5pm start under a clear sky. Going at night means I caught only the tail end of the weekenders and didn't have to compete for trail space. Smooth sailing up to Sandy camp where I transitioned to micro spikes. Snow was just firm enough to have good purchase in the shade. Snow got uncomfortably slushy above 8k feet in direct sun and I found myself slipping out a lot. Burned a lot of time here... Not a single person an glacier which made the whole thing that much easier. Cold and windy summit so I didn't stick around. Snow was slushy enough the whole way down to confidently plunge step, and I was able to make good time on the way back to Sandy Camp. Small route finding errors on the way down and several stops to tie the same shoe again. This burned both time and energy but didn't make much of a difference. Nasty fall leaving railroad grade but got up relatively unscathed. Made great time in the final miles benefiting from empty trails.
I think there are tons of people in the PNW who could go sub 4 hours on this. I think having a good understanding of the route down makes a world of difference. I brought poles (no ice axe) but would likely not bring them again. At the very least I would telescope them down on the glacier.
Splits:
~56 mins to Sandy Camp turn off
~ 2:47 to summit
Comments
Nice job! 😎