Ron
Karpel's "easy" trip to Vogelsang (17-18 June 2000)
sounded like the perfect opportunity to get Rebecca up her first
Sierra peak. She's been backpacking a few times, but has never
stood on a real summit. Moderate pace, class 2, good trail all
the way to camp...
The
hike up Rafferty Creek from the Dog Lake trailhead was uneventful,
and mostly mosquito-free, but we took lots of breaks and even
had a nap break just below 
Tuolumne Pass (see http://www.climber.org/eckert/recent/TuolumnePassLookingNorth.jpg)so
people could adjust to the altitude and lighten their food bags.
Between the pass and the Vogelsang High Sierra Camp, Ethan "hit
the wall" and Ron rested with him while the rest of us found
a good campsite. Everyone made it to camp on the north side of
Fletcher Lake in plenty of time to snooze before dinner.
Sunday
morning we left the teenagers and Ed in camp and headed across
Fletcher Creek (see http://www.climber.org/eckert/recent/VogelsangCampFletcherCreek.jpg)
and around Vogelsang Lake to Vogelsang Pass... on snow about half
the time. Rebecca had never climbed on snow before, but it was
low angle and very good snow conditions. 
From the pass, Ron said we
just needed to get around some steep stuff
(see http://www.climber.org/eckert/recent/VogelsangEastRidge.jpg)
and it was class 2 to the summit. Yeah, right. It stayed easy
class 3, but there were steep places that made some uncomfortable
and there were loose places that made the going slow. The summit
block itself is definitely not class 3 from the south side, and
some begging/pushing/pulling was required to get everyone onto
the actual summit.
I
should note ONCE AGAIN that this was Rebecca's first Sierra peak,
and she hung in there when it got tougher than she expected. At
the top, her smiling face with Half Dome in the background proved
it was worth the effort. (see http://www.climber.org/eckert/recent/VogelsangToHalfDome.jpg)
The register is full, but it seems like this peak gets so much
traffic that a new one will fill up in a couple of years.
As
we picked our way down through the scrub pines, all were dreading
descending the east ridge again. I trotted over to a snow chute
I had been scoping out as we climbed, and tossed a heavy rock
into it to verify that it was soft in the afternoon sun. The runout
wasn't perfect, but everyone was agreeable to try going down it
once I cut a few steps and verified that it wasn't icy. Ron actually
kicked steps the whole way down, while I walked slightly below
the less experienced people (escorting them one at a time down
the steepest part). Ice axes would have added to the comfort level,
but weren't really necessary.
Once
the angle eased off a bit, I sat in the snow and had Rebecca sit
behind me and hang onto my pack. We did a tandem glissade (her
first) with me doing the steering and braking. Her part was to
hang on and enjoy the ride! Ron said later that he relaxed when
he heard her whooping with glee, but everyone else walked all
the way down. This chute was on the north side of the east ridge,
leading directly into the Vogelsang Lake drainage. (see http://www.climber.org/eckert/recent/VogelsangEastBowl.jpg)
The more direct route, which rises from the lake to the north
ridge, had a cornice at the top - but the peak is easier from
the north than from the south (where the east ridge takes you)
when the cornice isn't present.
We
had talked about doing Fletcher in the afternoon, but our 3pm
return to camp wiped out all thoughts of adding anything to the
day. We broke camp and hiked out (7 miles) in just over 4 hours,
reaching the cars at about 8pm. 13 hours of climbing and backpacking,
3rd class rock, kicking steps in 30 degree snow, glissading...
yep, all stock parts of a beginner trip! The only things we missed
out on were wading a waist deep stream and dodging lightning on
the peak.
Despite my friendly jabs, Ron did a great job leading this trip. He didn't rush anyone, he took breaks whenever needed, he helped when people needed a hand, and made it fun even for those who were having trouble with the terrain.
Participants: John Hawley, Ed Lulofs, David Lulofs, Chris Franchuk, Ethan Karpel, Ron Karpel, Steve Eckert, Rebecca Eckert,
-- Steve Eckert