After leaving Elkhart Park Trailhead early in the am's, I headed northward towards my camp for the evening in the Upper Titcomb Basin. Perfect hiking weather...cool temps, and a slight drizzle. Island Lake (pictured) seems to be a popular destination, as I spotted 33 folks along the trail --- all of which said, "...we stayed at /or are going to, Island Lake." Fortunately I was not, and skirted the Lakes busy shores for a more secluded camp a few more miles down trail.
Looking south after arriving at Titcomb Basin in the early afternoon. The skies stayed gray and it was a bit chilly and damp. On the hike up Titcomb Basin I was lucky enough to watch two enormous rock/snow slides come cascading off the eastern ridge. The debris ended up in a large meadow just up the slope from my camp.
My camp is a few hundred yards up the slope from the water source. The skies remained overcast the rest of the aftenoon with increasing rains in the early evening. I spent much of my downtime poking around the alpine landscape and exploring the glaciers further up Titcomb Basin.
"The Buttress." Classic Alpine Scenery in the heart of some great alpine country. Normally Titcomb Basin is pretty crowded as it is a popular approach for climbing Gannett Peak. Maybe it was the weather, but I had the enitre Basin to myself. Quite pleasant.
My camp in Upper Titcomb Basin consisted of a soggy spot, and a meager rock wall wind break. The thin snow field at the obvious saddle is Bonney Pass. The plan was to be up and over that point as early as possible in the morning to be sure the snow would be hard underfoot and make for fast and easy travel. I left camp at ~4:45 am and headed towards the saddle...
...the sun was rising when I crested Bonney Pass and casted a great light on snow-capped Gannett Peak. Can't argue with blue skies on summit day!
Crossing the snowfield after descending from Bonney Pass before heading up to the Gooseneck was great. The snowfields and glaciers were nice and hard, so the crampons had something to do besides stay in the pack. The scale of the alpine environment is always helpful for perspective...two other climbers are just ahead almost out of the shadows.
Looking south at the north side of Bonney Pass. As mentioned, the snow was quite hard, and a VERY speedy glissade was the result. Once summiting, I would then return over this same pass to get back to camp, although the glissade on the south side of Bonney Pass was much soggier and controlled!
Looking south from the summit of Gannett Peak towards Massive Glacier. Some climbers can be seen on the ridgeline that is in the shadow. During the ascent, I passed a NOLS group of 11...they had been in the field for 21 days and were anxious to hear some news! Views to the NW were clear and the Grand Teton in Grand Teton National Park could be seen very distinctly. I hung out on the summit for a few minutes, then headed down, back over Bonney Pass, and to my camp in Titcomb Basin. After eating an early lunch and packing up, I hit the trail back to Elkhart Park Trailhead and drove back to Logan. I would have enjoyed staying longer in the Winds, but alas, the sewing machines were lonely even only after 2 days.
