Next Time Round
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Colchuk Peak (8705') in the sun at right-center, with Dragontail (8840') on the left from just above Colchuk Lake. The Colchuk Glacier runs up between the two peaks. Note the moon just above Dragontail.
We took our time getting in, and made it to the lake in about three hours of relaxed booting. We had a short, if somewhat uneventful conversation about route choice. We had initially talked about the ridge route on the north side (right skyline) of Colchuk. On seeing it, Brian immediately voted for the line. I spoke up and voiced some concern about the length of the route, as well as my personal ability to make good time on it, being nothing more than a hack rock climber and having climbed virtually no alpine rock. I eventually offered to solo the glacier route if Brian and Brett wanted to do the ridge. We kicked it around and briefly entertained climbing up a couloir to Aasgard pass and ticking Dragontail. In the end we settled on the Colchuk Glacier, despite probably 15-20 folks heading up it. I personally thought it would be a quick route and a good, low-stress way to bag a peak (yes, I was feeling a bit down and wanted to stack the odds; there is a vague regret somewhere deep inside of me that we didn't try the ridge, if only because it was a good opportunity to give a line like that a try - I just worried that I'd be horribly slow on it). We ditched all unnecessary gear (almost all, I carried a rope should we need it, though we never did - I'd never been on a glacier unroped [it was completely covered in frozen snowpack] and it was a real pleasure to move without one - except that I was carrying it) and started up around 8.30am. |
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