Glacier Mountaineering Society

Mon, Jul 19 2021 - Pinnacle Wall Goat Trail (View Original Event Details)

Coordinator(s):		Dell Meuchel, Gail Meuchel
Participants:		Dell Meuchel, Gail Meuchel, Paula Ferguson, Nathan Carlsen, Adam McClure, Lou Herritt, Cindy Weaver, Michael Contrada, Randy Hohf, Dave Archibald

Write Up:
After an illness in 2019 and covid in 2020 our GMS Week Gordon Edwards Pinnacle Wall Goat Trail climb was finally on for July 19th this year. Most of the climbers were holdovers from the 2019 trip and were eager to do the Edward’s classic. The group included Paula Ferguson, Nate Carlsen, Adam McClure, Lou Herritt, Cyndy Weaver, Michael Contrata, David Archibald and my wife Gail. The trip is a 14-mile loop beginning at the Ptarmigan Tunnel, to Ahern Pass, up the Iceberg Notch and down to Iceberg Lake. At 7:00 am the group was ready to depart up the Swift Current valley to the tunnel. The smoke of 2021 was not too bad, and the views were good. From the tunnel Nate and Adam led the group on the traverse. Lake Elizabeth was hidden by low clouds as the peaks vaulted upward. Nate did a masterful job locating the often-obscure trail as we approached the “lunch spot”. I was somewhat off trail leaving the lunch spot, so a minor course correction was made. Upon approaching Ahern Pass we had a snow problem. To steep to climb and to close to the cliffs to go behind. We found a class 4 route and the group slowly made it’s way to the Iceberg Notch. The decent from the notch found us searching for the correct gully through the initial cliff band. Adam found a route and we were then able to find the diagonal down to the lake. We returned to the trail head at 9:45 have been out 14 hours. I was off route several times and my deep thanks to an understanding group.

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.