We spent most of the 24th sleeping. We awoke in the evening, fixed dinner and we each went off exploring. I headed up the valley just south of our camp which runs west toward Mt. Michelson. Got some tremendous views of several hanging glaciers. The ice appeared to be 100 feet or more thick. The north wall of the valley was especially steep with bare rock exposed, particularly near the mouth of the valley. The stream was very swift and I found no spot for crossing it except perhaps where the stream was covered for about 1000 feet by a thick layer of ice. Even there, though, there were many crevasses and the consequences of falling under the ice prevented me from considering trying to cross.
Our plan for climbing Michelson was to climb the ridge overlooking this valley. The walls of the valley as well as the ridge looked to be covered completely with boulders.
Jack tried unsuccessfully to catch some fish. Mike walked a short distance up the same valley I had explored after I had returned and had spotted two dall sheep.
We bedded down about 3:00 a.m. It was our plan to start our climb in the evening when it would be cooler. So we slept late the 25th and spent the afternoon taking our baths and washing clothes and packing our packs. We expected to be able to reach the summit and return in 3 days. We packed food for 5 days in case we were delayed by bad weather or just decided to stay on the mountain longer.
Our plan was to follow the ridge west about 3 1/2 miles the first day and camp somewhere on the glacier. That would involve a climb of about 3500 feet. The second day we would leave our camp with only daypacks full of a little food, water, and extra clothing, along with the climbing gear. We would climb the glacier, gaining 1500 feet and then, at about 7000 feet, traverse west about a mile to the base of a ridge running south to the summit of Mt. Michelson. From the base of the ridge it would be 2,000 feet to the summit. We expected to be able to return to our tents by the end of the day and spend the third day descending back to basecamp.
By the time we were packed the weather was beginning to look bad in the higher elevations. The altimeter/barometer showed the barometric pressure had dropped so we decided to wait a while to see what developed. The wind was calm and the mosquitos were especially bad so we spent a couple of hours in the tent watching the barometer. By about 9:00 p.m., the barometric pressure was beginning to rise and the sky looked a little bit clearer so we decided to leave.
The climb up the ridge was hard work. It was boulder hopping the entire way. Many boulders were unstable, even very large ones. We stepped a few times on little grassy knolls, not much. more than a yard wide, right on the ridge line. There we had splendid views both of the Okpilak River valley and the route ahead toward Mt. Michelson. There we also had our first breeze since leaving basecamp. It was most welcome since it gave momentary relief from the mosquitos.
We reached the point where the ridge line leveled out at 1:30 a.m. It was a tremendous feeling to be at that spot. The sun was just rising to the north and was reflecting off the Okpilak River which was visible for 30 miles to the north. To the west was the glacier leading to the summit of Michelson, almost glowing orange in the early morning sun. A cool breeze freed us from our head nets but required us to put on a sweater or parka. It was 45 F. We had reached 4,800 feet.
We began walking west along the ridgeline following well-traveled sheep trails. In a short distance we stood on a knoll overlooking the valley to the south and had a tremendous view of the large glacier which winds west and to the south of the summit of Mt. Michelson. From there we could see that to reach the glacier we would have to drop down 1,000 feet of the ridge and then hike up to the base of the glacier. Or we could stay on the ridgeline, gain another 1,000 feet in elevation and approach the glacier from the north at the 6,000 foot level. A diagonal traverse along the side of the ridge to the base of the glacier was impractical because of the unstable boulders all along the slope. We decided to follow the ridgeline.
We were tired and thirsty when we finally got to the glacier. We were beginning to get concerned about finding a place to pitch the tent. The glacier looked too steep and the ridge, even where flat, was covered with sharp-edged fragments of schist which would have cut up the tent floor. We walked to the edge of the glacier to fill up our water bottles and were fortunate to find a level, mossy, wet spot free of schist fragments large enough for the tent, 300 feet away from the glacier's edge. It was about 6:30 a.m. We set up the tent, had dinner of shrimp creole and went to sleep about 8:00.
We slept hard for a few hours before being awoken by rain. We had not put the fly on the tent earlier, thinking that without it the tent would stay cooler. I was laying next to the door so I slipped on my boots and got out to put on the tent fly, wearing nothing else but my underwear. It was a comical sight, I'm sure.
That was the 26th. Now it is the afternoon of the 27th and it is still foggy and rainy outside. I have slept for about 24 out of the last 30 hours. Mike has been feeling ill and was running a fever of 101 F at one point. The puddle we're camped in is deeper now. We've read all the medical books. We've taken a few pictures. I'm well-rested and bored. Maybe it's time to have some brandy. At least the mosquitos are gone.
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