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Northwest Ridge -- Winter Ascent February 2008 |
Route Taken: variant of the standard summer route (to avoid avalanche danger)
This climb was undertaken by four students of the 2008 CMC Boulder Advanced Mountaineering School (AMS) and two instructors who accompanied them. Students: Alex Harz, Ben Sorenson, Keith Anderson, and Tom Woods. Instructors: Robert O'Rourk and Jack Zuzack
The trail in from the trailhead was not readily apparent or recognizable. Snowshoes and navigation skills were required. No one had broken trail in to La Plata when we arrived Saturday morning. The snow was deep and it quickly became apparent that the avalanche danger in the area was extreme. This is completely contrary to information obtained the day before from the CAIC website before departure (then rated "considerable"), but is consistent with information we obtained from local business owners in Twin Lakes on Friday (who told us the snowpack was extremely unstable). On Saturday during the hike from the trailhead in we head whumphs, saw shooting cracks, and triggered cracks with our ski poles that propagated several hundred yards through the snowpack with loud dynamite-like cracking sounds -- all on relatively flat terrain. (The next day, while preparing to head back from our campsite at 11,9000 on the NW ridge, we heard two loud avalanches releases across the valley (from an east-facing aspect). Upon descending the ridge we discovered that the two releases we had heard were on slopes right above the trail we had taken in the day before, and the debris fields of two avalanche side-by-side avalanche tracks reached within tens of feet of the trail.) (See photo of avalanche run-out zones taken on Saturday before the release.)
The route we chose departed from the normal route upon drawing close to the NW ridge of La Plata (to avoid avy danger). We ascended the NW ridge through the trees. On Saturday it took us 7.5 hours to snowshoe in from the trail to the base of the rocky portion of La Plata's NW ridge at 11,900. On the ridge slope, the snow was deep, loose (virtually all depth hoar with a few weak icy layers), and unable to hold anyone weighing 200 pounds or more. We postholed almost all the away in and up. To say it was exhausting would be an understatement.
The next morning we made our summit bid in questionable weather (wind, blowing snow, cold). The wind, cold, and snow only increased during the day, and by afternoon the conditions were downright terrible, with very high winds and blowing snow. To reduce avalanche danger we ascended directly up a rocky portion of the NW ridge, gained the ridge top, and basically followed the ridge line all the way to the summit. Most of the way to the summit there was relatively deep snow, and snowshoes were worn by everyone to the top and back. Very few portions were windblown and afforded quick transit. High winds, blowing snow and limited visibility hampered and delayed our descent. We reached camp at 3:30 and by 5:20 p.m. were packed up and heading out to the trailhead, arriving there at 7:30 p.m.
Both days were very difficult for everyone physically. The time to the summit from our camp at 11,900' was 5 hours. The time to descend back to camp from the summit was 2.5 hours. The time to descend from our camp at 11,900' to the trailhead was another 2 hours. The trip was more difficult than expected, and took longer than expected. It was, however, a rewarding and valuable experience.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
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