Larry Lewin
Mt Goode - SW Coulior - July 18-23rd, 2007
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| Larry Lewin, a Seattle Mountaineer for over
40 years came to NCMG after adamantly attempting one of the
North Cascades prized summits six times. He wanted to achieve
a fifteen-year goal of reaching the summit of Mt Goode. To Larry's
credit he has had weather and partner issues contributing to
the lack of success. He was willing to give it one more shot
in the company of a professional guide. Little did I know that
this was going to be one of my favorite trips all season. (Trip
report by Mark Allen) |
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| Goode is a rather remote peak. One either
approaches from the North Cascades Highway, traveling
15+ miles on trail or takes the ferry across glacial Lake
Chelan, followed by a shuttle up the Stehekin river, a
9 mile hike on trail, 3 miles of back country travel,
and gain 5500ft of elevation before reaching a camp one
can attempt to summit from. To say the least, Larry has
already put forth much effort and had decided that this
was his last try. Did I mention that Larry is seventy. |
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| A John Scurlock photo taken of Goode
during early winter months. This photo well captures the
dramatic nature of Goode's relief and our objective route
the SW Couloir right of center leading to the summit. |
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| Photo taken of the South Face of Goode
during one of Larry's past summit attempts during summer
months. Later we used this to assist in planning our trip.
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| We accessed the range in a fun and unique
way from the East. After taking the "Lady of the Lake"
ferry across lake Chelan on the eastern side of the range,
we arrived in the small mountain village of Stehekin.
Here we caught the mountain shuttle deeper into the range.
This section of the park is lush and has an amazing network
of trails. Here Larry approaches our first camp in and
out of rain showers on the Park Creek trail |
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| After a soggy night by Park Creek we
pack up and head off trail and begin our first big elevation
gain. |
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| After several hours and rain showers
we gain our first view of the South Face of Goode. Traveling
at this stage of the Sub-alpine is one of my favorite
moments in the backcountry. There is nothing like this
anywhere else but the Cascades. We saw so many different
types of wildflower, carcasses, and species of wild life.
There was also much evidence of a bear in our midst. |
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| Our tree line camp in amongst the larches.
On our second evening we were awarded with alpenglow and
a rain free evening so we could enjoy our meals. Larry
was anxious to move up to high camp the next day. |
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| After moving up to high camp after three
days of travel, we were in position to summit...but the
weather yet again began to deteriorate. We had a perfect
view of the oncoming weather from the SW. Here Larry is
contemplating the forecast and the field observation not
looking promising for his last attempt. . |
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| Rain pattered the tent all night and
into the morning. 4:30am I woke up for the first weather
check and it was rain. 5:30am...what? No Rain! We quickly
pack up and saw a massive break in the weather across
the range to the SW. Here is a photo of the summit when
we began at 6:30am. Lets give it a shot Larry! |
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| Clouds went in and out we arrived at
the mouth of the Couloir. Looking wet but climbable. We
climbed up with the idea that we would turn around if
the conditions looked like they might become unsafe. The
climb would unravel one step at a time. |
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| While punching into the cloud layer I
lead the first pitch into technical terrain of steep exposed
scrambling. The rock was wet but very climbable! Upward. |
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| Looking down the couloir at Larry at
the belay. The clouds swirled around us making climbing
more exiting. The clouds dropped the temperature making
us climb in all of our clothing. |
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| Larry gaining ground high in the couloir,
sequencing some tricky moves. |
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| One pitch below gaining the ridge which
would take us to the summit pyramid, the clouds open up,
showing us how much ground we have already gained. |
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| Larry gaining the ridge and Black Tooth
Notch with the last few moves on good Granite. |
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| Here Larry and I wrap around the summit
onto the North side gaining massive exposure that is hidden
by the cloud cap. Here Larry is traversing out to the
belay that will stage us for the final pitches to the
summit. |
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| The high wind has dried the rock and
Larry and I enjoy excellent climbing. The rock quality
improved greatly and the idea of summiting was becoming
a reality will every hold upward. |
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| Larry! I can take you no farther. We
are on the Summit. Larry and I summited in 6 1/2hrs from
camp. Finally, Larry achieved his goal of summiting Mt.
Goode. Put that feather in your cap. |
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| Satisfaction set in and we caught a glimpse
of the South Face of Buckner and the Buckner glacier. |
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| We couldn't help but laugh. Five out
of six days we received rain. We had an 11 hr weather
window and it happened to line up with our 12 hour summit
day. The longest foul weather cycle we had all summer
and we were still able to achieve our goal. Larry had
the odds against him when climbing this peak, but he persevered.
Congratulations Larry and thanks for your spirit. Here
we are back in Stehekin waiting for our boat ride home. |
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| Larry treated NCMG to a bottle of Champaign
to celebrate our success. |
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| Larry had many years to think about his
reward after his summit. Here Larry sits down to the cake
his girlfriend made him accompanied by coffee ice cream.
Good work Larry. See you around the range. The pleasure
was all NCMG's! |
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