#donnerpeak

2/28/16

Having done another stint in Thailand, it felt crazy to jump right back into being in the snow the following weekend. On my first weekend back in the states, I took the opportunity to take the next level of snow/ice/glacier climbing class from Sierra Mountaineering Club. I had taken the level one class in May of 2014, and was finally excited to take on some steeper snow. After taking the time to learn and practice various techniques on Saturday, on Sunday, we took on Donner Peak.

The short hike in.

Donner is a relatively simple objective that I had never really considered doing. It’s not on the SPS or OGUL lists, and is pretty short. But it does have a steep north side, with a very short approach, which is perfect for learning. The group met off of Donner Pass Road around 8am and headed out soon after. At the base of the climb, the outing leader from SMC, Brad, talked us through the route. We split up into three separate groups, which would all climb steep routes near each other, but on slightly different sections of the face.

Our group and the next group over starting up the first pitch.

I paired up with two others: Steve and Susie. The day before, I had only ever been in a group of two, so I figured it was a good opportunity to try out working in a rope team of three. The climbing was fairly straightforward. The snow was pretty soft, so it was very easy to kick very solid steps, but we never post-holed too much. Susie led the first pitch. Our rope was 60m, and we estimated we’d need three pitches to get us to the top, which would be perfect — so that we’d all get a chance leading. Steve then led the second pitch, and I led the third. We all worked well together, doing our best to help each other manage the rope, etc.

Between pitches.

During my pitch, Brad easily pulled out one of the snow pickets that I had placed. It was a great lesson in just deep you have to place them, given how soft the snow was. I made sure to bury the following ones much deeper, which took forever, but was good practice. At the top of my pitch, we were definitely still at least a full pitch away from the top of the face. Instead of setting continuing on from the top of my pitch, since this was a relatively gentle section, we all walked up together another fifty feet before starting the last pitch. This one was definitely the spiciest, but Susie did a great job leading it. I followed last, and definitely didn’t mind being on top rope for the last section (or having the steps that they had already kicked for me).

Steve headed up the last pitch.

My group hanging out at the belay station Susie made at the top of the the last pitch.

At the top of the face, we met up with the group that had been immediately to the right of us, and we all walked up to the summit together — another 15 minutes of walking with a bit of scrambling. We took the time to enjoy a snack at the summit while pointing out and naming the other peaks around us. The last group still hadn’t shown up, but they were with another leader from SMC, so Brad wasn’t very concerned. Shortly after, we headed off the summit and started retreating down an easier slope, instead of returning down the face. At the base, we were able to see the last group following behind us and Brad waited for them to catch up as the rest of us returned to the cars. At the cars, we debriefed before all saying goodbye. The whole climb was a great exercise/practice for hopefully many more awesome climbs to come.

Last stretch to the summit.