Journeys: Gallatin Peak - Day I

Still in search of snow climbs, I set my sights on Gallatin Peak. I had seen a large snow field on the east face from Wilson Peak and decided to do an over night backpacking trip to climb it. I struck out from the North Fork trailhead late in the afternoon with a heavy pack. I covered the first three miles in one hour. I covered the next three miles into Bear Basin in three hours. Getting up into Bear Basin takes more than a few switch backs over steep ground. Once in Bear Basin the terrain flattened, but I hit the snow line and travel was slow in the slush even with snowshoes. I reached the back of Bear Basin hoping to find clues of the trail heading up over the ridge to the northeast and through a pass into the basin south of Gallatin Peak. I found no clues. Instead I struggled, slipping and crawling, through wet snow up a steep rocky gully. I was spitting mad and tired. 

Near the top of the crest of the ridge I left the snow line and took my snowshoes off. I saw the trail ahead of me and followed it up onto the ridge. It was already after 8 p.m., I was tired, and from the ridge I saw that I had made a crucial mistake. To get to the east face of Gallatin Peak I would have to descend into the basin then hike three to four miles around Gallatin Peak's southeast ridge in order to get to the east face. I did not feel the need to push on through the dark and found a flat spot on the ridge to camp. As I ate dinner I picked a new route up a snowfield on the south east face of the peak. The sun was setting behind the head of Bear Basin. 

Shadows lengthened and the temperature dropped. I hoped that even in mid-June my zero degree bag would keep me warm through the night at close to 10,000 feet. I finished dinner and the sky was an inky blue and black. Near the zenith was Hercules and not far away the Big Dipper. I crawled into my sleeping bag and found the bivy sack coated with frost. I set my camera tripod up beside me in hopes of catching a nice sun rise in the morning and fell into a fitful sleep.