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Gannett Peak - Wyoming - USA Day 3 - Approach to Base Camp |
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Day 3: Approach to Base Camp.
We had a lazy morning and only set out at10:15am. We left 3 days
worth of food under some rocks near where we had camped that we could pick
up on the way back. No use taking all that weight up to the top of
Bonney Pass just to bring it all back down again. Getting to the top of Bonney Pass was no small feat. It was a long, hard, snowy uphill, with patches of rock where we had to remove our crampons and climb over boulders. In some areas the snow was so soft we would sink in up to our hips. With lots of gear on and a heavy pack it's not easy getting yourself out of a snowy hole. The going was very slow and we took several long rests on the way up. Even though we left some food at the bottom our packs were still all around 45 and 60 pounds each. At one stage we donned our rain gear as we thought a dark cloud heading our way might just wet us. As it turned out the cloud dissipated before it reached us. That was the only real scare of bad weather we had the whole trip.
We decided to go up the rock slide of Bonney Pass as the snow was so soft that the going
was very slow. The last section on the right of Bonney Pass we used
crampons again. The view over the Titcomb Basin from up there was
magnificent.
We got to the top of Bonney Pass at 4:30pm. Robert and I set up camp in one of
the rock shelters after clearing a bit of snow out of it. John found
another rock shelter nearby and set his tent up there. The wind
was blowing with force but the sky was blue and clear. After a warm
dinner and getting our packs ready for summit day we got to bed at 7:30pm. Note: Bonney Pass is at 13,000 ft. The summit is only 804 ft higher. This
is a very high base camp. Fortunately none of us were feeling the
effects of the thin air. |
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