[Schroder]

Hanzsek & I rode our bikes in to Monte Cristo this morning. Our intention was just snow reconnoitering and try to get up to Pt 5334 just South of Poodle Dog Pass above the Twin Lakes trail. There was no snow all the way in to Monte Cristo & just thin patches on the trail above. As we reached 3600 ft at the entrance to the small basin below the pass we were suddenly in 3 feet of snow. It got deeper very quickly & had no bottom. Frequently I would never hit anything solid with my poles. After crossing the creek, we followed some old tracks up the open gully that the trail switchbacks up. At about 4000 ft we were wallowing up to our waists in rotten snow and frequently breaking through. We decided we'd had enough at that point & turned around. Coming back to Sunday Flats, we decided to head down to '76 Creek and explore the town site a bit. The one log crossing looked slippery so we headed upstream a bit for a boulder crossing. I hopped midstream onto a rock, my feet went out from under me and I went face down in the creek. I'll post some photos if I can recover any from my wet SD card after I dry it. ----------

the Twin Bridges crossing

upper Sunday Creek

below Poodle Dog switchbacks

Glacier Creek Falls

6 labels

Wilman Peak and Spires - the first mountain I climbed (1964)

Addison Ridge

Foggy Peak & Ida Pass

Wilman

[beaudaddy]

Can't wait for some photos! Did you get injured on the fall, or are you ok? Is was up in that area on Saturday and some snow sections were real garbage for us too. I hope you didn't get to banged up!!!

[Sabahsboy]

Schroeder, that is an awful story...I am so sorry....should I assume you were not injured? That could be a disastrous accident.... Did your camera survive? Wet SD card...but damage to a camera could be terminal....and costly. I will keep my fingers x'd that there is a good outcome.

[Movenhike]

Sweet

[Schroder]

Some photos posted. My camera appears to have survived. I need to test it out some more. I'm a little bruised. No broken bones.

[Quark]

Randy - nice pics. Looks like a good weather day, if you like that sort of weather, that is. Do you have any stories about your 1964 climb? Glad you didn't get hurt on your splat. I was on a hiking date several years ago - Sunrise Mine. I fell off a log in cartoonic fashion - I levitated, then spread out like a big ole tablecloth supended in the air for several seconds, and then splatted on top of 4 rocks - one for each elbow, a knee, and my jaw. The guy I was with was ahead of me, and just kept talking away. I pulled myself off the rocks and threw my guts, tendons and sinew into a plastic bag for later re-installation, and just as he turned around, I was already standing, pretending to be enthralled with his story, like I didn't just fall on top of 4 boulders from 6 feet up. So anyway, I hope you weren't on a date or anything, or if you were it was an elegant fall indeed.

[Schroder]

Quark, my fall was very much like yours but perhaps less graceful because I didn't even consider it a possibility or I would've stuck my camera in my pack (it was around my neck). I just found myself laying in the water and saying 'this doesn't seem right'. The '64 climb was one of those epics. I went with my older brother and 2 of his friends in pouring down rain to Glacier Basin and we went up the steep colouir between the E and S spires up slippery rock alongside the remaining ice field. On our return from the summit, we thought we'd try an easier descent & attempted to get to the Comet Mine shaft on the S spire. There had to be a trail down from that. A short wall blocked that route so we did several rappels down slabs and then went down talus and finally vine maple and devils club to '76 Creek. We found no semblance of a trail and we were already soaking wet so we walked down the creek, which seemed the easiest path. I was wearing jeans, a sweat shirt and an old poncho which were all in shreds by the time we got to the car. The next day I was ready to do it again.

[Jim Dockery]

Schroeder, glad you and your camera are alright. I worry about doing that a lot and turned around on a climb a couple years ago when we were too scared to jump across a raging creek. Good story on that old climb. That's about when I was doing my first Boy Scout hikes and I remember lots of flapping ponchos in the rain. Thanks for the pics and conditions report on the area. We've been thinking of some skiing up there, but it looks like it will need some settling (esp. after the weather coming in).

[Quark]

Thanks for the reminiscence, Randy. I get a bang out of stuff like that. Blue jeans....you know, cotton kills. Someday you'll be dead, mark my words.

[Schroder]

[Shoko]