Little Tahoma Summit

[Rob]

Got up Little Tahoma last week. outstanding climb. I have a full trip report in an 18 page illustrated PDF if anyone wants me to e-mail it to them. this version will be short.

General Stats:
• Dates: 06/30/14-07/1/14
• One Way distance: 7.6 miles
• Elevation Change: 3,861 feet to 11,138 feet (7,238 feet)

Little T is the third tallest peak in the state. The route we took required two glaciers to be crossed and then a scramble up some very steep, extraordinarily loose rock to complete the summit bid. Most of the trip was pretty standard stuff, so I'll just post the last bit as that was the interesting part:

Day 2, Leg 3: Base of Rock Climb to Summit
• Time: 7:55 AM to ~10:30 AM (Actual arrival times varied from 10:10 to 10:45) 2Hrs 35 Min
• Distance: 0.25 Miles
• Elevation gain: 10,430 feet to 11,138 Feet (708 feet)
We were 4 hours and 50 min into a summit bid that was estimated to be around 6-8 hours and only had a quarter mile of distance and 700 feet of gain to go. We were confident that we would be on top in 60-90 min. So after taking 5 min to eat, apply sun screen and drink, we started the final push. We had seen boot tracks up the Mountain and had pretty much been following them. At this point however the boot track took a different route up a gulley parallel to the one that our route indicated we should take. The Climb Leader solicited opinions on which route to take from the team. The route his research showed took a slightly less steep snow slope into a gulley. The issue was that if one were to fall on this slope, the run out would shoot you right down the steepest part of the Whitman Glacier. We decided to go with the steeper route as this was where the other boot track went, as well as the steeper route had a more attractive run out. In retrospect he felt that the route in his book would have been preferable to the one we chose -but both routes were doable.

I had been told to expect this peak to be crumbly. I was not to be disappointed. The rock looks to be some kind of aggregate or as one person on the climb suggested, a poor attempt at making concrete. It was not uncommon for me to lightly put my hand on what looked to be a solid piece of rock only to have it fall off in my hands. The terrain was steep (700 feet in ¼ of a mile) and we were never more than a few feet away from a decent sized cliff. Some folks were pretty confident and skittered up the peak. Others were a bit unsettled with the loose rocks and took a slower more measured pace to the top. Once to the top, there was a somewhat exposed traverse to the summit block. the Climb leader set up a line for the teams to tie into with Prussic’s to limit exposure in this section. In the end, we all arrived on the summit somewhere between 10:10 and 10:45 AM. It took us an incredible 2.5 hours to do the last 700 feet, slowing us to a painful 280 feet per hour ascent rate! It was very nice to see that all of us made the summit though! This is the 3rd highest peak in the state (behind Rainer and Adams) and due to the glaciers, loose rocks and weather, there is a very small window of May to Mid July that most people climb this Mountain so we were very happy to get it knocked off the list!

From the summit we could see 7 volcanos: To the South, Mount Jefferson, Mount Hood, Mount Adams, and Mount Saint Helens. To the West looming over us was Mount Rainer, and to the north we could see Mount Baker and Glacier Peak. We were also able to clearly see both Camp Muir and the Ingram Flats Camp on Rainer at the same time.

The weather was clear and sunny with temps in the upper 40’s to low 50’s and winds around 5 mph with occasional gusts to 10. One could not have asked for better weather.

The decent was uneventful other than one of our tents blew away while we were on the summit! They were able to recover the rain fly and footprint, but the tent, sleeping bags, etc were all lost to the mountain.

[swanny]

Excellent! Seen a few other TR's from Little T in the past week or two.

[Rob]

Have you done this one?  Pretty cool peak

Sulfide Glacier on Shuksan is up next week!

[swanny]

Have you done this one?  Pretty cool peak

Sulfide Glacier on Shuksan is up next week!

I haven't yet. I keep looking at it and telling myself I need to get up it as I see it nearly everyday (along with Rainier) on my way to work. My next peak I want to get up is Shuksan via the Fischer Chimneys.

[Special T]

Very cool!  Thanks for sharing the story. I have not been to the top of Little T but summited Big T in in 96. Climbing is awesome and there is nothing like a good clear summit day.

[Rob]

Belated congrats on Big T, that's on my list as a late season climb or for next spring.

It's worth the trouble to do it.  Very interesting peak.

Mt Shuksan is canceled for me.  I have a corneal abrasion on one of my eyes that has become freshly wounded and pretty much incapacitated me for the next few days.  I'm bummed!

Oh well, I will have to talk them into going back and doing Fischer chimney's like you did Swanny.  that route looks more interesting overall.

[swanny]

Belated congrats on Big T, that's on my list as a late season climb or for next spring.

It's worth the trouble to do it.  Very interesting peak.

Mt Shuksan is canceled for me.  I have a corneal abrasion on one of my eyes that has become freshly wounded and pretty much incapacitated me for the next few days.  I'm bummed!

Oh well, I will have to talk them into going back and doing Fischer chimney's like you did Swanny.  that route looks more interesting overall.

Sorry to hear your trip had to be cancelled, major bummer and hope you recover quick!

I'm planning for Sunday/Monday of Labor Day for Shuksan

[netcoyote]

Trekked up Little Tahoma many years ago. Worst rock I think I was ever on. Maybe worse on north ridge of Adams but they are both bad. A few years after I climbed it, a big chunk of the west side summit tore off, don't remember if they said it shortened the summit.
Looks like you have a pretty solid team. Are you summiting with the same group?

[smg id=12388]

[Rob]

That is a great photo!

I recall hearing about the slide, but I do not believe it took any of the summit block with it.

It is a nasty bit of loose rock, that's for sure!

[netcoyote]

This is cool....I've had a picture that I took on one of my earlier climbs. Used 35mm slides and got it printed out but over the years I had forgot where the picture was taken. When I looked through your pics it caught my attention. Look at the similarity of one of your pics to this one. Must have snapped mine on the way up to Little Tahoma, or coming back. Not much changed on the mountain by the looks of it.

[smg id=12389]

[Rob]

Without a doubt, little Tahoma route!  Very cool.  Must be something about that spot that inspires folks to snap a photo...

[hooker]

Way to cool!!!

[pope]

Good stuff! Never did climb that one. Should probably give it a whack, while I can still walk!