Discussion Topic |
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Cracko
Trad climber
Quartz Hill, California
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Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 22, 2014 - 11:02am PT
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Hands down, my brother Bruce Porter is the best climbing partner I have ever had. Over the years, we have successfully climbed East Face of Whitney, Royal Arches, Regular Route on Fairview, Tenaya Peak, Snake Dike, Symmetry Spire in the Tetons, and dozens of climbs in Toulomne Meadows. We have experienced failure as much as success. We never reached the summits of the Palisades despite numerous attempts (Older brother Steve and I did reach the summit of Sill on one trip). Prodigal Sun in Zion turned us back three times. Most recently, we failed to reach the summit of Mt. Conness via the North Ridge for the second time (the subject of this Trip Report).
What I learned with brother Bruce is that success or failure is secondary to the passion we both shared for high and wild places, and the pure joy of just being in the game. In all our adventures, Bruce never failed to be positive, enthusiastic (bordering on giddy), safe and fun. We trusted each other explicitly and usually exercised prudence in our mountain adventures. We learned to suffer together, and never failed to inject humor into any situation we faced. We both agreed that half the fun of climbing is setting new goals and preparing for the current climb on the list.
Our most recent adventure was our second attempt to climb the North Ridge of Mt. Conness this summer. We decided to up our odds for success, and our effectiveness as fathers, by inviting my son Jordan and Bruce’s son Brady to join us. Their role would be strictly limited to “Sherpa” support!
North Ridge of Mt. Conness Expedition, July 15 – 19, 2014
Climbers: Bob Porter Bruce Porter
High Altitude Porters (H.A.P.S) Jordan and Brady
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
The plan was for Jordan and me to meet Bruce and Brady at the Mobil in Lee Vining around noon. The drive was uneventful but “lovely”. I did notice the early cloud build-up and made a note of it. We arrived in Lee Vining around 12:30 pm and met up with Bruce and Brady at the Mobil. We agreed to immediately drive up Tioga Pass and find a campsite. We were happy to find open campsites at the Inyo Forest Service campground next to the Tioga Pass Resort. We set up camp and then went fishing on the upper Lee Vining Creek. With fly rod in hand, I quickly took the lead until Brady caught up and surpassed me by flinging oversized Mepps. We mostly caught brook trout in the 5 to 8 inch range with an occasional small rainbow. The “Mossies” weren’t bad but definitely noticeable. We drove back to the campground, happy to have worked in a little exercise at altitude, and headed to the TPR for dinner. The TPR is now pretty pricey, but we got our fill and headed back to camp to sort gear for the next day. Bruce completely botched the campfire by failing to adhere to proper pyramid technique.
Our plan for Wednesday morning was to drive to Saddlebag Lake, drop Bruce’s car at the Sawmill trailhead (the descent route), and take the ferry across Saddlebag Lake and then hike up to the Conness Lakes and bivy with the boys. Jordan and Brady would carry most of the gear in backpacks, while Bruce and I would carry daypacks and carry mostly climbing gear. Bruce and I would then wake up early the next morning and do the climb while the boys would hike the rest of the gear out, head back to the campground and wait for our return late that night. We would take no bivy gear and planned to do the climb in a long day. The boys were told that if we didn’t return by Friday morning to notify the Forest Service.
We sorted gear and packed for the next day’s approach.
Camping Gear: bivy sacks, synthetic sleeping bags, one water filter, one Big Agnes tent, closed cell sleeping mats, 2 tarps and food for one night and a full day of climbing (mostly Gu, energy bars, jerky, nuts, cheese, rolls) **The meal with Jordan and Brady at Advanced Base Camp would be Dennison Chili and Beanie Weenies courtesy of Bruce!
