[Dave Creeden]

Date: January 18, 2014 Route: Variation of the NW Ridge route. Hike the Sunrise Trail for little over a mile, until reaching a gulley at about 3,200 feet filled with avalanche debris. Then went straight a band of timber reaching the NW ridge at about 4,500 feet. Climbers: Franklin Bradshaw and Dave Creeden A couple of weeks ago a flurry of e-mails was exchanged about ideas for a day climb and I put forward the suggestion of Lewis Peak, because the Mountain Loop Highway to Barlow Pass was still accessible. Eventually we settled on a climb of Anthracite and Beaver Peak. On Friday I got an e-mail from Franklin suggesting we make an attempt on Lewis Peak on Saturday, so I jumped at the chance. We rendezvoused at Granite Falls at 6 AM and I loaded Franklin’s Subaru wagon with my gear. On the drive we discussed various route options and settled a variation of the NW ridge. We talked about climbs we’ve each done in the past and as we drove through Silverton we made a pact to climb Hall Peak at some point in the future. He also mentioned that he was waiting for conformation that he would we going to the upcoming Winter Olympics to help set ski race courses like he did in Vancouver in 2010. When we reached the Sunrise Mine Road there was a pile of snow across the roadway, but there were recent vehicle tracks on road itself. We hoped to drive as much as the 2.3 mile road as possible to reduce the road walk. Franklin got out his snow chains and proclaimed that this time he had the right size chains for his car! (See Beaver/Anthracite Trip Report!) I grabbed a snow shovel to clear the snow berm across the road, as he put the chains on his car. The vehicles which preceded us were pickup trucks and SUVs with wider wheel bases, which made for awkward driving for Franklin but he was undeterred. About 1 ¾ miles up the road at a sharp left turn we ran into 4 or 5 rigs parked in a wide spot of the road with a bunch a guys standing around their tents. One guy with a coonskin hat, a machete slung across his shoulder and a couple of knives on this waist belt, waved at us and approached the car. Franklin rolled down his window and struck up a conversation with him, as if everything was cool. He was a friendly guy, just curious what we were up to. A couple of more people came over too and they mentioned that they had spent the night there and planned to camp one more night. Franklin asked how much further they had driven up the road and they said just a short distance because the snow was too deep. Of course this was a challenge that Franklin couldn’t resist! There was an older set of truck tracks ahead. But soon Franklin’s Subaru was scraping snow, so he would just back up a short distance, then drive forward and repeat the process until he could plow through. He did this numerous times until we got to a point where the road was a little steeper and the snow deeper. He tried several times, but couldn’t get through. There was a wide spot in the rood nearby, as a possible pull over spot. Franklin remarked that it was too bad that Dicey wasn’t with. She hates road walking, but we had driven a most of the way so she would have been happy. In the next breath he said, that if Matt was with us, we would have parked back at the entrance of the road and we would have walked the whole darn thing! I got out to scout the wide spot in the road for parking, and it was possible. Up ahead there was a curve in the road, so I walked ahead to see what lay ahead around the corner. About 300 or 400 feet distance I could see the trailhead parking lot. I trotted back to the car to let Franklin know. He backed up and made one more to a run at it and slowly but steadily made progress. The bottom of his vehicle was scraping snow like the dickens, he was swerving back and forth trying to stay in the tracks as he disappeared around the corner and continued to the end of the road without me.

Cadet, Monte Cristo, Kyes, Wilman Peaks, Columbia & Silver Tip

Addison Ridge, Foggy & Cadet

Bedal, Sheep & Sloan

Pugh

Big Four, Three Fingers & White Horse

Vesper & Sperry

Morning Star, Vesper & Sperry

Del Campo

It was glorious day to be alive in the mountains.

[Redwic]

Thank you for sharing the first part of the story, during what is certainly a difficult time. I personally find a lot of value in the preparation and planning stages of mountaineering objectives. I love the photos, too.

[DIYSteve]

well played, Dave RIP Franklin

[Rainie Too!]

Dave, Do you know if he made his 500th peak? I noticed he mentioned planning it on his website.

[Happy Trail Dog]

Yes, he made #500. It was in Colombia, it was a peak called Pico de Aguila (Peak of the Eagle).

[iron]

i've had some trips with franklin where his driving scared the sh## out of me. fun times. he must have the record for number of oil pans destroyed by a hiker.

[Stefan]

Good on you!

[Tom_Sjolseth]

Excellent. Thanks Dave for posting that.

[sticky buns]

Nice, Dave. Thanks. I was looking at a map last night, thinking that his last views were probably pretty sweet. Now I'm wondering if he was ticking off the peaks: done that, done that, want to do that, done that, want to do that. It's a beautiful world out there. How wonderful that we can experience it. Pam

[Sadie's Driver]

Classic Franklin! Thank you.

[Bryan K]

Thank you for sharing Dave. I'm glad you got to spend such a beautiful day in the mountains with a great guy.

[Stefan-K]

four wheeled it all the way to the trailhead, yes! Thanks for both reports, the T&T, the balance, Dave. I'm sure Franklin would have appreciated it.

[don b]

Dave, Thanks for the story

[Magellan]

Triumph, indeed. Thanks for letting us have one last look, Dave.

[Lindsay]

Dave, thank you for sharing a quintessential Franklin approach to the trail head.