Colder than hell on Eldorado

Mount Torment

Ryan and Shauna

Ahh, Johannesburg, what an unreal sight!

The two heading up towards Eldorado

I couldn't take my eyes off this incredible mountain.

Looking down the east ridge of Elforado to Shauna, Ryan, 

the Inspiration Glacier, Forbidden, Buckner and Torment

Buckner with Forbidden

Shuksan from the S

The Dorado Needle, looking north to the Pickets

Ryan under Eldorado

Ryan and Shauna

Shauna

Boston and Sahale Peaks

Eldorado felt like Vesper on steroids: it has a hike in approach, but the hike goes straight uphill 3,000 feet, then an engaging up and over tour to get closer to the mountain without seeing it. Then you see it. Vesper went easier than we thought it would. Eldorado took a bit longer. But we looked at it close up and thought, OK, we can make it up there in an hour. But that last push was tiring. 7,000 feet up from car to summit is a long way. And it feels longer when the skinning is tough, forcing you to bootpack sections. Then you have a 0 degree temperature with wind gusts that must be -30. Meanwhile its really bright out. So it's a paradox when you take your gloves off to put sunblock on your face, afraid of both frost-nip and sunburn at the same time. 

On the summit of Eldorado, I was reminded of Jack London's story "To Build a Fire." I had taken my camera out but without my gloves on, my fingers instantly stopped working. I couldn't turn the camera on or take pictures, nor zip it up. I focused on getting my act together and pulling the zipper shut but to no avail, my hands got worse and I had to put them in my arm pits, get the screaming barfies, then do it again.

The skiing from the summit offered some nice wind-buff interspersed with lovely bullet proof ice and chicken heads. It was like an Austin Powers photo-shoot, "Nice, nice! No! No!" And the rest of the descent back to the talus field by Eldorado Creek was like that. The golden region was from below Eldorado to the col cutover. Open fields of rolling terrain with smooth windbuff. It skied very smoothly and it sure was a pleasure in such perfect lighting and scenery; heading towards Johannesburg.

It always amazes me to be in such an incredible, pristine and rugged place, with some of the most majestic mountains in the world. Yet nobody is there. Nobody outside of this state even pays attention to this mountain range that is the most spectacular in the lower 48.  

We made it back to the woods and the trail as the sun was setting, and did the steep hike down 2,000 feet back to the car by headlamp. The stars were out when we reached the valley floor.

Hidden Lake Peaks

The Southern Picket Range in the background

Mount Baker from the SE

Sir Cameron Alford

Eldorado from the SW

Teebone Ridge with Mount Shuksan from the S

Dorado Needle, Eldorado, and Triad from SW

Forbidden, Boston,  Sahale and Quien Sabe Glacier from W

Old Guard Peak, Le Conte Glacier, Sentinel Peak, and Le Conte Peak

Hidden Lake Lookout with Snowking Mtn in background

Eldorado from SW

Sloan and Rainier from N, with Snowking in foreground

Hidden Lake Lookout

There's a lake down there though its Hidden

Mount Buckindy from N

The Pickets

Vesper Peak

Ryan White coming up Vesper

Sperry, east aspect

Sperry, SE aspect

Ryan in the Headlee Pass couloir, with Morning Star behind him

SE aspect of Vesper, so good!

Mt. Pugh

The Monte Cristo peaks

The Monte Cristo peaks

Ryan coming up to Vesper

Ryan skinning up

Mount Baker, south aspect

Three Fingers, SE aspect

Glacier Peak, Sloan, and Sperry

Rainier

Glacier Peak, west aspect

Whitehorse, SE aspect

Ryan on the summit

First turns

Ryan skiing down Vesper

Ryan below the Headlee Pass couloir

This blogger looking uphill and lovin it! (Photo: Ryan White)

(Photo: Ryan White)

(Photo: Ryan White)

(Photo: Ryan White)

This was quite possibly the greatest tour of my life. 

Ryan and I met at the REI parking garage at 7am, then drove up to the mountain loop highway with no expectations. We had thought about hiking up Mount Dickerman and getting a few turns on the top of the peak. But one thing lead to another, and we started thinking it could be possible to bag Vesper today. Probably not, but we could see how high we could get.

The mountain loop highway went well. Then the Sunrise Mine road was driveable. Then the hike to the hanging canyon went quickly. Looking up the canyon, I knew we could make it up to Headlee Pass under two hours if we could find the right couloir on our first try.

The snow was firm so the travel was fast. The bootpack up the couloir went quickly too.

Then, we reached Headlee Pass and looked up at Vesper, a giant looming above us. My first impulse was that it was too big to do today. We didn't get an alpine start. But the weather was perfect: sunny but cool, with a full moon tonight. The avy conditions couldn't be better either. And with my new dynafit set-up, my legs felt great. So we thought, might as well head up there.

The skinning was perfect: perfect traction, perfect pitch and slope contours. We cruised up to the top and basked in unbelievable scenery. Huge peaks all over the state were out. From the American Border Peaks to Stuart and Rainier. And the peaks around us were especially stunning. Never before have I been in such an incredible setting like this mountaintop. With no worries on weather, no worries on avalanche hazard, just enjoying the mountains and feeling blessed for this privilege. 

We clicked into our bindings and enjoyed the long, long open run down the various pitches of great snow; not quite corn snow, but similar softness. Then we traversed into the couloir below Headlee Pass and jump-turned down the steeps like we were in an 80s Chamonix extreme ski movie. We made it from the mountaintop, back to the car in a little over an hour. Plenty of time left in the day!