Tanners Gulch / Triple Traverse
Posted by Joseph Bullough on Apr 26, 2006
Page Views: 2769
Activity Details
Date: On May 6, 2006
Location: Utah, United States
City or Place: Dromedary Peak
Skill Level: Intermediate
Categories: Mountaineering
Partner Status: Will accept Partners
Description
Since there's quite a bit of interest in doing the Tanners Gulch / Triple Traverse this year, I thought I'd post this as an activity to better coordinate our plans.
We'll ascend Tanner's Gulch to the saddle between Dromedary Peak and Sunrise Peak, climb Dromedary, then follow the ridge back over Sunrise Peak and on to Broads Fork Twin Peaks. From the summit of the Twins we'll descend Broads Fork (route to be determined based on conditions) to our shuttle vehicles in BCC, then carpool back to LCC to pick up the remaining vehicles.
Round trip distance: ±6 miles
Total elevation gain: 5,100 feet
If you want to add additional information, just post a reply to this activity. I'll try to keep this description updated with new information as the climb approaches.
Where & When
Meet at the Big Cottonwood Canyon S-Curve (Broads Fork TH) at 4:00am on Saturday, May 6. Based on the number of people who show up, we'll determine how many cars to leave at Broads Fork, then carpool to the starting point in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Make every effort to be on time! I propose we agree to head for Little Cottonwood no later than 4:05am, to avoid standing around waiting for late comers. Sorry to sound hard-nosed about this, but no one enjoys getting up this early, and it isn't fair to have everyone else standing around waiting for someone who's tardy!
Edit 5/4: I'm sure it's obvious, but thought I'd mention it anyway - if anyone is only planning on Dromedary and/or Sunrise without continuing on to BF Twins, there is no reason for you to meet in BCC at 4:00. If this is your plan, just figure on meeting at Tanners Gulch around 4:20-4:30.
Participants
• Myself
• stroker
• Ammon Hatch cancelled
• madsjim
• mauraders cancelled
• tatwood cancelled
• Robert K. (not on SP) cancelled
• fowweezer cancelled
• tolga cancelled
• highonpeaks cancelled
• Shayne (not on SP)
• Todd? (not on SP)
Gear
• Personal gear (food, clothing, water, etc.)
• Headlamp
• Ice axe
• Crampons
• Helmet
• Avalance gear (beacon/probe/shovel)
• Snowshoes ??
Marauders indicated earlier that he is going to carry a short (30m) rope, which should be sufficient for 2 or 3 people, but if others want a rope a second one may be required.
Those who think the may want to rope up will also need to bring a harness. You also need to decide if you're going to just rope up and simul-climb, or actually set anchors and belay, in which case you'll need at least a couple of pickets, runners, and belay devices.
Comments
Post a Comment | | Joseph Bullough | Re: .... | | 
| C'mon Brenton - seize the day! Sleep is overrated anyway. I'm sure you can power through a night of misery at work.
Don't worry about your fitness level - I saw the way you blasted out of the gate on Kings Peak. And this route is not as strenuous as you may think.
Anyway, it should be a fun day - hope you can join us... | | Posted Apr 27, 2006 1:14 pm |
| Ammon Hatch | Gear? | | 
| Maybe a gear list would be good to add. There has been talk of whether to rope or not on the thread. Further, is any avy gear necessary? | | Posted Apr 27, 2006 12:00 am |
| | Joseph Bullough | Re: Gear? | |
| Good idea Ammon. I just kind of threw this together today, but I'll try to add some gear info, etc. tomorrow. | | Posted Apr 27, 2006 1:33 am |
| | Ammon Hatch | Re: Gear? | |
| I don't have a beacon. Is it necessary enough to warrent renting one? | | Posted Apr 27, 2006 5:34 pm |
| | Joseph Bullough | Re: Gear? | |
| For obvious reasons, I get nervous offering advice related to safety gear. I'm hoping everyone else feels similar to me and will bring beacons, but if you and I are the only ones then no, its probably not justified. I'd say wait and see what others are planning to do (please speak up everyone!), then make your decision. | | Posted Apr 27, 2006 7:59 pm |
| | Travis Atwood | Re: Gear? | | 
| There's no harm in carrying a beacon. Better safe than sorry and it's not like it is a huge deal to strap one on anyway. I will also be renting/borrowing one because I haven’t sprung for my own yet.