Climbing Gear: 1 70m 9.6 mil rope, 1 set of DMM stoppers, 1 #1 camalot, 1 #2 camalot, 1 #3 camalot, 2 cordalettes, 2 prussic loops, 10 med and long runners, 15 free carribiners, personal harnesses, locking biners and ATC devices. We both chose to wear approach shoes for the climb instead of climbing shoes.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
We slept in and then headed to TPR for a solid breakfast. Bruce and I both felt good and felt the day and night at elevation helped with acclimating. With gear loaded in the truck we drove up to Saddlebag, leaving Bruce’s car at Sawmill, and then waited a half hour for the boat ride. We started up the trail around 11 am, and made steady progress. Clouds were building from the East and while hiking the last major incline before Conness Lakes it began to rain. I should note here that there were major afternoon Thunderstorms during the last two days resulting in major flooding in Tuolumne Meadows. We were very aware of the afternoon thundershower pattern.
We hunkered down under some trees to wait out the rain and then continued up and over the incline where it began to rain again. I spotted a large boulder that had a sizeable sheltered overhang and let the others know. We all made it to the boulder as it continued to rain hard and set up camp. We were totally sheltered from the rain from above, but noticed water seeping under the boulder and starting to flood our campsite. We did the best we could to find high spots, and also set up the tent. The rain soon subsided and the drainage under the boulder stopped. Thankfully, it did not rain any further that night. Bruce and I saw that we had about a mile and a half left to reach the base of the North Ridge from where we were bivied. We ate well that night, had fun with Brady and Jordan, and got a good night’s sleep.
Thursday, July 17, 2014 CLIMB DAY
I woke up around 5:30 am and woke Bruce up who was sleeping in the tent. We started to get our gear together, ate a little and gave Jordan and Brady final instructions for our return. We started up the trail around 6:30 am and made slow but steady progress up to the small glacial lake below the notch to the base of the North Ridge. We stopped there to filter water, snack a little and then took separate routes up the steep scree slope to the ridge. Bruce opted for the less steep right side of the slope, while I opted for the steeper gullies which allowed me to climb on more rock instead of slogging up steep scree which I hate! We met at the top and then traversed over to the start of the North Ridge proper. I believe it was around 9:00 am as we prepared to start our climb.
The first part of the ridge to the First Tower was no more than Class 2 walking and talus hopping. We moved steadily up to the First Tower. During a quick break, Bruce looked at me with a smile on his face and a gleam in his eye and said, “Bob, this is the strongest I have felt since I was diagnosed with cancer” (3 months earlier Bruce was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer). Bruce was clearly in his usual enthusiastic and “giddy” alpine mood, and I had to smile!!
I was secretly monitoring Bruce to assess any physical problems and didn’t see any. Bruce was moving better than me, and seemed to be mentally and physically strong. I was well aware that I was far removed from my optimum performance in the mountains and knew, from past climbs with Bruce, that we were not a very fast team (Two Mossbacks in the mountains as Bruce liked to say). In light of this, I kept a watchful eye toward the east to monitor cloud build-up and any signs of thunderstorm activity as we approached the steeper and more exposed portion of the North Ridge. At this time, the skies were clear directly overhead with a bank of clouds well off to the East and not appearing to be moving in our direction very fast.
We soon found ourselves at the base of the First Tower. Bruce mentioned he thought there was a ramp system skirting the tower on the left. I climbed up to look around and couldn’t see any access to a ramp system. I then remembered from the Croft book that he said to climb the tower and turn it on the right. We spotted a very doable line up the middle of the tower and roped up. It was 4th class with a couple of 5th class moves and I ran it out as far as I could. Bruce followed up without any trouble and we were sitting just under the top of the First Tower wondering how to get over it and down into the notch between First and Second Tower.
I then lead off to the right and worked my way down and around the higher part of the Tower until the notch came into view. I brought Bruce up and across, and then we had a little problem finding a 4th class path down into the notch. I finally lowered Bruce on the rope through a steep section into the notch, and then down climbed and rappelled to meet him at the base of the Second Tower.
