So fun! It’s one of my favorite places on earth. I’m training for my trek in Bhutan, and Alex and Patrick agreed to joint me for a backpacking trip up Electric Peak.
Alex picked me up at the Sequim Airport in his very fancy Epic airplane.
Alex in the EpicPilot Alex
Next stop, Boise to pick up Patrick, then on to West Yellowstone.
West Yellowstone Airport Campground
The campground is fenced, so there is no bear worry. It has four campsites with picnic tables, a really clean pit toilet, fire wood, and a wagon to haul your stuff.
The next morning, we loaded the rental car and headed to the trailhead. Along the way, we visited Norris Basin, saw a fox, sand hill cranes, some elk and a huge bison!
Sand Hill CranesElkFox
Big Bison
Along the drive, we stopped at Norris Geyser Basin. It was early, so we had the place nearly to ourselves.
We made it to the trailhead and began our seven mile trek to camp. It was breathtaking with wildflowers everywhere.
The map I left in the car…..
The highlights of the trail were the silence and the wildflowers. Amazing!!
Balsa root, lupine and moreElectric Peak view
Camp was cozy with sleeping quarters, a bear pole and fire pit.
Lots of flies and mosquitos
The next morning, was the climb. 7.5 miles and 3000′ elevation. Party Bear had ruined feet with blisters, so he waited down lower before the serious scrambling. Alex and I made it just below the summit. I remember a walk up…..40 years can do that to your memory. It was a serious rock scramble…..
Party Bear’s feet Mountain Goat near the summitScrambling downOur summit
This was our second try, and there was never going to be a third. This climb is brutal. Not because of the summit push, but because of the arduous route to get there. I could not have had a better climbing partner for this trip.
We drove to the trailhead and slept in my Westie, then hiked to beautiful Ross Lake and called the resort to come pick us up (we had a reservation). Soon we were whisked away to our trailhead. Our boat driver was a crazy man who went about 40 miles per hour through the smallest break in a log boom… well, that’s another story.
The hike is 16 miles to the first camp. It’s a pretty good cruise until after Luna Camp. Then we had over 80 deadfall trees to navigate around, over, and under. It took about 5 hours to get to Big Beaver Pass camp.
The Lodge and our rideThe trail in….and outInto the ParkCool FrogSam did this SO much easier than me!
The next day is the crux. You leave camp and just start up — weaving in and out of slide alder, devil’s club, and multiple cliffs. Eventually we made it to the top of the ridge (about 4 hours), and then we just navigated our way up, down, and across ridges, cirques, and rugged terrain. We used a high route, which added some extra time and effort, but eventually we got to our camp on the edge of the Challenger Glacier.
Out of the brushand up and upAnd across
Oh, and the weather. It just wouldn’t give us a break after our first day. It rained every day, and most nights. It rained all night at our high camp, and our feeling was that we had no more than a 50/50 chance of summiting.
I woke up at 3:30 and it was socked in and rainy. When I woke up again at 4am, it was getting lighter, the clouds had lifted, and it looked like we might have a chance. I woke Sam up and said, “Let’s give it a try.”
The glacier was in great condition. The snow was soft-ish, but not too soft, and the crevasses were closed. The biggest crevasse/bergschrund was open and very passable.
And down we go.
The climb was a cinch. Sam is so in his element on rock. It is pure pleasure to climb with him — strong, competent, efficient. Getting to the summit was a blast. And we were SO SO surprised that we made it up! Sam mentioned that I might be the oldest female to ever summit Challenger. I think he’s right! I am claiming the title.
When we got back to camp, we decided to break it down and move at least a couple more hours toward home. That was a great idea. We hiked for about 3.5 hours and set up camp in a nice basin. Again, the rain returned. It was amazing that we got the window we did to summit.
The view from campBack downAnd downCamp after summit. Poor Sam was in a bivy bag and it did not stop raining! Sam’s Bivy homeI look pretty cozy in my tent
The next day we again went the extra distance, stopping for the night at Luna Camp instead of our permitted Big Beaver Pass camp. That way, we only had 10.8 miles to go to the dock and our boat ride out.
Bushwacking downLuna Camp – NO RAIN!
We arrived at the dock at 11:30 am, and our reservation wasn’t until 3pm. Lucky us! The boat was arriving just as we stepped onto the dock. We asked if we could get a ride back early, and the driver said, “Sure!” What timing! We were so relieved.
So happy to be on the boat.
The highlight of the trip for me was getting to spend five full days in the backcountry, doing a big mountaineering trip with Sam. We had so much fun. The icing on the cake was the summit.
christiontheroad 