North Ridge of Mount Hess
N o r t h Ri dge of M o u n t Hess D a n ie l L. O sbo rn e
M
O U N T Hess is 50 miles due south of home, Fairbanks, and is visible during clear w eather. Its unclim bed north ridge runs straight tow ard us, beckoning our cram pons. In M ay Steve H ackett, T om Hillis and I set off. H orace Black landed us in his Super-Cub on wheels in a w hite-out w ithin five miles of the start o f the real climbing and six miles of the summ it, but still at tundra level. M ount Hess rises rapidly on its north side. W e packed up the Gillam G lacier and set up Base Cam p at the foot of the northeast ridge, w hich divides the pocket glacier on the east side of the north ridge. T he w eather was good, the rock w arm and the climbing mixed to the east side glacier. Shortly before reaching the glacier, gendarm es slowed us enough so th at we put in some fixed rope for hauling loads and in case bad w eather forced a retreat. W hile crossing the second gendarm e, T om found an old US ice axe w ith a ¾ -inch hem p rope trailing down the ridge, buried in the ice and wedged in cracks in the rock. Oh, despair! O ur new route! But still it was a fine route and so we w ent down for the tents. T he next day I tried to belay not looking at the exposure or avalanches. M y eyes lighted on a rusty old tin can, closed w ith adhesive tape. W hen I shook it, it rattled. In it were ice lumps (the rattle) and a soggy note. It said, “Sund. M ay 23, 1949. Height reached by J.C. McCall, K .A . M itchell, Jan Allen, Tex M arsh, A 1 Paige. Stopped by lack of experience and pitons. N orth wall of cirque looks bad, also bergschrund! H appy climbers, w eather excellent.” W ho? Some of A laska’s first resident climbers had been here, but the route, if we proved up to it, would be ours. T he next day in deteriorating weather, we crossed the east side glacier and ascended debatable avalanche snow to the true north ridge and the spot we had picked out with binoculars for a snow cave. This we dug to the tune of rising wind and we com peted w ith the clouds to produce the m ost flying snow. Storm -bound, we read and figured why the pres sure-cooker leaked. To relieve boredom , I m easured the sinking rate of the cave roof and found that in three days we would be gobbled up by the snow. W e dug a new cave inside the old one. T he w eather broke. Tom and Steve took off for the summ it. I was only well enough to w atch the cave roof descend. Steve and Tom returned w ith tales of waist-deep snow and the summit. I could believe
the sum m it-part, since I saw 4hem get there; the next day while leading down, I could believe the p art about the deep snow. W e returned to our tent on the east side glacier and dug it out from three feet of snow. The day after, while we were descending to the G illam , the storm returned. O ur plan of removing the fixed rope was abandoned on the slick, snow-covered, crum bly rock. On our way down the G illam we played snow plow. H orace Black flew in to pick us up just as we started to count the raisins, dividing them in three. Summary of Statistics: A r e a : A laska Range.
N e w R o u t e : M ount Hess, 11,940 feet, via north ridge, M ay 23, 1976 (H ackett, H illis). P e r so n n e l : Steven H ackett, Thom as Hillis, D aniel L. Osborne.
M
O U N T Hess is 50 miles due south of home, Fairbanks, and is visible during clear w eather. Its unclim bed north ridge runs straight tow ard us, beckoning our cram pons. In M ay Steve H ackett, T om Hillis and I set off. H orace Black landed us in his Super-Cub on wheels in a w hite-out w ithin five miles of the start o f the real climbing and six miles of the summ it, but still at tundra level. M ount Hess rises rapidly on its north side. W e packed up the Gillam G lacier and set up Base Cam p at the foot of the northeast ridge, w hich divides the pocket glacier on the east side of the north ridge. T he w eather was good, the rock w arm and the climbing mixed to the east side glacier. Shortly before reaching the glacier, gendarm es slowed us enough so th at we put in some fixed rope for hauling loads and in case bad w eather forced a retreat. W hile crossing the second gendarm e, T om found an old US ice axe w ith a ¾ -inch hem p rope trailing down the ridge, buried in the ice and wedged in cracks in the rock. Oh, despair! O ur new route! But still it was a fine route and so we w ent down for the tents. T he next day I tried to belay not looking at the exposure or avalanches. M y eyes lighted on a rusty old tin can, closed w ith adhesive tape. W hen I shook it, it rattled. In it were ice lumps (the rattle) and a soggy note. It said, “Sund. M ay 23, 1949. Height reached by J.C. McCall, K .A . M itchell, Jan Allen, Tex M arsh, A 1 Paige. Stopped by lack of experience and pitons. N orth wall of cirque looks bad, also bergschrund! H appy climbers, w eather excellent.” W ho? Some of A laska’s first resident climbers had been here, but the route, if we proved up to it, would be ours. T he next day in deteriorating weather, we crossed the east side glacier and ascended debatable avalanche snow to the true north ridge and the spot we had picked out with binoculars for a snow cave. This we dug to the tune of rising wind and we com peted w ith the clouds to produce the m ost flying snow. Storm -bound, we read and figured why the pres sure-cooker leaked. To relieve boredom , I m easured the sinking rate of the cave roof and found that in three days we would be gobbled up by the snow. W e dug a new cave inside the old one. T he w eather broke. Tom and Steve took off for the summ it. I was only well enough to w atch the cave roof descend. Steve and Tom returned w ith tales of waist-deep snow and the summit. I could believe
the sum m it-part, since I saw 4hem get there; the next day while leading down, I could believe the p art about the deep snow. W e returned to our tent on the east side glacier and dug it out from three feet of snow. The day after, while we were descending to the G illam , the storm returned. O ur plan of removing the fixed rope was abandoned on the slick, snow-covered, crum bly rock. On our way down the G illam we played snow plow. H orace Black flew in to pick us up just as we started to count the raisins, dividing them in three. Summary of Statistics: A r e a : A laska Range.
N e w R o u t e : M ount Hess, 11,940 feet, via north ridge, M ay 23, 1976 (H ackett, H illis). P e r so n n e l : Steven H ackett, Thom as Hillis, D aniel L. Osborne.
