Scotch Peak 4

July 31, 2013

Today the plan was to climb both of Scotch peaks 3 and 4. Thirteen of us set out from camp and spent the next couple of hours ascending very steep snow all the way to the col between the two peaks. We split up into two groups here, the plan being to climb the opposite peaks and then pass each other later in the day. Matt (guide), Katja, Andy, Claudia, and myself started up Scotch 4. Almost immediately after starting we heard a blood curdling scream echoing of the walls around us. Matt got off the rope and scooted back to see what was going on. He could not tell, but it was clear that something serious was going on. He went up Scotch 3 to assist while the rest of us descended back down to the snow and got ready with all our gear to assist in whatever way we could. After a short while, Peter (guide) descended and informed us what was going on. A rock had shifted and landed on Adam's leg. He was going to be lowered. Andy and I offered to set up the next anchor on the snow and we went to work digging a couple of T-slots just before the snow dropped steeply off. The others lowered Adam down to us and it was decided that we could get a helicopter in where we were so we did not end up using this anchor. We called for a rescue via the radios and within ten minutes a chopper swooped in and picked Adam off the mountain. The group heading to Black Fang also apeared on the scene to assist, but at this point the excitement was over. We all got together and discussed what to do now. The Black Fang group (except for one person) wanted to end their day so they descended down with one of the guides. The rest of us still wanted to climb, so we split into two groups and did one peak each. I climbed Scotch 4 with Katja, Mike, and Matt. This was a difficult scramble with lots of exposure and some sections of very loose rock. A few sections were easy 5th class and Matt provided belays for these. Finally we reached the summit and waved to the other group on Scotch 3 summit. We relaxed for a long while, eating some lunch and enjoying the fantastic views. Finally we descended off, which took just as long to down scramble. We arrived back at the col, put our crampons on and down climbed the steep snow on belay down to our makeshift helipad where we took off the rope. The snow was now pretty soft, so the 1500 feet of snow descent went very quickly. We arrived back in camp shortly after 15:00, so it ended up being a fairly easy day. Unfortunately for Adam it did not turn out so well, but fortunately it sounds like he has a fairly simple lower leg injury and not something more serious.

Looking up from the toe of the glacier. That is Scotch 4 in the middle.