With a previous failed ascent a year ago, I was determined to finally summit the notorious, popular and nearby Golden Ears. How can anybody not want to climb this mountain that screams for ascents when you are in the skytrain on your way to the office?
The context was a beautiful May Sunday with little clouds insight. Bonn-Tien finally had some time available to go climbing and it was a great opportunity just for me and her to get together before our big day coming a few weeks later.
Trail was in great conditions and we only hit snow around 1000 m high (May 27th 2012).
Regretfully we did not take any crampons but we did take our ice axe which turned out to be essential that day.
The climb was very pleasant and the snow offered little potholing and very fast travel.
We could see some slides coming off the top but felt that the terrain we were going through was simple and unexposed at this time of the year.
We arrived at the emergency hut that looked more like an underground bunker.
Our pace was good and we were planning to make it to the top very fast….We would learn that the mountain decides when you arrive to the top.
In the summit bowl, myself and Bonn-Tien slowed down by the effort of the ascent and regrouped right under the hill that leads to the notch which itself leads to the summit ridge.
The snow was still good at this time of the day but started to become very soft, allowing a deep and safe footing.
After climbing the steep section to the notch we left out packs to get ready for the even steeper section that leads to the ridge.
At this time of the year, this is literally a wall of snow that you have to climb and hope for the best. Hope for the best because it is very clear that there is some kind of bergshrund between the snowfield and the rock.
The task was relatively easy thanks to our ice axe and a quick move from the snow to the rock relieved us from the over-excitement of mountaineering.
But the summit ridge was not what I was expecting….
In front of us laid itself a steep, icy 150m ridge. Where had my soft snow gone!! We were equipped for some spring snow but not this kind of conditions.
The ice axes somehow worked but our footings were just terrible. I believed that the reason for this ice was continuous melting freezing with windshields allowing the minus 0 temperatures.
It was out of the question that we were going straight on the ridge. But another option seemed doable.
We decided to use the bushes as a ladder to the top. Their thick bases provided sure footing and combined with an ice axe, we had a relatively safe climbing method.
Easier said than done, the ridge was still super sketchy as those branches were not always perfectly placed. A few sections required crossing with no holds, just on the snow trying to break the ice with our axes stabbing as hard as possible.
Those last 150 m probably took us an hour, 20% of our time for 1% of our route. The top was however well worth it and was glad that we had finally climbed Golden Ears. Won`t feel so bad when I see it from the skytrain.
The descent required the same level of attention + the extra concentration because of the downhill factor.
Once back to the notch, I thought the day was over and we were now safe. However, it had seriously warmed up and instead of icy snow being our nightmare; it was uberwet slides starting with a simple footstep.
We only needed to go down the notch for about 40 m, but the conditions were horrendous. As soon we were going down, a nasty wet slide would start with serious potential of burial. We literally felt stuck at this point.
What do we do? Do we wait for the night for cooler conditions?
I opted for the traditional Chamoniard option which is avalanche control.
With Bonn-Tien, we carefully tried to launch a slide from the top (we could clearly see we were the only ones around). As were pushing the snow, a large snow monster started to form itself rolling down the hill carrying large amounts of snow.
This mini avalanche cleaned us a route down these steep 40 meters. There was nothing left to slide if we stayed in the tracks of the avalanche we had just created.
We quickly made it down the dangerous section and were back in the safer bowl of Golden Ears (safe at this time of the year).
We were still very happy with our day and enjoyed great glissading back to the forest with a long walk back to our car.
If you truly want to make it to the top of Golden Ears before the snow melts (mid July) make sure you are well equipped and are prepared for technical conditions.
The context was a beautiful May Sunday with little clouds insight. Bonn-Tien finally had some time available to go climbing and it was a great opportunity just for me and her to get together before our big day coming a few weeks later.
Trail was in great conditions and we only hit snow around 1000 m high (May 27th 2012).
Regretfully we did not take any crampons but we did take our ice axe which turned out to be essential that day.The climb was very pleasant and the snow offered little potholing and very fast travel.
We could see some slides coming off the top but felt that the terrain we were going through was simple and unexposed at this time of the year.
We arrived at the emergency hut that looked more like an underground bunker.
Our pace was good and we were planning to make it to the top very fast….We would learn that the mountain decides when you arrive to the top.
In the summit bowl, myself and Bonn-Tien slowed down by the effort of the ascent and regrouped right under the hill that leads to the notch which itself leads to the summit ridge.
The snow was still good at this time of the day but started to become very soft, allowing a deep and safe footing.
After climbing the steep section to the notch we left out packs to get ready for the even steeper section that leads to the ridge.
At this time of the year, this is literally a wall of snow that you have to climb and hope for the best. Hope for the best because it is very clear that there is some kind of bergshrund between the snowfield and the rock.
The task was relatively easy thanks to our ice axe and a quick move from the snow to the rock relieved us from the over-excitement of mountaineering.
But the summit ridge was not what I was expecting….
In front of us laid itself a steep, icy 150m ridge. Where had my soft snow gone!! We were equipped for some spring snow but not this kind of conditions.
The ice axes somehow worked but our footings were just terrible. I believed that the reason for this ice was continuous melting freezing with windshields allowing the minus 0 temperatures.
It was out of the question that we were going straight on the ridge. But another option seemed doable.
We decided to use the bushes as a ladder to the top. Their thick bases provided sure footing and combined with an ice axe, we had a relatively safe climbing method.
Easier said than done, the ridge was still super sketchy as those branches were not always perfectly placed. A few sections required crossing with no holds, just on the snow trying to break the ice with our axes stabbing as hard as possible.
Those last 150 m probably took us an hour, 20% of our time for 1% of our route. The top was however well worth it and was glad that we had finally climbed Golden Ears. Won`t feel so bad when I see it from the skytrain.
The descent required the same level of attention + the extra concentration because of the downhill factor.
Once back to the notch, I thought the day was over and we were now safe. However, it had seriously warmed up and instead of icy snow being our nightmare; it was uberwet slides starting with a simple footstep.
We only needed to go down the notch for about 40 m, but the conditions were horrendous. As soon we were going down, a nasty wet slide would start with serious potential of burial. We literally felt stuck at this point.
What do we do? Do we wait for the night for cooler conditions?
I opted for the traditional Chamoniard option which is avalanche control.
With Bonn-Tien, we carefully tried to launch a slide from the top (we could clearly see we were the only ones around). As were pushing the snow, a large snow monster started to form itself rolling down the hill carrying large amounts of snow.
This mini avalanche cleaned us a route down these steep 40 meters. There was nothing left to slide if we stayed in the tracks of the avalanche we had just created.
We quickly made it down the dangerous section and were back in the safer bowl of Golden Ears (safe at this time of the year).
We were still very happy with our day and enjoyed great glissading back to the forest with a long walk back to our car.
If you truly want to make it to the top of Golden Ears before the snow melts (mid July) make sure you are well equipped and are prepared for technical conditions.
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