The Northeast Face of Eldorado was not what we had expected. Jens had a guidebook that said something like snow and ice to 50 degrees. I had been on plenty of snow and ice this year and the steepest part I could find looked more like snow to 40 degrees. Nevertheless, there was some interesting glacier travel and all sorts of rock. The weather was perfect so I had no reason to complain.
We retraced our tracks back across the Inspiration Glacier until we reached the base of the face. Now was a good time for the rope. There were several large crevasses spanning the face and a reasonably direct route involved crossing a few of them.
The Northeast Face of Eldorado. Our ascent is in green and our descent is in red.
Jens pulled through a bodylength of vertical ice to get across a crevasse that would have been a pain to traverse around. I followed with a solid belay from above. Our second ice tool came in handy there. I led the next section until we reached the peculiar knife-edge snow ridge. Jens continued while I took a photo. The ridge was a couple hundred feet long with steep snow on either side. You fall one way and I'll fall the other.
Jens on the knife-edge snow ridge.
There were some rocks on the west end of the ridge that provided a comfortable summit. We had some food and drink and took a few more photos. Jens continued to amaze me by naming all the peaks he had climbed.
We left the summit around 1 or 2pm.
Jens near the summit.
Me on the summit.
Photographer: Jens Klubberud
Jens descending. The peak we climbed is in yellow.
The descent was relatively painless. We took our crampons off at the base of the knife-edge snow ridge. This allowed us to boot ski a significant portion of the East Ridge. A few crevasses forced us to the rock near the middle. The rest was an easy slide.
Me at the base of the East Ridge with Forbidden Peak in the background.
Photographer: Jens Klubberud
We had some uphill traverse on the Eldorado Glacier but the majority was flat or downhill. We stayed roped up until we reached the polished slabs where we switched back to tennis shoes. I welcomed the change. We passed one party headed up near the base of the glacier and several others headed up the meadows.
Descending the boulder fields was a pain but we took it in stride. We got back to the car around 5pm. The day was much shorter than expected although the crux was still to come.
We hadn't slept in nearly 36 hours. A little fast food and a lot of stories helped keep us awake.
Jens on the polished slabs at the base of the glacier.
Jens in the meadows above the boulder fields.
Now I understand why the Cascade Pass area is so popular. The climbing is spectacular and the skiing…
I'll definitely be busy next spring.