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Mt. Sherman 14,040, Mt. Sheridan 13,748
4/14/2007
10 miles/3,800 vertical +/-
Jeff and Allison Valliere, Dave Hale, Kevin Lund, Scooby, Shep and Sierra
From Fourmile road 1 mile +/- from Leavick Townsite
What a great day for a re-introduction to the high mountains. It had been 4 months since I have been above 13k and 8 months since I have been above 14k. It was a bit of an awakening to say the least for both Allison and I.
We met Dave about as far up Fourmile road as we could get without fear of pulling a Jason Halladay, as none of us had snowshoes we were willing to sacrifice for the cause .
The first few miles up Sherman are very straight forward and we plodded along the road on our snowshoes, taking many a bathroom break, clothing adjustment break, food break, picture break etc…. The going was fairly slow due to all the stops, but when we were moving, Dave was setting a blazing pace. All the winter 14er bagging has kept him in amazing shape and I felt as though I was struggling to keep up for the first few miles .
Shortly after the Leavick Townsite, two fit and experienced looking guys came charging past us up the road and were quickly out of site. At the pace they were going, I was sure they would reach the summit long before us (more on that later).
Just prior to reaching the locked road closure gate at 12,000 feet (just before reaching the Dauntless mine), Dave and I discussed our options. I had pretty much concluded earlier that we would assess snow conditions when we arrived in the upper basin. As expected, there was a large cornice blocking easy passage to the Sherman/Sheridan saddle. The snow slope there also looked steeper than we were willing to chance all things considered. To top it off, the wind was absolutely howling over the SW ridge of Sherman, as evidenced by the Everest like plume of snow.
We cut a hard right heading North and followed the path of least resistance up the undulating basin and aimed for a point low on Sherman’s SE ridge, above the Sherman/White Ridge saddle. Along the way, we were surprised to see the two other guys slightly below us at the Hilltop mine. Dave and I mentioned something about how it might feel good to beat them to the top, and the race was on . At the very least it would keep us focused.
I was not sure we would get there first, as I was really sucking wind ascending the steepening slopes and breaking trail through the fresh snow . My calves were burning and my breathing was labored. I focused on maintaining a good pole/step/breathe rhythm. Who knew Sherman could put up such a challenge? It is all what you put into it I guess. Dave and I were the first ones to reach the top at 12:35pm, 4 hours after leaving the car. No records set here, but we covered the final 1,300 or so feet in a respectable time considering the snowshoes and fresh snow.
Allison and Kevin were not far behind and we basked in the warm sunshine on a perfect bluebird day. As is often the case, the summit was in a bit of a wind shadow and was perfectly calm which allowed for a long and comfortable break.
Strangely, the two guys we were “racing” up the peak failed to show. We were starting to get a little concerned when alas they appeared at the top of the SW ridge after we had been on top for nearly 45 minutes. They were moving at a snails pace and when we tried to make small talk with them, they seemed absolutely hammered. One had no eye protection whatsoever , OUCH!! Allison almost offered up her goggles, as she felt really bad for him. I guess they had a tough time battling the steep scree and snow to attain the ridge, and then were pummeled by the wind on the ridge.
We battled our way through the wind down the SW ridge toward Sheridan. The wind made the normally benign ridge seem somewhat exciting. Once at the saddle, the wind somewhat subsided and was no longer an issue.
The slog up to Sheridan looked short, but was somewhat tedious. Allison was starting to feel the altitude and I hung back with her, while Dave and Kevin waited at the summit. Once we reached the summit of Sheridan, I scratched my plan to tag Peerless and rescinded my offer to Dave to head up Horseshoe, agreeing to save that for another day. Everyone except for Dave and the dogs were coming down with a bit of a headache from being high for so long and not eating/drinking enough.
We made good time down the snowfields to the Dauntless mine. Glissading was a little difficult with the fresh snow, but Kevin managed to go pretty well on his back, head first using his legs for propulsion. This really got the dogs fired up and they pounced and pestered like only 3 herding dogs could do, quite a comical site.
It was a long slog back to the car with a headache, while somewhat bonking, but I was buoyed by the great company and the satisfaction of a long awaited perfect day in the mountains. |
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