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The Details
CLIMBING
This course will take place in some of the best climbing areas in Washington. The Index Town Walls are known for high friction granite, splitter cracks, and engaging face climbs. With solid rock and parallel cracks, it’s the perfect place to learn how to place trad gear and work on crack climbing technique. There are several short multi-pitch climbs that will be great practice for us before we head into the alpine.
While loose rock is always a factor in the mountains, the routes on Vesper Peak generally have high quality, solid rock. The climbing is a combination of crack, face, and slab climbing at around 5.8 and below. While the grade is moderate, the wall is quite exposed, making these climbs ideal for intermediate climbers with some outdoor climbing experience.
CAMPING
During our day climbing at Index, we’ll camp at nearby Money Creek Campground on the banks of the South Fork of the Skykomish River. It’s a simple forest service campground with the typical amenities of picnic tables, vault toilets, and drinking water.
Our second night will be spent camping in the backcountry at Lake Elan under Vesper Peak. While there are nice, flat spots to pitch a tent near the lake, there are no established amenities. We’ll bring everything we need to set up camp, treat water, and deal with our waste. She Moves Mountains can provide backpacking tents, backpacks, sleeping bags, pads, water filters, and stoves for participants as needed.
MEALS
While staying in the Skykomish Valley near Index, we’ll enjoy dinners together at local restaurants. Some of our favorites include The Bush House Inn, Gold Bar Thai, Zeke’s Drive In, and Lala’s taco truck. For breakfast we’ll have a simple selection of yogurt, granola, fruit and / or bagels and cream cheese. We can accommodate food restrictions and dietary preferences as needed.
For the backcountry portion of our trip, freeze-dried dinners and instant oatmeal breakfasts are our standard fare, provided by She Moves Mountains. Participants will be responsible for their own snacks and lunch throughout the trip, with guidance from SMM.
WEATHER
We’ve scheduled this trip during one of the most reliably dry periods in Washington, but weather is always unpredictable and out of our control. Much of our itinerary can be completed even with some poor weather conditions; we can practice trad skills, some multi-pitch systems, and route planning in the rain.
A major skill of alpine climbing is reading the weather and making conservative decisions about when to climb and when to turn around. With a three day trip, we have some flexibility to shift our plans to take advantage of the best weather window for our alpine climb. Certain weather conditions, like thunderstorms or significant rain, could make a safe ascent impossible.
The Details
Day 1: Intro to Trad and Multi-Pitch Climbing Skills
We’ll start our trip by working on traditional (trad) and multi-pitch climbing skills at the Index Town Walls. Day one will include work on lead belaying, multi-pitch commands and systems, and rappelling. Participants will follow the multi-pitch climb, practicing cleaning trad gear and applying new systems. In the afternoon, we’ll spend some time planning our backcountry trip. We’ll go over topographic maps, tour planning, and packing for an overnight alpine climb.
Day 2: Approach Vesper Basin
After driving from Index to the Sunrise Mine Trailhead, we’ll spend some time packing at the trailhead. Our approach hike gains 3000’ over three miles to our basecamp at Lake Elan. We’ll set up our camp near the shores of the lake and go to sleep early before our big climbing day.
Day 3: Climb Vesper Peak!
From our camp at Lake Elan, the approach to Ragged Edges gains another 800’ feet. We’ll start with hiking on a climber’s trail then move to scrambling on rock ledges to the base of the climb. There we’ll rope up and climb six pitches to the top. We’ll encounter a variety of climbing styles including crack, slab, and face climbing on solid rock. After summit high fives, we’ll scramble down rock ledges to our camp before packing up and hiking back to the trailhead.
