RAM
08-10-2009, 07:04 PM
Last album. Hope you enjoyed. Aaron wrote a letter to a guide we keep meeting up there. It tells the story
Alasdair,
Hey It's Aaron Ramras. My dad Ram and I are the Colorado father son team who
travel out every July and always seem to run into you (Baker and Boston Basin in
08 and Boston Basin again this year). If you remember, you gave us your contact
information this year in Boston Basin. Upon returning home a few days ago I
stumbled upon your card while unpacking and took a look at your websight.
Absolutely wonderful photography!!! Very cool stuff! And I was surprised to see
that it seems we crossed paths again this year without even realizing it...
While reading your story and looking at the pictures and dates from "Broken
Bones and Thunderstorms" on your websight, I recognized your green tent as the
one our group quietly passed on the mix up arm around 7 PM, on the 25th of July,
with the storm fully on. Crazy stuff!
So our story, days 20 through 22 of our trip, begins with a couple of friends
from California joining Ram and I for a two night trip up to Cache Col starting
on the late eve of the 25th. Our agenda was to climb the South Route on
Formidable and then east face of Mix Up ( I believe you recommended the gully
east of Gunsight to us. Ram climbed it via Gunsight in 1994 and 1995. Thanks!)
It rained steadily as we packed in the parking lot but despite the ominous
clouds and the rolling thunder, our motivated friends from Cali pushed us to
start up the hill despite our instincts and experience with Cascade weather. As
the four of us arrived at Cascade Pass, we encountered Lucy the ranger,
accompanying an older man who seemed rather unsteady and pail and was carrying a
heavy pack. He was clearly very badly shaken and seemed to be in shock, quite
understandably. Lucy informed us that a fall had occured on the Mix-Up arm and a
rescue effort was under way although the thunderstorms were prohibiting
helocopters from approaching. We offered our assistance and shelter but were
informed that somebody else had already provided the injured climber with
shelter and was staying with them until the evacuation could be performed. What
an act of kindness, I remember thinking! At this point the thunder was growing
louder, yet our friends enthusiasm and drive overroad our skepticism and we
pushed, perhaps foolishly, upward toward our destination at Cache Col.
As we reached the first stream, the clouds flooded out of the valley over
Cascade Pass and the steady rains began. Some of us counted 6 seconds between
the thunder and lightning, while others counted just 3. Regardless it was quite
disconcerting either way, as I'm sure you noticed. On the way up we passed a
ranger who was headed down. I did not recognize her but I'm sure you know who
she is?? I inquired as to the progress of the rescue and offered what little
assistance we could provide, yet she told us that the airlift would have to take
place the next day but that a pair of climbers was accompanying the injured
climber for the night. She expressed very obvious appreciation that somebody had
been able to provide shelter for the injured climber. The rain lightened when we
reached the mix up arm and saw a green tent which we assumed was the tent the
injured climber was staying in. We quietly passed the tent as not to create any
disturbance, as we heard voices. I confirmed with Ram that this tent was in fact
the same one as in your picture on your websight. So it seems we just missed
meeting each other once again. Both of us would be very interested to hear
details as to the climber and if everything went smoothly throughout the night
and with he evacuation??? And a flooded tent?! YIKES! And Craig only had a Bivy
with him? Double YIKES! How long did you find him before the storms? How long
had it been since his fall?
Once over the Mix up arm, the rains lightened and the thunderheads passed. We
arrived at Cache Col to find the good campsight up and left of the glacier
occupied. We instead wandered up right from the col to the top of the ridge and
found a reasonable sight for two shelters. The next day we were up and hiking by
5 AM for Formidable. We passed upwards of 5 tents at Kool-aid Lake, and Ram
commented on it being perhaps the most crowded weekend he had ever seen in the
Cascades in his travels since 1992! Red ledge was still in fairly good
condition, and offered easy passage with crampons early in the morning. We were
blessed with excpetional weather on the trip up the Middle Cascade Glacier and
around the back side of Formidable. After ascending heather ledges we began to
ascend the steep snowfield, and with uncertainties as to where the route went,
we guessed on the most prominantly looking gully. We encountered a moderately
challenging moat that required 15 feet of low 5th class climbing to gain access
to the upper gullies.After negociating the moat we wandered around searching for
the obvious line and found nothing that struck us as well traveled. Eventually
we decided to remain in our gully and ascended third and fourth class heather
ledges up and rightward to as far as we could see. The ledges lead us to the
crest of the East Ridge, which offered very exciting and exposed class 3
scrambling toward the summit! We encountered one rappel into the prominant notch
seperating the east ridge from the final summit pyramid. Uncomfortable with
rapping on the two pieces of webbing we found, I managed to weave down a complex
yet fairly moderate downclimb into the notch and we proceeded on steep fourth
class up to the summit. Absolutely wonderful variation to the South Route! On
decent we discovered the actual route which was far more direct than we
anticipated. Have you climbed Formidable? If so what was your experience? It
took us 9 hours to reach the summit from Cache Col yet only 3 hours to descend
to the bottom of the Middle Cascade Glacier from the summit.
