Forum Index > Trip Reports > Sahale Peak 8680' 7/11/09
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raising3hikers
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raising3hikers
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PostSun Jul 12, 2009 9:23 am 
Jayden, Ryan and I went for a climb up one of my favorite places on Saturday. Ryan and I went to the Sahale glacier last year and we have been telling Jayden about it since. This year, we would bring some climbing stuff for a shot at the summit. We arrived at the TH at 7 a.m. and got our packs ready for the 35 switchbacks to Cascade Pass. It's a easy low grade trail but there's a lot of back and forth. Finally, we started the traverse toward the pass. When we were almost there, a family of 3 goats were coming right at us. The baby was in the middle and we found some boulders to jump on. They seemed to be in a hurry and barely made it off trail as they passed us. A little bit later, 3 more goats were on the trail but they got out of they wasy pretty quickly. A short distance later we were at Cascade Pass.
morning sun on Johannesburg
morning sun on Johannesburg
glacier on Johannesburg
glacier on Johannesburg
3 goats
3 goats
a couple more goats
a couple more goats
After a short break at the pass, we started up the trail to Sahlae Arm. A few switchbacks later, and we were just about above the treeline. Our goal off Sahale Peak was now in view sitting high above Doubtful lake. The views got better and better as we gained elevation along the arm. It was nice to see the higher peaks to the southwest rise over the peaks we had already been staring at all morning.
Sahale
Sahale
the boys on Sahale Arm
the boys on Sahale Arm
Forbidden
Forbidden
peaks rising over other peaks
peaks rising over other peaks
We reached the glacier moraine on took another break. Then instead of heading up the Sahale glacier, I wanted to wonder around first and see if the glacier terminus was visible yet. After a while, I realised that it was probably still under snow. We then headed up the steep snow towards the summit. Jayden was leading making kicksteps while I followed Ryan. I had to motivate him a little cause he wasn't liking the big hill, so I carried his backpack for him until it got a little flatter. From here, Glacier Peak popped up to the South along with even more peaks. We were really close now.
starting to climb the bottom off the glacier
starting to climb the bottom off the glacier
many glaciated peaks
many glaciated peaks
We reached to final rock climb to the top. We talked to a few people at the base about the best route up the rocks. There were a few different routes, so we just picked the one that looked best to me. I let the kids leave their backpacks and put on their harnesses in case we needed them. I put mine on a grabbed my rope. A short scamble later and I hooked the boys up with the rope for safety. I would scramble a portion and then the boys would follow while I held the rope. They were happy with this and we were at the summit. Boston Peak, Ripsaw ridge and Buckner were now visible. The boys were pointing to other peaks they really want to climb.
Forbidden to Shark fin
Forbidden to Shark fin
Boston Peak
Boston Peak
Boston basin
Boston basin
Johannesburg
Johannesburg
summit 8680'
summit 8680'
Forbidden
Forbidden
Ripsaw ridge to Buckner
Ripsaw ridge to Buckner
Ripsaw ridge in front of the Boston glacier
Ripsaw ridge in front of the Boston glacier
Glacier Peak
Glacier Peak
On the way down, we would just go straight down by rappelling off of some slings that were up there. I lowered the boys as they had nervous but fun smiles on their faces. I made it down and we grabbed their packs to start down the snow. They had talked about glissaded down but chickened out a little after I was down the first slope. So I had to wait a while as the snow was really sloppy right now for them to get down to me. They promised to slide down the last part of the glacier and had a blast when they did it.
Sahale summit
Sahale summit
Davenport glacier
Davenport glacier
Quien Sabe glacier
Quien Sabe glacier
El Dorado and Torment
El Dorado and Torment
Jayden getting ready for the glissade
Jayden getting ready for the glissade
the boys glissading after me
the boys glissading after me
At the bottom, the boys changed socks and we headed towards Sahale Arm. Everyone was tired, so we took our time. Another break at the pass and then we counted the 35 switchbacks down to the truck. The boys did a great job and I'm very proud of them! 13.5 miles and 5500 elev. gain for the day
peaks over Doubtful Lake
peaks over Doubtful Lake
Inspiration glacer
Inspiration glacer
Pelton basin
Pelton basin

Eric Eames
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Magellan
Brutally Handsome



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Magellan
Brutally Handsome
PostSun Jul 12, 2009 9:30 am 
Your kids are super! I failed to make the last 50' a couple of years ago. We had a lot less snow I think.
When we did I think we were on the right ridge, and angled up rock between the two points. Where did you find the 'easiest route'?

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raising3hikers
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PostSun Jul 12, 2009 9:56 am 
Magellan wrote:
Your kids are super! I failed to make the last 50' a couple of years ago. We had a lot less snow I think.
When we did I think we were on the right ridge, and angled up rock between the two points. Where did you find the 'easiest route'?
I saw 2 guys go the route you described. They were kicking rocks on the way down. We started up the west edge for about half way, where it looks like the snow tracks come from. Then around toward the east route where the saddle is between the summit peaks. Then scrambled class 3/4 to the top. I don't know if there is an easiest way. Everyone seemed to go a different way. The 2 guys that went your route didn't like ours at first and turned around to find the one they summited from.

Eric Eames
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Tazz
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PostSun Jul 12, 2009 10:06 am 
you are an awesome dad!! I can only hope Josh will be able to climb like you babies do.! good work!!

