Del Campo Peak

Del Campo Peak, S-4, T-5, Sunday, July 27, 2014.
We got going an hour later than planned, for reasons that aren't relevant here. We took the usual walk on the road (the detour for a "slide" is pointless -- just stay on the road), then the usual Weeden Creek/Gothic Basin trail up to the Basin, which is still quite full of snow. Likewise, a fair amount of snow for this time of year remains on the slopes between Foggy Lake and the summit rock block. One of my group of students was a little trepedatious on the exposed-seeming summit rock, but was willing to push her envelope. Fortunately, my other students were competent and supportive, allowing me to focus my attention on the party member who was least comfortable with the exposure. She responded superbly, and was actually more comfortable coming down off the rock than ascending (contrary to the usual experience). The firm snow beneath the summit was excellent mid-season practice for the students -- no catastrophic danger from a slip, but realistic pitch and hardness for step kicking and glissading. Other leaders working with students may wish to take advantage of these conditions while they last. No other incidents or injuries of note. Subtracting for breaks to pump water (pumping water is a good idea on this trip, since its readily available from the lake and various cascades and freshets along the hot, steep trail, and saves the weight of carrying several liters up to the basin and summit), our travel time was about 12 hours (see above for extra time spent working with one student on the summit rock).