21 replies to this topic

[Igloo Ed]

All spring I've been hoping to summit Otis Peak, watching the snow conditions every weekend waiting for it to consolidate enough to boot it instead of snowshoe, getting into a little better shape and watching my diet, watching the weather for a good weather day.
Well, they all came together today. I'd checked the weather forecast last night and it looked like as long as I was heading off the summit by noon, I'd be fine.
The forecast didn't say how the afternoon snows were supposed to develop but I figured I'd go for it and see what happened.
It was easy to see on my drive up that the weather was moving in from the east, we were having an upslope storm system move in.
I got my first view of where I was going while above Moraine Park and I could see the clouds moving up into the Glacier Basin area:

I could tell that it was going to be a race between me and the clouds as to who reached the summit first.

As I drove further and got past the Glacier Basin area I got a view of Otis and the route I'd be going up:


I was hoping to hit the trail at 6:00 am but didn't get going until 6:25 so I knew I'd need to make good time in order to be leaving the summit by noon.
I strapped my snowshoes onto my pack and headed out at a brisk pace, the trail was hard packed snow that was a bit icy but not slick so I made good time.
I put my snowshoes on when I left the park trail and got on my backcountry route and found the going easy with only breaking through the crust of the hard spring snow. It was a beautiful day, nice enough that it can fool a person on what is to come:


I soon got out of the woods and on to some open snowfields where I found the snow to be very hard. The hard snow made it easy to make good time:


This was the earliest I've started a hike in some time and I'd just about forgotten how spectacular the light is so early:


I was keeping a watchful eye on the weather behind me and could see that it was an ocean of clouds coming up. It truly felt like they were chasing me:


As I got higher, even the snow in the woods was hard enough to walk anywhere with the snowshoes. I soon got to the bottom of the climb and the last of the big trees:


continued

[Igloo Ed]

The climb is very steep but this was one time I wasn't worried about avalanches, I was worried more about slipping and sliding back down the slope. There were enough ledges/drifts and scattered trees one can grab that I felt safe going up:


I started getting great views once I started the climb and the clouds reminded me of filling up a swimming pool:


I wore my snowshoes up the steep climb until I reached bare tundra and rock where I strapped them on my pack again. The bare area was large but it didn't take long before I was faced with traveling on snow again. Well, I tried it with my boots and it was great, the snow was nice and hard up this high. I soon reached the top of the ridge and got a view of Longs Peak. There were a couple tiny clouds to the south of Longs. A foreshadow... indeed!


I went up the ridge quite a ways before I got my first view of Sharkstooth and Taylor Peak:


Pushing on, the clouds were starting to fill the near canyons fuller as I was still a couple hundred vertical feet from the summit:


The first view of the real summit behind the false summit was a welcomed sight:


With still having another 60 ft. to gain, some small wisps of clouds came up the peaks:


The clouds backed off a bit after that and I had time to get pictures from the summit:


I got to the summit at 11:30 and had enough time to have lunch and take pictures but the clouds were getting higher and higher:


Yep, still continued

Edited by Igloo Ed, 14 May 2011 - 10:13 PM.

[Igloo Ed]

Looking north at Hallett Peak and the clouds were coming from the east and flowing over the Continental Divide:


The clouds were rapidly moving up and I knew I'd be traveling down the other side of the mountain in a whiteout but the views were astounding:


Looking north again showed Halletts top sticking out of the cloud:


It didn't take long and I was in a white out on the summit. I traveled along the steep drop off down into Andrews Creek but there were many times when I couldn't see any rocks at all, just pure white. About the time I was wondering if I had went wrong, I spotted the trail sign:


I went down Andrews Glacier in a complete whiteout. There were long stretches where I didn't see a single rock. I navigated just by knowing the shape of the glacier.
I made it down in fine shape and was back to the car at 2:30.
What an experience!

[Qbert]

Great report, Ed. Not the kind of conditions I'd want to descend in, but mighty exciting to hear about it.

