Sherpa Peak - West Ridge, August 2002
Admittedly, I wasn't too awfully enthusiastic about climbing Sherpa Peak. I'm not sure what the reason was. Perhaps I felt I had spent enough time in the general area or I thought it wasn't a worthy endeavor. Either way, I only agreed to climb Sherpa with Tom and his father Dan so that I could ensure Tom's company for another attempt on Mt. Shuksan the following day. In the end, despite the long 16hr day, the route exceeded my expectations and I'm happy to have climbed this unique Cascade summit.
Starting around 5:00am from the parking area, we maintained what I consider a blistering pace up to the boulder field below the West Ridge notch. Dan and Tom rest in the early morning sunshine. We scrambled up the 3rd/4th class terrain on the lower ridge, past several rap/sling stations until we reached a fairly obvious ledge. We decided to belay each other from this point on. (more...)
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