As far as the ropes situation is concerned, if we get to a point that ropes become mandatory (Dromedary sounds like it's the only place in question and it’s an up and back), I'll just hang out and wait for everybody else to come back down. If the terrain is climbable without ropes, then I'll go up. I’m still “learning the ropes” so I don’t want to push it and get into something I’m not 100% comfortable with. Plus two peaks instead of three in one day isn’t all that bad. I’ll just be happy to get out.
| | Posted Apr 27, 2006 8:24 pm |
| | Travis Atwood | Re: Gear? | |
| I've done some checking and the only place I've found to rent a beacon is up at the U of U. Here is a link to the info.
http://www.utah.edu/campusrec/orp_crs/ORP.pdf
It's really cheap, so if you don't have your own gear, this is a good way to do it. The assurance is well worth the few extra dollars. | | Posted May 1, 2006 3:07 pm |
| | madsjim | Beacons | | 
| I go to the U so I can rent the beacons for a cheaper price, I will stop by on Friday so if anyone would like I can pick up a few so that we can have a little more peace of mind. I am really excited after seeing these pictures! | | Posted May 2, 2006 5:19 am |
| | Ammon Hatch | Re: Beacons | |
| I would like you to pick me up one. Let me know how much it would cost and I'll bring the money to the trailhead for you. Thanks! | | Posted May 2, 2006 6:51 am |
| | madsjim | Re: Beacons | |
| Yeah, I will do that for sure. It says for one day it is $10, they might charge me for two because I have to pick them up on Friday which would then make the price $15 | | Posted May 2, 2006 10:46 pm |
| Ammon Hatch | Current conditions | |
| I got up to the Red Pine overlook today to get some pics of Tanners.
 | | Posted Apr 30, 2006 6:09 am |
| | Travis Atwood | Re: Current conditions | |
| Thanks Ammon. Great shots of the route. | | Posted Apr 30, 2006 3:22 pm |
| marauders | More current pics to wet your whistle! | | | Near the summit of Dromedary, looking west over Sunrise Peak and BF Twin Peaks. This pic was posted by AltaPowderDaze on Telemarktips.com.
Another large glide avalanche broke, but didn't appear to run to the floor of Broads Fork. More incentive to stick far to the west-facing slopes. This pic was posted by wow on Telemarktips.com.
Concerning the previous gear question, I will be bringing a beacon, shovel, probe, and 30m rope with slings (30m rope will only cover 2 people, 3 at the most. Please find a rope if you think you'd like one, you can buy a good 30m dry rope for $70-90. I'd hate to have many of us relying on a rope in the back of our minds and not have enough to go around). My thought is to use the rope as a running belay, or hop the ridge as a counterweight (if the terrain makes that possible). I'm not thinking a full-on fall will occur, just protection against a slip, or simply a courage enhancing device. I'm not going to carry pickets, but I've got a few if someone is interested in carrying them.
Like Joe, I recommend finding a beacon, shovel, and probe. That's the best way to protect your life. Concerning Broads Fork, the best travel advice is for everyone to space out by 300 feet or more. If one person gets hit, everyone can help out and use their point of view to try to pinpoint a location. About the best you can hope for without a beacon. Safer than traveling in a group and having 3 or 4 get hit.
Sticking to the east side (west-facing slope) of Broads Fork is also some protection. It's unlikely an avalanche would carry up onto the east side. If something that big happens, you probably won't live regardless. I don't mean that as a good substitute for safety gear, it's just good travel advice for everyone with or without gear.
