It's getting to be that time of year where Little T is seeing substantially less climbing traffic. Upper mountain terrain is becoming very featured and broken which results in substantially difficult terrain navigation and route finding. As we move into the fall months, this climb is becoming much more dangerous from objective hazard such as rock fall, ice fall, unstable snow bridges, decompensating plugs, and long deep crevasses that are difficult to navigate around. It is highly recommended to wait until next climbing season to attempt these routes and allow the winter months to heal the current upper mountain conditions.
July 6, 2015
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| Looking towards the summit, and the medial shrund on the upper Whitman Glacier |
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| Looking down onto the Whitman Glacier from the East Face, before the exit gully |
Little Tahoma is offering some exceptional climbing
lately. Even with the recent warm
weather, the Frying Pan Glacier and Whitman Glacier are holding up very
nicely. Both are very easy to navigate
with minimal amount of crevasses opening up.
The upper Whitman on the East face of Little T has surprisingly few
features, making for a fairly easy ascent.
Granted, there are a few small, but deep cracks opening on the medial
portion of the face. This shrund is
easily navigable and can be skirted without much difficulty. The upper snowfield is unbroken, and can be
traveled without touching rock until the exit chute that traverses to the
southern aspect which gains the summit proper.
Water can be found cascading over the cliff feature adjacent to the
medial shrund on the upper Whitman Glacier on warmer days. Again, with the warm weather, watch for rock
fall and de-compensating snow bridges over crevasses. Safe climbing!
June 27, 2015
These pictures were taken from Upper Cowlitz Park on Saturday 6/27. There still appears to be adequate snow on the East Face. There are minimal signs of the mid-face bergschrund, which still appears passable with minimal route finding. Although with the recent warm weather front moving through, expect substantial rock fall and opening of crevasses.
