Lone Peak 2
| Seems everything never goes exactly right when we
head for Lone Peak. But close enough. Hiking up alone in the dark and the rain, intending to meet Chris in the cirque, Shaun took a wrong turn, got off the trail, and spent a few hours of "the most intense bushwhacking" he'd ever done: climbing steep, wet, brush covered slopes, just grabbing at branches and pulling himself up through the dense foilage, as well as leaping small invisible rivers through heavy grasses and eight-foot weeds. Shaun finally found the Second Hamomgog and laid out his bivy sack in the rain, thankful he had put his shirt in his pack when the rain began (everything else was soaked through). Unfortunately, he had cross threaded half a bottle of gatorade which his shirt soaked up, partially saving his cell phone from destruction. |
Next morning, Ken and Eric (not actual brothers) passed through the Hamomgog and chatted with Shaun, quickly making a connection to a mutual acquaintance. Ken loaned Shaun a dry shirt and both shared food and water while hiking together through damp cloud banks into the 10,000' cirque floor. |
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| Shaun quickly located Chris' camp in the moraine (he had been there two days already) and they started up Open Book, 5.8., continuous easy and fun climbing with great protection in solid granite. |
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The climb is straightforward.
Scramble up to the south to gain an area of black diorite before roping up. Move up then
right below a flake with some anorexic-feeling (but secure) moves over a bulge. From there, take your pick of cracks on either side of the dihedral. Those to your right are flared but great for camming your feet in. The rock is rough and provides outstanding friction. The crux may be once you've gained the top of the dihedral as you move into a wide notch and continue up another 200+'. But no big deal. Nothing hits 5.9 unless you're carrying a heavy pack. Give that to the second. |
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| The route continues onto some only-slightly-less
bomber rock (depending on which way you move through the slot--keeping mostly right near
the top is probably best) until you pop through a tunnel and you're spitting distance from
the summit block. After taking in the view of Salt Lake and Utah valleys, hike along the super-exposed ridges south and descend the ramp below Question Mark Wall. Make a double rappel from a tree near the lower end. |
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