TEHIPITE DOME (7,708') September 2-4, 1995

Another scheduled SPS trip was led for this holiday. It wasn't too hot, and I had a good time bagging this remote class 4 peak with a fine group.

The standard backpack starts from the Crown Creek trailhead, and runs along a fine but long trail. It is some 20 miles one way to the peak. Most all dropped packs to bag Spanish Mountain, but me having already done it, stayed at the junction to guard the packs.

We continued on to a nice base camp. There was a dead horse along the way.

Getting up the next morning, we headed cross-country at a point to head for the peak. You leave the trail to descend for the top. With good guidance, we had little brush, and soon were approaching the top. The leaders set up a rope, and some saw this as class 3. It isn't very hard to climb, but a fall would be terrible, although not very far. Rocks at the bottom.

I topped out with others, and the views were magnificent. The light was good, and we all signed in the register. Shooting a nice picture of my summit group, I went back to climb back down, and the group waited and rested below the climb. It was another navigation effort to hike back to the trail.

Crossing a creek was the only noteworthy item on the hike back to camp. Upon our pack out the next day, I was thanking the leaders, to drive home that night.

Being a class 4 Mountaineers peak, the main difficulty is the big step where a loss of balance would do most in. And, of course, the route finding to get there. There was some debate about this being class 3, instead of 4, due to the then new requirements about insurance. It may have been illegal to use a rope, but some leaders feel strongly about any changes to this being a climbing section.

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