Just got back from 10 days of peak bagging in the Oregon Cascades with Bob Burd and Matthew Holliman. This was quite a trip with challenging summits, stunning views, lots of snow, etc. Several summits were a bit technical, had the most ice, and the worst rock I have been on. The highest peak we did was Mount Hood but the most challenging was Mount Jefferson followed by Mount Washington. We used Bend as our base of operations and stayed there 9 nights. Originally we planned on summitting Rainier toward the end of our trip but logistically it made more sense to stick to Oregon. Despite some weather this allowed us to bag 9 summits in 10 days -- a very effective use of time. Day 1 - 6/2 - Lava Tube With no break from the rain at the Mt Thielsen trailhead we opted for something drier. Thus, on the way to Bend we decided to go underground and stopped at Lava River Cave: a long lava tube. Though cold, at least it was dry. We followed the tube for over a mile underground until it narrowed to less than 3 feet in height. http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewer.aspx?FolderID=500 Day 2 - 6/3 - South Sister Having been rained out the day before we were eager to get our first peak. This one was non technical but did involve some significant distance and elevation gain. This was the only day we brought our snowshoes though I didn't bother to use mine. This is a popular peak for skiers. We were among the few without skis. We were in the clouds on the summit and only managed to find the true high point with GPS. http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewer.aspx?FolderID=501 Day 3 - 6/4 - Mount Washington (abort) Weather proved to be a factor again on this day. We waited for many hours at the trailhead for it to clear but it never really did. We finally decided to set out in light rain and see what happened. About 2/3 of the way to the summit the combination of rain, wind, and lack of visibility forced us to come to our senses and we turned back. We would tackle this one again 3 days later. http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewer.aspx?FolderID=502 Day 4 - 6/5 - Mount Jefferson This was one of the most challenging summits I have been on. It certainly involved the most ice I have ever climbed and involved a fair amount of risk -- no room for mistakes here. The summit pinnacle is spectacular. When I finally got a good look at it I was stunned. This is a serious mountain. Much of the pinnacle was encased in wicked rime ice that occaisionally broke off and came hurtling down at us. The \"death traverse\" across a steep snow slope below the pinnacle was the iciest snow I had ever been on. That is until we came around the north side of the pinnacle. Here it was almost solid ice and much of the time I could barely embed the front points of my crampons. Thus it was essentially an ice climb. It was also ridiculously steep (closer to vertical than horizontal). I was indeed thankful that I brought my brand new ice tool. It gave me just enough confidence to continue. Despite the danger, we did not rope up except for one technical rock move near the summit. A slip anywhere on the icy terrain would likely have meant certain death since there was no hope of a self-arrest. Though awkward, we reversed our steps down from the summit. A rappel somewhere might have been helpful but we had a short rope. With a painful knee problem (and some nasty blisters) Matthew decided to skip the summit. I think he also thought Bob and I were crazy for continuing given the icy conditions. I was quite pleased to have reached the top (and survived) this awesome peak. http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewer.aspx?FolderID=503 Day 5 - 6/6 - Three Fingered Jack This peak involved a short technical pitch up a \"rotten\" chimney. To my amazement I watched as Bob solo'd up the chimney without protection. Matthew and I were less daring and roped up. Good thing too as Matthew pulled out at least one hold along the way. You really couldn't trust anything you grabbed on to. The rock in the chimney was quite poor -- there's a reason it's called the rotten chimney. I'm not sure either of our two gear placements would have held. Fortunately the rotten chimney is pretty short and we reached the summit without incident. We all (including Bob) rapped down the chimney. http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewer.aspx?FolderID=504 Day 6 - 6/7 - Mount Washington Three days earlier we had been rained off this mountain so we went back for a second attempt. Weather was much better though clouds did limit visibility at times. The impressive summit finally emerged from the clouds as we approached. After an icy traverse Bob and I found ourselves at the base of the summit pinnacle not far from the techical section: another rotten chimney. The bottom portion of the chimney has absolutely nothing solid to use and was nearly impossible to protect. Imagine trying to climb up clumps of loose dirt with a few crumbly rocks mixed in along with some serious exposure right underneath you. Fortunately the climbing was much better higher up with some fun class 4 near the summit. Our short rope (36m) was thankfully just long enough for Bob and I to rap back down to the exposed ledge below the chimney. http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewer.aspx?FolderID=505 Day 7 - 6/8 - Mount Hood & Mount Bachelor We got up at midnight and drove from Bend to Timberline Lodge. We started up the mountain at 2:54am. Matthew's knee was hurting again so it was just Bob and I. I reached the summit at 6:10am about 5 or 10 minutes after Bob for a summit time of 3 hours 16 minutes. The Pearly Gates were particularly icy. On the way down I got pelted good a few times by ice kicked down from above. Fortunately I had my helmet. Unable to glissade the lower slope due to hard snow/ice we returned to the parking lot at 7:54am for a total time of exactly 5 hours. http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewer.aspx?FolderID=507 Arriving back in Bend after 10am we still had a lot of daylight left so we decided to bag Mount Bachelor. This peak was the most trivial one we did. I got a few good glissades on the way down. Matthew endured knee pain to reach the summit but would end up having to sit out the next couple of days. http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewer.aspx?FolderID=506 Day 8 - 6/9 - Broken Top This one was far easier than we expected and we didn't use any of the gear we brought. Route descriptions saying the easiest route is class 4/5 are exhaggerated. Bob and I encountered nothing more than class 3 and not much of that. This one turned out to be fairly trivial but it was still an interesting peak and consumed more time than it seemed. The reddish rock around the summit makes for colorful photos. http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewer.aspx?FolderID=508 Day 9 - 6/10 - Middle Sister For me this was the most strenuous day. Because of a road closure we had to park 5 miles below the Obsidian trailhead. Our original goal was to get both North and Middle Sister but now with over 25 miles of hiking (mostly on snow) and 6500 feet of elevation gain (plus 1000 more for both Middle and North Sister) we ended up doing only Middle Sister. North Sister was the only peak we regretted not getting. http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewer.aspx?FolderID=498 Day 10 - 6/11 - Mount Thielsen Since we had to skip Thielsen on the way in due to rain we decided to bag it on our way back home. I had done Thielsen before so this time I explored around the summit a bit more and took a slightly longer class 4 route up to the summit. Still a fun but short climb. http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewer.aspx?FolderID=499 Thus, our trip came to end. Definitely satsifying. -Rick