Climbing Oregon's Mt. Jefferson Alone
Vložit
- čas přidán 17. 07. 2024
- Mt. Jefferson is Oregon's second tallest volcano, standing about 10,495ft tall. The route included a bit of a shortcut to get to the standard Jefferson Park route. I estimate the round trip to be around 14 miles up and down over 6,000ft of vert. The hike included hours on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), thousands of feet of steep loose rock, crossing the entire Whitewater glacier, and some relatively steep snow climbing and traverse. It is certainly one of the more challenging Cascade peaks.
For more mountain submitting videos, please check out my Summit Specials playlist by following the link below:
• Summit Specials
Video Contents:
00:00 - Intro ~4,400ft
00:38 - PCT Approach from Woodpecker TH
01:24 - Russell Creek
03:02 - Ridge Approach
04:53 - Crossing over North Ridge
05:07 - Whitewater Glacier
06:15 - SE Ridge Climb
08:14 - Saddle Point
08:38 - Traversing Summit Block
10:05 - Climbing Summit Block
13:10 - Summit ~10,495ft
13:47 - Rappels from summit
16:33 - Traversing Summit Block
17:59 - Descent and Sign Off
Thanks for showing the down climb and rappel. Lots of folks end the vid at the summit, skipping the most important part: getting home!
For sure the most important part! 😉🤙
Yo this was amazing. Thanks for the footage! Just summited Hood alone yesterday so Jefferson is on my radar now.
Congrats man! Jeffy may be a good next challenge. The long, indirect approach makes it a good bit harder overall, but the technical portion is compareable in danger to Hood. Definitelt requires more navigation skill. If you go at it alone, know you may not see many other people out there and if you get in trouble it is unlikely anybody will come along to find you. It took me multiple failed attempts to land on that route. If you're like me, being alone on the East side is eerie and there will be an extra mental load that builds the further you go. Its a good place to learn about yourself lol. Good luck and think clearly out there. Cheers!
This is my goal mountain and watching you do it solo to boot was inspiring man. Good work! 🙌
Thank you so much! ☺
Thank you for taking us with you on this spectacular climb!
Thanks for coming along!!
Thanks for your videos as I am finding them therapeutic for my fear of heights. You make it all look so easy and fun, with good humor. Stay safe! Meanwhile, I will stick to my moderate hiking and enjoy videos like this for a vicarious thrill!
Thank you so much, the comment really means a lot to me! ☺
This video got my blood pumping dude! I grew up in the eastern shadow of mt Jefferson and I've wondered about summiting it. That climb and especially the traverse looked so gnarly, definitely puts a new perspective on things.
Also thanks for including all the landmarks. Thats some quality stuff man. Can't wait to see more from you.
FYI, that was my 5th attempt at Jefferson. Of course I got weathered out 3 times, but the first time I tried going straight up the Whitewater Glacier I couldn't handle it and bailed. I do think this spiral route I took around to the southern ridge may be the easiest. I know people climb the North Ridge as well, but I haven't tried that approach. I really want to know what that final climb is like in late summer when snow is gone... Thanks for the comment. Cheers!
Nice work. Thanks for sharing the great footage of the traverse and summit block. The final snow pitch looked aggressive.
Thanks! It was steeper than I anticipated. I questioned myself the whole way up from the traverse and would have thrown in the towel if not for having the rope to rappel that last section.
My god... this was amazing to watch, I loved every second of it.
Thanks for the comment! The little bit of feedback I get is well worth the time it takes to make the videos. Cheers!
Thank you so much, for this awesome !
Thanks for the comment!🙏
You are a Legend.
I’ll stick to just hiking around it, thx!
Alex, done in superb form!
Thank you!!
Damn this is crazy!! Badass dude!!
😁😁
Awesome work.. I know too many dudes who freak out when peeps, including myself, do outdoor stuff alone. I should send them ur vid. 🤣🤣 Awesome effort, great video too.
Lol they just don't get it do they
@@summitspecials nope! 🤣🤣
Great climb! Certainly some sketchy sections, especially that last traverse.
Thank you, sir!
wow.
Bro this mountain looks so fun! That ice climbing after the traverse looked so badass too. Did you have to leave your ropes that you used on the way down?? I can't wait to attempt this one!!
I had slings for anchors and was able to pull my rope down after rappelling.
Awesome footage! I think I’ve watched this vids at least 3 times haha. How gnarly is the steep traverse? Is it maybe along the lines of Old chute on Mount Hood? 😁
I think you got the right idea. I've climbed Hood a bunch but have only summited Jefferson once. My personal take is that it does not hit as steep of an angle as Hood's Old Chute does, but it is comparable and was just as sketchy for me. It was icy and I had soft boots, so the traverse really wore my toes out that day.
is there an alternate path to the summit instead of traversing summit block? going with fam in a couple months and will have poles and bottom shoe spikes but not ice picks or spikes on the front of the shoe to kick into the ice
I think there are three routes to the east face of the summit pinnacle, but doing this traverse from the south ridge is the most straight forward. The North ridge approach also requires some glacier travel and traversing. Your best bet may be to wait until latter summer and hope that the snow has melted such that the path is mostly exposed rock. I am supposed to be going out there at the end of July and could let you know if the standard route still requires crampons and ice axe... most people take that equipment either way. The boot chain style spikes just don't provide much assistance for steep conditions.
