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#700925 - 07/06/07 01:06 PM
[TR] Mt Challenger - Big Beaver - Luna Cirque Traverse 6/30/2007
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Toast
veteran
Registered: 09/03/02
Posts: 1347
Loc: Phinney
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Trip: Mt Challenger - Big Beaver - Luna Cirque Traverse
Date: 6/30/2007
Trip Report:
Four years ago, my friends Dustin, Ken and I tried Mt Challenger over a Fourth of July weekend via Easy Ridge. We passed a guy we'd seen the night before in the parking lot who had just summited and would make it out car to car solo in a day. After seeing this guy, we figured how tough could it be? We got as far as Perfect Pass. Granted, we only given ourselves a one day summit window and it rained on us with no visibility that day. We tucked our tails between our legs and hiked out.
This time, we came in via Ross Lake, did the Eiley Wiley high traverse, tagged Challenger, descended into Luna Cirque and were awed by the greatness all around us. Unfortunately, we forgot to take the cell phone up to Luna summit, so we didn't have arrangements for a return boat the following day. We assumed there’d be several boats in to drop off hikers. There were, we just missed them all. We ended up being castaways at Pumpin Mountain campground for a day, managed to Yogi a couple rounds of breakfast buritos the next morning from a GRCC environmental studies class, and played with signaling mirrors flashing every boat on the lake till one was lured in to investigate. They passed word back to the resort, and we were on a boat back home in time for pizza at Annie’s in concrete by 5:00.
In hind sight, we should have made the boat arrangement ahead of time, and I should have brought full gaiters. My feet were soaked after the snow went isothermal from the recent heatwave. Some things we did right were careful research and verifying the Big Beaver crossing on our way in. As of this writing, there is a single log across Big Beaver that would have been dicier to have taken, but there's a log jam a twenty minute bushwack down stream that's a lot safer.
No bee stings on the way in, a perfectly reasonable brush bash up to Eiley Wiley ridge, one amazing alpine sunset, incredible alpine views of all peaks around us, and two really great friends made this one of my best climbs to date. On the boat dock July 4th, I felt totally beat up, scraped and bruised… but in a good kinda way.
Gear Notes:
Handful of nuts (not needed,) Pickets (handy for descending the wrong gully into access creek,) Full Gaiters (I wish I'd brought)
Approach Notes:
From Beaver Pass, descend just past campsite marker and aim for the wide gap between drainages. Head directly uphill skirting cliffs. Trending to the right, find bench at ~ 5700’. Follow ridgeline up and follow along south side to Eiley Lake. You will need to skirt around Eiley lake clockwise. Nice camp in rocks above Wiley Lake with spectacular ampetheter seating to view sunsets.
From Challenger Summit, descend NW ridgeline trending to the right as you enter Luna Cirque. Corkscrew downwards staying as high as practical around Luna cirque till Lousy Lake is due East before heading straight down. Anything short of that will get cliffed out.
From Luna Pass bivy site, descend bowl aiming for the far side of the minor peak that extends off Luna’s east side. There are three points to drop into Access Creek from that point. We rapped the first gulley which was very narrow and steep. In hindsight, I’d take the second if it has snow. It’s less steep and more forgiving. There is a third point to drop in from further down that would go.
From head of Access Creek, follow right hand side of creek till boulders run out. We saw a small cairn and took it as a sign to cross to the north side into trees. We found mostly light brush but ran into a few bad patches of slide alder around dry creek beds. Once it leveled out we crossed Access Creek to find a log jam across Big Beaver – approximately at the “v” in Beaver marked on the USGS quad. The creek draining down from the trailside is just north of Luna Camp.
If you should come upon a red Suunto Vector laying in the rocks at the creek, it's probably mine.
Edited by Toast (07/07/07 10:32 AM)
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#701052 - 07/07/07 07:54 AM
Re: [TR] Mt Challenger - Big Beaver - Luna Cirque
[Re: Rad]
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tazz
journeyman
Registered: 05/03/05
Posts: 89
Loc: capitol hill
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Nice Toast! Thanks for the Beaver crossing beta!! Would love to see some pics... 
Good work! I am happy it went well for ya!
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#701067 - 07/07/07 10:17 AM
Re: [TR] Mt Challenger - Big Beaver - Luna Cirque
[Re: tazz]
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Toast
veteran
Registered: 09/03/02
Posts: 1347
Loc: Phinney
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I'm waiting for D to whittle down the shots to a reasonable number to select from. We had one camera, but he shot enough for all three of us
If you go up that way, I dropped a red Suunto Vector somewhere around the Big Beaver crossing, prob crossing the logs or on the bushwhack up to the trail. I took it off my wrist for a swim and attached it to my shoulder strap. In hindsight, I don't think I secured it very well and noticed it missing when I was back on trail.
