[Sabahsboy]

I am truly speechless...totally blown away! What an adventure! Kudos to one and all for sharing this fabulous trip and sharing such remarkable, often artful, photos! Triumph! The Peaks says it all!

[Tom_Sjolseth]

A little lurking birdie has informed me that we most likely made the first winter ascent of Thornton Peak. Go team!

[Matt]

Probably the first winter ascent reported on a public site. Hard to imagine no one did it previously, since it's a relatively accessible peak.

[Matt]

Videos of the summit pitch. Waiting below the Hillary Step: Don't look down:

[Scrooge]

Priceless pic, Matt.

I have a feeling that you folks are getting a little blasé about climbing without protection, just because you can.

[Yana]

[Scrooge]

[Matt]

Yes, probably that last pitch needs explaining. I wouldn't have done it except that the snow conditions were very solid. The snow happened to be just the right hardness to kick in solid steps, and just deep enough to get good ice axe placements in all but a couple spots. Also, although the north (lefthand) side was an awful cliff, the south (righthand) side had a survivable runout on snow (steep at the top, but lower angled and softer farther down). (In the first video, you might notice that when one person breaks through the crust on the lower right, he just sinks in and stops, without even having to try to arrest.) You probably can't see it, but all but a couple of the steps are oriented slightly right of the crest, so that a slip would go that way. Believe me, I was very careful to make sure my feet and hands were solid on the steepest steps. I went last, and I did it without crampons, because bare boots packed the steps down better. If the snow had been wet or powdery, where the steps might break loose, I wouldn't even have considered it at all. If it were harder and icier, where a slip would be hard to stop, I wouldn't have done it without a rope. If the pitch were longer, I also would have hesitated, because it becomes harder to maintain your concentration. In this case, the snow was good enough to allow a reasonable margin of safety, given careful placements and skilled travelers.

[Yana]

[Tom_Sjolseth]

I say, GMAFB! I can't validate that with any other response than the above. EDIT: Actually, I can! Scrooge, you sure have earned your nickname. You have to be pretty bored to come on here and criticize a group of people about something you know next to nothing about. There were 10 people on that trip that day. All but one individual (who has very little experience in mountaineering) didn't want to do that final exposed bit. That person didn't try to dissuade the other 90% of the people on that trip to turn around because we were being too dangerous. Why? Because they probably felt it wasn't their place. Just because something is exposed, doesn't mean you are going to fall off and die. If we, as climbers, placed protection everywhere there was exposure or a risk of dying when falling, then we wouldn't get very far and I'd have to pack a rope up Mt. Si. We'd be placing pickets in the dirt and belaying steep, grassy "class 2" traverses. Climbing is a dangerous sport. Climbers know this and choose to pursue their passion in spite of this fact. Just like race car drivers, like deep sea divers, like those who hunt with Dick Cheney. Yes, Scrooge, there are accidents in climbing. Do you think you are bringing any major revelations to the table? There are accidents all throughout life, and you mitigate them by being careful. I accept the level of risk I take in life and in climbing alike. I don't need someone to criticize me about my choices. It doesn't do you any good and it doesn't do me any good, so why do it? If I die climbing, please don't feel sorry for me. I am living my life how I like to live it, and for that I don't see any reason for remorse. I understand you're bored and the weather is lousy, but it would be nice if you thought about things before you pressed "submit". No hard feelings Scrooge, I just don't subscribe to your (in my opinion) uninformed, ludicrous ideology.

[peltoms]

Wow made my day what a great ascent. Hard to believe you can drive to the trailhead. Calendar shot for next year January

[Scrooge]

Tom Sjolseth said

[Tom_Sjolseth]

When Flow has experience under his belt, he should be more than qualified to make that statement unchallenged by armchair mountaineers or anyone else for that matter. If you want to start a "climbing is dangerous" thread, why don't you do that instead of piss on my trip report?

[fwb]

I don't feel there is a need to continue polluting Tom's TR with unfounded hearsay. This was not a group of in-experienced or untrained and reasoning people. Each person on this trip has had formal training in technical climbing -some less experienced, some ex-professional. Well more than needed for a winter snow scramble. Each person individually assessed and made their own decision whether to finish the final step. As people came down they talked to those deciding to go up. This final step had much less danger than many other trips. As with all activities there are risks. Important is that each person was evaluated each part of the trek throughout the entire day and a few were able to say when they reached their personal acceptable limits and nobody pressed them to go beyond that. More than one in the group has found road cycling much more dangerous. Hiking and scrambling is much more life fulfilling than sitting behind a computer.

First the ridge in the woods

Mudslinger and Damnation/Diosud area

Dicey and shutter delay

Dicey and finally getting closer to the summit block

congo line

Iron and Hotpantz

Mudslinger and Dicey

going up

the ridge route

Hotpantz on the last step

Mudslinger giving a last look back

new weather coming in.

cloud waves

Food

Thornton Peak Summit 360 pano -interactive -zoom & pan... Happy Trails! fwb2

[iron]

cool panning pano franklin!