Glacier Mountaineering Society

Sat, Sep 1 2012 - Daughter Of The Sun (View Original Event Details)

Coordinator(s):		Tim Sharp
Participants:		Tim Sharp, Rod Graham

Write Up:
The month of August found me on the northern flanks of this awesome mountain hoping to find a 4th class route up the North Ridge, I was unsuccessful in this search, and notified the sign up and waiting list of the difficultly encountered, and the need to find an alternate route to the summit. On Aug. 25, Rod Graham, and I embarked on the East Ridge via a route that Jim Valentine had explored in 2011. This route included ascending a steep and loose chute to a shoulder that led to another steep and loose chute to a saddle, then, (you guessed) it a steep and loose descent into a large basin which we traversed and then climbed yet another steep and loose slope to gain the main East Ridge saddle. From there we ascended a series of steps and ramps that led us to some very large summit blocks, and the summit ridge. We topped out several blocks east of the actual summit, so a series of dips and climbs, and a traverse of a large gendarme led to the summit. Our plan was to then descend via the West Ridge saddle, but we ended up being unable to define the subsequent gullies that led west, and decided due to the lateness of the day to re-ascend the peak, and descend via the route climbed. Unfortunately on our descent, we ended up over on the South East ridge, which required a traverse and another loose steep climb to regain the correct East ridge for the descent. We then reversed the the route arriving at Turquoise Lake at @8 pm, and we still had a 6 mile hike out. Since this was a pre climb/route finding climb, and I was turned around and off route twice on descent, I came away with a less than confidant feeling about the route, and felt it best to cancel the actual Sept 1, climb. I have instead chosen to submit this write up of the pre climb as the official record for the climb, and to serve as a point of reference for future attempts on the Daughter of the Sun. I hope someday to lead a group on this mountain, but I believe the correct route for such an endeavor has yet to be found by me. The search has been challenging to say the least, but it has also been a great learning experience as well. My sincerest thanks go to Rod Graham for being such a steady and willing climbing partner on a very long summit day. Here is a link https://plus.google.com/photos/107157744265111344191/albums/5787540886036478801 to some photos I took of the area. Respectfully Submitted; Timothy Sharp

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.