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This was a fun day out with Natalie in some gorgeous fall weather on a traverse I had not done. Plus, here's maybe the one Pyramidal Traverse TR for the season
Everything you post gives me sweaty palms. Geez, Brandon - You and Natalia kick serious mountain butt..... Thanks for posting this so I can see a route that I will never, ever do!
This TR would be a lot cooler if it were about a Gore triathlon that included the Royal Flush, but I guess this is pretty solid too. Nice work you two! And way to go back and recover the pack!
Thanks Brandon for the write up. The narrative reads like I was there. Oh wait Yeah, a complete rookie mistake on my part. I felt very silly after it happened. Basically from my downclimb point of view, the low point of the saddle looked deceptively flat (ish), which clearly wasn't the case. I was downclimbing facing out and pack was pushing me out, so to speak, so I decided to lower it, and it took off as soon as I let go of it. The heinous gully (that made our descent off Lightning look like a walk in the park) was separated by a rock rib and the pack ended up on the other side of it, on a ledge above the cliff, out of sight. It is only after I got home, enabled Delorme map sharing, that I could see the pack location on the screen, roughly near 13,300 ft or about 50 ft from my descent way point, marked on Gaia. Andrew Hamilton, bless his heart, helped me to get the GPS coordinates off Delorme screen. After plotting several of them into Gaia (since Delorme kept transmitting), I ended up with several GPS coordinates - data points, all very close to each other. I couldn't find partners for the traverse on such a short notice, so I decided to come from TP side, since it's considerably easier. All went without a hitch, albeit I was moving slowly and deliberately, and thankfully, I was able to locate the pack, and very slowly and carefully to climb out of the nightmarish gully. Again, a rookie mistake of mine, really glad it was fixable though without any major consequences to life and limb. It will be some time before I head out for Bi UN 13,631 and a neighbor (my last 2 remaining 13ers on that ridge), but I eventually hope to get there.
P.S. oh and the recon of direct NW ridge was awesome. I feel so much better about possibly trying it with stable snow next time Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Elks...they NEVER disappoint.
Great job you two! I'm with Jay -- glad I could enjoy this one through you, as it's not something I will ever do. Double bonus points to you Natalie for going back again and retrieving your pack. So glad you were able to.
Thanks for sharing this!
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