Morning sun rose from the
valleys by which time we were gliding across the Challenger Glacier,
captivated! After a long traverse we tied, taped, and torched skins on our
pollen infested skis. There were no other stops required since the way was
relatively easy.
Jason
leaving camp the morning of the third with our previous day's ski in the
background.
Jason
traversing the Challenger Glacier. We put on skins near the shady saddle above
and to his right. Challenger's main summit is visible in the background on the
left. We also skied the two foreground summits on the left.
Our first views of Fury
greeted us full frontal where our imaginary ski tracks made giant swathing turns
to the bottom. The decision at that point to not climb the face grew all the
more painful, but the reality of the obstacles between here and there combined
with time stifled our discontent.
The
North Face of Mount Fury.
Are
those tracks I see?
Focusing on Challenger we found that there was some challenge left yet. Ben set off focused on the summit while I pulled out my journal content on resting and writing. Twenty minutes later Ben yelled to me, "Lets GO!" I carefully climbed along the ridge after putting my harness on. Once I arrived on a small ledge, I left my boots for wool socks, which I struggled to keep dry. For pro we had 3 quickdraws and one sling. Luckily there was fixed pro, which amounted to 4 pitons and a slew of slings to rappel from. Either way I think Ben would’ve soloed the route if the decision were presented. Ben led the sole pitch, really only one or two moves of consequence. I followed, stoked that I would summit.
Jason nearing the crux on Challenger's
summit ridge.
Once atop, we found the summit register with a few scrapes of paper shoved in. We recognized most names and added a scribble of our own. If someone heads up there you might consider bringing another book. We climbed back to the ridge a couple feet below the summit where beautiful flat rocks reside. I don’t know how long we stayed mesmerized by the views but it was a difficult goodbye.
Ben exposes himself on the summit of
Challenger.
Photographer: Jason
One last look at Luna Peak and Mount Fury…
I rapped down first followed by Ben. At the bottom, I put wet feet back in my boots and retraced my steps to snow and our skis.
With one last look at Fury and a promise to return, we headed out. Since we were in no particular hurry we climbed and skied the two following high points before heading back to Perfect Pass. "Hey, lets ski that." "How about this?" So, I guess we had to say our farewells a few more times.
Jason airing it out during the ski from
our second summit.
Challenger's main summit is seen in the
center and our second summit is on the left. We skied both slopes. This photo
was taken from our third summit, which we also skied.
Jason skiing the Challenger Glacier on our
way back to camp.
The remainder of the day passed by far too fast. One last sunset, one last meal and one last night of rest prepared us for the final day.