Donjek - Day 5
Donjek Glacier exploration to Bighorn River
[Home]
[Main]
[Prev]
[Next]
August 6, 2015
I awoke at my usual time to the patter of rain on the tent fly. I rolled over and went back to sleep for an hour.
Finally we all got up and set up a tarp so we could have a dry place to eat our breakfast. As we were breaking camp,
the rain stopped though, so we cheerfully hiked out along the horse trail. We spied a ridge which we decided to climb
to get a good view of the glacier. We could see all the way down the Donjek valley as well as a potential route across
cliff tops. We figured we could traverse along the top of the cliffs and then descend to the Donjek beach via some
bluffs in the distance. Travel along the cliff tops gave us spectacular views and easy travel, which still took a while
as we stopped many times to stare in awe at the ice. The bluffs provided an exciting challenge. I scouted downwards,
and after several false tries, I found a class 3 scramble route that would go. Everyone got down safely and then we
spent the next hour having our lunch at the base of the ice cliffs. Lots of photos were taken and we finally decided
to go. As we were climbing back up the mud cliffs above the river, we heard a huge thunderous set of cracking noises
for several sections, which was followed by a big block of ice falling off of the toe into the water below. The next
couple of hours were easy bushwhacking through tundra and open meadows. We made camp along Bighorn Creek at the base
of the climb to Expectation Pass which is our plan for tomorrow.
Our first grey day. Still beautiful.
The gang on a local summit.
Looking down the valley as the glacier snakes around the corner.
A big piece calves off.
Scouting the route down to the beach.
After some searching the rest scramble down the route.
Walking along the toe on the beach.
Donjek icebergs.
Our goal attained, we begin the long trek home across the tundra.
[Home]
[Main]
[Prev]
[Next]