Once off of the Middle Cascade Glacier, early on the traverse back to red ledge,
the thunderheads once again rolled over the hills above, this time coming from
the east. As I'm sure you are aware, the beginning of this traverse is a trail
carved into steep dirt on the side of the hill with lots of boulders and rocks
scattered along the hillside. Ram had proceeded ahead of the three of us since
he was moving slowly on his old knees. While the other two and I rested and ate,
we saw the skies open far above, and we watched in awe as the hail storm quickly
approached. When it reached us, we crouched on the hillside as the hail came
down as violently as I've ever seen it in the Cascades. I remember feeling quite
fortunate to have a helmet on! I covered my ears with my hands as each stone
that hit a spot of bare skin stung painfully for several seconds. As we crouched
together, we watched as the surrounding hillsides seemed to melt away. Several
dozen little mudslides came rushing down above and all around us, accompanied by
rocks the size of basketballs tumbling down the hillside with stunning speed and
force. The thunder was some of the loudest and most intimidating I've ever
heard, or at least it seemed so at the time! Quickly recognizing that the trail
was an unsafe place to be, we scrambled down underneath a huge, conveniently
placed boulder and huddled together for warmth as the hillsides around us flash
flooded. As we sat in the safety of our rock blockade, we wondered helplessly if
Ram was ok? We could see him still moving accross the hillside in the distance.
It was incredible to watch, as the storm progressed and as the trail was wiped
out before our eyes. Boulders the size of lawn chairs began to tumble down the
hillside as the hail turned to a steady rain. Although only lasting about 10
minutes in length, the storm was stunningly impressive and powerful. The Middle
Cascade Glacier below had huge rivers of mud streaming onto it. Once the storm
cleared, we proceeded on the muddy remains of the trail and found Ram, who
described flash flooding even more impressive than that which we had seen! The
Cascades rushing down the heather slopes under the snowfields were absolutely
breathtaking, and a brilliant reminder of why we come back to these dangerous
places that hacks like us have no business being in! We met the group of folks
who were the partners of Craig. They claimed to not really know him well and
that Craig was supposed to catch them the night before. Their camp had been
flooded badly in the hail storm. We found that the snow bridge at Red Ledge had
been nearly destroyed by the storm, yet we found an alternative decent via a
mote dive and a dynamic move over a large moat onto the snow below. The snow
bridge we had crossed just ten hours early had melted from a couple of feet
thick to around 8 inches!!! Unreal.
The climb up from Kool Aid Lake to Chache Col offered perhaps the most beautiful
moments of the entire three week trip! The skies swirled with clouds as a
rainbow spanned the entire landscape above Magic and Hurry Up. The sunset over
Johannesburg was nothing short of spectacular. We stumbled into camp 15 and a
half hours after departing that morning, everybody tired and soaked. Yet we
could not go right to sleep, for it would have been unacceptable to miss the
incredible light show that was happening all around us. Truly a magical evening!
The next morning we taped our blisters and forced our battered bodies out of our
sleeping bags for one last day before flying back to Colorado. We broke camp and
proceeded down the Cache Col glacier to the notch to the left of Gunsight where
we found an easy moat crossing. We found the backside traverse into Gunsight to
be quite manageble. Is that how you approach the east face now? We left our full
packs in the notch and proceeded up Mix-Up's east face, roping up for the first
and final pitches. Absolutely Spectacular! One of the highest quality moderate
scrambles I've ever done! I see why you recommended it. A wonderful finale to
another wonderful three weeks in the North Cascades. While descending the
Cascade Pass trail we were baffled as we encountered not a soul. When we arrived
at the car we were one of five cars left in the parking lot. Our questions were
answered when we found on our windshield the notice that the Cascade River Road
had been washed out and was closed to upward traffic. WOW! Must have been one
hell of a storm down low on the 25th. We drove down the mostly repaired road,
and camped along a river before flying home to Colorado early the next moring.
