Glacier Mountaineering Society

Mon, Jul 16 2012 - Piegan & Cataract (View Original Event Details)

Coordinator(s):		David Schuler, Greg Kushnak
Participants:		David Schuler, Greg Kushnak, Ginger Flesch, Diane K. Boyd, David Endebrock, Bob Hensler, Stacey Endebrock, James Hulvat

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Write Up:
The day started at Lunch Creek with a blue sky, but fog & clouds rolled in just as we reached Piegan Saddle, providing ethereal “mistic” views. The lower cliff band east of Lunch Cr Falls was slippery with wet lichens, so we bushwhacked up thru some krumholz for something to hang on to. Luckily, we found a bear tunnel thru the jungle that provided easy passage. Above the lower cliffs, we made a southeastward, upward-angling, traverse to the “Fountain of Moses”, where melt-water emanates from Piegan Glacier on the NE side of the mountain, flows all the way thru the mountain, and emerges on the SW side. The water was incredibly cold – no surprise, since it had been frozen for 12,000 years! From the spring, we made a direct ascent to Piegan Saddle, where a side-trip to Piegan’s lesser summit provided stunning views of sheer cliffs above the glacier. Back to the saddle, we continued to the true summit; then down to Pollock Saddle, which was much easier via goat trail along the south-facing slope of the west ridge. Some of the folks followed closer to the ridgeline and had to deal with some class-3 rocks. A very nice goat or climbers trail provided a pleasant walk thru alpine tundra down to Piegan Pass. From there, a short climb to Cataract summit provided wonderful views of sheer cliffs and the Cataract valley. After retracing our route to Piegan Pass, we hiked out to our shuttle truck at Siyeh Bend. Back to the cars at Lunch Creek, we were joined for refreshments by a very fat marmot. A very wonderful day! Pictured in the Piegan summit photo, L to R: Greg Kushnak, David Schuler, Stacey Endebrock, David Endebrock, James Hulvat, Diane Boyd, Robert Hensler, and Ginger Flesch.

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.