25 replies to this topic

[Mark Zemmin]

I have to run to the GTG, but I wanted to let people know that we had a blast on the hike today. I will do a report after while, but I wanted to show the hike profile. The route we took up to the top of Half Mountain was pretty steep

[DrCloud]

Oh c'mon. With a 1:5 scale, sure it looks like a lot.

Show us a 1:1 scale and then we'll provide whatever sympathy is appropriate. HPH

[Bill 007]

Doc is right.....show me your "A" game Mark!

Bill
(Jealous! I know, with Ed, you had a blast!)

[John]

I've done that hike. I remember it being exactly that steep.

Edited by John, 24 September 2011 - 09:39 PM.

[Igloo Ed]

Bill 007, on 24 September 2011 - 06:59 PM, said:

Doc is right.....show me your "A" game Mark!

Mark was commenting tonight at the Get Together that it was 1500ft. gain in 1/2 mile. Sure did feel good.
We got out of the parking lot by 6:00am and arrived at Zone Lake before the actual sunrise and had time for a few pictures and some chat. The trip to the lake was by headlamp most of the way but we kept a brisk pace and did quite a bit of chatting too. The river is way down now and the river crossing was easy for everyone.
I was looking forward to climbing up the west side of Half Mtn since Mark agreed to go check out a route I'd been eying for a few years but I wasn't positive we could get up the cliffs at the top of the couloir the route went up. With my anticipation and the happy crew we had today it felt like a great day to be alive.
There were no clouds but what a lovely morning at Zone Lake:


I love early mornings when it is cool and quiet:


The ground and grasses were a bit damp making for some very quiet walking but it also brought out a lot of the colors:


We hung out just a bit and then headed out to Joyce's Pond in enough light that we could clearly see all the colors coming out along a stream we passed:


Time passed way to fast with all the fun we were all having and it seemed like only minutes and we were at Joyce's Pond:

[Igloo Ed]

The area of ferns along Joyce's had turned and it felt great walking through them:


I felt a bit sad leaving Joyce's as it meant we would soon be parting ways with Coop and Family as they headed to Mills and Jewel lake while Mark, SkiBudFrank and I would head up the west side of Half Mtn. Again the time flew all to fast and we were at Mills Junction and said our good byes.
Our first order of business was to cross Glacier Creek and I've never found a good place to cross, so I figured I'd try a bit further up stream this time and see what we found. Well, sure enough there were a few logs to choose from. One suited our needs well enough and I was able to catch Mark just before he broke into a sprint for the second half of the log:


We headed east a bit after crossing the stream and soon came to the couloir I've been up before to get to the top of a glacial knob attached to the west side of Half Mtn. The couloir is always fun with a bit of climbing in places and a small cave to crawl through. It hit me again that time was flying by too fast as we went up the couloir and we soon got to a good point to turn left up the main couloir going up the west side of the mountain. We sat there and pointed out the possible routes out of the couloir at the top of it where there was a cliff.
The hope was we could take a right out of the couloir in what looked like a side crack.
We had a snack while talking it over and enjoying the view of Mummy Mtn:


The couloir was mostly filled with huge boulders and talus from a huge rock fall and it was a blast scrambling up and through them. It was a long slog but it went by fast with only taking a couple short breaks going up.
At the top of the couloir the side crack was an easy climb out of the couloir and onto the side of the mountain where we walked on smaller boulders and tundra to the summit:


We took a long lunch on the summit and then headed down the S.E. side of the mountain to the North Longs Peak trail and then out past Alberta Falls.
It was 2 1/2 miles to the summit and 4 1/4 miles back to the trailhead.
Whoo Hoo!

[jflo]

Looks like an awesome day!!!

[soatley]

Great route. It sounds a lot more fun than the usual krumholtz.

Sandy O

[Bill 007]

Okay....that's "A" Game enough for me!
That's lot of elevation gain quickly and some creative hiking...but that's what I like about hiking with you Ed. You show folks things and places that would normally be outside our comfort zone. Good job!

Bill
(Frank didn't ski back down this time did he?)

Edited by Bill 007, 25 September 2011 - 07:13 AM.

[Mark Zemmin]

On that log crossing, I was praying "Please Lord, don't let me Snady this"

[JDgreen]

Nice!!

[renate1]

Great pics Ed. Ya know when you hike with slower folks (like me) time doesn't fly by it drags on - so if you ever want a hike you are thinking about doing to last forever, you know who to call

Looks like a beautiful day and the colors are starting to really pop. Glad it all went well for you guys.

[soatley]

Mark Zemmin, on 25 September 2011 - 09:23 AM, said:

On that log crossing, I was praying "Please Lord, don't let me Snady this"

Yes, but then Ed could have taken a picture of your wet/muddy butt. I know I would have liked seeing that.

Snady

[Ski bud Frank]

It's always fun to start a hike with headlamps. Going up the steep part was fun. I wish I could have skied back down as the main trail got long. Enjoyed meeting new people!

[mwilson]

Sounds and looks like a great day in the mountains! Thanks for sharing the report and pics, Ed.