5/5 - 5/7: Tony and I spent a weekend exploring on the Flute Glacier. We pulled all the gear back there to climb Flute Peak but the weather would not let us have a stab at it - the summit was pretty covered in wind blasted snow and rime ice. Looks like a great climb just for another day. All in all, it was a fantastic weekend.
It began with an afternoon slog in rotten snow from the end of Hiland Road. Once we reached the lake we could finally use our sleds!
The dark snow was a sign of some overflow ... we changed our course:
Off the lake and heading up the Flute Valley:
Home:
The last shot before going to bed on Friday night (May 5th !!):
Our first view of Flute Peak (its on the left):
On the Flute Glacier:
The route up Flute Peak we had hoped to try:
Our high point ... after decided that Flute Peak was out of the question, we hoped to go up Ewe Peak. However, to get off of the glacier and on to ridge that leads to the summit, you must go up a small but prominent headwall. After much poking around, debate, hemming and hawing, Tony and I decided that the 8 - 12 inches of new snow on the 35 - 40 degree slope posed too much of a risk. We turned around.
Eagle Peak:
When we got back to camp it was only 3pm. Too much time for little boys - we started playing on a slope, making a bollard, and seeing what we could use as snow anchors.
We filled Tony's hat with snow, put a sling around it, and pulled on it as hard as we could ...
It held !!
The rest of the afternoon was spent burying the rope with just a knot as an anchor (it help for without any dynamic force), burying the rope with no anchor (Tony went for a ride on that one) and much sledding. We decided to get up early and catch the crust in the morning - the trip out was MUCH faster and we were able to use our sled for the entire time on the crust.
Good times with Tony Poppins.