While sitting there looking up at the climb to the top of the Second Tower and the final ridge to the summit of Conness, I noticed the bank of clouds was moving very fast toward Conness and would soon be on us. Remembering the thunder and lightning on Conness from the day before, I told Bruce we needed to either go for the top very fast, or retrace our steps and descend down the way we came up. Bruce agreed, but wasn’t in favor of descending down the ridge.
Directly below us to the West was Roosevelt Lake, and there was a steep gully off the ridge which looked like it would get us to the lake. Bruce leaned toward descending the gully while I argued that descending the ridge would get us back to Saddlebag, and out, in the fastest possible time. Descending to Roosevelt Lake would mean we would then have to climb thousands of vertical feet, and many more miles, to get back to the Conness Lakes watershed and down to Saddlebag. Bruce, by his own admission, is not comfortable descending steep terrain, and I believe he wasn’t thrilled with the idea of reversing and descending the First Tower we had just come up. I should have been more adamant, but knowing he felt more confident with the gully descent I agreed to that option.
Just as we prepared to start the descent into the gulley, a huge clap of thunder boomed above. We did not see lightening, but the clouds were engulfing the summit of Conness. It was now around noon and we started the descent by zig-zagging down the gulley on a series of ledges and made slow but steady progress. This was the beginning of the end for my toes as anyone who has down climbed slabs knows. There were a few steeper sections of the descent where I lowered Bruce on a rope and then free soloed down. Then, we got down to the last 300 feet and found the slab steepened dramatically. We could not see a safe way down until I lowered Bruce almost a full rope length and he was able to spot a doable ramp system to the bottom. I slowly free-soled down this section. It wasn’t bad but was mentally taxing.
At about 3 pm, we reached the bottom and began a long and strenuous traverse through a talus field above Roosevelt Lake. The talus was loose and we had to be very careful while navigating this stretch. Finally, we dropped down and arrived at the creek flowing into the East end of Roosevelt Lake. We were desperate for water, and I started filtering while Bruce drank directly from the stream. We knew at this point that we had to hike up the creek drainage to access the traverse of North Peak and then over the base of the North Ridge of Conness to the Conness Lakes drainage and on to Saddlebag Lake. After resting, eating some snacks and rehydrating we began the hike up the creek drainage. It was now probably 7:00 pm and the light was beginning to fade. We both had headlamps with extra batteries.
As we got to the top of the drainage, darkness had fallen and our headlamps were doing their jobs. We figured it was at least 9 pm and that we had been on the move for 15 straight hours. Somewhere along the way, the idea of continuing due east down to Lower McCabe Lake (via Don’t be a Dumb pass) and out over Secret Pass to the 20 Lakes Basin then onto Saddlebag was hatched. I’m not clear who came up with this idea, but I think it was Bruce.
I know I was aware of such an alternative route but sorely lacked any details. The USGS map we had (which didn’t show any trails) seemed to indicate that there was a passable notch between Lower McCabe Lake and 20 Lakes Basin. Bruce was very concerned about Brady and not getting back that night, and was all for hiking through the night to get back. I was not opposed to this but wanted to make sure we were on a maintained trail to hike out at night.
So, there we were at the junction of the trail leading over to Conness Lakes, and we decide to take an unknown route, which is supposedly shorter, back to Saddlebag Lake. This was the dumbest decision, on a trip full of bad decisions, which would soon see us descending snowfields and sleeping on the ground without bivy gear. I take full responsibility for this blunder and can only site severe fatigue for my inability to pull my head out of my ass!!
We slowly descended what I believe is called “Don’t Be A Dumb pass” down to Lower McCabe Lake. It was difficult going and we had to negotiate 2 snowfields without crampons or ice axes. It wasn’t that bad but a little “nervy” under headlamp. It was 2:00 am when we finally arrived at the Lake and attempted to find a trail skirting the lake.
