These and other photos from the trip can be seen at: https://photos.app.goo.gl/TZoG9duthYbAKHRj6
After the third re-schedule of the South Sister Climb, the weather finally began to look good, and on Wednesday (6/12) the team met up. After parking on the road to cut back on spending any more time with the mosquitos, we set off at 12:30pm for basecamp above Morane Lake. Neal volunteered to lead the group, setting the course and pace for the next few hours. We first hit snow after a half mile, and after a few course corrections, the group reached the plateau above moraine lake where we set up camp for the night.
At ~7,000ft, we were able to find some dry spots to put down our tents, but Ellen, Ping, Heath, and Neal chose to camp on the snow. This was the first time Neal had camped in the snow and the second time for Heath and Ping. Ellen, Cathy Aislinn, Ping, and Heath chose to camp close together in “The Suburbs” and Neal chose to camp outside snoring range in “Gates”. While digging out snow for flat ground, one of the shovels broke, luckily there were back-ups so we could still collect snow for water.
A Closed Foam Pad doubled as a Park Bench for everyone to sit on as we melted snow for the next few hours. Good conversation and good views made the time fly by until it was finally dinner time. With all the camp chores done, everyone showed off their tents and gear in the Chemeketan version of MTV Cribs. Everyone compared Sleeping Pad R-Values and showed off their glamping gear. The crowd’s glamping favorite was Ping’s portable air pump (1.2oz), which got passed around like it was show and tell.
The next morning (6/13) brought cold temps and clear skies. At 7am everyone put on their crampons and began heading up towards South Sister. The trip re-scheduling was worth it, as the winds stayed calm for most of the climb. Once at the partially frozen Lewis Glacier Cirque (~8,500ft) it was clear the whole route was snow covered and we didn’t need to take off our crampons. After a quick snack / potty break, the team made it up to the crater rim at 11:01am. After getting some beta of rime ice on the rim route to the top, we decided to take the direct approach across the crater center to the summit (10,360ft). This was Neal, Ping, and Heath’s first summit of South Sister in the snow.
With selfies and group photos taken, the group headed back down the crater rim to find a windless spot for summit snacks and headed back down camp. After plunge stepping back down to the Glacier Cirque, most of the group began the quick glissade down to base camp. With warming temps and clear skies glissading was (almost) worthy of Mt. St. Helens comparisons. After quickly finding base camp, thanks to some bare spots (aka pancakes) near camp the group broke camp and headed back. Heath (with lite guidance from Ping) brought everyone back to the car where Ping, Neal and Heath got their summit certificates. After giving more than we wanted to the mosquitos, we said our goodbyes, headed back and made it home by 10:30pm.
Gear used: Crampons, helmets, ice axes, portable sleeping pad air pump
Skills Used: Basic crampon and ice axe techniques, snow camping
Takeaways
- Melting snow for water takes a long time and uses lots of fuel
- Bring spares of critical gear, luckily, we had additional shovels to make camp / scoop snow for water
- Waiting for a good weather window for a climb is worth it if the team can be flexible in their schedule