Forum Index > Trip Reports > Frisco & Rainy, 10/9/09
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Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot



Joined: 30 Jan 2007
Posts: 4307 | TRs | Pics
Location: Shoreline
Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot
PostMon Oct 19, 2009 11:53 pm 
Date: 10/9/09 Destination: Frisco 7780 & Rainy 7768 Party: Matt, cartman We went up the Heather/Maple Pass trail to the col above Maple Pass, dropped down to Lake 6100, curved south around the obstructing shoulder to the east bowl of Frisco, up snowy talus to the 7500-foot shoulder of Frisco, and up the ridge to Frisco’s summit. I followed the crest down to the Frisco-Rainy col, then went up Rainy on the other side, curving onto the south face to bypass a steeper step. On our return, we went from Lake 6100 directly uphill to catch the trail on the ridge between Lake Ann & Rainy Lake, and followed it back down to the trailhead.
Frisco & Rainy route map
Frisco & Rainy route map
Rainy Pass TH 4850 to Col Above Maple Pass 6950 From the Rainy Pass trailhead, we hiked up to Heather Pass, for a first view of larches & Black Peak. Then we continued up over Maple Pass to the high col that crosses the north ridge of Frico.
Heather Pass view of Larches & Lewis Lake
Heather Pass view of Larches & Lewis Lake
Heather Pass view Larches, Lewis Lake, & Black Peak
Heather Pass view Larches, Lewis Lake, & Black Peak
Larches angling down from Heather Pass
Larches angling down from Heather Pass
cartman on the Trail
cartman on the Trail
Maple Pass view of Benzarino, Corteo, & Black
Maple Pass view of Benzarino, Corteo, & Black
Lake Ann from col above Maple Pass
Lake Ann from col above Maple Pass
Down to Lake 6100 Then we had to drop 800 feet to Lake 6100, taking the first few switchbacks of the trail, then down a boulder field the rest of the way. The lake was frozen to an icy clear mirror surface.
Looking down to Lake 6100
Looking down to Lake 6100
Frozen Lake 6100
Frozen Lake 6100
Lake 6100 reflection
Lake 6100 reflection
Hillside beyond Lake 6100
Hillside beyond Lake 6100
Frozen pool at Lake 6100 outlet
Frozen pool at Lake 6100 outlet
cartman neat the lake outlet
cartman neat the lake outlet
Lake 6100 to Frisco Shoulder 7500 First we had to get around the obstucting shoulder of Frisco south of the lake, an obstacle that had required the descent to the lake in the first place. We crossed the shoulder somewhat steeply just below the cliffs, about 150 feet above the lake. Then we were in open terrain in the large eastern basin of Frisco. Much of the terrain was beautiful meadows of green heather, white boulders, and bright larches.
Larches angling up the hillside
Larches angling up the hillside
King larch and smaller acolytes
King larch and smaller acolytes
Beautiful meadows
Beautiful meadows
cartman ascending the meadows
cartman ascending the meadows
However, the higher shadier sections were a snowy minefield of potential slips. There was good footing where the ground was heathery or where granite slabs had melted clear. But the dirt sections were frozen hard, and the boulder fields were filled with snowy voids. At 7100 feet, we reached the terminal moraine of the deceased western lobe of the Lyall Glacier. From here, it was all snowy boulders up to a 7550-foot shoulder, where we could get onto the east ridge of Frisco. Footing turned out to be mostly good, but only after testing each snowy step to find whether a hole or a slippery angle might lie underfoot.
Larches & Frisco’s lower shoulder
Larches & Frisco’s lower shoulder
Frozen boulders up to Frisco’s 7500-foot shoulder
Frozen boulders up to Frisco’s 7500-foot shoulder
Horizon of peaks viewed from the morraine
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Horizon of peaks viewed from the morraine
cartman ascending the snowy boulders, with Frisco’s shadow on the morraine
cartman ascending the snowy boulders, with Frisco’s shadow on the morraine
Frisco east basin (viewed later from Rainy)
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Frisco east basin (viewed later from Rainy)
Frisco 7780 The shoulder marked a happy transition from dark/cold/snowy to sunny/warm/dry. Easy class 2/3 scrambling, mostly a bit west of the crest, led to the summit.
View from shoulder back down past the moraine & Rainy Lake
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View from shoulder back down past the moraine & Rainy Lake
Frisco summit panorama westward
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Frisco summit panorama westward
Benzarino (next year’s destination)
Benzarino (next year’s destination)
Corteo, Black & Horsefly Pass
Corteo, Black & Horsefly Pass
Me on Frisco, with Rainy behind
Me on Frisco, with Rainy behind
Looking east past cartman on Frisco-Rainy crest, to east ridge of Rainy, and Copper Creek/Stiletto (tomorrow’s destination)
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Looking east past cartman on Frisco-Rainy crest, to east ridge of Rainy, and Copper Creek/Stiletto (tomorrow’s destination)
Summit shadow on Rainy Lake
Summit shadow on Rainy Lake
Eric departing Frisco
Eric departing Frisco
Frisco to Rainy Looking west to Rainy, I kept wondering… It was already 3:30 in the afternoon, and there was snow on the reputed 4th class step on the ridge up to Rainy. But… It looked like there was an alternate that would work better anyway. Off to the right of the ridge, Rainy’s south slope looked easy and dry in the sun. It appeared to be just a walk-up rock-and-dirt slope, if you could just get off the ridge and round the corner onto it. I decided to do a reconnaissance down to the col and check it out. The ridge crest downward was easy, except for a bit of class 3 to get down on the south slope and bypass Point 7275 right before the col at 7150 feet. Then going up the far side was even easier. But I still needed to get across one rocky gully on the right to get onto Rainy’s south slope. And there, at 7500 feet, just below the steep section of the ridge, was a perfect ramp leading across the gully, leading to a distinctive clump of three larches at the far end. Class 2, with just a few bits of class 3, all the way.
Route from Frisco to Rainy, with south slope finish
Route from Frisco to Rainy, with south slope finish
7500-foot ramp onto the south slope of Rainy
7500-foot ramp onto the south slope of Rainy
The Ramp
The Ramp
Looking back at Frisco from thefar end of the ramp (it’s less steep than it looks)
Looking back at Frisco from thefar end of the ramp (it’s less steep than it looks)
Rainy 7768 Now I was standing on Rainy’s south slope with a moral quandary. The summit was only 15 minutes away, and returning another time would take all day. Plus it would be valuable to confirm that this route worked. But I had told Eric I was only going to do a reconnaissance, and he had already headed back down from Frisco. If the roles were reversed, I know that I’d want the other person to go ahead and finish the summit, but not everyone would see it that way. In this case, with the summit so close, I decided there was more benefit to finishing than to turning back. I tagged the summit, barely paused for a few pictures of the late afternoon view, and hurried down to race against darkness and lateness.
Rainy summit benchmark
Rainy summit benchmark
Looking down at the east Lyall Glacier tarn & Rainy Lake
Looking down at the east Lyall Glacier tarn & Rainy Lake
Frozen tarn below remanant of east Lyall Glacier
Frozen tarn below remanant of east Lyall Glacier
Looking north to Hardy, Ballard & Azurite, & Golden Horn
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Looking north to Hardy, Ballard & Azurite, & Golden Horn
Looking NE to Stiletto, Copper, & the Gardners
Looking NE to Stiletto, Copper, & the Gardners
Exit Then I hurried to race the shadows down the mountain. But first I had to descend to the col and ascend back up to the 7500 shoulder of Frisco. Cliffy edges left no way to get off anywhere earlier.
Shadows near & light afar
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Shadows near & light afar
Color flora reappears below the glacial wasteland
Color flora reappears below the glacial wasteland
Evening sky over Rainy
Evening sky over Rainy
Snowy boulders below Frisco
Snowy boulders below Frisco
At the 6100 lake, I was able to shortcut the route by zigzagging up slopes northward directly to the Rainy/Ann ridge trail, reaching it at the minor col east of Point 6685. (You might be able to descend from the same point and avoid the boulder field east of the lake, but it would be hard to see the route and avoid rock bands from above.) I had to use my headlamp down the trail. Small larches appeared as bright surprises standing up in the dark when my light hit them.
Larches in the dark
Larches in the dark
Bright highlights on a dark trail
Bright highlights on a dark trail
Alas, my delay made us just late enough that the only place open in Winthrop was an incongruous French bistro, where they served fries wrapped in a paper cone on a stand like a display of flowers, but much more expensive. Statistics: 8.5 miles, 5300 gain, 10:15 hours Gain components: TH to Maple Pass Col +2100, Lake 6100 to Frisco +1700, Frisco-Rainy Col to Rainy +600, Frisco-Rainy Col to Frisco Shoulder +300, Lake 6100 to Rainy Lake Trail +600

