Turned around at ~7500ft. Adding this trip report because 1) there aren't many in general for the November shoulder season, and 2) I lost a pair of rain pants at ~7500ft.
Six hours drive from Seattle in traffic. The gate to the main lot of Marble Mtn Sno-Park (elev ~2600') is closed, but the overflow lot is open and snow-free. As a party of three, we camped there in light to moderate rain, and had the whole place to ourselves save two cars that had arrived later in the night.
Having studied but never hiked this route before, and beginning in the dark with fog and iffy viz, it was helpful for route finding to see a few retroreflectors that are prominently placed on the route near Chocolate Falls.
The route is totally snow-free until you reach the uppermost slopes. Footing below the snowline, above treeline is variable; depending on where exactly you choose to walk and how high up you are, you cross boulders, very loose scree, some kind of volcanic sand, mud, before you get to the snow. On the way down, highly recommend gaiters unless you want to stop frequently to shake pebbles out of your boots, and beware that it is easy to dislodge large rocks onto anyone that might be below.
Patches of snow off-route appear starting 5500' or so, larger snowfields begin a little above 6000', but rock ridges remain snow-free until 6800' or so, at which point the snow is still navigable without traction, and/or crossing between rock ribs across small gullies containing ~2-5in of snow presents no problems. The rocks on the ridge begin to be plastered with ice on their downward side around 7200', and the rocks end around 7400', giving way to mandatory snowfield travel. The snow surface there, at ~9:45am, was somewhat soft, but slippery enough and steep enough to present a hazard. I began carrying my ice axe in hand around 7200', and decided to put on crampons at 7400'. My two partners put on microspikes here and appeared to be able to make upward progress.
We made it just a little ways up this snowfield to ~7500', just below the junction with Monitor Ridge, before deciding to turn around in the face of steadily worsening conditions including the return of poor visibility (route finding would be a concern for us), higher winds, precip (we were all some degree of wet despite our gear), and issues with a borrowed pair of crampons (mea culpa - always be familiar with your gear before you go out).
Shortly after turning around, maybe 7400', my helmet became detached from my pack, and rolled down the snow gully and out of sight. Fortuitously it arced and ended up back on route a ways below. However I had my pair of trusty black REI GoreTex rain pants balled up inside it (which I had taken off earlier, had gotten too warm despite some continued sleet falling), and these vanished somewhere in the gully. You are unlikely to find them, but if you do, email me at mwstubna@hotmail.com.
We did a lot of things well on this hike, had excess water, extra layers, stayed together, managed the elevation gain and rain lower down just fine, we just made the judgment that the combination of worsening conditions and traction issues made it potentially hazardous to continue. On descent, we enjoyed a longer break at the weather station (?) at ~5700' - I had my MSR mini stove in my day pack, and REALLY enjoyed being able to make hot instant coffee. There may be a reason why so few people seem to attempt the route this time of year - be prepared, be safe, and enjoy the adventure.
Comments