Bean Peak

Bean Creek's volume was down to the point where one could dance across in boots and gaiters without getting wet. The shooting stars in the meadow were spectacular, snow had retreated into the gullies, and most of the rock is now exposed.

This was a makeup trip that included one student who had yet to do the Rock FT, two who through no fault of their own hadn't completed the Rock component of the Experience FT, and one scheduled to take a makeup Experience FT in July.

The student who hadn't done the Rock FT wasn't the only one needing help with the basics. We started on a low outcrop that provided a number of opportunities for friction, cracks, counterforce, laybacks, and downclimbing, and worked our way up the hill from there. By the time we got to the summit block, a student was routefinding in the lead, and she brought us to the SE ridgecrest. We continued up the S side of the ridge, where the student relinquished the lead. I led the rest of the way, up the S side of the ridge, across a ledge with 30' of exposure to the top, and all performed like veterans. After a bit of summit lounging, the students demonstrated their protected downclimb on the normal descent route off the SW face.

We took our time (10 hours, car-to-car), doing a lot of coaching and practice, and it really paid off. One student later reported on Facebook, "My confidence on rock skyrocketed." All finished much more technically accomplished and confident.