3. Alaska
  4. Matanuska Valley

Hatcher Pass 8/16/07-8/18/07

So I am finally home back in Alaska. The travelling has ended. Atleast that is what I thought when i stepped off the plane. I got in late and went and saw my friends, after a good night of sleep i was back up visiting them again. Then the real fun started. Less then 24 hours after stepping off the plane I was climbing on the Turnagain Arm with Shasta, John, and Richard. Theres a lot of travel history with Shasta and John and its always great to climb with them. I didn't bring my camera along for the climbs with me but you can see lots of fun pictures from that climb in John (coldclimbs) thread in the sport section called Climbing Again
Being home is surreal, everything seems larger then before. Yet it is still home and nothing seems to have changed. I stood ontop of a rock and opened my arms, the mountains spread out before me and the wind tickled my face. It was my home wind, this is the wind of Alaska. I never realized I could know the wind. We sat and watched the sunset it is magnificent when it sets here.
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We were all excited to be at the last pitch, which John called a "Mine field of death". Rockfall was not just a possiblity but almost unavoidable here so we would climb cafefully making sure everyone was out of the way. Instead of going the way John did last time which ensured rockfall we headed up over this ridge and finished. Shasta here belays John who is well out of view about to finish the route. Can you spot both the climber and the belayer?
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We were all excited to be at the last pitch, which John called a "Mine field of death". Rockfall was not just a possiblity but almost unavoidable here so we would climb cafefully making sure everyone was out of the way. Instead of going the way John did last time which ensured rockfall we headed up over this ridge and finished. Shasta here belays John who is well out of view about to finish the route. Can you spot both the climber and the belayer?

Hatcher PassToto ButtressThe DiamondTotoRock ClimbingAlaskaJohn Borland

  • We sat and watched the sunset it is magnificent when it sets here. edit
  • After that it was time to take a 2 hour drive into the valley where we would switch cars and drive into Hatcher Pass. Hatcher Pass is one of the best areas in Alaska for rock climbing as well as hiking. You don't have to be far before you realize all you can hear is the wind and the water. We switched vehicles into Richards jeep and drove the remaining miles into the park. His jeep does not have a working exhaust and we were all a little tipsy by the time we arrived. We slept on the floor of a shanty and prayed for blue skies. In the morning I felt something warm on my sleeping bag, then it got hot. The sun had made its presence and it was time to move. When the sun comes out in Hatcher Pass its not something you sit around for, it might not last long. After John pounced on Richard and Shasta saying "If this was the Jungle you'd be dead." they got up and were ready to go. We could see the route from the shanty and were excited to get the first good climb of the Alaska Season (even though the summers almost over here). The route we climbed follows the Lower and Upper Diamond on the right side of the large white streak. That area fell down about 10 years ago.
  • The first few pitches of the climb went beautifully the sun beat our backs and warmed the route. I hand't climbed trad in over a year so I was feeling the pump in my arms as I gripped harder then I should for the first few hundred feet. Richard finishes off the first pitch.
  • I came over the rock just in time to see Shasta disappearing over and Arete, the arete is the corner section of the rock, and around a large boulder sticking out. I had no idea how she got there and where she went next. Since this was my first time on the route I got slightly nervous of where to go!We were able to follow and make it alright and we streched my 60 meter rope to its limits.
  • With a little luck I had made it over and up to the next belay station which was a nice large ledge we could take a break on. There was a great (yet really difficult looking) crack which none of us wanted to try on the right and a slab which looked miserable on the left. John chose to lead the slab and he spent the next few minutes making grunting noises and saying "Whoa, theres a line of bolts down this face!". He made it up though and we were all eager to Follow. Here John is picking along for a hold hoping something materializes.
  • John again and the crack on the right which looked good until it turned into what we call "overhanging off-width" or in normal persons terms "torture". I think we went slightly off route here but John climbed it really well so it wasn't important to us which way were going as long as we were having fun!
  • Shasta was a great sport and you could tell by her neverending smile she was enjoying every minute. John climbs on in the upper reaches.
  • Then we come to the real pain. John gets up to a real nice ledge and spots a beautiful crack going right up to the next section. He can't resist and starts off, he puts in one peice of protection and climbs well above it before looking down and tell Shasta "I can't protect this." He said it very calmy knowing full well he was about to just go for it and try climbing the rest of this 30ft crack<br /> without safety. A fall would land him right on the ledge Shasta was belaying from and broken bones would most likely ensue. The concentration was evident in Johns face as he climbed this crack with style. It looked miserable and we were all a bit nervous as he iched his way by jamming and part of his body into the crack that he could. He finally pulled himself over the lip and the sigh of relief was evident. He told me "Ya Kelsey don't come this way." But how could I not? We all decided to struggle our way up it. Richard was the last to come up and he was grunting yelling and not giving up. He gave more then his share of skin back to the rock.
  • We told Richard as he neared the top of the climb "Let it out. Give us a grunt!" and he did not disappoint.
  • Shasta followed John up the slab and around the corner. Here she takes a break over the few hundred foot vertical drop. The smile never leaves her face.
  • A look down Archangel Valley from The Upper Diamond
  • We were all excited to be at the last pitch, which John called a "Mine field of death". Rockfall was not just a possiblity but almost unavoidable here so we would climb cafefully making sure everyone was out of the way. Instead of going the way John did last time which ensured rockfall we headed up over this ridge and finished. Shasta here belays John who is well out of view about to finish the route. Can you spot both the climber and the belayer?
  • We all followed and here Richard is crawling across the mine field. Boulders were pearched ready to go at any moment.
  • The clouds rolled in right as we topped out and we felt lucky to have a beautiful day in the sun on the route. We did the walk off instead of the rappel and were down soon. Richard, Shasta, and John on the top of the route.
  • A boulder perched on the top of the climb, with a little sepia effect.
  • We divided the gear up at the vehicles where John and Richard headed back home. I had decided to stay another day though and Shasta drove me to the Reed Lakes Trailhead where I had never been hiking before. She dropped me off there, John was going to pick me up the next day, and I hiked the trail late leaving at 9:30pm. While Shasta and I were sitting on her tailgate we heard a loud booming noise. I looked across the valley as a massive chunk of mountain gave way and cascaded down the mountain leaving a dust trail that filled the entire valley! Needless to say it was incredible to watch but made me nervous on my hike the next day. I hiked the 3 miles to Lower Reed Lake and setup my camp at 11:30pm. The next morning was just as great as the morning before it and the lake was a beautiful turquoise color.
  • I waited until the sun warmed me before deciding which way to go. I had brought all my climbing gear with hopes of meeting up with someone but it didn't appear I was going to find anyone so I decided to head up a peak. They all looked pretty intimidating but one was closer then the rest and that is what made my decision. It looked like it would be great to walk around to the ridge and then follow a nice looking ridge up to the peak. I suppose thats just not my style though and I headed directly up the steepest part I could find. It wasn't long before I found myself climbing very uncomfortably but I kept on going and found myself at the top soon enough. I don't know the name of this peak yet but should soon. The Lower Reed lake down below, my tent sits about 30 yards from the lake.
  • There were some nifty lake/river areas around the valley.
  • The views from the summit were incredible. Definitely a place I must return to.
  • On the right is the peak which I came down. I came down the backside here and it was much more pleasant then the face I had climbed up. The rock is also quite sticky.
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