| With a good weather forecast (meaning slightly less than bad for high peaks this time of year), Clay, Heather, and I began our slog up the road to St. Marys Glacier. The snow on the road was patchy and mostly mashed into ice from foot traffic - it was a little more tricky on the descent. The glacier itself was enjoyable despite the wind constantly blowing. On the right is a view down the glacier with Clay and Heather ascending. The huge cloud bank didn't look like it was going anywhere for a while, but I figured we'd get out of the wind once on the tundra expanse. This didn't materialize, but the wind was tolerable. | |
| James Peak comes into view even before topping out on the glacier, and looked farther away than it was. On the tundra, there was little snow from the frequent wind in the area (photo on left). I still managed to lead us into some post-holing areas. We picked up the trail on the southeast slopes of James Peak, and ascended a snowfield to avoid some switchbacks. The final portion of the hike was in view, and I was surprised that we hadn't encountered any false summits. The wind tapered off for a while, but it was still a little cold. |
| The wind came back on the summit, though the views compensated for this. We met Bob Dawson and his friend Marlene on top. Ironically the sun finally came out now that we were heading down. We made quick time back to the tundra, though finding only one glissade. There was heavy traffic on the descent - some skiers and other hikers including Kevin Craig. We had a good time glissading the portions of the glacier steep enough to enable it. It was a fun outing that I highly recommend for late season. |
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