My friend Cletus and I set out on Friday 9/15 for a two night climb. This is a gritty and difficult climb, and consists of a dozen different parts.
1) We hit the White River ranger station at 9:30am. There were very few cars, and we were able to get all the necessary paperwork in about 15 minutes.
2) We actually hit the trail at 10:30am. Trail conditions were good, with minor snow patches covering the upper portion near Summerland.
3) The climb from Summerland up to the first ridge was steep, but snow conditions were good. There is a nasty looking snow bridge with running water at the top of the first crest, so the advice is to go hiker left and stay on the rocks about 20 feet before the top.
4) From the first ridge to Meany Crest, there was a sort of boot path in the snow, and the snow conditions were good here as well.
5) One of the most beautiful campsites you'll ever see is the one on Meany Crest. The only drawback is the lack of running water. Be prepared to bring lots of fuel to melt snow; you'll need it for the summit push. We watched the sunset and spent a chilly night here. I think it was about eight hours from car to camp (we took our time and had heavy packs).
6) We left Meany Crest at 6:30am and traversed the Frying Pan Glacier. I would stay low on the route as there were recent avalanches high on the glacier, and more coming in the next week. We made it to the notch between the Fryingpan Glacier and the Whitman Glacier in just under two hours. The notch looks decievingly close from Meany Crest.
7) Traversing up the Whitman Glacier is steep, then gets very steep near the top. This slog was exhausting. Clete did an amazing job breaking trail and kicking in steps on the upper portion of the climb. This part looks very intimidating, but we found it to be not as scary when actually standing on the steep upper part. The snow was just soft enough with enough lumps that an accidental fall would be immediately arrested instead of a tumble all the way down the glacier.
8) At the top of the snowfield is what I believe to be the crux of the whole climb. There is a messy chossy scree filled chute you must climb up. Also there is fresh snowmelt running through (this is the only running water you will see between the summit and Summerland). I went first while Clete stood in a safe place to avoid rockfall. Our radios came in very handy communicating between the top of this chute and the bottom. I threw down a rope and belayed him. There is a large boulder at the top that is perfect for a sitting body belay. I used the Munter/carabiner technique (I didn't bring a belay device).
9) If you took off your crampons to climb the chute, put them back on because there is another steep snowfield to cross. This is where I had a scary incident that kept me from the top a year prior with Pete. A slip at the bottom of the snowfield could leave you sliding toward a cliff with a huge drop-off. Be sure every step is solid and the pick is planted firmly with each step. The snow at the top of this run is sloppy, messy, and prone to collapse.
10). Once we got onto the rock, we doffed the crampons and followed a pretty straightforward class 3 scramble to the top. If you think you are off route, you probably are. There are no moves higher than class 3 required. In order to get to the summit register and the absolute true summit, there is a 20 foot knife edge you must traverse with thousands of feet of exposure on both sides. It is not technical, but not for the squeamish, especially if it is windy. We took a pass on the knife edge, and began the descent.
11) I belayed Clete down through the messy chute again and then down-climbed it. In retrospect, leaving some protection and rappelling down would have been the safest option. We were able to heel plunge down the Whitman glacier, and finally made it back to Meany Crest 13 hours later for a well deserved rest at base camp.
12) The next day was pretty uneventful, except the clouds moved in and visibility was pretty limited.
This climb is HARD! It is physically and mentally taxing. It is a mean and formidable looking peak that will intimidate and scare you. Breaking trail makes the ascent up steep snow exhausting. Although not super technical, a wrong decision or misplaced step could prove very costly. All that being said, it was pretty awesome to climb this thing that I've been looking at all these years. Rest assured, there is nothing little about Little Tahoma.
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