Carl
Member
I was planning a quick and easy hike to Fool Killer on Saturday when Craig sent me a note asking if I’d like to do Washington via the Ammo slide instead. Craig is working toward a Whitney trip in the spring of ’09 and the Ammo slide presented a good opportunity to build on his alpine climbing experience. The weather forecast was favorable and since he had already done the recon on this slide last summer, I agreed to go.
The temperature at the Marshfield Station was about 15 degrees with a very light breeze and the sun was shining through partly cloudy skies. There was only one other car in the parking lot as we hit the trail so we weren’t expecting a lot of company.
As previously reported on Views, the Ammo trail was well packed, in good condition, and bare bootable. As we made our way up the trail, we got our first view of the conditions above tree line. In what seemed like no time, we arrived at Gem Pool where we took to the bushes to meet the lower end of the slide. It is no more than 300 yards through open woods from this point to the slide run out.
As we arrived at the open area of the run out, we got our first glimpse of the challenge. Topo indicates that the slide rises 1800 vertical feet in 7/10ths of a mile and the spectacle inspired equal doses of anticipation and intimidation. It appeared to be mostly snow covered with occasional ice patches. Not knowing what to expect, we brought rope, ice screws, and other assorted paraphernalia necessary for a safe ascent. Fortunately, Craig owns the heavy gear and got to carry it too. I was carrying a pretty good load of Pop Tarts so I figured we were about even
. We donned our harnesses and were off.
We made our way up the gentle slope to the first pitch. This was rather steep with running water which we avoided by going up to the right through the brush . The Ammo slide is not one continuous slope but a series of steps which provide break points where one can stop, take a breath, and consider the best route up the next pitch.
The conditions were perfect for alpine climbing. The snow was firm, providing good purchase for crampons but still allowing good penetration with the axe. I’m more concerned with exposure than Craig so climbs with high pucker factor don’t thrill me. Under these conditions, this one wasn’t bad. We found that supplemental protection was not warranted. Crampons, ice axe, careful and thoughtful actions were the order of the day.
The first third of the slide was quite steep but we made good progress. Step by step, pitch by pitch; some shorter, some longer.
The middle third of the slide was relatively straightforward and uneventful. The grade of the slide’s upper third began to ease and the banks got shorter allowing Monroe and the lower Presi’s came into view. The summit was still a ways off and out of sight, however.
At the top of the slide, we were no longer sheltered from the 25 mph winds which were blowing spindrift down the west slope directly at us. We bundled up with balaclavas, heavy mitts/gloves, cinched up the hoods, and put on eye protection. By this time, we had been climbing for 3 hours and we were both tired and damp. Having been to the summit on a number of occasions, we decided to call it a day by contouring over to Lakes and heading back down the Ammo Trail.
The upper west slopes are mostly hard snowfields punctuated by scrub and occasion rock. Where possible, we stayed amongst or to the high side of the scrub to mitigate the impact of any falls. There was no sense in making it safely to the top of the slide only to take a header down a long snow slope to a sudden and painful stop.
We arrived at Lakes about 45 minutes after we topped out on the slide and took refuge on the east side. We took the opportunity to have a snack, retitrivate our gear, and get photos of Monroe and Washington summits before we headed down.
The trail between the hut and tree line was a little difficult to follow beyond the first few cairns. After some searching, we came upon footprints in the scrub and followed them to the well defined trail below tree line. This would be very difficult to do after dark. We were glad we decided to put off the summit until another day.
On the way down, we met the only people we had seen all day; a couple planning to spend the night on the other side of Monroe. We wished them well and made our way back to the warmth of the car and the comfortable ride back to Manchester.
The temperature at the Marshfield Station was about 15 degrees with a very light breeze and the sun was shining through partly cloudy skies. There was only one other car in the parking lot as we hit the trail so we weren’t expecting a lot of company.
As previously reported on Views, the Ammo trail was well packed, in good condition, and bare bootable. As we made our way up the trail, we got our first view of the conditions above tree line. In what seemed like no time, we arrived at Gem Pool where we took to the bushes to meet the lower end of the slide. It is no more than 300 yards through open woods from this point to the slide run out.
As we arrived at the open area of the run out, we got our first glimpse of the challenge. Topo indicates that the slide rises 1800 vertical feet in 7/10ths of a mile and the spectacle inspired equal doses of anticipation and intimidation. It appeared to be mostly snow covered with occasional ice patches. Not knowing what to expect, we brought rope, ice screws, and other assorted paraphernalia necessary for a safe ascent. Fortunately, Craig owns the heavy gear and got to carry it too. I was carrying a pretty good load of Pop Tarts so I figured we were about even
. We donned our harnesses and were off.We made our way up the gentle slope to the first pitch. This was rather steep with running water which we avoided by going up to the right through the brush . The Ammo slide is not one continuous slope but a series of steps which provide break points where one can stop, take a breath, and consider the best route up the next pitch.
The conditions were perfect for alpine climbing. The snow was firm, providing good purchase for crampons but still allowing good penetration with the axe. I’m more concerned with exposure than Craig so climbs with high pucker factor don’t thrill me
. Under these conditions, this one wasn’t bad. We found that supplemental protection was not warranted. Crampons, ice axe, careful and thoughtful actions were the order of the day.The first third of the slide was quite steep but we made good progress. Step by step, pitch by pitch; some shorter, some longer.
The middle third of the slide was relatively straightforward and uneventful. The grade of the slide’s upper third began to ease and the banks got shorter allowing Monroe and the lower Presi’s came into view. The summit was still a ways off and out of sight, however.
At the top of the slide, we were no longer sheltered from the 25 mph winds which were blowing spindrift down the west slope directly at us. We bundled up with balaclavas, heavy mitts/gloves, cinched up the hoods, and put on eye protection. By this time, we had been climbing for 3 hours and we were both tired and damp. Having been to the summit on a number of occasions, we decided to call it a day by contouring over to Lakes and heading back down the Ammo Trail.
The upper west slopes are mostly hard snowfields punctuated by scrub and occasion rock. Where possible, we stayed amongst or to the high side of the scrub to mitigate the impact of any falls. There was no sense in making it safely to the top of the slide only to take a header down a long snow slope to a sudden and painful stop.
We arrived at Lakes about 45 minutes after we topped out on the slide and took refuge on the east side. We took the opportunity to have a snack, retitrivate our gear, and get photos of Monroe and Washington summits before we headed down.
The trail between the hut and tree line was a little difficult to follow beyond the first few cairns. After some searching, we came upon footprints in the scrub and followed them to the well defined trail below tree line. This would be very difficult to do after dark. We were glad we decided to put off the summit until another day.
On the way down, we met the only people we had seen all day; a couple planning to spend the night on the other side of Monroe. We wished them well and made our way back to the warmth of the car and the comfortable ride back to Manchester.
