What can we do? We were born with the Great Unrest. Our father taught us that life is one long journey on which only the unfit are left behind.
– Caribou Inuit to Dr. Knud Rassmussen
Day five and no summits yet. You just gotta love the mountains! We got up at zero five thirty as usual for a weather check, and all agreed that we would be good to go. After looking at the topo maps more closely we decided that our prime objective for the day would not be Dolphin after all, but Oluk; this summit being almost a good two hundred metres higher, clocking in at about two thousand six hundred and eighty metres. We were also back to using two ropes. The rope of three went first. The logic being that the most likely person to fall in a crevasse is probably going to be the leader, and that with two others on the rope there would be a greater chance that any fall would be short and quickly arrested. Typically on the ascent the leader has the most experience to scout the safest route and provide secure belays for any with less experience that might require them; we of course chose otherwise figuring this would be a grand teaching experience. Which indeed it was; and in this fashion we thus proceeded safely and efficiently upwards. The snow was in excellent condition; its hard surface affording first-rate traction for the crampons. Kevin did a great job as front man for most of this gig, even though this was his second alpine trip ever (being a pebble wrassler by trade) and in no time flat we were closing in on our previous highpoint.
Anybody can play. The note is only 20 percent. The attitude of the motherfucker who plays it is 80 percent.
– Miles Davis
So it was Kevin, Diane, and I on one rope, and Franck and Bill on the second rope. This is a good time to also point out that this was actually Franck’s very first alpine climb ever. He is a crackerjack rock climber however; and handled the transition to the alpine environment with aplomb and apparent ease.
Brian leading near the summit
Today we had excellent visibility and it was interesting to realize how close we had actually been to the rock the other day without being able to see it. The snow and ice steepened nicely at one point, but nothing that we couldn’t handle. Eventually the white stuff ran out leaving us with a short rock scramble on nice blocky granite to the top. Pulling onto the small summit opened up a whole new vista we had not seen before. We could now see the full extent of the Dolphin Glacier and for the first time the Sirennia Glacier; Just massive. The views extended as far north as the eye could see, up into and beyond the Lillooet Ice Field. We were also treated to the sight of the north face of Wahoo Tower; a truly impressive wall. In addition we could see the remaining peaks in the group; some of which we had wanted to climb this week; but were dismayed to see how broken the glacier approaches were to them. Any sane attempts on these climbs would be better planned for earlier in the season when more snow would possibly ease the difficulties. We were also taken aback by how precipitous the North Face of Oluk appeared to be as we were now standing on top of it. Perhaps there is an alpine rock or mixed climb lurking here?
Sirennia and Bonito
The summit was windy and cold. The steely grey skies had the look and feel of winter. We didn’t tarry long; just enough time for some obligatory photos and a small bite to eat. There was no real cairn and no register was found, although the guidebook indicated that it had been climbed by John Clarke and others in nineteen sixty seven. Soon we had down climbed back to where we had ditched the crampons and ice axes, and just in time too, as it actually began to snow a bit. There was some concern about descending the steeper icy sections, but this was unfounded as these were quickly dispatched without a hitch. Another cause for concern was something we had not noticed in the low visibility of the previous attempt and that was that we had to traverse under a rather large serac field, which had obviously been active in the recent past. We skedaddled as fast as we could past this and took a wider berth around it on the descent to minimize our exposure to the fall line. It was an uneventful remainder of the trip back to our camp and we returned about six and a half hours after we had left it, and pretty pleased with ourselves in the bargain for knocking off yet another excellent summit in fine fashion.
To the north….
Day six didn’t really ‘dawn’ at all. We could see no peaks and the clouds had sunk low and were resting on the Dolphin glacier so we crawled back into the tents. This was a good choice at the time as it started to pelt down with rain soon after, effectively and unfortunately forcing us into another, albeit unplanned rest day situation. By midday the weather had improved somewhat, but obviously too late for any climbing. More wave hands in clouds. Bill who is a no-nonsense numbers kinda guy had been getting a bit vexed by determining our exact location. So, once the visibility improved a bit we got out the map and compass and did some old fashioned triangulation to validate our GPS readings, which were close enough for jazz. It was kinda rewarding, not to mention good practice; to utilize the old skills. Once that was settled all of the crew except for myself went for another hike and actually ran into the only other party in the area; an older couple in their seventies who were camped in the next valley down from us. It is hearting to think that we may have several decades left to play at this game. We had known that they were in the region from what our pilot had told us, but didn’t really think that we would see them at all, considering the scale of the area. By late afternoon conditions had closed in again with low clouds and intermittent rain.