Overall a wonderful two night trip! Not surprising to find out we almost ran
into each other again! Would love to hear any interesting details you have from
the experience. It was great seeing you again this year. Hope to run into you
again in the future!
http://picasaweb.google.com/aramv14/FormidableAndMixUp#
Alasdair,
Hey It's Aaron Ramras. My dad Ram and I are the Colorado father son team who
travel out every July and always seem to run into you (Baker and Boston Basin in
08 and Boston Basin again this year). If you remember, you gave us your contact
information this year in Boston Basin. Upon returning home a few days ago I
stumbled upon your card while unpacking and took a look at your websight.
Absolutely wonderful photography!!! Very cool stuff! And I was surprised to see
that it seems we crossed paths again this year without even realizing it...
While reading your story and looking at the pictures and dates from "Broken
Bones and Thunderstorms" on your websight, I recognized your green tent as the
one our group quietly passed on the mix up arm around 7 PM, on the 25th of July,
with the storm fully on. Crazy stuff!
So our story, days 20 through 22 of our trip, begins with a couple of friends
from California joining Ram and I for a two night trip up to Cache Col starting
on the late eve of the 25th. Our agenda was to climb the South Route on
Formidable and then east face of Mix Up ( I believe you recommended the gully
east of Gunsight to us. Ram climbed it via Gunsight in 1994 and 1995. Thanks!)
It rained steadily as we packed in the parking lot but despite the ominous
clouds and the rolling thunder, our motivated friends from Cali pushed us to
start up the hill despite our instincts and experience with Cascade weather. As
the four of us arrived at Cascade Pass, we encountered Lucy the ranger,
accompanying an older man who seemed rather unsteady and pail and was carrying a
heavy pack. He was clearly very badly shaken and seemed to be in shock, quite
understandably. Lucy informed us that a fall had occured on the Mix-Up arm and a
rescue effort was under way although the thunderstorms were prohibiting
helocopters from approaching. We offered our assistance and shelter but were
informed that somebody else had already provided the injured climber with
shelter and was staying with them until the evacuation could be performed. What
an act of kindness, I remember thinking! At this point the thunder was growing
louder, yet our friends enthusiasm and drive overroad our skepticism and we
pushed, perhaps foolishly, upward toward our destination at Cache Col.
As we reached the first stream, the clouds flooded out of the valley over
Cascade Pass and the steady rains began. Some of us counted 6 seconds between
the thunder and lightning, while others counted just 3. Regardless it was quite
disconcerting either way, as I'm sure you noticed. On the way up we passed a
ranger who was headed down. I did not recognize her but I'm sure you know who
she is?? I inquired as to the progress of the rescue and offered what little
assistance we could provide, yet she told us that the airlift would have to take
place the next day but that a pair of climbers was accompanying the injured
climber for the night. She expressed very obvious appreciation that somebody had
been able to provide shelter for the injured climber. The rain lightened when we
reached the mix up arm and saw a green tent which we assumed was the tent the
injured climber was staying in. We quietly passed the tent as not to create any
disturbance, as we heard voices. I confirmed with Ram that this tent was in fact
the same one as in your picture on your websight. So it seems we just missed
meeting each other once again. Both of us would be very interested to hear
details as to the climber and if everything went smoothly throughout the night
and with he evacuation??? And a flooded tent?! YIKES! And Craig only had a Bivy
with him? Double YIKES! How long did you find him before the storms? How long
had it been since his fall?
Once over the Mix up arm, the rains lightened and the thunderheads passed. We
arrived at Cache Col to find the good campsight up and left of the glacier
occupied. We instead wandered up right from the col to the top of the ridge and
found a reasonable sight for two shelters. The next day we were up and hiking by
5 AM for Formidable. We passed upwards of 5 tents at Kool-aid Lake, and Ram
commented on it being perhaps the most crowded weekend he had ever seen in the
Cascades in his travels since 1992! Red ledge was still in fairly good
condition, and offered easy passage with crampons early in the morning. We were
blessed with excpetional weather on the trip up the Middle Cascade Glacier and
around the back side of Formidable. After ascending heather ledges we began to
ascend the steep snowfield, and with uncertainties as to where the route went,
we guessed on the most prominantly looking gully. We encountered a moderately
challenging moat that required 15 feet of low 5th class climbing to gain access
to the upper gullies.After negociating the moat we wandered around searching for
the obvious line and found nothing that struck us as well traveled. Eventually
we decided to remain in our gully and ascended third and fourth class heather
ledges up and rightward to as far as we could see. The ledges lead us to the
crest of the East Ridge, which offered very exciting and exposed class 3
scrambling toward the summit! We encountered one rappel into the prominant notch
seperating the east ridge from the final summit pyramid. Uncomfortable with
rapping on the two pieces of webbing we found, I managed to weave down a complex
yet fairly moderate downclimb into the notch and we proceeded on steep fourth
class up to the summit. Absolutely wonderful variation to the South Route! On
decent we discovered the actual route which was far more direct than we
anticipated. Have you climbed Formidable? If so what was your experience? It
took us 9 hours to reach the summit from Cache Col yet only 3 hours to descend
to the bottom of the Middle Cascade Glacier from the summit.
