Mount Galloway and Mount Harmon

July 26, 2013

Today was another early 04:30 wakeup and on the march just after 05:30. We were planning to attempt a grand circuit of Mount Galloway, Mount Harmon, Mount Griffith, and Pencil Peak (or le stylo as Yvon liked to call it). As this was the last day of the course, we had to do all the planning, route finding, and taking turns leading the group. We sped across the glacier and up to the Gwendoline col. A moderate sloped bowl descent brought us down to the Catamount glacier. Fortunately it was cold enough last night that the slush was frozen and we could march across this fairly easily. The snow slopes on Galloway were incredibly steep and sustained. Lots of careful footing and axe work finally brought us up to the rocky ridge where we short roped in pairs to the summit along this 4th class ridge. Much of the scramble was between the rock and a wall of snow so the exposure was reasonable, though there were a few exposed moves just to keep things interesting. The summit was finally obtained and we had a quick break. A grasshopper sat upon the summit cairn enjoying the phenomenal views along with us. The return along the ridge was easier as we now knew the moves. Mount Harmon beconned us onward with a steep scramble up loose blocks and patches of snow. We gained the ridge and dropped onto some very steep snow on the far side. We climbed this by pitching it out and then scrambled a short 4th class rock pitch to the top of the west summit. A scramble down to the glacier followed with some easy snow travel up to the last rock ridge to the true summit. This was a sustained 4th class route with some massive exposure, which we fully pitched out, taking a long time. There was also a lot of loose dirty rock which was knocked down as we went. The final two pitches were low 5th class climbing. A final ridge which had to be ridden "au cheval" mode lead to an airy manouver to gain the summit. Again a fantastic 360 degree view was to be had. The summit pitch had to be down climbed which meant riding au cheval in reverse which was very awkward. The lower pitch was set up as a lowering station which made this easier. Pitching back across the 4th class sections was much easier the second time and we finally got back to the glacier. It now was way past our turn around time so we had to skip the last two peaks. It was also now my lead so I took the front and navigated through a bit of a tricky crevasse field until we got back down to the main expanse of the Catamount glacier. Andy took the lead and guided us across the soup that the snow had become. Raging glacial rivers flowed across the surface which had to be jumped or forded. When we finally made it to the other side, it now was dinner time and our boots were thoroughly soaked. We also still had a long way back to camp. The climb back up to the Gwendoline col seemed to take forever, but once we finally crested that it was smooth sailing down the snow almost all the way back. The toe of the glacier, which has been snow covered the entire week, is now mostly melted out to bare ice. As this part is fairly steep, next week is going to be interesting. We managed to find a thin runnel of snow and carefully side stepped down this trying very hard not to smear the little bit of remaining snow out for those who were following. Finally we reached the bottom and quickly hoofed it back to camp. Dinner was already over, but fortunately the kitchen staff set aside lots of food for us so we managed to get a hearty meal in. As this was the last night of the GMC week, some entertainment followed with skits, music, and dancing. After a 14 hour day of mountaineering though, it was hard to keep awake and I crawled into my tent for sleep long before the festivities ended.

A line of boulders being carried along the glacier. Some day these will be erratics.