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Justus S.
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Joined: 17 Nov 2004
Posts: 1298 | TRs | Pics
Location: WA
Justus S.
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PostThu Jan 29, 2009 12:53 am 
Great report Matt. That is a peak I have had my eye on for awhile. Glad you were able to take advantage of the stable conditions. Puzzlr, check this out Long from Deer Creek.

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rdyhiker
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Joined: 07 Dec 2007
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rdyhiker
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PostThu Jan 29, 2009 7:48 pm 
Along with "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" I now hold the following truth to be self-evident... well, evident on the self embarassedlaugh.gif, anyway: Crusty, icy snow and debris are very unforgiving... and body parts do not fare well in up-close and personal encounters with them. eek.gif waah.gif If anyone doubts me on that, let me just say: I tested the verity of that statement, not just once, but three times on Bald Mtn's flanks. The results were conclusive and no further testing is planned. shakehead.gif To put it another way... OW!!! Other than three moments that I would really like a do-over on (can't I have at least one Mulligan?), I thoroughly enjoyed the outing and the day. The route would be tougher than he'd originally thought, so Matt had done his darnedest the previous day to relay every bit of data he had about it and the conditions. He also made it comfortable for me to opt out of the excursion, but Bald was a place I figured I'd never organize an outing to... and this was a good group, I knew. BarbE was also still game, as I passed each bit of info along. Well, Matt has done as fine a job with his report as he did with the outing. Just a few comments and a couple minor corrections about my mishaps. We made it to the 10 foot drop on the ridge without incident. My ankles and calves were surprisingly tight and aching - I assume from the borrowed steel crampons and foot angle used to plant them, as while my quads or hamstrings may ache on outings, my calves never do. In any case, it seems like every accident I've ever had has occurred when my legs are tired, so looking at the remaining ridge to the summit - and knowing a fall there could be really serious - it was easy to opt out. Barb had little enthusiasm at that moment either, so we bid the others a good journey and took a break. Considering my later mishaps, I sure don't regret that decision. Though on another day in other conditions the summit certainly looks doable. And Matt, thanks again for the respect and support of that decision that you expressed at the time and since. My three moments happened on the descent... only one, the last step down the icy berm to the parking lot that did in my hand, was actually a slip. The first was simply a post-hole. We'd been crossing the hard crust, crampons still on, when we suddenly hit a section warmed by the sun into a mushy mess. My right leg post-holed up to my knee. In the process my left foot moved as the snow shifted under it and one of the brand-new, super sharp spikes dug into the top of my calf, just above my gaiter. With that, we all removed our crampons. And I'm glad I didn't have them on during my next mishap. We had hit chunky, bumpy, pot-holed av debris. There was no solidly firm surface to get a grip on and our progress slowed considerably, except for Mike who was far ahead on the far right, having descended in the center of the col. He'd gone down so easily I started traversing in his direction. But the going was tough and within a few minutes, Matt, who had stayed on the left flank, called over that the snow quality was much easier there. I turned to head in his direction and as I did, my foot caught under a small lump of icy debris. That was all it took to throw me off balance and I tumbled, my ice axe yanking out of it's not-well penetrated spot amid the ice. I didn't go far, my ribs smacking almost immediately into a large - knee-high tall and a good 2' square - chunk of solid iced av debris. Like I said... OW! And that's it really. Good route; sucky snow conditions. Good day; sucky 3 moments/missteps. Damage report from the day: - hand and finger are not broken; just swollen, black and blue and hurting. Mobility has increased as the swelling has decreased. - the crampoon spike wound is healing nicely and I have a veritable rainbow of colors to enjoy on my legs... and on certain other other body parts moon.gif, if I care to look there biggrin.gif . - the ribs got the worst of it, but feel a little better each day. Thanks to all who e-mailed or PM'd your concern. Just stop making me laugh in the process, would ya? I gotta breathe, but any other movement of the ribs is just plain unwelcome. Some more pics:
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