Kathryn and I, Lilbitmo and friends, and Norris and his brother caught the first tram up yesterday. Lilbitmo was headed to San J and Folly Peak. In the boarding area, I met John and Joe, who asked about trail and snow conditions as they did not have crampons or ice axes. They've both had experience in ice and snow and promised they would turn around when safety required. We invited them to join us. After getting our permits, we headed up the Sid Davis drainage to Tamarack. We passed a tent in Tamarack (was that you, Audra?) and made our way up to the Miller Saddle. The snow was much softer than last Sunday and there was little to no ice. Kathryn and I had on our microspikes -- the guys were able to gain good purchase with boots.
At the base of the saddle, it was clear that the snow was melting -- manzanita was poking through numerous sections. We discussed our options at this point -- climbing is easier/safer than descending -- and we did not want to get into trouble coming down. Kathryn and I loaned the guys our microspikes, we donned our crampons, and the four of us made our way carefully up, continually assessing the quality of the snow and a possible turn around point due to ice. We sank in and dropped through the snow as we climbed, which meant that the summit was a go as the descent would be safe.
Once at the saddle, we post-holed our way up the summit and kept knocking snow off the crampons and microspikes. The snow at the summit had melted signficantly -- more rock was visible and in a few places we could post-hole up to our knees. Our new friends John and Joe were dazzled by the view from the summit (IMO -- best view of three saints). They whipped out a stove and cooked up cup of soups. Patrick arrived as we had lunch (balmy with no wind) and we took the requisite summit photos.
As we plunge-stepped our way down to Miller saddle, I wished that I had snow shoes -- skiers would have loved that ride. Once at the saddle, we glissaded our way down. The snow had softened up even more, so it was easy to self arrest with our elbows and poles. Periodically we had to stand up and walk around the exposed manzanita. Made our way back to Sid Davis and up the concrete to celebrate John and Joe's first San J ascent with the ritual Fat Tire beer at the tram bar. On the way back, I learned that John and Joe are members of Kathy Wings' peak-bagging group -- the world really is a small place
Now we just need some new snow...
Miles of smiles,
Ellen
