Glacier Mountaineering Society

Sat, Jun 27 2020 - Three Sacred Peaks-Changed to Sentinel or Walling Reef due to Reservation Closure (View Original Event Details)

Coordinator(s):		Laurel R. Vielle
Participants:		Laurel R. Vielle, Bryan Kercher, Britt Lindsay, Andrew Koopman

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Write Up:
Myself and 5 others, a mix of TRM and GMS climbers, started our hike toward Sentinel mountain in the Bob Marshall Wilderness west of Dupuyer on a depressingly rainy and windy morning. I had scouted the area the day before in bluebird conditions so I was especially bummed. But, we pressed on into the early morning rain and howling wind and thankfully by the time we ended up at the base of the mountain, we were hiking under blue skies. The wind was still howling though. The route we knew of up the mountain took a ridge to the top with class III climbing and at least one class IV move. I was concerned about maneuvering the ridge in the high wind conditions and from my scout the previous day, knew of a potential route right up the east face of Sentinel - a huge grass- filled gully which looked to lead straight to the summit. So, that's just what we did and the route worked amazingly well. It was over a 1000ft of climbing basically straight up but I dare say it was an "easy" way to reach the summit with just a minimum of scrambling. After we reached the summit we had plenty of time to ponder the inviting ridge line heading over to Richmond, another peak we were potentially going to climb that day. But, with the wind the way it was, and the fact that we had no information on if the ridge went or not, we opted not to try it. So, down we went, satisfied with having summited Sentinel and knowing Richmond would be there waiting for us for next time. 14.5 miles RT, 5000ft of elevation gain. In attendance - Mark Blevins, Bryan Kercher, Andrew Koopman, Britt Lindsay, Ryan Stehlik, Laurel Vielle

Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Tim Anderson at twamontana@gmail.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.