-10 Minute Read-
I love linking different disciplines to complete big routes in the mountains. Here’s how I combined ski-mountaineering and running for a new fastest known time on Glacier Peak.
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-8 minute read-
The ski-circumnavigation of Mount Hood offers some unique rewards for a tour so close to Portland. You get the challenge of working your way through varied terrain that requires a variety of skills, a big mountain feel, and a fairly long ski traverse. For Ryan and I, it was a fun opportunity to practice working and problem solving together, and spend a full day taking in our home mountain.
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Our three headlamps pan the steep snow ramp like searchlights as we work upward in the dark. The sweep of light reveals a craggy wall to our left and sun-cupped snow disappearing into the night above. The scrape of our crampons is the only sound in the dead air. We move slow to conserve energy and allow careful crampon placement, wary of a long fall on the firm snow.
Without warning a rock the size of a softball hums out of the darkness above and slams into my thigh.
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We’re perched near the spine of the North Cascades, miles of trail-less wilderness surrounds us. The day is calm and peaceful. It’s early June and the hiking trails below tree line are teeming with weekenders from Seattle, but up here the mountains are locked in snow. With two-thirds of the Ptarmigan Traverse behind us, we’ve yet to see another soul.
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We’re days from the trailhead when we come upon Jim. “You guys see a solo hiker, guy about my age?”
“No, we’ve been off trail the last few days…” Elliot starts before Jim cuts him off.
“With the way his feet were killing him, he couldn’t follow me where I was going. We split four days ago with plans to meet down at the lake on the 10th or 11th. Today’s the 11th and we got a flight to catch”.
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The boulder shifts and my right foot twists. I hop sideways trying to catch myself but trip and fall into the rocks. The dislodged hunk clatters away downhill and I lie still for a moment. Everything feels ok, thank god. I roll to my back and swing my legs downhill. The flash of fear and anger softens as I sit where I’ve fallen, looking down at bloodied shins and unstable granite boulders fanning away to the valley floor below.
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