Avalanche Peak 2008

Introduction

While we were in Yellowstone National Park we wanted to reach some summits besides just staring into geysers. In the valleys the mosquitoes were horrible so we looked for something with a large altitude gain in that much time. We decided that we could hike up Avalanche Peak. A small yet fun and snowy summit that takes not to many hours to hike. No mosquitos but plenty of spectacular veiws at the top awaited for us. Even though there is nothing that special about this mountain, the height is not high, there is not much that dangerous and severe about it, but, this is a trip that i will remember for a long time.

Beginning

It was about 10 in the morning, we knew that we had plenty of time to hike Avalanche Peak. There was no rush as my family wanted to have sort of a relax-day. This mountain is a nice short hike, yet it has great rewards. The first section of the hike took us through a short, spurce, forest on a steep hill side, there were many streams to cross and moss-covered rocks. Some of the streams gave as trouble because there was a very large amount of snow fall during the winter, and now it was all melting in the warm sun. At the tree-line you could finally see the steep ruble-rock summit. The mountain was like a large pile of steep gravel. It was like a big mound of rubled rocks with huge snowfeilds on them, yet it looked beautiful.

Summit

Steep snowfields were abundant but you could cross them with no fear since there were no rivers or streams under them like there are in many places. In some areas under the snow there are strong currents of ice-cold rivers. If you step in one wrong spot you could tumble in and most likely freeze to death. The trail is steep and crumbly, but on a clear day it is imposible for one to get lost. At the summit there are clear resting areas. It is short walls made from rocks where you can sit down and be away from the strong cold winds of the summit.

Down-Hill

My brother and I made a pretty large snowman at the top while we were taking a break. The way down was much harder because of the steep ruble. The rocks were loose and it was very easy to loose balance and fall. The fall is not that bad if you stop yourself in time, if you do not you will tumble down the sharp rocks beacuse the way down is really steep. Near the tree-line there were hills with snow on them. Where i come from you could not even expect an inch of snow in the winter. Here the snow mounds were many feet tall during the summer! We found a huge piece of bark and used it as a sled! Even though it did not really work it was fun trying. It was a very fun trip with beautiful scenery and plenty of snow even in the summer. This is a mountain you should definetly hike if you visit Yellowstone National Park.

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