Bruce was convinced there was a trail going around the far side of the lake which linked up with Secret Pass. He was all for keeping on. I couldn’t see sh#t and was exhausted. Bruce headed out around the Northwest side of the lake to scout a trail. I followed, and couldn’t tell in the darkness if we could negotiate the terrain around the lake. Bruce did not seem happy about not continuing, and even offered up the idea of swimming across the narrowest portion of the lake (with gear in a plastic bag we did not have) to access what we thought was the pass over to 20 Lakes basin. Finally, I convinced Bruce to shut it down and build a fire. Using proper pyramid campfire technique, I soon had a roaring fire going. It was now 2:30 am and we had been moving continuously for 20 hours. Bruce and I curled up on the ground around the fire (he on the bare ground and me on a flaked out climbing rope for insulation) and snoozed a little before the sun came up. Thankfully, it was not a cold night. I attempted to make a 911 call on my cell phone but there was no reception.
Friday, July 18, 2014
As the sun came up, we knew we were not in a good situation. We were both fatigued but uninjured, and knew the boys would report us overdue, but had no idea how that would play out. I figured if Brady and Jordan reported us overdue, any search effort would be focused on the North Ridge, the approach to North Ridge through Conness Lakes or the descent off the South side of Conness to Sawmill campground. We were now nowhere near that search area.
With the arriving light, we scanned the lake and access to the notch on Secret Pass. Bruce pronounced it undoable and quickly developed a plan to hike out for help. Unfortunately, we did not sit down and fully discuss our options, and before I knew it Bruce was telling me he would go ahead alone and walk out towards Roosevelt Lake for help. He was in no mood to wait around. I still had not filtered water, put out the fire or coiled the rope and packed gear. I then saw Bruce heading up the start of “Don’t Be a Dumb Pass” and yelled at him that he had no water and that we shouldn’t be splitting up. I did not get a response but saw him continuing. I was concerned. I did not understand why he thought going to Roosevelt Lake would be better than simply retracing our steps and traversing North Peak back to the Conness Lakes and out.
I packed everything up and began ascending Don’t Be a Dumb Pass figuring I was 45 minutes behind Bruce. Half way up I heard and saw helicopters overhead and saw them flying over the North Ridge of Conness. I stopped for a rest and saw Bruce’s climbing harness stashed behind a rock. I didn’t know what to make of this other than he decided to get rid of all weight he was carrying. I didn’t bother adding it to my load.
I continued up, getting to the top of the pass and looking for Bruce. I waited about 2 hours, yelling his name and looking down the trail to Roosevelt Lake. I saw no sign of him. At this point, I wasn’t sure if Bruce went down to Roosevelt Lake or traversed North Peak to the Conness Lakes. Since I had a clear view of the North Peak traverse to the notch on the North Ridge and didn’t see him, I figured he went to Roosevelt Lake, and was probably already there given it was an easy downhill hike.
I then decided to hike across North Peak to the notch and down into the Conness Lakes to Saddlebag Lake. I had some hope that this is what Bruce did and I would soon catch up to him. If not, I figured it was the quickest way back to human contact and help in locating Bruce.
I first hiked directly up to the North West ridge of North Peak to see if there was a manageable descent route. There was not. I continued traversing the West side of North Peak and spotted a CHP helicopter that came down low. I waved my hiking poles, he hovered for a minute than flew off to the North. I proceeded to the notch, descended talus to the Conness Lakes and sat down to filter water at the second lake.
“Are you Bob Porter?” I turned to see a rather nice looking female member of Yosemite Search and Rescue walking toward me. I said, “Yes, I am” and she immediately informed me that brother Bruce was safe at Roosevelt Lake and that another team was hiking in to help walk him out. I was much relieved. I was offered food and Gatorade as the two person search and rescue team asked me questions and provided assistance. They informed me that they would walk me out to Saddlebag and that Jordan and Brady were fully aware of what was going on and were fine. This S&R team was exceptional (and when I remember their names I will come back and edit). I could tell they were constantly monitoring me as they fully hydrated me and carried most of my gear so I could walk out with a lighter load. Both had a great sense of humor, solid people skills and a true love for the environment they were in.
