San_Juans_01

San Juans    August 17-23,  2001


 

Friday, August 17, 2001

This years backpack into the San Juans was scheduled for the later part of August, usually a good weather period for the north-central mountains. We were planning to climb Jagged, Turret and Pigeon this year. The new Roach guide to the Thirteener's described both the approach and climb for Jagged as tough.

Friday afternoon,  Kris, Stu and I took off early, and met up at our place. We were on the road by around 3PM and were pleased with the lack of traffic on US285 for a Friday afternoon. The early escape worked. We had a catfish fish-fry at Twin Forks. We stopped by the Comfort Inn and Reserved a room for Kris for Saturday night, as she could only join us for Saturday. We got to Durango before 10PM and checked into the Travel Lodge at 29th and Main Street.

Saturday, August 18, 2001

We woke early, probably too early. We were all ready to go by 6AM, so we went out for a waffle & egg breakfast. Darlene was waiting for us when  we returned to the motel. Getting on to the train all went smooth and before long we were chugging along the Animas River at 18 MPH. There were about 20 hikers getting off at Needleton, but we were the only hikers going into the Noname drainage. Eckhart had talked about belaying the Noname crossing, so we were not sure what to expect at Ruby and Noname creeks (given all the recent rain). As it turned out, Ruby could be crossed by jumping rocks and Noname only required  sneekers and poles. The route finding was  helped by the GPS route. Kris had to return after lunch at Ruby Creek, but we were able to talk with her over the radios until she was back to the Needleton flagstop. We had several hours of trudging uphill in the trees before the valley opened up at the old Miner's Cabin. We had a fine break there, enjoying views of the valley and Jagged.


Crossing Ruby Creek

Looking up Noname Creek

At the old Miner's Cabin

View of Jagged

Sunday, August 19, 2001

We had a good campsite Saturday night at about 10,800'. The weather started out clear on Sunday morning, but it was to be the last of the clear skies we would see until our walk out. By 11:00AM, it was clouding up. We got off trail for a part of the climb to the upper valley and fought hard with the willows. Eventually, we did get up to the camp sites at 11,800'. It started to rain as we walked into the campsite. We spent some time under the tarp and decided to stay at 11,800' for the night.

 

Monday, August 20, 2001

This was the big day. I woke at 3:50AM, in anticipation of the 4AM alarm. While bumbling around in the dark heating some water, the rain began again. It wasn't long before we all retreated back into the tents for a bit more rest. I was half awake at 7AM when I heard Darlene rousting us. "It may be clear enough to climb!" So out of the tent we went. We packed up the whole camp for two reasons. A porcupine had eaten through the trekking pole straps and was munching on the tent straps. We figured he may munch all day long if anything was left out. The weather still looked marginal and our plan was to cache the camp at 12,200 for a second attempt at Jagged from a higher camp, if the first attempt failed.

It must have been after 9AM by the time we were at the base of the actual climb.  The clouds kept rolling by, but we started out anyway. What could it hurt to get familiar with the start of the route? At this point, I really didn't think we had much of a chance of actually summiting. The first crack wasn't bad, but the down-sloping ramp covered with ball-bearing gravel made me nervous. We just kept going. Section by section, we never really debated the weather and retreat. Darlene's description that the climb lacks handholds in several places was quite appropriate. The route winds its way all over the north face before finally arriving at the great notch. The scramble on the south face up to the summit has one or two mighty airy steps, but by the time we started the 50' chimney I was beginning to think we might just make the summit. What a climb!
 
 


 




Climbing the chimney just below Jagged's summit ridge
 

Darlene on Jagged's summit

John on Jagged summit

Stu on Jagged's summit

The Three Summiteers

Summit view to the southwest

The descent went fairly fast. There was just a bit of hail spitting every few minutes. As we got down to the first pitch, we had a mountain goat following us! Stu was concerned at one point that it would pull on our sling. It turns out, the goat showed up at camp that evening!  Just as we came off the climb and started on the traverse to the Jagged Pass saddle, the sky opened up. We hunkered down under a ledge, and watched the lightning and hail. Thank goodness we weren't high on the peak during the downpour. In 15 minutes, the storm passed and we slogged our way back to camp. We were tired and damp, but we felt we had 'snatched one from the hands of defeat'. We hauled the camp back down to 11,800' for the night.
 

