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Gladstone Peak
Time...5:15am - 2:15pm
Distance...12.6 miles
Elevation Gain...4775 feet
Trailhead...Cross Mountain
Route...Cross Mountain Trail to Lizard Head Pass up East Face
One more from last winter...
This would be my first day out since our accident. I was still pretty banged up, but was tired of sitting around, wasting away. I would be mad at myself all year if I didn't at least try to climb one more peak this winter. I was most worried about my hip so I lubed up with vitamin I and BioFreeze and headed out.
This was my 6th time starting a hike from the Cross Mountain Trailhead and this view never gets old. Shooting for the notch between Lizard Head and Cross Mountain.
Sunrise over Vermilion, Golden Horn and Pilot Knob
Route pics
It's tempting to try to stay high and left after hitting the pass, but better to just drop down to the creek. The side-hilling sucks and there are some cliffs to negotiate.
In the process of dropping down, I felt like something was off with my ski binding. When I got to the valley I found the problem...my binding was broken on one side of the toe piece. When I was in walking mode, the slightest terrain variation would push the binding out of alignment. If the piece broke off completely, it was going to make for an interesting descent. I didn't have a way of repairing it so I just concentrated on going as straight as possible when I was in touring mode.
The 2 big challenges for this route are the snow conditions on the east face and the rock band. I didn't see any reasonable way to avoid going straight up the face...both ridges are pretty gnarly. So you really need stable conditions. And it's hard not to fixate on the rock band once the east face comes into view. At first it looks impossibly steep, then it doesn't look too bad as you get closer, and then it is steeper than it looks when you start climbing it. Here are the routes I took up and down. You can probably find an easier option if you continue all the way to the left of the band (closest to the SE Ridge), but then you will have a cornice to contend with.
The last 200 feet are a nice relief from the steep terrain of the rock band. I stayed on the right ridgeline to the summit.
Summit of Gladstone Peak...#99 on my winter cents list. I didn't intentionally leave Dallas (#100 on the elevation list) for last. I would much rather it be Horseshoe or Dyer. I've tried and turned around on Dallas 3 times now, including twice within 100 feet of the summit. Hopefully I will have a story to tell about my failures and success on Dallas this coming winter...if not, I can at least say I climbed the 99 highest peaks in winter.
If you're looking for a rusty crowbar, I know where you can find one.
View to the west
View to the east
I strapped my skis back on just below the rock band and cruised down Bilk Creek towards the pass.
Here's my final break spot before the mellow ski back to the trailhead. I was relieved to have made it to this point without breaking my binding.
Strava map
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
@cochsman Sorry, I do not. I don't even know what that is. But the route is not hard to figure out. It follows the most obvious line up the east face.
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