| Steve Dougherty ~ Oct 6, 2004 |
| A full party of twelve climbers departed the Pamelia Lake trailhead on Friday, October 1 with high hopes of summiting Oregons most elusive peak, Mt Jefferson. The climb had been postponed twice due to poor weather during the month of September. Almost two weeks of dry weather and a high freezing level preceding the climb, fostered hopes that the summit pinnacle would be snow/ice free and allow safe passage. Clear blues skies and mild temperatures were forecast for our three day summit bagging excursion. We followed the PCT south to Shale Lake where we camped and rested. Climb team member, Robyn Smith, had volunteered to prepare our two dinners and a final day breakfast. On Friday evening she whipped up a hearty Bear Creek soup with sausage and French bread. Darkness fell early in the evening and the climb team retreated to their various encampments to get some sleep in preparation for a 2:30 a.m. wakeup. A very bright moon lit the night like a street light. Scott Phillips roused the troops while leader Steve Dougherty got water boiling for warm drinks and oatmeal. The group started their approach through the trees following sections of climber trails pieced together with GPS coordinates. Kris Richardson and Scott Phillips worked as a team to keep the group on track. Kris read distance and direction from the electronic wonderment while Scott howled and pointed in the respective direction. Once out of the trees, the climb team hiked and scrambled over low angle talus slopes for much of the climb. As the group neared Red Saddle the slope steepened and the group scrambled up large rocks. The climb team was a strong energetic group and reached the Red Saddle a full hour ahead of schedule. According to John Petrie, the group fell silent as they gazed upon the traverse they were now about to cross. The majority of climbers had participated in Steve and Tom Weimers Eliot Glacier Ice School the week before and found this training tremendously valuable for the daunting task that had been laid before them. Leader, Steve Dougherty, and assistant, John Petrie, set about the task of spanning the first part of the traverse with two fixed lines. The climb team then followed making their way to the shoulder that lies below the north horn of the summit. Snow fully covered the route beyond the shoulder and Steve elected to set a third fixed line to get the group beyond the steeper section. The entire group moved to the end of this third fixed line. Steve scouted the route further and determined, based on the experience of the group, that the moderately steep snow and rock covered ground, lying between them and the north ridge would require additional fixed line to negotiate. The size of the group and the unusually large amount of fixed line required, translated into a significant amount of time. Given the shortness of this fall day and the current speed of the group, Steve was not confident that he could return the group to the Red Saddle before sunset. Steve announced the disappointing news and the group made their way back to the Red Saddle. The group started back down at 5:30 p.m., an hour and fifteen minutes before sundown. The group moved steadily down the south slope nearly reaching the trees before dark. GPS waypoints were used to navigate their way back through the trees reaching camp just before 9 p.m. Several climbers exhausted from the days exertion, headed straight for their sleeping bags, while the remainder marveled at Robyns stamina to pull together a cheesy, chicken and pasta dinner, complete with salad and chocolate chip cookies. Temperatures dropped to freezing during the night and then warmed quickly the following morning. The group enjoyed an oatmeal breakfast bar before packing up and hiking back to the trailhead. Kris Richardson led half of the group back to the trailhead via Hunts Cove while the remainder chose to follow the shorter and less steep route of the PCT. The PCT group arrived at the trailhead about 40 minutes ahead of Kriss group which had been delayed somewhat when they were blocked by marshy conditions in an off-trail shortcut. The group celebrated their "almost summit" effort by sharing a meal at The Cedars restaurant in Detroit. Since Steve had completed the summit cards in advance, he chose to amend the cards to indicate that the group had climbed to the Red Saddle and crossed the traverse rather than toss them in the garbage. The group plans to make another attempt at the summit in September of 2005. Group members were Steve Dougherty (leader), John Petrie (assistant), Gloria Petrie, Kris Richardson, Scott Phillips, Chuck Messer, Linda Bedard, Keith Hill, Rick Barry, Robyn Smith, Tim Smith, and Ken Prowse. |
| John Petrie ~ Oct 7, 2004 |
| Ah, Mt. Jefferson. I was one of the 12 climbers that failed to summit Jeff last weekend due to nothing more than lack of time. We left camp at 3:37am and reached the Red Saddle at 9:15am -- 45 minutes ahead of schedule. We only brought two ropes, which we set up to protect the Traverse. When we crossed over The Shoulder and onto the NW side of the mountain, we realized that the experience of our climbing party necessitated setting up another fixed line over to the north side of the pinnacle and up to the north ridge. Even with Kris and Scott teaming up to clean so Steve and I could set, it just took too much time. Steve, Gloria, Kris, Chuck Messer and I climbed ahead of the group just below the north ridge to check out the conditions and Steve even climbed over the ridge, but there was too much snow and ice on the pinnacle to safely proceed w/out protection. So the five of us sat there, staring at what is arguably the toughest summit to bag in Oregon, only a couple hundred feet away from pay dirt, knowing that it was doable, only to realize that it would take far too long to pull and set the ropes yet one more time. Aaaarrrrgggghh! So, we reluctantly turned tail back for the saddle, reset the fixed line, and finally started down barely an hour before sunset. After bushwacking our way back down off the south ridge and through the endless woods, we reached camp shortly before 9pm 17 ½ hours all told. Aside from our failure to summit, it was a great climb. Theres a lot of teasing going on about the Almost Summit Certificates and rightfully so! The truth of the matter is, Steve had the certificates all filled out before hand, and because the climb team worked so hard and so well together, and it was such a great accomplishment to make it as far as we did considering the overall experience of the team, he thought, What the heck; the certificates wont count for anything, but at least well all have a memento of our three beautiful days on Mt. Jefferson. Thus, the Summit Asterisk was born! ~John Petrie P.S. If The Chemeketans ever come up with a 17.95 Peaks Award, well be ready!
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| Chuck Messer ~ Oct 9, 2004 |
| This climb was one I'd always looked forward to doing and felt fortunate for the opportunity. Although we were unable to summit, this climb served as a tremendous experience and the skills gained will prove invaluable in any future attempts. I'd like to express my thanks to our very capable climb leader Steve, and his wonderful assistants John, Kris, and Scott. Special thanks also goes out to Robyn and Tim for planning and preparing some really great meals. I don't wish to add any more details of the climb itself, but instead list a few lessons learned: 1. Wearing light weight boots for the approach and carrying my heavier ones for the summit day was a good decision. A no blister experience... that's rare for me! 2. Bringing along a small summit pack and keeping it with me throughout the climb was also a good idea. It was convenient and assuring to have extra clothing, water, and my headlamp with me at all times. 3. Conditioning is key for a climb like this. It was important to always have something in reserve since this can turn out to be a very long and arduous day. Regards, Chuck Messer
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