92-J/12
It rained off and on over the night and into the damp and dreary morning of day seven. It was so dismal we didn’t even think of moving, although we had our gear prepared and packed the night before to make an attempt on the North Ridge of Obelia. This was supposed to be our last full day and the vast majority of it was spent sequestered in our tents. We took advantage of brief lulls in the precipitation for latrine breaks and for preparing meals and coffee, but for the most part we were tent bound. At least in some of our minds, an unsettling kernel of thought started creeping closer to the front of our cortexes… Our helicopter was scheduled to extract us the following morning. We knew that they needed about eight hundred metres or so of visibility to safely fly and land. Many times throughout the day and night it was well less than that. So with this considered there was a fair to middlin’ chance that we would not be picked up on schedule. From my own personal experience on several occasions, I have been pinned down by mountain weather for many days on end. This was not a prospect we really wanted to contemplate. It was a reality that we needed to be prepared for, but one that we couldn’t influence. In planning the trip I had baked in one day of wiggle room for this type of thing, but not a day more. Because of the remoteness of the area, and at least one serious and highly problematic creek crossing there is no real practical alternative to walk out, and in addition we would have to concern ourselves with rationing what little food we had left before long
High water risin’, the shacks are slidin’ down
Folks lose their possessions—folks are leaving town
– High Water, Bob Dylan
There had been some promising clear patches overnight where we could see the stars, but Saturday morning, day eight, broke much like the day before. We were socked in. The clouds hung down to the glacier and pretty much a constant rain was falling. It had rained so much that the nice sand we had camped on had become water logged to a great extent. Bill and Diane’s tent was hit the worst by this. As Bill put it “ The tent doesn’t leak, it’s just that water is coming in” Those of us that saw it will never get the image of a Walter White lookalike standing in the rain in his boxer shorts, digging a trench with an ice axe out of our minds… Finally at around zero eight hundred we tried to raise our chopper guy on the Sat phone. After a couple of attempts we got through. He said that another pilot was already at the airport getting the Bell 407 ready for our pick-up. We discussed the local conditions, and he felt it was still a go for a ten hundred time. He said we may hear the helicopter approaching and leaving again but to hang in there as the pilot may have to ‘work the layers’ to get to us. We were to call back at noon if we hadn’t been picked up. So with that news we decided to break camp and ferry our gear back down to the landing site. We had two hours. The other thought in our minds now was… what if he can’t make it through? Then we would be faced with the prospect of setting back up our soggy tents and gear in the rain, and waiting until the following day or even longer perhaps. We didn’t relish this thought at all. The two hours passed in a flash, but we were all down at the LZ with our gear on time. So now with nothing to do we just stood around in the rain looking at each other, waiting… none of us held out much hope; but at about ten fifteen, there was the unmistakable whup, whup, whup of a helicopter coming up the valley and out of the mist…
“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life”
― Jack Kerouac, On the Road
Credits
Soundtrack:
The Log Drivers Waltz – Wade Hemsworth
Loaded for Bear *– The Amboy Dukes
The Coffee Song** – Hilliard/Miles, Frank Sinatra
Electricity in my Bones* – High Plains Drifters
Teach Your Children – Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young
Cassidy – Grateful Dead
By the Numbers *- John Coltrane
High Water – Bob Dylan
Green Haze – Miles Davis
Cloud Hands (slow) – Silk Orchestra
*also appears in the television series Breaking Bad
** also appears in The Quantum, The Coffee Pot and the Rope
Coffee: JJ Bean
Breakfast Burgers: Mile One Eating House
Scotch: Laphroaig
I.P.A.: Lone Wolf, Fernie Brewing Company
Aviation: Blackcomb
Most Used Gear Award: Black Diamond
Computer and Inter-webby stuff: Basecamp Web Solutions
The truth itself does not have any name on it. And each man has to find it for himself, I think.
-John Coltrane