking Back to Summit Block and Glacier Peak from Pass on South Shoulder of Kyes Rainier and Blanca from Pass on South Shoulder of Kyes Looking Down to Goblin Value and Avalanche Destruction from Pass on South Shoulder of Kyes Mike Switchbacking Scree Enroute To Sharkfin from Pass Mike Atop Sharkfiin North Cascades from Pass on South Shoulder of Kyes Zooming Into Rainier from Pass on South Shoulder of Kyes Downtown Seattle Skyline and Puget Sound from Pass on South Shoulder of Kyes Sundog Above Sharkfin on Kyes Greenery on Kyes Looking Back to Mislabeled "Monte Cristo" and South Shoulder of Kyes (Pass to Far Right) Blanca Inlet and South Ridge of Columbia from Kyes Descent Zooming Into Blanca Lake from Ridge Descent
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dayhike Mike Bad MFKer
Joined: 02 Mar 2003 Posts: 10958 | TRs | Pics Location: Going to Tukwila |
Reserved for DHM.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke
"Ignorance is natural. Stupidity takes commitment." -Solomon Short
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke
"Ignorance is natural. Stupidity takes commitment." -Solomon Short
|
Back to top |
|
|
iron Member
Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 6392 | TRs | Pics Location: southeast kootenays |
|
iron
Member
|
Sun Sep 20, 2009 11:20 pm
|
|
|
great pics tom. ice axe and 'pons for this trip?
|
Back to top |
|
|
Tom Admin
Joined: 15 Dec 2001 Posts: 17854 | TRs | Pics
|
|
Tom
Admin
|
Sun Sep 20, 2009 11:34 pm
|
|
|
No ice axe or crampons. Almost all the snow is gone - just a soft snowfield with a gentle slope to go up after rounding the pass.
|
Back to top |
|
|
peltoms Member
Joined: 13 Jul 2006 Posts: 1760 | TRs | Pics Location: Worcester MA |
|
peltoms
Member
|
Mon Sep 21, 2009 5:08 am
|
|
|
Nice shots in amidst the clouds- a view back to your recent summit of Columbia. The seldom viewed Pride Glacier, better snowpack than Columbia Glacier.
|
Back to top |
|
|
The Bubbly Hiker Member
Joined: 07 Feb 2009 Posts: 375 | TRs | Pics
|
Nice work, dudes. Your trip sounded a lot more reasonable than ours -- more time to savor, fewer bugs, great routefinding choices. But next time can you just take one spectacular photo? Your set is sending me into anaphylactic shock. A person can die of too many stunning images!
|
Back to top |
|
|
Gil Member
Joined: 29 Sep 2004 Posts: 4062 | TRs | Pics
|
|
Gil
Member
|
Mon Sep 21, 2009 7:42 am
|
|
|
Great TR! I've wanted to do that trip -- maybe some day!
Friends help the miles go easier.
Klahini
Friends help the miles go easier.
Klahini
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dayhike Mike Bad MFKer
Joined: 02 Mar 2003 Posts: 10958 | TRs | Pics Location: Going to Tukwila |
This was a good time indeed.
We slept in and got started late, leaving the trailhead a little before noon. The trip up to Virgin was quick and painless, roughly two hours -- any dawdling was entirely due to the massive berries that lined either side of the trail.
(There's a reason it's called Virgin Lake. That thing is so ugly, *no one* would sleep with it.)
The trail up from Virgin was in decent shape. Traversing around and then up the first rocky outcropping was pretty wild. That's one mean stretch of "trail".
The reports of the horrible "trail" over 5845' effectively scared us away from it on the way in, and the sidehilling commenced. I realized quickly just how threadbare and worn my soles on my shoes are, as they really didn't stick too well to the steep heather, grass, and blueberry bushes... I fell and ripped open the stitches in my shin just 3 minutes into the descent / traverse. Needless to say, I did a lot of swearing and sliding as we worked our way across the slope.
The rest of the route went pretty well. We exited to the left a little before the top and avoided the scrubby brush on the ridgeline we ended up hitting on the way back. The summit block was a little dirty, but not horrible.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke
"Ignorance is natural. Stupidity takes commitment." -Solomon Short
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke
"Ignorance is natural. Stupidity takes commitment." -Solomon Short
|
Back to top |
|
|
Stefan-K Member
Joined: 10 Aug 2009 Posts: 522 | TRs | Pics Location: seattle |
|
Stefan-K
Member
|
Mon Sep 21, 2009 2:40 pm
|
|
|
love those clouds, glorious conditions! Been wanting to do this one...
thanks!
|
Back to top |
|
|
Sultan Guy Member
Joined: 22 Jul 2008 Posts: 353 | TRs | Pics Location: Now reinforced with Concrete |
Great job guys. Looks like you camped very close to where I did last September.
Home sweet home at 7,000 feet The east veranda
Any worthwhile expedition can be planned on the back of an envelope- H. W. Tilman
Any worthwhile expedition can be planned on the back of an envelope- H. W. Tilman
|
Back to top |
|
|
Tom Admin
Joined: 15 Dec 2001 Posts: 17854 | TRs | Pics
|
|
Tom
Admin
|
Mon Sep 21, 2009 8:58 pm
|
|
|
East veranda, ha great caption!
I was cleaning off my card getting ready for another hike and discovered I hadn't downloaded all my pics. Here's another shot of Point 5845' on the return and sidehilling the slopes below it. Gives a pretty good perspective of how steep it and how much Mike was loving it. I still think it was better to sidehill below than mess with the ridge.
Looking Toward Point 5845' On The Return Sidehilling Under Point '5845 Mike Loves Sidehilling!
|
Back to top |
|
|
Joey verrry senior member
Joined: 05 Jun 2005 Posts: 2799 | TRs | Pics Location: Redmond |
|
Joey
verrry senior member
|
Mon Sep 21, 2009 9:23 pm
|
|
|
Super pics Tom.
I did Keyes as a student in the Mounties scramble class back in the day when few did this and there definitely was no boot path. On the way in I lost a bandana. On the way out the leader (Clint Kelly) exactly retraced our steps and, yup, there was the missing bandana snagged up on some brush.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Magellan Brutally Handsome
Joined: 26 Jul 2006 Posts: 13116 | TRs | Pics Location: Inexorable descent |
|
Magellan
Brutally Handsome
|
Mon Sep 21, 2009 10:28 pm
|
|
|
Gorgeous pictures Tom. Dayhike/Iphone/Facebook Mike sure looks fast.
|
Back to top |
|
|
lopper off-route
Joined: 22 Jan 2002 Posts: 845 | TRs | Pics
|
|
lopper
off-route
|
Mon Sep 21, 2009 10:51 pm
|
|
|
Your pictures bring back memories and stoke the furnace for a return visit. Thanks for posting.
The sharkfin shots are exceptional. Here is how old sharkie looked in the flat light of July 4 1978.
78Sharkfin
|
Back to top |
|
|
EastKing Surfing and Hiking
Joined: 28 Mar 2007 Posts: 2082 | TRs | Pics Location: 77 miles from Seattle! |
|
EastKing
Surfing and Hiking
|
Mon Sep 21, 2009 11:12 pm
|
|
|
YouTube | SummitPost
Saw the depths of despair. Now I am salvaging what time I have left on Earth.
|
Back to top |
|
|
|