Sun, Aug 17 2003 - Rising Wolf (View Original Event Details) Coordinator(s): Johanna Bangeman Participants: Johanna Bangeman

But by August the fires that had been burning across the Park got worse. At the last minute, Johanna contacted the climbers who had signed up for Heavy Runner and changed the peak assignment to Rising Wolf (9,513).

The route began near the head of Two Medicine Lake where a creek crosses the northside trail. After ascending beargrass slopes, we climbed the green stairstep gully just right of the canyon directly below the summit and immediately left of a gravel scree slope, which we later descended. A party of four Missoulians we met at the trailhead chose the diretissimo, ascending straight to the summit up the cliff bands in the canyon. This route poses more rockfall hazards, I believe, and often is filled with snow in early summer.

After climbing several thousand feet of good quality fourth class rock, we broke out onto the rubble-strewn east ridge and stopped for a snack with the summit cairn in sight. Just then, a grizzly bear popped up over the ridge from the Young Man Lake side. Despite our yells, it continued toward us, stopping at a small snowbank where it munched on snow and cooled its fanny. About 30 minutes later, the bear got up, shook off some snow and ambled back over the ridge. We then shouldered our packs and cautiously completed our climb to the summit. The descent from the saddle east of where we gained the ridge was smooth as silk, with only an occasional rock band disturbing a narrow band of marble-sized scree.