by Perry » Mon Sep 25, 2006 10:13 am
The snow creek climb is only 4 miles as the crow flies, but that makes it the steepest 9,000-foot climb in the continental U.S. You'll want to do it either with lots of snow and crampons/ice axe, or with no snow at all. Since there is no snow right now, you'll come to the chalkstone, which is a small cliff. I've heard 30 to 60 feet high. For most people, it's a bad idea to climb that without being roped up. There's a 3rd/4th class rock climb variation to avoid that, but make sure you're very comfortable with that level of technique and not too tired. Also, there is the danger of setting lose boulders, so you'll want to carefully look at each rock before you put weight on them, and maybe test them a little. In the spring, the trick is making sure the snow is just right when you reach the upper section before the peak, as it's a 50 degree slope. If it's too soft you'll slip easy or possibly start an avalanche. If it's iced over and you happen to slip, it would be extremely difficult to stop yourself from gaining speed. In the winter there are lots of avalanches on the north face. No matter what time of year, there is some route-finding to make sure you take the correct drainages.