Trip Report

It was 1:00 PM and we were an hour behind schedule. We had stopped for everyone to get together and add layers of warm clothes and dry gloves. Without shelter from the wind, we were risking hypothermia the longer we waited. Although we were near the false summit, we could not see it because visibility had dropped to about 30 yards. The constant wind buffeted us and the temperature was below freezing. Continuing our climb would mean being exposed to even stronger winds on the final ridge to the summit. Five hours earlier, four Climb School graduates and three more-experienced Obsidians were met at the trail head by a light rain. The forecast for the upper slopes of Diamond Peak had called for snow showers with a possible accumulation of 1 to 2 inches of snow. Knowing how unpredictable the weather can be in the spring, the leader hoped for the best and proceeded with the climb anyway. We had started with a quick ascent of the Pioneer Gulch Trail and we stopped to put on snowshoes where the trail intersects with the north-south Diamond Peak Trail. By that time, the falling rain had turned into light snow and we continued to make good progress through 3 to 4 inches of fresh snow over an older, soft base. We had reached the southwest ridge at an elevation of about 6,800 feet, having endured almost constant falling snow and sleet. Loose snow had caused lots of slipping and floundering on steeper sections of the ridge. This was a good break-in session for new gear and a first climb of the season for most of us. Now that we were within 1/2 mile from the summit and had only 350 feet of elevation gain left, we decided to turn around and descend. We slipped and slid our way down the mountain and reached the trailhead at 4:00 PM, hoping for better weather on our next attempt.