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#701186 - 07/08/07 11:39 AM
Re: [TR] Mt Challenger - Big Beaver - Luna Cirque
[Re: Toast]
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Dustin_B
old hand
Registered: 10/16/02
Posts: 785
Loc: New Zealand
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#701234 - 07/08/07 08:08 PM
Re: [TR] Mt Challenger - Big Beaver - Luna Cirque
[Re: Dustin_B]
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wayne1112
Pooh-Bah
Registered: 05/14/01
Posts: 1962
Loc: relative
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Did someones words ring throughyour mind Tony?
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#701962 - 07/10/07 12:42 PM
Re: [TR] Mt Challenger - Big Beaver - Luna Cirque
[Re: SGPeas]
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Dustin_B
old hand
Registered: 10/16/02
Posts: 785
Loc: New Zealand
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Is it possible to descend from the ridge (Wiley Lake area) to the cirque and then climb back up to close to Luna without the use of ropes?
As Toast said, yes. But I don't think you want to drop into Luna Cirque from just anywhere. Actually, I believe there is only one 'easy' way to drop into Luna Cirque from up there and that is to descend a shoulder coming off the Challenger Glacier due east, down to around 6,300 feet, then traverse the cirque (counterclockwise obviously) first to the southeast slowly loosing elevation to drop around some cliffs and steep snow, then maintaining your elevation for a while as you contour around the cirque (to stay above hidden tree covered cliffs below). Don't drop to low (into the trees and hidden cliffs beyond) and don't stay too high (ice cliffs, hanging glaciers, steep snow, smooth granite slabs). The path became obvious to us once we were dropping down the shoulder off the glacier. We could see where we needed to descend to, and then where we needed to maintain elevation and contour around.
Picture showing Luna Cirque and Mt. Challenger from near Luna Lake. The shoulder I was referring to above is the one on the right skyline. When starting to traverse, stay on the snow above the rocks and cliffs until where the snow is almost continous down to the bottom.
From Luna Lake we took a path to the far left - not pictured here so don't get confused - (to avoid steep and discontinuos snowfields heading directly up from the lake) bushwhacking through some cliffy treed areas and then traversing back right and up to Luna Pass.
Also, has anyone heard of successful trips into Luna via the Standard Big Beaver-Luna Camp-Access Creek in and out routes?
Toast or I can give some beta on the Access Creek approach. Make sure you choose the correct gulley to descend from Luna in to Access Creek Basin. If you didn't go up that way it can be challenging......
Gullies leading to the southeast ridge of Luna Peak from the head of Access Creek. Coming down, and not realizing there were 3 options, we took the first and steepest gully on the right.
Shenanigans in the gully:
Edited by Dustin_B (07/11/07 11:40 AM)
_________________________
At least we're winning the war on the environment...
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#702043 - 07/10/07 03:16 PM
Re: [TR] Mt Challenger - Big Beaver - Luna Cirque
[Re: ncascademtns]
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Toast
veteran
Registered: 09/03/02
Posts: 1347
Loc: Phinney
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You did, but with snow filling all three, we figured any would go. In hindsight, that was a mistake. Once we rapped in we found it a lot steeper than we thought initially and were committed at that point. The snow was firming up too, and the side moats didn't give much room for error. We ended up dead manning several anchors and doing several raps to get out.
Note to self, think twice before you rap into a gully  Next time I'll weigh options more carefully. Any slip could have turned this into a really ugly TR.
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#702154 - 07/10/07 08:04 PM
Re: [TR] Mt Challenger - Big Beaver - Luna Cirque
[Re: Dustin_B]
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tazz
journeyman
Registered: 05/03/05
Posts: 89
Loc: capitol hill
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Ahh Now I see what you did. It is very steep in the standard gully. I would have not wanted to be in the gully you guys chose!  I would have done the same as you Dustin! Insist on Rapping it! Good stuff guys!
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#702204 - 07/10/07 11:02 PM
Re: [TR] Mt Challenger - Big Beaver - Luna Cirque
[Re: SGPeas]
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tazz
journeyman
Registered: 05/03/05
Posts: 89
Loc: capitol hill
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here is a tr from last year. the log jam is further down stream than the log we crossed. The log we crossed is probably not there anymore. There is beta on the gully for ya. Luna Tr
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