It was a beautiful morning. One party came in and out sight above
us and another did the same below. It was a far cry from getting
stuck behind slow moving RMI trains. My partners let me lead the
whole climb as we traversed below Point Success and crossed the expansive
Upper Nisqually. The first rays of sunlight were a welcome source
of warmth.
On the Upper Nisqually
Few major crevasses hindered our progress. The faint crampon marks
we'd been sort of been following completely disappeared but this only increased
my enjoyment as I wandered in the apparent direction of the summit.
The quality of the ice changed every so often, from styrofoam like snow
to windblown rime ice to big blobs of clear ice on top of thin stems.
Fascinating. A small bergshrund was climbed over and I headed towards
some faintly visible rocks that were the highest point on the horizon.
Erik said his altimeter read 13,500 but I doubted its accuracy. Up
near the rocks above me I noticed wisps of smoke blowing into view.
At first I thought it was a contrail from the ridge, but then decided it
must be venting steam. Sure enough, we reached an eight foot wide
steam vent at the edge of the crater. I peered inside and was greeted
by warm moist air. It was a relative sauna but I didn't linger long;
I was already sucking for oxygen and didn't know how much CO2 etc. I was
breathing in from the vent. We crossed into the crater and met up
with the 30 or so people who had come up via Disappointment Cleaver and
the Emmons.
Looking eastward at the crater
The crater from Columbia Crest
The obligatory summit shot. Me (Greg), Uli and Erik.
Adams and Hood looking south.
Seattle is off in the haze
We'd reached the summit of 14,400' at 7 am. By 8 we started to
head back down to be able to descend the chute while it was still firm.
The only scary part of the climb occurred crossing the bowling alley of
ice boulders adjacent to Camp Hazard. Then it was time to pack up
the remaining gear and head for the car.