We set out just before 7am on our summit bid.
The temperature was cool, but the wind wasn't terrible for most the trip. I definitely could have layered up more, as when the wind did hit, it left an impression. I was really only "too cold" for one brief section.
I can't say the same for Sharon. She got frozen once we got above treeline and never fully recovered from that. I guess we both should have brought even more layers than we did. The top of the mountain is still "winter conditions" even though it's almost July!
Here are some of the views we enjoyed on our way up:
Right when we reached the summit, a big cloud quickly passed over us, making the top of the mountain *very* cold.
That's when we discovered that the summit house was closed today. At the end of June! In the week of summer solstice!
Sharon started to panic a little, worried that we'd be in for a long descent. I knew that the road usually opened up to Devil's Playground on days when the summit was too windy or icy. So I figured we'd have about 5 miles of easy descent on the road until we reached a ride. I tried to calm Sharon with this information, but unfortunately she was just freezing and it's hard to keep a positive attitude when you're so cold. I'm proud of her though, she really stuck it out!!
After 2 miles on the road, a nice ranger picked us up and took us the other 2 miles down to Devil's Playground, where we hitched a ride. Do not, I stress, DO NOT do this - it's normally illegal to run on the road and you can't expect a ride down on days when the road is fully closed. However, the nice ranger was understanding. We thought it was a clear day and the road would be open; I mean it's almost July!
On our way down the road, we saw a car that had driven off the side, and was stuck on the mountainside slope at a steep angle, teetering on the brink of turning over. The ranger mentioned that this happened the day prior on a patch of ice, which is likely why they were so hesitant on opening the summit.
Despite our adventure taking an unexpected twist at the end, I had a great time. I had fun running on the road, which was super smooth and enjoyable - something you can't normally do.
And I'm glad Sharon braved through the dangers and we made our first summit of the year!
Oh yeah - my summit time was 4:27 and Sharon was just a few minutes ahead of me. Felt pretty solid for the first of the season!
Hopefully the mountains will heat up this week and we will see easier summit conditions in the upcoming weeks.
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