Mountain goat looking down the route wondering "What's the big deal?"

Tuesday, August 21, 2001

Another day, another bowl of oatmeal.  We enjoyed a liesurely breakfast. The mountain goat and porcupine were still haunting us. Darlene was hiking out via the Noname drainage and Stu and I were hiking over the pass to Ruby Basin. The weather was still mixed, but we did not have to hike in the rain.

View of the pass to Ruby Basin seen hiking down from Jagged 11,800' camp

Looking back at Jagged from the hike up to Ruby Basin Pass

At the Ruby Basin Pass, 'you know who' in the background
 

Another parting shot of Jagged from the pass (on the right)

The Ruby Pass was a tug with full packs. It was relief to sit at the pass knowing that (for full packs)  it was all downhill from there. We were impressed by the peaks in Ruby Basin. One cragy peak right next to another. This was very much a target-rich basin. Again, the GPS map and waypoints proved to be useful. We set up camp between a 30' cliff  and a boulder. In the afternoon, we again had some rain move through. Things were begining to take on a certain permanent dampness.

Turret and Pigeon from just below the pass

Pigeon  viewed from below the Ruby Pass

Wednesday, August 22, 2001

The day began cloudy and wet. But the rain was holding off after breakfast. Darlene had warned us that the marmotts in Ruby Basin were known for eating tents and other gear, so we packed up a damp camp and hung the whole bulging glob of plastic bags off of the cliff for safe-keeping. The hike up the Turret-Pigeon saddle was a slog over wet grass and talus, but soon we found ourselves gauging the low-hanging clouds and the distance to the peaks. We choose Turret, the shorter climb, as the first objective. We cached the packs and climbed with the lumbar packs. The weather seemed threatining at one point, and we retreated down to the packs again. The cloud blew through as fast as it had arrived. Back up again! This time we got up to the summit. Without much cerimony, we  tagged the top and turned back around. We were going to attempt Pigeon, but knew our time was limited.

Pigeon from Turret SW ridge

The route up Pigeon goes down to the sounwest from the Turret-Pigeon saddle to a col on the SW ridge of Pigeon. Then around the west side of the peak to   a ridge. By the time we got to the col, the weather was looking questionable. We waited several minutes there before reluctantly turning around. It's hard to gauge the weather, but it just did not look promising for an exposed ridge. Again the hail was spitting while we made our way back down to camp. Not long after we got to camp, any doubts we may have had about turning around were were put to rest. It hailed hard for about 30 minutes! Wind, hail, what next? Snow. The snow wasn't as violent as the hail, but we were growing a bit damp and cold. Ramen noodles to the rescue. We set up the wet tent on a sloppy bed of slush. The Thermarest pads were worth their weight in gold at this point. We were in our bags reading by around 7PM and spent a long, damp night in the tent.

Turning around

John just below Turret-Pigeon saddle, Turret in view

Last good look at the Pigeon

View of Ruby Basin with Camp at the cliff
 

Staying dry in the hail

Thursday, August 23, 2001

O' glorious sun! We woke up on our exit day to a frigid morning, indeed. My boots had changed from cold and damp to frozen and rigid. The sky was , of course, cobalt blue and cloudless. The tent was enamled with a coat of ice. A hot cup of coffee felt marvelous. The sun inched its way down the mountainside at a torturously slow rate, but eventually it reached the basin floor. We walked the frozen tent over to the sunshine to soften it up for packing. We packed up the camp with pleasant thoughts of civilization. The hike down Ruby Basin was picturesque, even if the trail was a bit rough in spots. While taking a break at Ruby Lake, we could see large fish in the clear water. ( This is a place for Kevin Masten. )We did get off route at one point, rounding the bluffs just south of the basin. We retraced back toward the last GPS waypoint and were pleased to find a small cairne where the trail angled straight up hill for 30 m. Not an easy route to follow, at times.  We made it to the Needleton Bridge by 2:30PM. We had enough time to wash by the river and change some clothes. The train ride back to Durango in the open car, with sunshine, locomotive smoke and a cold Coors was absolutely great.
 

Hiking down to Ruby Lake
 
 

Back at the Needleton Bridge