Rainy Memorial Day scramble up Humpback Mountain. A positive and fun group made the best of it, but snow conditions and wet rock forced our turn around at 4,700ft.
On Memorial Day, our group of 8 scramblers met up at 8AM at the Granite Mountain trailhead. We consolidated into 3 cars to caravan the short distance up to the Humpback Mountain (lower) trailhead. The Forest Service roads to the Humpback trailhead are snow free, but rough (as usual) with many deep potholes filled with water. Mid to high clearance vehicles recommended. The forecast called for a 50% chance of rain and a high of 43 degrees, but we hoped the rain would hold off for us (spoiler alert - it did not)!
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The boot path up the Humpback ridge was completely snow free until patchy snow appeared at 3,800 feet and became consistent over 4,000 feet. From there we saw no other footsteps in the snow, but meandered our way through the trees on top of the ridge along the path of least resistance. The snow was mostly firm/consolidated, but there was thin snow coverage. We kicked decent steps as we continued up the ridge, however we had to watch out for that surprise posthole step every now and then. Beneath the thin snow (and with the occasional posthole) we walked a bit carefully keeping an eye out for the branches, tree trunks, and rocks underneath. About 4,500 feet the slopes got a bit steeper and the snow slightly more icy, so we got out our ice axe and put on our helmets. We did not use any traction.
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At this point, the rain we were hoping would stay away had arrived in full force. Unfortunately, it was not the typical PNW drizzle, but a true, steady rain. Everyone's rain gear came on, but despite the added layers we all started to get wet and cold. It didn't take long before the steady rain got the best of many gloves and a few jackets within the group. At 4,600 feet we reached the "crux" of the route, the boulder fields, which run (on and off) the remaining 500 vertical feet up to the summit. Given the late spring snows this season, we were not sure what conditions we would find on these final slopes - still full snow cover, partially exposed boulders, or fully exposed boulders? Ultimately what we found was a mix of both snow and (wet) rock.
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Staying directly on top of the ridge we managed to advance a short section upwards by combining a few rock and snow travel skills simultaneously. A step or two using three points of contact on the rock and then a step or two using the ice axe in snow. It was awkward at best. At 4,700 feet we reached what seemed like an impasse. We investigated multiple route options to determine if anything would go. On our climber's right (west facing slope) the boulder fields were still fully snow covered, but with notably thin coverage. From the side, looking at the slope we could see that the snow was clearly melting out from underneath, exposing the boulders below and a 3-4 foot drop should anyone posthole through the snow. When testing the snow with my ice axe it gave away pretty easily and I would guess unlikely to hold a person's weight for very long. So trying our climber's left (east facing slope) we quickly saw multiple cornices. Right along the ridge top we were blocked by several large rocks covered with a very thin sheet of snow/ice and decent exposure if a fall occurred down the east facing slope below.
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Ultimately we made the decision to turn around at 4,700 feet. As of today, there was no safe route to the summit due to the snow conditions and wet rock. There was not enough snow on the boulder fields for safe travel across (as is done in winter). There was too much water/snow/ice on the rocks to rock scramble the ridge line (as is done in summer). A typical spring scramble I suppose - we were stuck in between seasons today! The group of wet and cold scramblers voiced a unanimous decision for the turn around. A few group members used microspikes for the descent and we made an uneventful return back to the trailhead by 2PM. By some strange twist of fate the rain had stopped!
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Despite the tough weather and route conditions we still made the best of a holiday outside! Kudos to a great group - Travis (co-leader), Laura, Brad, Kevin, Andrea, Shauna, and Chris - who were positive and fun throughout!
Sarah McClellan
