Glacier Peak 10,541ft.:  Kennedy Glacier

August 10-11, 2002

Team:  Scott Vetter and Sam Avaiusini

The forecast called for improving weather...

Things sure looked grim at the trailhead.  Scott and I were hesitant to start the approach, fearing continued rain and defeat.  Things let-up long enough to sucker us into heading out. 

We made good time to Kennedy Hot Springs and took the cutoff trail up Kennedy Ridge.  Weather was steadily improving and our spirits were rising...maybe we won't get hosed!

We still had quite a bit of elevation to gain before we reached our desired bivy location on upper Kennedy Ridge.  After about 5 hours, we found a good place to call it a day.

The next morning, we awoke to perfectly clear skies and a hard day's work ahead.  We still had 1/2 the mountain left to climb then descend and walk out...hopefully before dark.  Our route meandered up the glacier in the center of the photo.

The climbing was fairly straightforward and we had a few sections which required some crevasse navigation.  On the upper glacier, we were treated to a couple short sections of steeper neve.

The climbing was very enjoyable and before long we reached the southern edge of the crater.  We had heard of a couple melt water lakes somewhere in or near the crater.  Somewhat skeptical as to the validity of these reports, we did find one that had thawed just enough to fill our water bottles...I love finding fresh water on my climbs!!!

The final couple pitches up to the true summit were near 45 degrees and firm ice.  Too firm for pickets, but pretty solid for 22cm screws.  Here, Scott takes a lead on one of the last pitches.

We reached the summit at about 2pm and had it to ourselves which was somewhat surprising for a weekend in August.  The weather on Saturday morning must have discouraged the masses.

We opted for a change of scenery on the way out and descended the Sitkum Glacier to Boulder Basin.  In terms of mileage, this saved us a few miles compared to our approach.  No matter what, we knew we'd be getting back to the car after dark.  Oh well! 

This was Scott's first successful summit of Glacier Peak out of 3 attempts and my second out of 2.  Scott was really relieved to have cleaned this "skeleton from the closet."  While approach to this mountain is done on quality trail, any way you slice it, it's a long way in there.

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