Glacier Mountaineering Society

Sun, Jun 24 2012 - Lena Lake/Red Crow Mtn. (View Original Event Details)

Coordinator(s):		Denise Grabowski
Participants:		Denise Grabowski, Steve Patitsas, Jerry Moore, John Mautner, Laura Ward, Pat Keane-Richmond

Write Up:
Lena Lake and Red Crow Mountain – June 24, 2012 Coordinator: Denise Grabowski The route I had planned was to head in on the Firebrand Pass Trail and leave the trail at the point when you can see Firebrand Pass. From there you head diagonally up the basin in the direction of the pass between Red Crow and Bear Head Peaks. The trip included a stop over at Lena Lake that sits in an upper basin below the east side of the Red Crow summit. However, low, dense fog settled in the basin severely limiting visibility. We made it to Lena Lake and took a break hoping for the fog to lift, however it continued to linger. We encountered several sections of snow on the trail before getting to the basin and around and above the lake, so I decided that we would head back due to not knowing what kind of snow we would encounter at the two passes. Heading back the way we came we crossed a good snowfield that offered a safe place to practice using the ice axe. I encouraged everyone to practice and I demonstrated the self-arrest method. After that, we got above the lake where it was snow free and we took a short break. It fog cleared considerably and I decided to take a direct route up the east side of the peak. It was easy going on the east slope leading to the Red Crow summit, however the group split up. Three climbers decided to climb a wet, ball-bearing- covered ledge about 8 to 10 feet high (no room for error on this route!). Myself and two other climbers chose to cross a snowfield just to the south of the summit to gain the ridge. From there we made our way down the ridge to Firebrand Pass and got back on the trail to return to the trailhead. The roundtrip distance for this was 14 to 17 miles and an elevation gain of about 3,600 feet. We did the trip in 10 hours, but it usually takes 7 to 8 hours in good conditions (late-July into October). Between June and mid- July you will encounter snow on the route and traveling with an ice axe is highly recommended. Climbers were: Pat Keane- Richmond, Laura Hall, Jerry Moore, Steve Patitsas, John Mautner and Denise Grabowski.

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.