FrancisH - May 18, 2023 5:48 pm Date Climbed: May 13, 2023
western face of the Heavenly Twins
Heavenly Twins South West Face via Big Creek Trailhead
5/13/2023
Solo Francis Horton
Start time 4:20am temp @ T/H 47°F
Finish time 7:41pm temp @ T/H 58°F
Approach
Beaver Creek approach
I started from the Big Creek trailhead at 4:20am to try and beat the warming snow pack at higher elevations. Traveling west along the main trail for 7 miles until intersecting with Beaver creek. There I turned north and headed up parallel with beaver creek on a mixture of game trails and an old trail that more closely resembled a thick hedge. This point was challenging and any later in the year I could see it being nearly impassible once the foliage is fully bounced back. After crossing a boggy clearing that seemed to be the confluence of multiple streams draining from the southern ridgeline of the Twins I started heading northeast through moderate to thin pine forest, slowly gaining a small plateau at the base of a large avalanche chute coming off the west face of the south peak.
Climb
Avi chute from below
Avi chute from above
The avalanche chute was full of old debris including a few trees of notable size, enough to give me pause. But the snow was still solid and it seemed that speed would be the safest approach of the day. I was able to travel about 2k feet up the chute on my skis. When I tried to head north on the open snowfield to climbers left, the snow was getting soft and wet, pushing me back onto my original line. Here I transitioned to crampons and tools due to the steepness and how narrow the space had become. At this point I could have chosen a better line. Above me to the left was a rising snowfield with a cornice at the top. Not wanting to risk the terrain with the temperature increasing, I pushed through the rock pinnacles directly ahead of me. If I had chanced the cornice I would have gained an unobstructed field all the way to the summit. Instead I had to move over very thin snow cover on granite slabs which I could find little purchase on. After moving through the pinnacles it was just a scramble and a bit of a boot pack to the summit.
View looking southwest from just below summit
Decent
I came off the summit on the west face angeling south cutting diagonally across the cornice that scared me off and my boot pack just below the pinnacles. Staying high I gained the southern ridgeline where I dropped into the large south facing bowl between the shoulders of the Twins and Disappointment ridge. Reaching the end of the snow I hiked out along the west side of the creek. It was thick, steep, wet and all around the worst part of the day. The eastern side looked less of a thicket but the creek was running high and fast and I didnt want to risk a crossing. The wood line higher up might have been a better choice too but who's to say. Once done navigating the brush I ended up on Big Creek trail about 5 miles from the trailhead and it was just a brisk walk back.
Personal notes and conditions
Unfortunately something was draining the battery on my phone so I had to turn off my GPS tracking just before leaving beaver creek. The battery lasted until 2:30pm after I found some shelter for lunch just 200 ft from the summit. Due to this I'm not 100% certain when and what elevations I made my transitions, also data such as air temp and wind speed are lacking. From what I could tell the wind was around 5 to 10 mph with gusts that felt like they could be just shy of 20. I experienced hail and sleet at the summit and some light rain while descending at 7.5k feet and below. At the summit I would have to guess the temperature was somewhere between 30/35 degrees fahrenheit. All in all it was a long day with plenty of challenges, both physical and mental. This ascent might have been more enjoyable a week or two before with better snow conditions, but it still was a blast.
FrancisH - May 18, 2023 5:48 pm Date Climbed: May 13, 2023
western face of the Heavenly TwinsHeavenly Twins South West Face via Big Creek Trailhead
5/13/2023
Solo Francis Horton
Start time 4:20am temp @ T/H 47°F
Finish time 7:41pm temp @ T/H 58°F
Approach
Beaver Creek approach
I started from the Big Creek trailhead at 4:20am to try and beat the warming snow pack at higher elevations. Traveling west along the main trail for 7 miles until intersecting with Beaver creek. There I turned north and headed up parallel with beaver creek on a mixture of game trails and an old trail that more closely resembled a thick hedge. This point was challenging and any later in the year I could see it being nearly impassible once the foliage is fully bounced back. After crossing a boggy clearing that seemed to be the confluence of multiple streams draining from the southern ridgeline of the Twins I started heading northeast through moderate to thin pine forest, slowly gaining a small plateau at the base of a large avalanche chute coming off the west face of the south peak.
Climb
Avi chute from below
Avi chute from above
The avalanche chute was full of old debris including a few trees of notable size, enough to give me pause. But the snow was still solid and it seemed that speed would be the safest approach of the day. I was able to travel about 2k feet up the chute on my skis. When I tried to head north on the open snowfield to climbers left, the snow was getting soft and wet, pushing me back onto my original line. Here I transitioned to crampons and tools due to the steepness and how narrow the space had become. At this point I could have chosen a better line. Above me to the left was a rising snowfield with a cornice at the top. Not wanting to risk the terrain with the temperature increasing, I pushed through the rock pinnacles directly ahead of me. If I had chanced the cornice I would have gained an unobstructed field all the way to the summit. Instead I had to move over very thin snow cover on granite slabs which I could find little purchase on. After moving through the pinnacles it was just a scramble and a bit of a boot pack to the summit.
View looking southwest from just below summit
Decent
I came off the summit on the west face angeling south cutting diagonally across the cornice that scared me off and my boot pack just below the pinnacles. Staying high I gained the southern ridgeline where I dropped into the large south facing bowl between the shoulders of the Twins and Disappointment ridge. Reaching the end of the snow I hiked out along the west side of the creek. It was thick, steep, wet and all around the worst part of the day. The eastern side looked less of a thicket but the creek was running high and fast and I didnt want to risk a crossing. The wood line higher up might have been a better choice too but who's to say. Once done navigating the brush I ended up on Big Creek trail about 5 miles from the trailhead and it was just a brisk walk back.
Personal notes and conditions
Unfortunately something was draining the battery on my phone so I had to turn off my GPS tracking just before leaving beaver creek. The battery lasted until 2:30pm after I found some shelter for lunch just 200 ft from the summit. Due to this I'm not 100% certain when and what elevations I made my transitions, also data such as air temp and wind speed are lacking. From what I could tell the wind was around 5 to 10 mph with gusts that felt like they could be just shy of 20. I experienced hail and sleet at the summit and some light rain while descending at 7.5k feet and below. At the summit I would have to guess the temperature was somewhere between 30/35 degrees fahrenheit. All in all it was a long day with plenty of challenges, both physical and mental. This ascent might have been more enjoyable a week or two before with better snow conditions, but it still was a blast.