South Sister 6/20/06

Got in a real nice climb with my cross-the-driveway neighbor Jason. We set out hoping to shred the west face of Brokentop from the Greenlakes trailhead off the Mt. Bachelor highway, the preferred approach for the saddle between the two mountains. Upon close inspection however, the southeast flank of the south sister looked too good to pass up, and we ended up climbing part of the way up to come down one of the more fun routes I've done on the south sister. The approach is about twice as long as the standard moraine lake trail, but the descent more than makes up for it, with some slightly steeper pitches, some excellent natural windlips, and an extraordinary traverse of the lava fields found on that part of the mountain. There was still plenty of snow to navigate around the sentinels and pillars, but enough had melted to reveal the vast islands of obsidian and other igneous rock formations. We stumbled upon a bit of a shortcut on the way out, a welcome surprise, as while the descent is more fun it's much shorter, and you must walk most of the way out.

Click on the thumbnails below to see some photos, click the window again to close.

 

 
Eagle Cap Sep 07
LBS-Mt.Baker Feb 07
Jamaica January 06
Mt. Adams July 06
South Sister June 06
Montana March 06
Kauai Feb 06