Day 2, Tuesday - So this is Mountaineering

Tuesday, Day 2 – It’s surprising how well you can sleep on the hard ground after a 3-mile hike and an MRE. Well the MRE’s are not the greatest but at least our packs were lighter. Steve woke us all at about 6:30 AM; we appreciated the extra half hour sleep. We packed up everything and set off for Inter Glacier at about 7:30 AM.

As we crossed the meadow and started up a low ridge we got our first real look at the glacier. By glacier standards, it’s not all that big but it is the headwater for the White River. Christina had explained that the white comes from the glacial till; very fine dirt subjected to years and tons of glacial grinding. It took us about 2 hours to reached the base of the glacier, 7185 ft elevation. This is one of those examples from the Army TV commercial; “…we do more before breakfast than most people do in a day….” Yes, we stopped at the base for breakfast and our first mountaineering class; Self-arresting.

Up to this point we had been wearing shorts and tee shirts but for this exercise we needed jackets, waterproof pants and ice axes. Grace took some videos that really tell the tale. And yes, I guess I did hit the rocks. Fred was awesome, Katie really got into it, which was a good thing for what happened later. An interesting dynamic was also taking place. Though we called ourselves a team we apparently had been functioning pretty well as individuals. The self-arrest training and the events of the day brought us together as team.

Back to shorts and tee shirts, we started our climb up Inter Glacier. It was a lot like walking up a steep sledding hill; kick your foot into the snow to get a foothold and keep going up. The route traversed to glacier to lessen the grade. We were making progress with our serpentine course when suddenly Katie slipped and slid about 50 ft down the mountain. Now that was really scary for Katie and probably hurt too. Unfortunately we were using poles whereas an ice ax would have helped her to stop much sooner. So we learned and switched to crampons and 1 pole and ice ax and everyone felt more secure. Did I forget to mention that though our packs were now 2 meals lighter, they were still very much on our backs. We came upon our first crevasses and easily stepped over them. It took us 3 hours to reach the top of Inter Glacier at 8595 ft elevation where we stopped for lunch at about 2:45 PM. We could once again see the summit.

After the glacier we roped-up so we could cross a dirt and rocky ridge. Remember that glacial till Christina explained to us, well this ridge was similar in that both the rocks and dirt wanted to slide with each step we took. The disheartening part was that once we reached the top of the ridge then we had to go down the other side. We were at a point where we were reluctant to give up any of the elevation we gained, even if it was only a couple hundred feet. At the bottom lay the Emmons Glacier and a field of crevasses. We made it down. Prior to stepping onto the glacier there was a special sisters’ moment – no pictures however.

Steve led the way onto Emmons Glacier and negotiated the crevasses. Prior to this we had joked about crevasses, so far we had been able to simply step over them. Well this was the real thing. I don’t know how Steve found a way through them, it looked like a maze. Some we were able to step across, others we had to jump over; yes, with our packs, and be able to stop when we landed. This was the first time we had to dig our ice axes into the snow and be ready to stop the potential fall of the jumper. I took the opportunity to look down a couple and it was beautiful. White near the top and turning a deeper blue as they went down. Some were shallow, perhaps 15 to 20 feet deep; some were very deep and wide. This is one of those rear moments where you want to linger to take it all in. I’ll remember this sight for a long time and look forward to experiencing it again. Little did I know what lay ahead.

Once through the crevasse field we could see our destination, Camp Schurman. Just a short way (comparatively speaking) up the glacier and across one more crevasse. This final crevasse was really scary, even for Steve. We were a stone’s throw from camp, just cross the scary snow-bridge and 25 yards to the right. We all dug in as Steve started to cross it. He was half way across when the Ranger called out to him to be extremely careful and suggested a different route. That was very good advice, Steve retraced his steps and we took the alternate route, 100 yards to the left and a short jump over the crevasse. There are pictures of the scary snow-bridge on the blog, both before and after it collapsed the next day. It was quite a relief to step off the glacier and onto Camp Schurman. See the blog for more great pictures of the camp. I no longer have a need to go to the moon, I’ve been to Camp Schurman. Perhaps the biggest difference between the two is that Camp Schurman has an outhouse, and it’s even warm inside it – take a number and get in line.

We were tired. It was about 6:30 PM and we were at 9525 ft elevation. Camp Schurman is a rocky point that splits the Emmons and Winthrop glaciers. The view is spectacular to the east and north. At this altitude you are higher than most of the surrounding mountains. Far to the east you could see the desert beyond the Cascades. To the north were Mt Baker and other outstanding peaks. Below we could see the end of the glaciers where they form rivers to the Sound. As the sun set you could see the lights all along Puget Sound, from Tacoma to north of Seattle. As I lay in my sleeping bag that night, my feet were pulsating to the roar of the thunder. Then I realized that it wasn’t thunder but the roar of the mountain as the glaciers inched downward and formed new crevasses. The mountain is alive with activity. It was a day unlike any I have ever experienced.