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| Gladiator Peak |
It’s Thanksgiving again so that means it is our annual trip
back to Hailey, Idaho. With almost a
week in Idaho I am hoping to climb a few mountains, so this report of Gladiator
Peak is number one for the week. I
attempted Gladiator last Thanksgiving with my friend Mike, and we were battling
snow thigh high from a different route than this, so I had to come back and
give this mountain another try.
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| Early Morning in the Boulders |
I did some research this time via www.idahosummits.com and www.idahoalpinezone.com, both
websites I frequently used when climbing mountains in Idaho. For this trip I would hike the southwest
ridge. I wanted to wait for it to be
light so I left Hailey about 6am and was to the pull-out on HWY 75 by 7am.
For TH parking on this trip I drove north on HWY 75 past
Galena Lodge then just before the first switchback I parked at the pull-out on
the west side of the road. It was dark
still being just after 7am, so I took my time getting geared up. If anyone is going to follow my GPS Track for
this report I would follow the southern traverse rather than the northern
traverse to the southwest ridge. There
is much less dead fall to contend with, my hike out was quite nice though.
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| Summit Ridge |
Once I met up with NF-182 I headed up the steep slopes to
meet the southwest ridge, after gaining the ridge it mellowed out a bit. Don’t get me wrong, it was steep and I was
huffing and puffing but I was at least on the planned route now.
Something I forgot to mention was I left my snowshoes in the
truck. I didn’t think they would be too
effective, and I wanted to shed as much weight as I could. The snow was hit-and-miss, so some parts of
the route they would have been good and some parts with the powder it wouldn’t
have mattered too much. I weigh about
260 and with a pack I find snowshoes more of a drag in the early season, so that’s
why I left them in the truck. I was
dropping mid shin for quite a bit of the trip which slowed me down, but I just
took my time with it. This is where the
mental toughness of solo hiking comes in.
I just don’t rush myself and take it one step at a time. Eventually the goal of the summit is usually
had. With the perfect weather today I
knew I had plenty of time. I love solo
hiking, and I primarily did solo when climbing in Idaho, so it was nice to get
a trip out by myself. Solo climbs are
great for clearing your mind.
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| Turkey Tracks |
It was basically a trudge, but I still thought I was moving
at a decent pace. When I first saw the
summit from below I thought it was the false summit. So, when I found I was on the false summit, I
was happy to see I wasn’t too far from the true summit. The last 500ft or so to
the main summit ridge was time consuming, but the view was endless. After attaining the summit ridge I saw I had
a bit to go to get to the far end, and from what I have read online that is the
true summit. The funny thing was running
into turkey tracks along the ridge. That
sure is fitting for turkey day.
The crux was the traverse over the far northeast end of the
ridge. The snow was powdery and filling
in the holes around the rocks. I took my
sweet time but made it over to the true summit a little before 11am.
I didn’t feel any wind till I was on the summit, so I put on
my down jacket and had a snack. The
views were out of this world today. This
was one of those days where you just sit there and take in the view for as long
as you can. Castle Peak was looking
amazing, one I have yet to climb. I foresee
a trip coming up for that in the near future.
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| Castle Peak |
It was a great adventure today, and now it’s nice to be back
with the family and enjoying all the smells of Thanksgiving. The plan for Saturday is the Cross and Avalanche
Peak, so hopefully there is a new TR coming soon.
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| GPS Track |
Date: 11/28/2013
Starting Elevation: 7,636ft
Gladiator Peak: 10,243ft
Total Gained Elevation: 3,000ft
Class: 2
Distance: 5.81 miles
Time: 4:17 moving, 1:35 stopped.
Climbing Partner: Solo
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