Home > Trip Reports > September 8, Mount Matier, NW face

September 8, Mount Matier, NW face

9/15/07
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Posted by danhelmstadter on 9/9/07 6:16am
I met Josh, Jason, Sky, and Ryan in Bellingham at about seven on friday, we crossed the border with minimal difficulties which was refreshing compared to previous crossings and attempts. The five or six hour drive to our trailhead went smoothly. We were somewhat surprised to find freezing tempratures as we laid out our sleeping pads on the pavement, and this surprise would continue to haunt me through the night. I awoke the next moring to the sound of an obnoxioius driver honking mulitiple times as he sped past our makeshift "campsite" at the trailhead. We took the "winter trail" since the summertrailhead had sighns warning of an impassible road, and the alders appeared to prevent a clean passage. The winter trail only added on an extra kilometer anyway. The trail was direct and in good condition, and was equiped with wasp warning sighns near a nest. There was a hut(which is supposed to be very nice) but we passed it on our hasty effort towrds the anniversery glacier. The glacier was moderatly suncupped for its lower portion. Josh and Jason triggered a deep booming sound from within the glacier as they hiked over the surface, the snow became smoother as we went higher, the top third was near perfect corn. We traversed to the base of the NW face, a bueatifull and somewhat intimidateing 1800vft 45dg face, clean of any suncups or other expected midseptember knar. There was a patch of exposed black glacial ice on lookers left.. We esialy passed the bergshund at the bottom and made our way up the face in our various styles. The crux was a 15' patch of exposed ice near the bergshund at the top. The summit was bueatifull, we were surrounded by jagged and wild glaciated mountains in all directions for as far as we could see. We waited up there for two hours for the nieve to ripen with the sun on this NW face. We discovered that the intimidateing hard nieve conditions we had climbed had rippened into bueatifull perfect corn!! And we skiied down with smiles. We traversed to the Anniversery glacier, and skiied more perfect corn in late day sun for the upper 1/3 then it started to get cuppy and hard nieve, more of the kind of conditions one would expect in mid-september. The Hummels took an alternate route on the lower third, wich yeilded less cuppy snow, but envolved a booted traverse over glacial ice. The depproach went smoothly thanks to the wasp warning sighns, and we made it back to the trailhead with time to spare. Our total time was 10hours with long breaks includeing the two hour wait at the summit. We decided to take a differante road back, which proved to be longer, but had some spectacluar scenery differant from anything ive seen in the States.
Sweet Dan, nice to finally meet you! I'll try and get some photos up soon (day or two).

Thanks for the TR! Tales of long stretches of corn warm the soul.

Great photos Jason (I took a gander at your webpage on a hunch). Looks and sounds like y'all had fun!

Harmonic collapse isn't a term I've heard before - can you elaborate further?

great write up Dan. Each one keeps getting better and better.

I posted something on cascadeclimbers with some pics, if anybody's interested.

I'm the one who conjured that 1800 ft number, so sorry to correct you, but there's no way that face is more than 1000 ft.  That being said, it's about 1000 ft of pure bliss in a beautiful alpine setting, which seems more than worthy to me.

Dan on Anniversary Glacier

Dan just above the Bergschrund

Dan climbs the face on frontpoints

Dan atop the face with Lake Lillooet far below.

Dan on the glacier below the face, my tracks on looker's left, Josh at the berg, Ryan and Jason little dots atop the face.


"There's a lot of damn good skiers out there.  But not a lot of Dan good skiers."
;)

author=trumpetsailor link=topic=7757.msg31023#msg31023 date=1189408507]
Thanks for the TR! Tales of long stretches of corn warm the soul.

Great photos Jason (I took a gander at your webpage on a hunch). Looks and sounds like y'all had fun!

Harmonic collapse isn't a term I've heard before - can you elaborate further?


It was just the way it felt. Deep in the glacier something collapses and you feel and hear it, almost like a sonic boom. It's quite a feeling! And can put your heart in your throat, but not a danger when the snow is rock hard blue ice or neve. If you've been on a hard snow crust skinning or skiing and felt the layer collapse, it's a lot like that.

As you saw, I posted a story and pics I put together late last night: http://www.cascadecrusades.org/SkiMountaineering/canada/Matierpeak/matierpeaknwface2007/matiernwface2007.htm

Another inspiring tr!  Makes me think I should be living a little further north.  The pictures and tr are amazing also over there on cascade crusade.com.  Vicarously participating here in Bend....  Thanks!!!!!

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september-8-mount-matier-nw-face
danhelmstadter
2007-09-09 13:16:09