This is the first video of yours I've seen so forgive me if the answer is elsewhere, but did you get into climbing before mountaineering by chance or vice versa? Im fairly new to the mountains and am looking for a gym near me to learn climbing and rope skills/technique. Just curious as to what your progression looked like initially. Also great video, the pov shots and long lens shots mixed in definitely did this route justice. I hope to add this summit to my bag in the future so thank you for the inspiration.
Thanks for the comment! Between you and me, I basically moved to Oregon then bought an ice axe and crampons the night before attempting Mt Hood for the first time. Didn't know what I was doing. Spent a couple years scrambling and climbing snow fields before taking on the craggy peaks. The 2nd time I ever rappelled was off the summit of Mt Jefferson and I've been filming since then. Of course proper training is recommended, and I am not a good example. I am just methodical, understand risk management, and spent a lot of time educating myself. Some mountains took me multiple attempts because I know when to call it a day and turn back to get home safely. Gyms are good for rock climbing muscles, but if you want to advance in mountaineering, it's simple to just go out and start with the less dangerous peaks like South Sister, Saint Helen's, Adams, or Lassen. Spend time on 30-40degree snow fields and loose terrain up to class 3-4 scrambling and see how a 10 mile 5000ft day feels. Then maybe get a better handle on roping and/or crevasse rescue before taking on more complex peaks like Baker, Jefferson, Washington, etc. Hope that helps some. Cheers!
Epic climb and great video. How long of a rope did you need to rappel off the summit?
My rope was 60m and I used every bit of it. Could get away with 50m if thqts all you had. Cheers!
Question based on my ignorance of the mountain: you got yourself up to the north base of the summit, yet went all the way around to the saddle on the south side. Is an approach to the summit block from the north not feasible?
There is a route up across the top of the Jefferson Park Glacier and you can traverse the summit block from the north ridge. It is a feasible alternative, but I haven't done it myself. My guess is that it's only slightly shorter but could be more technical. There's also a more technical route that goes up the East side from the whitewater glacier that is unsafe in summer months once the rocks start rolling (I tried it once and turned back around 9000ft). I can't say my route is for sure the easiest, but it is a lot shorter than starting at Pamelia even though it wraps around the mountain. Hope that helps. Cheers!
This may shed a bit more light:
www.summitpost.org/summit-pinnacle-mount-jefferson/30963/c-150576
Maybe this question is stupid, but how did you get the rope back when you desceded? Or did you pick it up when you climbed, then leave it for the next person? I've never climbed, but now I think about it I'm guessing you have it hooked and looped over the anchor point at the top, then when you detach you just pull all the rope. Kinda like a pulley system??
Yep. Rope has to be doubled in order to be able to pull it down. So with my 60m rope I can do a 30m rappel. It is just looped through a sling. This means both ends of the rope have to go through the belay device. This does require leaving behind a sling or some sort of anchor. It alsi may be best to use belay loops. You'll typically come across slings and other equipment left behind by other climbers. I have more often used what is already there without having to leave my own. It is generally the case if somebody comes along and the sling is worn, sun faded, tattered, or otherwise damaged and unfit for use, they'll go ahead and remove the equipment (now trash). It is up to you to inspect and make sure a setup is safe to use. Cant just assume somebody knew what they were doing. Cheers!
what a great video. I have always wanted to climb all the mountains I can see from Bend. Evidently its not that easy lol
You can do it! haha thanks for the nice comment
Nice job, that traverse looked pretty long and sketchy. Did you see anywhere decently high up on the mountain (before the saddle) that could work as a bivvy site? I'm interested in trying to do it over 2 days to pitch out more of the steep parts with protection.
Yea i was a bit uncomfortable with my soft boots lol... There is plenty of space to camp on the North side roughly around 8200ft. Once you hit whitewater glacier it only gets steeper until you hit the saddle.
what size rope you take for the rappel?
60m dynamic line, 9mm or so.
Great video. What slope angle do you get up to on the final ascent?
Around 11:00 in the video I began carving some footholds with axe since the pitch was near vertical for about 20ft or so. My camera battery died as I began climbing it :/. At 15:48 I look upward and you can see the shelf I had just rappelled over (climbed up around the right side of the rock). Other than that steepest part, the climb up to the summit ridge is a similar angle to the traverse.
@@summitspecials Thanks for your input. Hopefully I can make it out there soon
@@jaredempey5706 this late in the year that last section is probably exposed rock, not snow covered. Good luck!
Ur nuts. I want to get this one on video but haven't been able to schedule with someone who has done it before.
If the timing worked out I'd be iinterested in climbing with yoh
@@summitspecials Wow nice. Someone said they might be into end of July. June-July best window of conditions in your opinion?
What length rope were you using for the rappels? Looked like just two?
I only had one 60m rope so rappells were 30m.
@@summitspecials Thanks; do you think it would be doable as a single rappel with two 50m ropes? Starting to plan for 2021-2022 and Jefferson is on the list, but I haven't found much info yet about the rappel.
So I had snow coverage on the traverse up to the final ridge crawl on the summit block. Not sure what rock is like underneath. I really didn't need to do the first rappel. The second rappel was the steepest part and I would have been fine with 1 50m rope, doubled to rappell 25m.