If you can spare a few bucks for those affected by the Pack Fire, a little bit goes a long way ❤️

Last run at home this summer 😭

LOOK OUT!

Silver Divide Day 3: Mount Izaak Walton and Out

Silver Divide Day 2: Silver Peak and Tully Lake

Easy walkin' through the Sixty Lakes Basin up and over Sixty Lakes Col. The other side was a bit more difficult, with mostly rock hopping over to the base of the east face of Mount Gardiner. The eastern sandy slope of the mountain was covered in horrendously suncupped snow, but we found an improbable-looking way through some ledges at the bottom of the northeast ridge that gained the sand hill higher up. We ran into another party at the south summit who soloed their way out and back to the true summit, providing us with a bit of routefinding beta. Basically, the route follows the ridgeline from the south summit north to the knife edge (which is visible from the south summit), crossing the ridgeline back and forth a couple of times before then. Then the route turns left along the knife edge for 30 feet or so before dropping to the north side for easier travel for the remainder of the distance to the summit. We belayed a short pitch along the north-south section which proved to be unnecessary on the return, then two or three more short pitches along the traverse out to the summit. I think we only did three really short pitches on the return, which was a bit quicker.

After a short snack break on the south summit, we descended back to the Gardiner Basin, rock-hopped around the lakes, and began the climb back to Sixty Lakes Col, where we saw a couple of Bighorn Sheep rams atop the pass.  We debated climbing Mount Cotter as well, but the southwest side looked like a miserable climb, and we didn't quite think we had the daylight and energy for the south ridge or some kind of long, traversing climb up the southwest face if we wanted to do another harder climb tomorrow, so we just headed back for camp.

Really enjoyed this one!

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Iain Macdonald

King Spur Day 3: Mount Gardiner

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If you can spare a few bucks for those affected by the Pack Fire, a little bit goes a long way ❤️

Last run at home this summer 😭

LOOK OUT!

Silver Divide Day 3: Mount Izaak Walton and Out

Silver Divide Day 2: Silver Peak and Tully Lake

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