I look forward to seeing everyone! This will be a phenomenal day in the mountains! | | Posted Apr 30, 2006 9:39 pm |
| highonpeaks | wanting to join!! | | 
| Is it too late for me to join? My friend Ammon has been telling me about this trip and it sounds really cool. I am wanting to get in a few good mountaineering trips before I summit Gannet in August. I have all the appropriate safety gear ,however, I am not very experienced. About 3 years ago I took an avalanche safety course and begining mountaineering course, but haven't done a lot of active practice since. Do you think that this route would be to advanced for someone that knows just the basics (self arrest, kicksteps, etc)? | | Posted May 4, 2006 8:29 pm |
| | Joseph Bullough | Re: wanting to join!! | |
| The answer to your first question is easy: No, Its definitely not to late to join! Although with the latest weather forecast we may all be re-thinking our plans.
Your second question is a lot more sticky. Please don't take any of this the wrong way - I've never climbed with you, so all I have to judge you on is the background you've provided. This puts me or anyone else who trys to answer your question in the difficult position of trying to guess if your skills are adequate for the climb, and this is not something I feel comfortable doing. Its probably easier for someone who has climbed with you to offer an opinion (Ammon?) but ultimately you'll need to decide for yourself.
The triple traverse covers some of the more radical terrain to be found in the Wasatch, especially under early spring snow conditions; probably not appropriate for anyone falling anywhere near the "beginner" end of the learning curve. Not that I'm calling you a beginner, but just going from what you've told us about yourself.
If you're comfortable with climbing on steep (±40°) snow, you'll probably be fine going up Tanners. You also need to be 100% confident that if you slip, you'll be able to self arrest almost instantly, otherwise you'll never stop.
I'm honestly not trying to discourage you, but just pointing out that the decision to go or not go is really a personal one, and asking opinions of complete strangers on a topic like this is probably not a good idea.
I'll go ahead and add you to the list of participants, unless you decide otherwise. You should also refer back to this thread frequently today and tomorrow, because like I said, the weather forecast has taken a bit of a turn for the worse, so we really need to keep an eye on things.
Have a good one! | | Posted May 4, 2006 10:20 pm |
| | highonpeaks | Re: wanting to join!! | |
| Thank you for your response. It was very helpful and I didn't feel you were judgeing me incorrectly. Keep me on the list of participent for now. I will check back tomorrow and see how things are shaping up.
--Steph | | Posted May 4, 2006 11:15 pm |
| stroker | Strokers in | | | I'm in. My friend Shayne from Las Vegas will be with me also. 4.a.m!!! | | Posted May 5, 2006 1:11 am |
| marauders | Conditions | | | Anyone have a chance to drive up LCC and check Tanner's with binoculars? I'd like to know what the snow looks like. I've been following the snotel data and it looks like roughly 4-6 inches fell above 10,000 feet on Thursday night and early this morning. That was from the top of Collins at Alta, which can be very differnt from the Triple Traverse area.
From those who were out skiing this morning, on moderate terrain, mentioned good stability, but no one has reported yet from terrain as high and steep as where we are going.
Everyone keep posting observations as you collect them so we can make a decision about going tomorrow or possibly doing a less intense climb and waiting until next week for Tanners.
Let me know what you guys think. | | Posted May 5, 2006 6:43 pm |
| | Ammon Hatch | Re: Conditions | |
| I can't say anything more on the conditions, but I can say that it might be better to let this week of warm weather go by and do it next week. If we decide to still do it tomorow, I'll be in still, just my .02
As a suggestion for alternatives, how about Gobbler's and Raymond? | | Posted May 5, 2006 6:49 pm |
| | Travis Atwood | Re: Conditions | |
| I drove over Parleys last night and it was snowing really hard. I'm not sure how things played out at the higher elevations, but I doubt it looks good. I think it might be worth putting off another week. The forecast is clear and sunny through next weekend, so things would defiantly be better. I do like your Idea of trying something else tomorrow. It would be a good warm-up. Anybody else have any thoughts? | | Posted May 5, 2006 7:16 pm |
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