“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
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Dayhike Mike
Bad MFKer



Joined: 02 Mar 2003
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Location: Going to Tukwila
Dayhike Mike
Bad MFKer
PostTue Oct 20, 2009 12:21 am 
Nice work! up.gif up.gif Looks like a fun day out and one I'll have to try myself sometime. agree.gif

"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
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Magellan
Brutally Handsome



Joined: 26 Jul 2006
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Location: Inexorable descent
Magellan
Brutally Handsome
PostTue Oct 20, 2009 5:20 am 
Nice work fellas. What do you think of using the ridge you went down to go up?

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BirdDog
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Joined: 09 Jan 2007
Posts: 1067 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
BirdDog
Member
PostTue Oct 20, 2009 8:19 am 
I've been waiitng for this one Matt. Nice lake/larch pics.

"There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country." Teddy Roosevelt August 6, 1912
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Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot



Joined: 30 Jan 2007
Posts: 4307 | TRs | Pics
Location: Shoreline
Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot
PostTue Oct 20, 2009 8:52 am 
Magellan wrote:
Nice work fellas. What do you think of using the ridge you went down to go up?
It's probably shorter and more efficient that way, but less scenic.

“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
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DIYSteve
seeking hygge



Joined: 06 Mar 2007
Posts: 12655 | TRs | Pics
Location: here now
DIYSteve
seeking hygge
PostTue Oct 20, 2009 9:41 am 
Great work, guys. up.gif Nice pics of a lovely area.

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goats gone wild
Mr. Goat



Joined: 19 Aug 2007
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Location: Vampireville
goats gone wild
Mr. Goat
PostTue Oct 20, 2009 12:35 pm 
What???? No summit tea picture. huh.gif moon.gif Okay, I guess the pictures of the stunningly beautiful larches will have to do. hockeygrin.gif

.....leaving me wanting to return over and over in what ever capacity that may be, even if one day my knees are too old and I can only see the mountains from my porch. Jason Hummel
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Tom_Sjolseth
Born Yesterday



Joined: 30 May 2007
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Tom_Sjolseth
Born Yesterday
PostTue Oct 20, 2009 12:51 pm 
Thanks for a great TR on two peaks I have yet to climb. up.gif

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twodogdad
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twodogdad
Member
PostTue Oct 20, 2009 11:39 pm 
Fascinating itinerary, guys up.gif Funny how close and out of the way these peaks are, at the same time. tdd

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