[John]

Reading this made my heart race! Excellent storytelling and pictures!

[GLENNinPA]

Wow Ed that was awesome! Very exciting and somewhat scary decent. We were just talking about a spring climb of Otis. Glad you got it done. Great photos by the way.

[Allie]

Great report and photos, Ed. I really liked the ones of the clouds coming up the mountains, very cool. Glad you know that area so well, and made it down safely.

[Bill 007]

Yeah...what Glenn & John & Q said!
Racin' the Clouds!!!

Bill

[rcw]

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing your adventure with us.

[jflo]

Sweet hike!!! Glad you were able to get it in before the clouds took over.

[Brent D]

Wow! Excellent report and pics Ed! What a day!

[Igloo Ed]

Bill 007, on 15 May 2011 - 07:29 AM, said:

Yeah...what Glenn & John & Q said!
Racin' the Clouds!!!

Bill

The clouds were quite the motivator along with my need to get an aerobic heart beat workout. I just worried a bit at first if I was going to burn myself out or find the pace I could maintain all day.
Some wild feels through the day. Going up the peak gave me views of the huge drifts with the above average snow pack this spring. Looking strait on at the drifts gives them the appearance of being vertical but I push on trusting that it was only an optical illusion. That and the clouds moved in for a second before I reached the summit had me wondering if it'd be overcast by the time I got there.
Going down in the whiteout was not a new experience but the distance I traveled in it and the bad visibility were both more than I'd ever done. If I stayed left and followed the edge with Andrews Creek below, I encountered more rocks so I stayed a bit to the right and in the snow. When up at the edge, the clouds were moving in a slight breeze and I could feel it. I could also feel it a little ways before reaching the edge. I used the wind and knowing the general lay of the land to navigate down to Andrews Pass.
Going down the glacier... well... I knew I didn't want to get onto the steep part on the north side of the glacier so I headed blindly down and to the right looking for the deep snow trough along side the south side of the glacier. I went for what was beginning to feel like forever but finally reached the steep trough. I knew at the top the drop into the trough can be vertical so I followed the edge of the trough until the glacier itself started getting steeper. I knew that at that point the drop into the trough was not vertical. I sat down and glissaded into a white abyss.
Following the fall line down to Andrews Tarn seemed to take for ever but finally I recognized the rocks where the summer trail ends and everyone gets on the glacier.
Going down from the tarn... the spookiest part of the trip... I headed down in the general area of the summer trail at first. In winter there is a huge drift running directly down to the glacial knob I wanted to get down to. There are huge snowfields that are nearly cirques on both sides of the knob that lead down to and past the knob. I first went to the top of the right or south cirque and then followed the edge of the drop into the cirque while heading left. The snow I was on began to get steeper so I headed a little further left to get away from the cirque some in case I would slip. I soon reached steeper terrain on the left which told me I was getting into the cirque on the north side of the knob. I headed back right again while going down the steep part of the backbone between the two drifts. I took a couple steps and through the cloud I saw the trees below me that are on top of the glacial knob. I went to the trees and followed them to the right, planning on going down off the knob on the south side.
I got to the corner of the knob that was also the bottom of the south cirque without any problems.
Heading down from the corner of the knob... I was hesitant to glissade it at first so I plunge stepped quite a way but finally got down on my butt and slide the last part of it.
I still had to get down to the woods where I would recognize trees but the hazardous part of the trip was over and the trudge began.

[GLENNinPA]

Wow. That's a pretty wild descent. Good thing you know the area like your backyard.

[B-Jay]

I loved seeing the gorgeous views in the early morning part of your hike. Once you started coming down, it looked like you were swallowed by the clouds. I'm so glad to know you made it safely down in those whiteout conditions.

Thanks for posting your incredible adventure.

B-Jay

[mwilson]

Ed, you scare me! It's amazing to me how you know those mountains and I love it when you share your reports and pictures. You had quite the adventure.