Official diagnosis- Spring has an identity crisis

I finally have some time to sit in front of a computer and let it all soak in. We were going to climb El Capitan but made a last minute change of plans because of the longer approach, deep snow pack and my lack of physical conditioning we opted for a shorter approach to a mountain that would offer multiple route options and a much short approach- about 3 miles vs 6. Beehive Peak here we come!

My flight from Minneapolis was a great flight. I sat next to a dear couple heading out to see their son and his new baby along with celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. One thing stands out from our conversation during the flight- they found out they were going to be grandparents the day the baby was born 2 weeks ago. Their son's wife went to the doctor not feeling well and left the hospital with a baby! She was 35 weeks pregnant and did not know it... I paused after hearing that and formed a question I think many of you are probably thinking- how could she not know? My better judgment got the best of me and Nicole would have been proud. I did not ask the question to which there was only one answer. After my slight pause, I just nodded and said "oh". Whew- that was close!

I landed in Bozeman and gathered my luggage- a 46.5 lb snowboard bag and my climbing back pack. Total I had over 70 lbs of the lightest gear available to carry around. A quick call to TJ had him heading out to the airport to pick me up. I gathered my bags and moved outside where the sunny 50 degree weather was a pleasant welcome to this traveler. I took off my shoes and socks, leaned against a tree, tipped my Tilley over forehead and soaked in the Bozeman sunshine for the next 10 minutes.

When TJ arrived we threw my bags in the back of his truck and headed off to Beehive Peak. No time to waste, we needed to get into the mountains! We arrived at the trail head around 4:00pm and got ready to hit the trail. The weather was perfect, probably 40 degrees and sunny. Two dogs, Ruby and Jetta, a brown and black lab, became our companions. We didn't know whose dogs they were or where their home was. All we knew is that they followed us. We pushed up the trail at a slow pace. There was a boot track to follow but my snowshoes kept sliding off it on the side hill traverses which nibbled away at my energy stores and my positive attitude. Fortunately, I have way more positive attitude than energy so I was able to keep going, albeit slowly, towards our first camp site- about 1 mile from the mountain.

The first morning was a beautiful day and we set out for the base of the mountain to get ready for a summit attempt the next day. The last mile took only 3 or 4 hours to travel. We arrived at a nice rock outcropping and I started to set up camp while TJ went further up the mountain to dig some snow pits and see about how much avalanche danger we were going to have to deal with.

The current avalanche danger looked low so we prepared to start climbing the next morning. We started getting dinner ready and packing at about 5:00 pm. After 5 hours of cooking dinner, melting snow for drinking water, drinking said melted snow, and melting more snow for water to drink in the morning- we were ready for bed.

The weather changed during the night and a storm started to blow in- inside our 3 season tent. If you don't know what the difference between a 3 season tent (spring, summer and fall) and a 4 season tent (winter, spring, summer and fall) let me give you the cliff notes version. 3 season tents have mesh (mosquito netting) panels so air can circulate in the tent keeping you cool and comfy. 4 season tents do not have these panels because they let snow into your tent when the wind picks up and they have 1-2 more poles to support the weight of snow and hard winds pressing against the tent. Snow fell both outside and inside the tent most of the night.

When the first rays of light started to penetrate the tent we assessed our situation. We decided to go back to bed and see if the storm blew itself out. I prayed for the winds to die down and the snow to stop.

After about 45 more minutes of sleep I woke up to bright sunshine in my face. "TJ! Wake up! It is time to go!" I exclaimed. No response from TJ- he had ear plugs in to combat the sound of the wind on the tend and was burried too deep in his sleeping bag. "Hey" I said as I rubbed my elbow into his ribs, "wake up dude!"

No sooner had we started our climb as the weather decided it did not like being sunny and the storm returned. We figured we brought plenty of gear so we knew we could back to camp safely so we continued upward. I led the way up the slopes placing protection in the rocks as we went and belaying TJ up to me. At one point I was stuck 30 feet from the next available protection so we had to tie our two ropes together to give me enough length of rope to reach the safety of the rock. Did I mention that this was our plan? After bringing TJ up to me, I headed up the next batch of wallowing through knee to waist deep snow.

Ok, time for some reader participation. Stand up, bend your elbow 90 degrees like you are going to shake someone's hand. Ok, now imagine that your feet are on a snow slope so steep that while standing like this your fingertips are touching the snow slope. Some time you'll have to come out with me and see how much fun it really is.

Did I mention that it was snowing 1-2 inches per hour and there were gusts to 30 mph? I was smiling the whole time. This was the beautiful type of climbing when your eyelashes collect the falling snow and freeze together when you blink, you inhale not only air but snow, and shouting to each other is about as useful and a screen door on a submarine.

We worked our way up the slope and got to the ridge that would lead us over the sub peak and finally to the summit. There was a HUGE cornice overhanging the left side of the coulior- at least 10-12' tall and 50' wide- that is why we decided to go up the right side.

I sent off towards the sub peak along the ridge and found conditions to be much better on this side- the wind was stronger but the snow pack was windblown and firm. My crampons bit into the snow and pushed me upward. After a while I was about 50' short of the sub peak's summit when I knew it was time to go down. I had never stopped having fun until that point. I knew that all this new snow on top of the icy layer was setting up to avalanche. It wasn't a matter of if but when. Plus, it was getting later in the day, (about 3:30) and I didn't want to try to come down in the dark.

I have never had to abort a climb like this before due to weather and I always thought I would make the right decision when the time came. I am quite proud of myself for making the turn around and go down decision when I did.

I started decending, taking out the protection I had put in the rock as I went. I arrive back to TJ and said "it is time to go down"- he said "I was thinking the exact same thing". So down we went- using the rappel rings my mom got me for Christmas 2 years ago- thanks mom!

TJ wanted to ski the fresh powderery goodness that had fallen but we weren't too sure about the quality of the snowpack- so when in doubt- rig a belay! We tied the two ropes together again so he could ski 200' before I would have to stop him and pass the knot, then he could ski another 200' where he would build an anchor and belay me as I down climbed to him. The system worked beautifully and the slope did not avalanche. We were quickly getting close to camp.

When we arrived at camp the snow was still falling and the wind still howling so we decided to get out of the basin. Climbing or skiing was out of the question for the next few days as the snow settled and formed even more dangerous avalanche terrain.

We quickly set to tearing down camp and preparing ourselves for the 3 mile trek back to the truck. The details are few- we slogged through 24" of fresh snow, TJ with a 70 lb pack and me with my 45 lbs. I don't know what I would have done if TJ was not training for Denali. He definably took the lion's share of the weight. On the flat sections I could walk 20 paces and then I would have to stop and take a few breaths. I tried to keep myself to a minimum of 20 steps before taking a short 15 second break. I was struggling with the weight and the new snow. I guess sitting at a desk 40 hours a week doesn't quite cut it for training.

We made it back to the car around 1:10 am. 5 hours of hiking to go 3 miles. No land speed records were set this night.

Ok... well that is the first part of the adventure, there is still a few more days to go- I'll update when I get back to MN.