Spent Monday and Tuesday on the north to south traverse of Mt.
Tantalus. We were a party of 3. We did a planned Bivi on Monday night near
the summit of Tantalus. Helicopter access in and out was utilized. We flew
in Monday morning to the Zenith/Tantalus col and out Wednesday afternoon from
the Haberl hut.
Tuesday night saw the first overnight freeze and crust recovery in a long
time(Haberl hut-7,000 feet elevation) there is still a lot of snow on the
ridge line, including some cornices, subsequently adding to the spice of the
endeavor! All the ice falls enroute are very active producing avalanche
results to size 3 and 4. Specifically the Rumbling glacier where no one
travels anyway. The Serratus ice fall did run in the last 24 hours.
Many gullies holding snow continue to shed rocks.
The snow travel was excellent with perfect step kicking and very stable
vertical axe self belays. No snow avalanches other than ice falls and
small micro snow patch/rock events.
On the gully descent on to the Serratus Glacier I did come across a 2 bolt
anchor complete with chain! Of the six rappels we did, on the whole
traverse, I added fresh sling to 4 of them.
Moderate southerly ridge top winds dominated the trip which helped
alleviate the debilitating heat.
Chris
Lawrence
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
CAA Professional
member
chris.lawrence@xxxxxxx
604 892-4686
mob