| A Day At The Park Trip Report |
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| A Day At The Park   | 
| Page Type: Trip Report Location: Oregon, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 44.67440°N / 121.7978°W Date Climbed/Hiked: Sep 1, 2005 | Page By: KennyRogers Created/Edited: Sep 18, 2005 / Object ID: 170470 Hits: 1214 Loading... Page Score: 0% - 0 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
TRIP REPORT
Route Climbed: Jefferson Park Glacier
Date Climbed: September 1, 2005
The last day of August, 2005; clear skies and a promising forecast of 70 degree temperatures for our
summit climb. After grabbing a power lunch (which consisted of a breakfast sausage and 1/2 lb. of
Jo-Jo's) at the local 'quickie mart' in Estacada, Kenny and I set off toward Mt. Jefferson. Moments
after leaving town we had determined (based on look, texture, and taste) that our power lunch
must have been prepared at least 2 days ago.
With unsated appetites we drove along highway 224 to 46 to 22 to Forest Service Road 2243, finally
arriving at the Whitewater trail head. It was around 2:30 pm when we hit the trail with 50-plus lbs. in each
of our packs. The day being a Wednesday, the trail was relatively uninhabited. We encountered only 5
people (2 separate parties) coming down from camping at Jefferson Park.
Ripe Huckleberries reached out at us from both sides of the dirt trail as we continued the exhausting
uphill hike. The mountain came in full view from time to time (staring us down like a prideful bully) and
we used these opportunities to catch our breath and take some pictures. We felt the mountain leering at
us between the trees as we resumed our hike. It didn't take long before we were again short-of-breath
from lugging our packs up the trail. Our winded conversation eventually turned to heated debate when
we veered to the topics of politics and religion. This was a good thing however, as it served to take our
minds off of the 50 lb. yokes we were bearing. By 7: pm we were heavy with sweat and weary with
exhaustion having trekked up-hill over 5 miles and so, broke for camp somewhere in the secluded environs
above Jefferson Park.
We woke at 5:30 am the next morning and enjoyed a proper breakfast in the pristine surroundings of our
camp. The silence and the sunrise were such spectacles that we forgot the time, and didn't begin the
summit hike till 7: am. At 9:30 am we arrived at the Jefferson Park Glacier, a wide expanse of snow and
ice covering the north side of the mountain like a bridal trane. It began between the main pinnacle and the
ridge which divided Jefferson Park Glacier and Russell Glacier (to the west), and flowed down an ever
widening path which seemed to welcome us with open arms.
From where we stood it seemed best to hike straight up the middle so we donned our crampons and
proceeded. It was not long before this white wilderness revealed the pocks and scars of daily existence.
Boulders peppering the glacier came into view, and we discovered the many crevasses wrinkling its white
belly. At first the incline was not steep and the crevasses not very wide or deep. We traversed the flats
gleefully peering into large and small cracks in the ice beneath us. We crossed over the first of a
seemingly endless series of crevasse fields, each one wider and deeper than the last. The terrain eased
up a little and flattened out at about mid-way up the glacier. We were having such fun exploring this
odd landscape that we didn't realize the ever expanding crevasses would lead to deadly wide jaws less
than a mile above us.
Before we realized how far we were committed, we had pushed the limits of our glacier-traversing
abilities. The pinnacles seemed like a stone's throw ahead of us when we found ourselves on the steep
upper belly of the white beast staring directly at the headwalls of a 5-story bergschrund -a literal "dead
end" if we were to pursue its ascent. With only crampons and ice axe we had maneuvered across and
around a labyrinth of crevasses; and ice-climbed up some 80 degree pitches to a location on the glacier
where we could not safely return by the same path without rope and anchors.
We had backed ourselves into a point of no return and were presently seeking an escape route above
us as the jaws below us were too numerous to address. The headwall directly before us was not a
recommended strategy for free climbing so we turned our search to the left and right (both of whose
ridges had been thunderously bowling throughout the day). We chose left as the right ridge tossed
car-sized boulders at regular intervals and was a 90 degree rock face. The North Ridge is what we were
after but in order to reach its jagged shore, we had to cross several crevasses, traverse a narrow ice
bridge, jump a 4 foot divide, and push the limits of our ice-climbing expertise.
Continuing our trek we peered down into ice basements large enough to fly a small plane into.
The white beast ate time like it was a snow cone. Earlier in the day the glacier was firm but now that we had
to rely on it more, the Summer sun had left it slightly softer. It took a long time to move only a few yards.
By 4: pm we had reached the base of the North Ridge at 9,400 feet. We were glad to be, at last, off the
glacier but found that we were not out of harm's way: we were in the vicinity of rock fall. The largest rock
tumbling in our direction was basketball sized and interrupted our ascent momentarily. Scrambling across
the transition from ice to rock was precarious once we noticed that what appeared to be rock under foot
was actually residual rock fall over the mouth of the last crevasse that divided the glacier from the pinnacle.
We tip-toed over the hump of this emerging crevasse which gave the appearance of being alive - the
surface wobbled a little while pieces of rock and silt were getting sucked into small openings at our feet.
A few steps more and we would finally be on solid ground.
Our relief at finally reaching the rocks at the pinnacle's base was short lived owing to their inconsistent
and weak links with the mountain. Gravity had a massive influence up here and it was all we
could do to gain a foothold and some distance away from the last crevasse. We kept our crampons on as
they helped dig and grab for more secure rock under the scree. This was all important to keep us from
back-sliding down the 50 to 60 degree pitch of this portion of the pinnacles.
I had read many reviews of climbs which tend to exaggerate difficulties and err on the side of safety, but
the information I read about Mt. Jefferson turned out to be anything but hyperbole. The rock was way too
loose for us to climb single file so I scouted ahead while Kenny rested safely behind a large secure bolder.
After slow and methodical scrambling, I only gained about 25 feet of altitude. At this pace we would still
be on the mountain after dark, so we decided to look for an escape route back down. I surveyed the area
from a high point where my grip was tenuous at best. Based on my observations and the map I carried,
we chose the obvious: over the North Ridge and down to meet Whitewater Glacier and the East Face route.
I climbed back down and over to the saddle of the North Ridge where I rested while Kenny took the lead over
the ridge and down the east side. I gave Kenny a 10-minute head start not wanting to bury him in a hail of rock.
Getting down off of North Ridge was like skiing on scree. The slightest reliance on a hand hold resulted in
a gravity storm of rocks. After rock climbing down a 40 foot wall of fairly secure rock (a luxury that
the mountain rarely afforded), we set foot on Whitewater Glacier. This was not as steep and had fewer
crevasses than Jefferson Park Glacier. The crevasses were easily avoided. The rest of our decent was
uneventful which was most-welcomed owing to the physically and psychologically demanding ascent
wherein we used muscles and technical skill we didn't know we had.
When we got down to the foot of the glacier we filled our empty canteens with the chilled water that
collected in a mountain pond there. It was dark (9:pm) before we found camp, and might not have found
it at all if it weren't for Kenny bringing along his GPS. We slept in the next day as weary as pack mules not
wanting to face the 5 mile hike out. We traveled lighter than yesterday because we had put the burdens
of survival to rest overnight, but we still had our packs to drag around. We broke camp at 1:30pm and
stopped at the vicinity of Jefferson Park to get our fill of Huckleberries for lunch. We arrived back at the
Whitewater trail parking area by 6:pm and drove directly to the Ausin Hot Springs for a much needed
medicinal soak.
Thanks to steeping in the sulfurous brew for an hour, we felt none the worse for wear and thanked
God for this natural remedy and delivering us from an untimely death on Mount Jefferson.
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