Mt. Timpanogos double with Je10.
On Friday Je10 attempted to break the consecutive summit record (currently 5) on Mt. Timpanogos. I offered to run/hike/climb with her the first two laps and I was really looking forward to getting my first Timp double. The weather was looking a bit dodgy the day before, but I have been watching the mountain all summer and most of the storms we have been getting have been a lot more bark than bite, so I thought that at worst we would get a few hours of rain/hail/sleet/lightning, but we ended up getting one of the worst storms of the summer. So much for 30% chance of rain after 2:00 pm.
(All pictures were on on lap #1)
The first lap was so much fun. The cool weather was actually nice and we chatted the whole way at what seemed like a pretty easy pace. We passed several groups on our way up, but it wasn't as crowded as I am used to up there and I was definitely ok with that. At the saddle the weather still looked decent and we were treated to a really cool rainbow over Utah Valley. We hit the summit in 2:07. Not fast, but decent. On the run down people started asking questions (how fast did you get up, what are you doing etc). People seemed shocked when we told them what we were up to and it was fun to pass most of them on our way back up to see the looks and hear the comments.
The run down was easy and we chatted the whole way. With about a mile to go it started to lightly rain and I was hoping that the storm would quickly blow over, but we wouldn't be that lucky. We hit the parking lot just under 3:30 and Neasts was there waiting for us with smiles. It was great seeing her and I think it lifted our spirits to see a friend. We spent some time at the cars eating and rehydrating and the rain picked up even more, so we broke out the ponchos.
We said goodbye to Neasts and started lap two in the rain. My legs still felt great, but I could feel a bit of fatigue from all of the climbing I had done earlier in the week. After about 1.5 miles Je10 took the lead and really pushed it hard. It felt good to push and we passed a few hikers going up and some of the groups we had seen before. The rain never let up. I wasn't at all concerned about the rain or cold, but I was worried that we would hear thunder or lightning and we both agreed that if we did we would go back down.
Up in the upper basin the clouds looked a bit more ominous than our previous attempt and we stopped several times to evaluate them and decide what to do. I told Je10 that we should get to the saddle and then we would be able to see the entire valley and that would give us a good idea of what to expect. She agreed and when we hit the saddle the mountain was enveloped in a huge white cloud, but nothing looked dark or threatening. It was however raining harder and the wind was blowing pretty good. I was happy to have the ponchos on and both of us added some extra clothes (long sleeve shirt for me and arm sleeves for Je10).
The push up to the summit was pretty surreal. It was eerie. We were both scared because we knew thunderheads could develop quickly and we would be so screwed up there if anything moved in. I told Je10 we needed to haul ass, so we picked up the pace. The typically easy 'trail' up to the top was now rather tricky as all of the rocks were wet and water was now starting to run down the rocky slopes, so we had to take extra care maneuvering through some of the scrambly sections. We passed two guys that were wearing cotton clothing and one was even wearing jeans. They did have on ponchos, but certainly were not dressed appropriately for the conditions.
A few minutes before we hit the top I thought I heard some thunder in the clouds, but at that point I knew if lighting did blow in we were screwed whether we tagged the peak or not, so I kept going. We hit the top and I went in the shack to sign the register and Je10 took off back down. My hands were numb and the register was now completely soaked. It was a challenge to get the wet pages apart and when I finally tried to sign in it was futile because of the wet pages. I should have just gone down. I was now shivering and just wanted to get out of there. I took it very easy on the way down because I did not want to fall. I was very careful, but at one point I looked down into the valley to check for storm clouds and I slipped and went down on my knee. It didn't hurt at all because my knee was already numb, but it just made me more careful going down.
We finally got back to the saddle and it actually looked like the cloud was burning off, but we could also now see some darker clouds moving toward the summit massif, so we kept the brisk pace all the way down and out of the basin. Once we were below the upper basin we both were breathing easy again and I realized I had missed taking a gel and was about an hour behind on my energy. It caught up to me about a mile later and the last few miles going down were a bit of a slog.
Back at the bottom I was really worried about Je10 going back up alone. That was pretty scary up there and I'm sure she would have felt better if someone was with her, but she is a total badass and went back up. Unfortunately she got caught in the storms again very high on the mountain and actually had to run as an electrical storm moved in right over her. It really was too bad that the weather didn't cooperate, because she is so strong and was feeling great. I'm actually looking forward to going back up to do a triple or maybe more and I am sure Je10 will go after the record again. Next time if the conditions are good I think she will get it. Check out her report of the attempt here
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