We made it to Saddlebag Lake in time to catch the last ferry, thus saving me the humiliation of collapsing on the 2 mile trail around the lake!! The good people at the Saddlebag Lake lodge gave me ice water and a nice bowl of chili before I hitched a ride back to our TPR campsite with the S&R team. I was asked to go to S&R headquarters for debriefing prior to going back to the campground, which I readily agreed to, but was allowed to stop by the campsite to check on Jordan and Brady. As I walked up to the campsite, Jordan and Brady appeared and gave me a standing ovation followed quickly by chants of “Dumbass”.
The debriefing by YOSAR supervisor Jesse McGahey was professional and very enlightening. If you can’t reflect on and learn from an experience like this you probably don’t belong in the mountains. Jesse helped me do both.
What I Learned
I am 61 years old and lack the fitness, stamina and strength I once possessed in the mountains. While good judgment is everything in the mountains, it is often gained by using poor judgment and learning from it. I’m not sure what this means other than to keep going to the mountains!
Choosing to separate at Lower McCabe Lake with no clear plan or exit strategy was bad judgement.
Choosing not to descend the North Ridge proper in the face of a thunderstorm and instead retreating down an unknown descent gully to Roosevelt Lake was a bad choice.
Choosing to continue up and over Don’t Be a Dumb Pass instead of traversing North Peak and exiting down Conness Lakes to Saddlebag Lake was another bad choice.
Taking a 70 meter rope which was complete overkill.
Not having a better map of the area was a mistake.
Climbing with your brother, and best friend, who has terminal cancer, introduced a whole different element to this climb. Bruce and I have enjoyed many successful climbing adventures in the past, and this trip was something he really wanted to do. The smile on his face throughout our adventure told me it was the right thing to do. I do, however, believe his emotional state in dealing with cancer and worrying about family did play into our decision-making and judgement. Despite all of the above, we remained calm and were able to walk out under our own power.
2 days after returning home, Bruce called me to report that he had not slept much since the climb. He said he was just “wired” after completing “the greatest adventure of my life!” I laughed and thought about Yvon Chouinard’s quote, “IT’S NOT AN ADVENTURE UNTIL SOMETHING goes wrong”
On September 21, 2014, my brother lost his battle with pancreatic cancer.
Bruce,
You were the most decent human being I have ever known. The memories of our adventures together and of your spirit will help carry me through whatever time I have remaining.
I Love You Brother
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thebravecowboy
climber
hold on tight boys
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Sep 22, 2014 - 11:09am PT
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Sorry for your loss. Sounds like he was a one-of-a-kind partner.
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Ward Trotter
Trad climber
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Sep 22, 2014 - 11:41am PT
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That's a fine tribute Cracko. Look for your brother's spirit and memory on the summits of your favorite climbs together.
Condolences for your loss.
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Sep 22, 2014 - 11:45am PT
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Sounds like your brother was an awesome man Cracko.
My sincere condolences on your loss. Hang in there.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Sep 22, 2014 - 12:12pm PT
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Thank you for the very moving tribute, Cracko. I'm impressed that you would undertake that effort when he was already diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer. Please accept my condolences on your loss.
John
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amyjo
Trad climber
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Sep 22, 2014 - 03:21pm PT
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Sounds like you had a great brother
and vice versa.
Things just happen quickly at last stage.
Take care.
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Sep 22, 2014 - 03:53pm PT
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Cracko, that is really a beautiful write up you did about your trip to the North Ridge of Conness. It is actually a bigger mountain and a more complicated effort than your average internet beautiful people write up. "We took a sandwich and jogged up the North Ridge."
I understood this when I was up there and remembered that it had been 22 years since I had been to that great mountain.
Once again, you wrote beautifully about you and your brother.
After reading it I feel very fortunate that my friend and I pulled it off in the way we did.
Take a look when you have time. I hope you enjoy the story and pictures.
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Two-Dudes-And-A-Ridge-A-Lepton-Sighting/t12540n.html
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Mike Bolte
Trad climber
Planet Earth
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Sep 22, 2014 - 04:13pm PT
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A wonderful tribute. So sorry to read about your brother passing...
