Glacier Mountaineering Society

Sat, Jun 23 2012 - Mount Henry (Alternate Route) (View Original Event Details)

Coordinator(s):		Jim Foster
Participants:		Jim Foster, Jim Heckel, Barbara Schwarz, Ian Aston, Joe Fisher, Robin Young, Stephen Smith, Susie Ruffatto

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Write Up:
This was a day to test your mountain mettle. From the parking lot the cloud layer was low obscuring half of the mountain and our entire off-trail route but everyone was game to make an attempt. The initial 1,900 feet was gained by the Scenic Point Trail and at about mile one James Hulvat's group split off to head up the cirque. We continued on up and were in the clouds after another half mile. The cloud density was thicker than expected and when we reached our high point on the trail we judged it to be two-chair visibility by Big Mountain Standards. We decided to push on toward the base of Medicine Mountain using GPS navigation (what awesome technology). Without my GPS we would not have ventured off trail because there was no way to know where you were headed - kind of a vertigo sensation. We all stayed bunched up so that we didn't lose anyone in the cloud. As we traversed the small hill to our left and arrived at the base of Medicine the cloud was denser and the wind was blowing hard. We decided to push on up this steep hill for the 1,000 foot climb to the top. Ian Aston led the way up picking a good route through the cliff band about halfway up. At the top the wind was howling, the blowing cloud was very wet and the visibility was less than one chair. Because of wet rock and the need to see the route to navigate the summit block we decided to pull the plug and head back down. It began to rain at this point. We arrived back at our cars by 3:00 pm quite damp. Everyone seemed to enjoy the adventure.

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.