Home > Trip Reports > A Memorial Day Weekend - Redoubt, Spickard

A Memorial Day Weekend - Redoubt, Spickard

5/15/09
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Posted by Pete_H on 5/26/09 2:23pm
Sky and Eric invited me to try and ski Mt. Redoubt and Mt. Spickard with them because they knew I'd help break trail and that I'd carry the booze.

After mixing a pint of Canadian Club into my flask of Jim Beam Black, Sky scooped up his pack and we were off and up into Depot Creek. Emerging at dusk into one of the more impressive alpine cirque's in the Cascades, we sacked out at the base of Mt. Redoubt and determined that to be our objective the next day.

Perhaps it was the late start, perhaps it just wasn't meant to be. After topping out above the first steep headwall and rounding the corner into unstable eastfacing isothermic mush with ball dropping exposure, a prudent decision to bale was made.

Sky pioneered the mother of all sidesteps down a ridiculously exposed snow flute ridge into turnable terrain.  I made the brilliant decision to go skiers left into icy runneled hell and ended up down-climbing and joining Eric and Sky with my skis on at more reasonable terrain. Then we skiied down the mushy glacier into camp, drank some canadian bourbon whiskey and went to sleep at around 4:00 p.m.

Up the next day at 2:00 a.m., we skinned and booted to the summit of Spickard via the North Glacier. What a view! The east face corn had ripened perfectly in the tropical morning sunshine and the line looked and felt as good as we hoped.

Booting back up was work in the increasingly intense sun, and we ended up back on the summit for a second time. Skiing off the summit to the north was more challenging then we thought. I downclimbed a bit, but Eric and Sky ripped it on skis. But at least I ripped the 4000 feet of perfect corn turns back to camp, which indeed did not suck.

Scurlock's E Face Spickard:

http://www.pbase.com/nolock/image/71967436

More:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=peter.hirst76&target=ALBUM&id=5340333142102268529&authkey=Gv1sRgCJPu4v_t2OLN_QE&authkey=Gv1sRgCJPu4v_t2OLN_QE&feat=email


awesome pix. thank you,  we're not worthy.

Nice one guys.

great trips doods


Cooler than a moose & twice as hairy!

Ditto to Jasons, "Damn"!  Nice work!!  8)

Pete skins up Redoubt - we topped the glaciated face but declined death-slurpy on the east-facing traverse into the hidden couloir.


Eric follows sidesteps to "safety."


Eric on some steep pow below the icy flutes and runnels


Pete on sweet corn below the crux of the East Face of Spickard.  Let it be known that we dropped circa 7:45 am and found perfection.  It already felt scary by the time we resummited.


Uh huh uh huh


I thought the descent from the summit on the north side would be mellow, but it required some concentration too.


The good life....



Eric's safety steps are SIIIIICK!  That's one worth posterizing!

À coeur vaillant rien d'impossible.

Wearing my plasticene clown mask, my polka-dotted tie and my big, clumsy, weird shoes, I'm asking that posters edit their language in this thread.  This will save moderators the trouble. 

Thanks much!

Mark
(a.k.a. markharf)



thanks for sharing all those great shots! 
super cool.

Really nice trip, and good job getting up early. 

I like that "descent from the north side would be mellow..." pic.'

Not so mellow looking.  Hella nice work. :)

:D

I am always in awe and sometimes I am grateful that you don't show me all the pictures. Otherwise I would probably have nightmares.  Incredible!  You inspire me Sjue!

author=markharf link=topic=13456.msg56060#msg56060 date=1243453381]
Wearing my plasticene clown mask, my polka-dotted tie and my big, clumsy, weird shoes, I'm asking that posters edit their language in this thread. This will save moderators the trouble.
Thanks much!
Mark
(a.k.a. markharf)


Ditto on the "thank you".
We DO appreciate your helping us maintain a more civil and family friendly atmosphere. It is a tribute to the class of this community and its members that such a gentle nudge is all that it takes to get folks to drop into step with the site preferences. It could be why I hear regularly that the civility of this site is one of the reasons many folks like it here.
Thanks again.  ;)


author=Pete_H link=topic=13456.msg56021#msg56021 date=1243401806]
After topping out above the first steep headwall and rounding the corner into unstable eastfacing isothermic mush with ball dropping exposure


Great trip but I know what you mean about that exposure. We got hit by rockfall in that spot. I was knocked off my feet but fortunately I had one hand on my ice axe and it held. My partner got hit bad on her arm.

How did you get down the road along the lake? I heard it was blocked by a massive rock at the north end. What is the condition of the Depot Creek trail? It looked snow-free in one of your shots. Was there a lot of deadfall?

That'd be puckering to get hit in that spot!  The road wasn't blocked at all, and if we had a high clearance vehicle, we could've driven up depot quite a bit more.

The trail was melting out pretty fast, but we had the pleasure of a good bit of postholio on our trip up.  The deadfall is minimal, the trail (w/ snow caveat) is in great shape.

Nicely written report, Pete.  And you guys got some good shots.  I put some up here: http://picasaweb.google.com/ewehrly/20090523RedoubtSpickard?feat=directlink

Nice work you guys; love those sidestepping pics. 

Hey E, Did the views of Mox bring back pleasant memories?

geez ... awesome stuff ... great pix

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a-memorial-day-weekend-redoubt-spickard
Pete_H
2009-05-26 21:23:26