7/20 : Hike to Anvil Camp, a brutal hike with full packs.
7/21 : Hike to base camp at 3300 meter contour on Milestone Creek. Voluminous mosquitoes!
7/22 : Climb Table Mtn. Elusive route up SE face. We took and used a 9mm rope for one 4th class move. Good register and tablet. Back to camp for afternoon tea and mosquito swatting.
7/23 : Climb Milestone Mtn. Interesting 3rd class route via N notch to W buttress. Needs new register can and tablet. Existing is a water bottle and some paper scraps. Traverse over snow fields to notch in E ridge coming off Midway Mtn. Climb Midway (good canister and tablet) then descend down to notch and back to camp for tea and to swat more mosquitoes.
7/24 : Move camp to lakes SE of Mt. Genevra and endure rain/hail storm and swatting a few less mosquitoes.
7/25 : Climb Thunder Mtn. Lots of loose rock via E ridge and SE slopes. Summit ridge line from S to N provides some exciting traverse moments. Advise belays for several exposed class 3 moves and the final class 4 summit block crack. Box register and book in excellent condition. Back to camp for tea and to swat a few mosquitoes.
7/26 : Climb Mt. Jordan. Why this isn't a mountaineer's peak escapes me. The summit block is at least class 4, maybe 5.0/1. Dennis gracefully led the "sporting route" to the summit. The rest of the team opted for the "friction route". Ample exposure. We left a new register can in place of the leaking PVC pipe. Then down and over to Mt. Genevra after waiting out several rain/thunder/lightening squalls. Back to camp after an interesting descent for tea and, yep, swatting a few more of those )(*&^%$#@ mosquitoes.
7/27 : Hike back to Anvil Camp
7/28 : Hike back to trailhead, passing Steve Eckert's group and several other teams en route to do the same circuit we just did.
RT stats : 65+ miles, 21,000 feet + gain. We needed and used ice axes for several snow traverses and I'd recommend a rope/belay for Thunder, Jordan and any "off route" exploratories on Table's SE face. Happy and SAFE climbing. Don't forget the mosquito repellent!