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silence
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silence
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PostSun Jul 12, 2009 10:22 am 
you never cease to amaze me ... nor your boys ... it gives me so much inspiration .. i hope i can do as well on our next climb ... thx for this and your pix are awesome ... bet you can just taste glacier ... i'm ready to try it again .. and such an awesome place ... i mean cascade pass .. a lot of bang for the buck ... but now i think you're raising2climbers ... up.gif up.gif up.gif

PHOTOS FILMS Keep a good head and always carry a light bulb. – Bob Dylan
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Go Jo
of the lykkens



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Go Jo
of the lykkens
PostSun Jul 12, 2009 11:03 am 
Re: Sahale Peak 8680'  7/11/09
raising2hikers wrote:
The boys were pointing to other peaks they really want to climb.
summit 8680'
summit 8680'
Awesome!

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iron
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PostSun Jul 12, 2009 1:00 pm 
you have some superhuman kids there r2h! great work on an awesome climb. how do they fare when dealing with 4th class terrain? i imagine like with all things introduced at a really young age (like skiing/boarding/soccer/climbing), most of the things us 'adults' notice a merely blips on a kid's radar.

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silly_traveler
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silly_traveler
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PostSun Jul 12, 2009 1:44 pm 
Cool kids! smile.gif Thanks for the photos from the summit. We didn't make it up that high on Friday hmmm.gif

♫ You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. And you're the one who will decide where you'll go. Oh the places you'll go. - Dr. Seuss
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EastKing
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EastKing
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PostSun Jul 12, 2009 8:37 pm 
Wow! Cool kids and cool dad. Great idea bringing the rope for the last bit. Sahale is on my short list.

YouTube | SummitPost Saw the depths of despair. Now I am salvaging what time I have left on Earth.
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Tom_Sjolseth
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PostSun Jul 12, 2009 8:45 pm 
Great TR, r2h. My Dad took me up to Sahale when I was a youngster as well, and it was probably a life-changing event. Of course they're probably getting used to such sweet views by now. Keep on keepin' on. up.gif

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ajax
stronger than dirt



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ajax
stronger than dirt
PostSun Jul 12, 2009 9:27 pm 
The peaks over peaks that come into view as crossing Sahale Arm might be my favorite view that I've seen in all of NCNP. Unfortunately, I don't have the equipment to cross the glacier so I may never go up Sahale. That's quite a disappointment, the views look so nice from up there and oh--to finish my favorite hike would just be a dream. But I can settle for the bottom of the glacier. It's a mighty fine view from there. One hope I have is I heard late enough in the season you can maneuver around the glacier on rock up to the scramble. If I can manage the final scramble with my limited experience... one can only hope.

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the Zachster
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PostSun Jul 12, 2009 10:23 pm 
up.gif up.gif up.gif

"May I always be the kind of person my dog thinks I am"
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Josh Journey
a.k.a Josh Lewis



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Josh Journey
a.k.a Josh Lewis
PostWed Jul 15, 2009 12:21 am 
Ok now I'm feeling tanted to go up! Man......... I guess I'll have to wait until August...... rant.gif Oh well nice trip report and photos As for the glacier part.... it didn't look like you or the kids were roped up... isn't that kinda against mountaineering protocal?

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raising3hikers
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PostWed Jul 15, 2009 6:20 pm 
Josh wrote:
Ok now I'm feeling tanted to go up! Man......... I guess I'll have to wait until August...... rant.gif Oh well nice trip report and photos As for the glacier part.... it didn't look like you or the kids were roped up... isn't that kinda against mountaineering protocal?
Josh, I had all the equipmant for the kids and I for the glacier and rock climb. I used my judgement after analyzing several things before deciding it wasn't neccessary to rope up on the Sahale glacier. I've been there before a know it's a very little crevassed glacier, and there was pretty much a boot path to the summit in the snow. Also glissade marks everywhere. As I said in the TR, I looked around for the terminus and it is still under snowpack. Which means there is still a lot of snow on this small glacier. It is only .25 miles long by less than .5 miles wide. There was a small bergschund near the head of the glacier but everyone steered clear of this area. I choose this route instead of the very crevassed Quien Sabe glacier route. I would not feel comfortable taking my kids on this one without another experienced adult climber. The kids wouldn't be able to hold my fall if I fell and they would fall also. The rock climb was another thing, we roped up and they felt very safe climbing the rock to the summit. Easier for an adult to scramble this rock but I needed to make sure my kids would not fall no matter what! This part of the climb, I felt it was mandatory for the extra precautions. Make sure no matter what hike or climb you do, Plan It Out And Do Your Homework. This will be a good climb for you and good luck on this one when you get there! iron wrote-how do they fare when dealing with 4th class terrain? i imagine like with all things introduced at a really young age (like skiing/boarding/soccer/climbing), most of the things us 'adults' notice a merely blips on a kid's radar. They did better than I could have imagined. I knew Jayden would tackle the rock just fine but I was a little worried about how Ryan would handle it. He climbed and communicated like he has been doing this for a while. The rope really added to their security but they did the climbing. It was really fun to teach them several things along the route. Along with, it's O.K. to turn around. By the way-get well soon iron silence wrote-now i think you're raising2climbers I just might have to change to that soon if they keep this up

Eric Eames
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bobbi
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bobbi
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PostThu Jul 16, 2009 7:45 am 
YOU GUYS ROCK! congratulations to you and the boys for the summit bag. i love that you carried Ryan's pack when he needed a bit of help. i wish you had a photo of their smiling faces (difficult to photo when you were busy lowering them!) but i can just imagine it. yes, i agree with silence. you are raising2climbers! you should be proud of your sons. they are exposed to the wonderful outdoors, something their friends possibly can only do in video games embarassedlaugh.gif great job!

bobbi ૐ "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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