Once off of the Middle Cascade Glacier, early on the traverse back to red ledge,
the thunderheads once again rolled over the hills above, this time coming from
the east. As I'm sure you are aware, the beginning of this traverse is a trail
carved into steep dirt on the side of the hill with lots of boulders and rocks
scattered along the hillside. Ram had proceeded ahead of the three of us since
he was moving slowly on his old knees. While the other two and I rested and ate,
we saw the skies open far above, and we watched in awe as the hail storm quickly
approached. When it reached us, we crouched on the hillside as the hail came
down as violently as I've ever seen it in the Cascades. I remember feeling quite
fortunate to have a helmet on! I covered my ears with my hands as each stone
that hit a spot of bare skin stung painfully for several seconds. As we crouched
together, we watched as the surrounding hillsides seemed to melt away. Several
dozen little mudslides came rushing down above and all around us, accompanied by
rocks the size of basketballs tumbling down the hillside with stunning speed and
force. The thunder was some of the loudest and most intimidating I've ever
heard, or at least it seemed so at the time! Quickly recognizing that the trail
was an unsafe place to be, we scrambled down underneath a huge, conveniently
placed boulder and huddled together for warmth as the hillsides around us flash
flooded. As we sat in the safety of our rock blockade, we wondered helplessly if
Ram was ok? We could see him still moving accross the hillside in the distance.
It was incredible to watch, as the storm progressed and as the trail was wiped
out before our eyes. Boulders the size of lawn chairs began to tumble down the
hillside as the hail turned to a steady rain. Although only lasting about 10
minutes in length, the storm was stunningly impressive and powerful. The Middle
Cascade Glacier below had huge rivers of mud streaming onto it. Once the storm
cleared, we proceeded on the muddy remains of the trail and found Ram, who
described flash flooding even more impressive than that which we had seen! The
Cascades rushing down the heather slopes under the snowfields were absolutely
breathtaking, and a brilliant reminder of why we come back to these dangerous
places that hacks like us have no business being in! We met the group of folks
who were the partners of Craig. They claimed to not really know him well and
that Craig was supposed to catch them the night before. Their camp had been
flooded badly in the hail storm. We found that the snow bridge at Red Ledge had
been nearly destroyed by the storm, yet we found an alternative decent via a
mote dive and a dynamic move over a large moat onto the snow below. The snow
bridge we had crossed just ten hours early had melted from a couple of feet
thick to around 8 inches!!! Unreal.
The climb up from Kool Aid Lake to Chache Col offered perhaps the most beautiful
moments of the entire three week trip! The skies swirled with clouds as a
rainbow spanned the entire landscape above Magic and Hurry Up. The sunset over
Johannesburg was nothing short of spectacular. We stumbled into camp 15 and a
half hours after departing that morning, everybody tired and soaked. Yet we
could not go right to sleep, for it would have been unacceptable to miss the
incredible light show that was happening all around us. Truly a magical evening!
The next morning we taped our blisters and forced our battered bodies out of our
sleeping bags for one last day before flying back to Colorado. We broke camp and
proceeded down the Cache Col glacier to the notch to the left of Gunsight where
we found an easy moat crossing. We found the backside traverse into Gunsight to
be quite manageble. Is that how you approach the east face now? We left our full
packs in the notch and proceeded up Mix-Up's east face, roping up for the first
and final pitches. Absolutely Spectacular! One of the highest quality moderate
scrambles I've ever done! I see why you recommended it. A wonderful finale to
another wonderful three weeks in the North Cascades. While descending the
Cascade Pass trail we were baffled as we encountered not a soul. When we arrived
at the car we were one of five cars left in the parking lot. Our questions were
answered when we found on our windshield the notice that the Cascade River Road
had been washed out and was closed to upward traffic. WOW! Must have been one
hell of a storm down low on the 25th. We drove down the mostly repaired road,
and camped along a river before flying home to Colorado early the next moring.
Overall a wonderful two night trip! Not surprising to find out we almost ran
into each other again! Would love to hear any interesting details you have from
the experience. It was great seeing you again this year. Hope to run into you
again in the future!
http://picasaweb.google.com/aramv14/FormidableAndMixUp#