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Post by qlenae on Jul 25, 2012 13:43:54 GMT -5
Glacier Gorge traverse in Rocky Mountain National Park. "A Walk in the Park." mountainproject.com/v/a-walk-in-the-park/106563905Starts at Glacier Gorge Parking lot, hikes to Mills Lake and bust up towards Thatchtop and work in a counter-clockwise direction. Route includes summits of Thatchtop, Powell, McHenry's, Chiefshead, Pagoda, and Long's. Some accounts include Half Mountain, some don't, some retreat via the Storm Pass Trail. We included Half Mountain, but not Storm, and descended back to Mills---full circle!! R.Rossiter did this in 2009 in 14 hours. Wes Thompson and I (Quinn Brett--female) just did it yesterday (7/24) in 10:14, simul-soling. No ropes, unsupported. Not alot of water out there to re-fuel  Not sure what other times are out there for this! Felt fast at first, but surely lost steam throughout the day. Fantastic traverse, considering you see the entire line from the beginning. Must be comfortable soloing 5.7 terrain. Full Trip Report here: www.quinnbrett.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-walk-in-park-t.html |
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Post by Peter Bakwin on Jul 25, 2012 17:21:02 GMT -5
Good work! The full Glacier Gorge Traverse is usually considered to be Flattop, Hallett, Otis, Taylor, Powell, McHenrys, Chiefs Head, Pagoda, Longs, Storm and Half. Bill Wright has a nice write-up on this at www.wwwright.com/climbing/tripreports/2008/GreatCircle.htmBill & John Prater did it in 13h56m, though they skipped Half Mtn. Bill mentioned that Eric Winkelman had done 12h (ish). I did it in 13h02m on July 1, 2012. I was with Bill Briggs, but he skipped Otis and Hallett at the end. We did do Half. I rapped the 5.7 on Pagoda, while Bill downclimbed it. My report is here: blog.ultimatedirection.com/glacier-gorge-traverse/#more-355Briggs has done this route in a stunning 7h17m, however he's not certain if he tagged Otis and Hallett on that trip either (this was back in the 1980's). I think it's important for people to include exactly which summits they hit, as there have been some differences. Thanks for posting! |
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Post by David T on Sept 4, 2012 13:32:48 GMT -5
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Post by Quinn on Sept 6, 2012 22:59:26 GMT -5
Awesome!!! Although a different route than the "A Walk in the Park." Still wicked fast and awesome link-up! Anton is killing it!
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Post by Peter Bakwin on Sept 7, 2012 8:04:29 GMT -5
Anton Krupicka did the full Glacier Gorge Traverse in 6h17m18s on Sept. 1, 2012. His full report is on the Running Times blog. I'm copying his splits below. The route that Quinn Brett & Wes Thompson reported above is a little different, making a smaller loop by climbing Thatchtop first, then over to Powell. They also skipped Storm Peak, but did summit Half Mtn. Krupicka's splits: Flattop – :58 Hallet – 1:08:20 Hallet-Otis Saddle – 1:15:35 Otis – 1:24:55 Otis-Taylor Saddle – 1:33 Taylor – 1:57:30 Powell – 2:23 McHenry’s Notch – 2:37:15 McHenry’s – 2:50:30 Stoneman Pass – 3:03:10 Chief’s Head – 3:32:50 CH-Pagoda Saddle – 3:46:30 Pagoda – 4:12 Pag-Longs Saddle – 4:16 Longs – 4:42 Top of Trough – 4:46:10 Keyhole – 4:58:10 Storm – 5:10 Half Mt – 5:44:30 Glacier Gorge Trail Junction – 6:04:50 Bear Lake TH – 6:17:18
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Post by Peter Bakwin on Sept 10, 2015 13:32:13 GMT -5
I want to get clear about these 2 routes - the Glacier Gorge Traverse and Rossiter's "Walk in the Park" route. They cover some of the same terrain, but they are different. The naming is confusing since the "Walk in the Park" traverses Glacier Gorge proper, while the Glacier Gorge Traverse encompasses Glacier Gorge, Loch Vale, Chaos Canyon and Tyndall Gorge. Both routes start and end at the Glacier Gorge TH in Rocky Mountain National Park. "Walk in the Park": According to Rossiter's description on mountainproject.com, this route summits Thatchtop, Powell, McHenry's, Chief's Head, Pagoda, Longs, Storm and Half Mtn (described counter-clockwise). In addition, Rossiter says you should take the Keyhole Ridge route between Longs and Storm, which is quite a bit harder than some of the alternatives (such as the standard Keyhole Route). As far as I've heard, Dylan Cousins may have the FKT for this route, 8h50m47s on August 29, 2015, as reported on the mountainproject.com page. EDIT: Cousins reports completing the route in 7h41m29s on September 19, 2016! Quinn Brett reports above doing the route in 10h14m on July 24, 2012, accompanied by Wes Thompson. This is sort of a female FKT, except that Brett and Thompson descended the North Face route off Longs (instead of Keyhole Rigde), and did not actually tag the summit of Storm Peak. The only completion by a female of the full route as described by Rossiter that I am aware of is by Tina Lewis on September 12, 2015, in 13h42m, accompanied by Buzz Burrell (see below). Glacier Gorge Traverse: This is a longer route, but the eastern part is the same. Going counter-clockwise from the Glacier Gorge TH the route goes up the trail to Bear Lake and then to Flattop Mtn. From there you summit Hallett, Otis and Taylor before joining the "Walk in the Park" route on Powell and continuing to McHenry's Chief's Head, Pagoda, Longs, Storm and Half. The Keyhole Ridge is not required (you can use any route on Longs). Before Powell the peaks are all easy, non-technical climbs. It's about 19 miles vs. 15 or so for the "Walk in the Park". A variantion of this route, going clockwise and summiting Mount Lady Washington instead of Half Mtn, was first completed by Jim Disney in 27h50m, from 9:18 p.m. on July 31 to 1:08 a.m. on August 2, 1982. It was Disney's 6th attempt at the route (the first being in 1966!), and he said that "I’m told others have also tried and failed." Disney carried a rope and did several rappels down the more difficult spots. Bill Briggs repeated the route (but with Half instead of MLW) on September 3, 1984, in a speedy 7h17m and without using a rope. Anton Krupicka now has the FKT for this route, 6h17m18s on September 1, 2012, as reported above. I do not know of any time for this route by a female. |
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Post by Peter Bakwin on Sept 13, 2015 15:33:41 GMT -5
Tina Lewis completed the full "Walk in the Park" route as described by Rossiter in 13h42m on September 12, 2015. Lewis was accompanied by Buzz Burrell for the entire route, and by Peter Bakwin for the first 5 peaks. They went clockwise, with the following (approximate) splits: Half Mountain, 1h30m Storm Peak, 2h56m Longs Peak, 4h30m (via Keyhole Ridge) Pagoda Mountain, 5h17m Chief's Head, 6h58m McHenry's Peak, 8h47m Powell Peak, 9h9m Thatchtop Mountain, 11h30m Glacier Gorge TH, 13h42m Lewis' gpx file is available here or on Strava.  Tina Lewis on the Keyhole Ridge route, Longs Peak (photo by Buzz Burrell)  Tina Lewis on the traverse between Powell & Thatchtop (photo by Buzz Burrell)
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Not sure what other times are out there for this! Felt fast at first, but surely lost steam throughout the day. Fantastic traverse, considering you see the entire line from the beginning. 