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Sep 22, 2014 - 05:12pm PT
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Sorry for your loss. My twin brother succumbed to a brain tumor when he was only 49.
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phylp
Trad climber
Millbrae, CA
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Sep 22, 2014 - 05:56pm PT
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What a great epic to share with your brother and to have that memory.
You truly have my deepest sympathy. I lost my Mom and younger brother to pancreatic cancer so I know what he went through. Take care of yourself.
xo Phyl
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Sep 22, 2014 - 06:30pm PT
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I have three brothers that I climb with but don't get to see as much anymore now that we all have families and live in different states, but when we started climbing we had some of the best times of our lives also some of the most trying. My condolences for your loss.
Great story and I am impressed that you were willing to share a moment in your life where it didn't go as planned and were willing to look at it with an open mind. Your bro must have been one tough dude to do all that with a major illness.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Sep 23, 2014 - 02:37am PT
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hey there say, cracko... oh my... :(
thank you for bearing your heart and, your 'knitting together' of a time dear to you, as to your brother...
very sorry to hear of your loss, and his, of his battle...
may the memories you cherish, help to heal you to stand strong...
god bless and prayers...
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Sep 23, 2014 - 05:14am PT
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Wow Cracko!
Well written and well lived, tactical errors included. You have to be brave enough to get out and make mistakes to get the rewards of adventure.
I think it's great that you got your brother out there then, when he needed it most, rather than 'playing it safe.'
Last week I guided a client at a crag that was overwhelmed with a women's cancer support group. Twenty some people present. We shared their topropes and camaraderie. They all had alias names, " Rainbow, the enforcer, Cricket" etc. I assumed they were survivors in remission or similar. But that was not the case, as two of them mentioned that they were stage four. Almost all were new to climbing
And they were giving it their darndest! It was my clients first day on rock. And I think they inspired him.
Inspired him enough, that he had no no trouble getting up Ancient Art the next day, his second day of climbing!
My mother, 91 is a breast cancer survivor since '99. My father died of pancreatic cancer in '79. One of my climbing partners had breast cancer three years ago, in her thirties. She climbed all through the ordeal and has put up significant new routes since.
It's what we do with what we've got that counts. And you Cracko, helped your brother achieve a priceless goal.
It's not all about getting to the top!
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skitch
climber
East of Heaven
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Sep 23, 2014 - 07:01am PT
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Bump it up!
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Sep 23, 2014 - 07:08am PT
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Cracko awesomeness bump!!
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Sep 23, 2014 - 07:28am PT
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Cracko Epic Bump to get him past all the escort bullsh#t.....
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Sep 23, 2014 - 09:50am PT
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Hey Cracko, thanks for sharing. I lost my sister recently. Wrote about it here on ST too.
Keep on keepin' on.
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perswig
climber
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Sep 23, 2014 - 05:49pm PT
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Wow. Beautiful to read, despite the reason.
Thank you for putting it down for us to share.
Dale
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Cracko
Trad climber
Quartz Hill, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 23, 2014 - 05:50pm PT
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Thank you all for your heartfelt responses. It certainly helps. Brothers Bruce (Jacko) Steve (Festus) and I (Cracko) used to post on ST quite frequently. Not so much anymore, but we enjoyed the fraternity here and the opportunity to share the adventure spirit. Steve and I are planning a North Ridge trip in the Spring. Bruce will be the third member of our team! Climb safe and live every day like it is your last. Thanks again.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Sep 24, 2014 - 01:49pm PT
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hey there say, just a bump, to help our FIRST PAGE,
HOWEVER, awww, yes, i DO love the post that i am bumping, too...
you are of value, ...
just that i can't always visit everything and post...
but today, is REALLY NEEDED FOR HELP, TO US ALL...
WILL TRY to bump some more...
this 'message will repeat' for a bit, in the bumps...
:)
hope i am helping...
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