We started encountering snow after a few hours, and the trail got a lot steeper. This is me on my way to Helen Lake, at which we arrived after about 4 hours:
This is (from left) Gary, Ed, and me with Ed's tent at Lake Helen, where it was very crowded, and everybody was camping on the small dirt section instead of on the snow:
We all felt a little light-headed because of the elevation and the sun blowing down on our heads; we went to bed as soon as the sun set, and got back up at 2 a.m. to head up the mountain. The early start guarantees the snow to be hard, so you walk on it with crampons and ice axe instead of sliding down on the snow. The top is still over 4,000 feet away, and the ascent is very steep, with an average of 45 degrees (100% slope....); the pictures give a little bit of an impression, but not quite (this is me at the red banks):
The sunrise is magnificent, you can see the silhouette of the triangular mountain in the Trinity mountain range in the west:
After reaching the Red Banks, the wind really started blowing hard, so we had to cover up and wear goggles. Step by step by slow step, we made it over Misery Hill and could see the summit, always a good feeling:
With the sun still shining, we made it to the top at 14,192 feet (4322 m) in about 5.5 hours and enjoyed the views. The clouds started moving in and it became overcast, so we couldn't glisade down. After a brutal climb down we picked up Gary at base camp and were able to glisade towards Horse Camp. I was very happy to have made it again, and who knows, maybe it wasn't the last time, as Ed mentioned on the drive home...... Thanks to Ed for the pics, mine are coming up.
