 |
| The surprise waterfall we discovered early in our climb |
 |
| Gordon Whirry on top, his first time on Red |
 |
| A healthy herd of mountain goats we found below the peak |
It was the first big mountain I climbed, some 46 years ago. I'll never forget the thrill of the 360 degree mountain views from the top of the top of this peak, nor the wind that day --- its ferocity and its chill.
It wasn't cold nor particularly ferocious Monday when I climbed it for what I estimated was at least my seventh time. It was a gloriously sunny and clear day, and while there was wind it did not blow particularly cold, although it was brisk enough that we donned our shells.
I've climbed it at least five different routes, and our Monday climb was one of them, really more a traverse rather than a straight up and back.
And therein lies the story of our difficulties.
We drove to the end of Copper Creek Road on the mountain's southwest flank of Red Mountain above a tributary of Copper Creek and had our choice of two ridges that lead to the main Red Mountain ridge line. We headed up the creek, and to our great surprise soon encountered a gorgeous waterfall, before crossing the creek and heading up the ridge to the northeast.
We proceeded up through some deadfall and it wasn't long before the ridge became more steep and the timber more sparse. I had difficulty with this steep 200 feet pitch, but made it to the rock and a nice climb to the main ridgeline, a gain of nearly 3,000 feet from our cars.
Then it was a breathtaking walk along the ridge to the top, first passing a high tan peak and then the top. We enjoyed views of western Montana's mountain country and the Scapegoat, Bob Marshall, Great Bear, Gates of the Mountains, and Mission Mountains wilderness areas from the ridge.
On top we enjoyed the red shale and the remains of what had been a Forest Service lookout, had lunch, were awed by our views, and descended down the prominent east ridge. It was sure fun to see Scapegoat Peak, under which Katie and I had camped just 5 days previously.
Along the way we saw two herds of mountain goats, some 25 animals or so, that had been peacefully grazing below the peak. The adult goats were some of the fattest and big goats I had ever seen.
Afterward the walk down the ridge was uneventful until we turned down the lowest ridge toward Red Creek and immediately got tangled in a horrific mix of dead timber and tall buck brush.
In years past I had climbed the mountain going all the way down this ridge to the car on the road below, but our fatal mistake was a plan to drop to the creek and cut across the mountain at the elevation where our cars were parked.
What should have been a 6 or 7 hour traverse turned into a nearly 12-hour trip as we traveled about a half-mile per hour battling downed trees and buck brush. I could barely see my climbing partners in front of me for the buck brush that was as high as their shoulders. Deadfall was beneath much of the brush, so we had to fight along with the brush.
When we got back to the car it was nearly 9 p.m., and we had started at 9 a.m., and I was totally spent. By the end of the day my legs would cramp as I crawled over the fallen logs.
This area was hammered by fires in the early 2000s and has made the traditional one-day up-and-back route that starts from the road on the east ridge nearly impossible. I think the most doable route is the one I took on my first climb of Red Mountain ---- from Ring Eye Creek trail near Webb Lake within the Scapegoat Wilderness just beyond the popular Heart Lake. This would involve an overnight.
From the west there's a trail that runs to the ridge line and also offers a long up-and-back route to the top.
Our final guesstimate was at about 10-miles for the traverse and what had to be over 4,000 feet with the ups and downs.
No comments:
Post a Comment