Glacier Mountaineering Society

Mon, Jul 20 2009 - Skeleton Mountain (View Original Event Details)

Coordinator(s):		Darrel Coverdell
Participants:		Darrel Coverdell

Write Up:
Skeleton Mountain – July 20, 2009 Story and photo by Darrel Coverdell Twelve GMS folks met at the Lubec trailhead for a trek to seldom-visited Skeleton Mountain on the south end of Glacier Park. The route was to scamble across open meadows, scree and ledges to a pass at the south end of Calf Robe Mountain. Then we would cross an alpine valley at the head of Ole Creek to reach the mountain. Our return would be via game trails to Firebrand Pass and then follow the Firebrand Pass Trail back to the Lubec trailhead. An accident at the trailhead with bear spray resulted in Steve Berg abandoning the hike before we began hiking. He unknowingly had lost the safety clip on his bear spray and while putting on his pack accidentally sprayed himself across the front of his pants. A quick washdown was attempted, but after a short hike, Steve decided to retreat for a full shower. His said it was the quickest injury that has ever happened on a GMS hike while the rest of the group labeled him as "Hot Pants Berg". Thanks goes to Bill Haring and Joel Vignere who attended Steve as he returned to the trailhead. They later caught up with the rest of us at the Calf Robe pass. Steve recovered quickly after a shower. At the Calf Robe pass, we split up into two groups. One group took the direct route across the alpine meadows and scrub fir toward the mountain. The second group followed a game trail to the south toward Summit Peak and circled the valley to get to Skeleton Mountain from the southwest. Everyone arrived at the summit to enjoy lunch and the great views. From this central vantage point, all the peaks at the upper end of the Ole Creek drainage can be seen. Return to Lubec was via game trails to Firebrand Pass and back down the trail to the parking area. On the summit of Skeleton Mountain. Front row from left: Darrel Coverdell, Cecelia Notess, Mary Notess and Julie Stetter. Back row: Robert Kealy, John Burnham, Meg Schnaderbeck, Joel Vignere, Bill Haring, Greg Notess and Paul Cogswell.

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.