Trip Report

We left Eugene Saturday morning intending to climb the Whitewater Glacier route on Mt. Jefferson over two days. On the hike in, while enjoying the view of the north side of the mountain, I joked that the Jefferson Park Glacier looked like it might be in good enough condition for us to climb. The closer we got, the more seriously we took the joke. We set up camp in the moraines at the base of the Jefferson Park Glacier --- this was lower than originally planned but gave us the option of climbing either route in the morning.

Marge and I spent a few hours exploring the big question mark on the Jeff Park route, namely the bergschrund. Around 7pm, after scoping out a few no-go lines, Marge finally spotted a rock bypass on the far right side. It might go!

Four of us started climbing a little after 3am Sunday morning. The bergschrund went (too?) smoothly; we were all on the saddle above the glacier within three hours from camp. The rest of the route went slowly but surely over plenty of exposed ground featuring moderate snow, low 5th class rock, and some fun mixed moves. Our progress was relatively slow, so we turned back halfway up the summit pinnacle (which was in excellent and easy condition) to ensure decent snow on the traverse on our way down. We returned to camp via the Whitewater Glacier route, spent another night, and then hiked out the next morning.

It's never easy to turn back so close to a summit, especially when the ground ahead is in great condition. Still, I think we made the correct choice. I'll take fun, exposed rock climbing in crampons without a summit over a climb of the Whitewater Glacier route any day! Thanks to everyone for making my last trip as an Oregon resident a memorable one.