Vestal Basin

The last four days I was able to leave the 5th wheel behind and venture into the wilderness. On 6/30, an instructor, a student and I hiked the 11/12miles from Molas Lake into Vestal Basin in the Weiminuche Wilderness within the San Juan National Forest. The trip started with a 3,000ft descent to the Animas River and then another 3,000ft back up to Vestal. It was a tough, long day, but we made it in good time and met the rest of the 30-day crew.

The next day, the group decided to rest while some instructors scouted the Wham Ridge. Meanwhile, another instructor walked me through snow school. This was the first time I've self-arrested. We went through the whole progression from kicking snow steps to self-arresting to glissading. I self-arrested on my back, on my belly, headfirst, with a pack. It was pretty fun and good develop for me. Afternoon showers put a damper on any afternoon climbing plans. A few days ago I picked up some fishing line and flies from a shop. In the afternoon, I headed over to super cold Vestal Lake to try my hand. After only a few casts, bam!, a rainbow trout was on my line. I quickly took up the line with my hands and got the fish out of the water. THEN, the wish wriggled off the hook and back into the water. FAIL. I was super disappointed. I could taste that pan-seared trout already.

The plan was to climb Arrow and Wham the next two days. We awoke at 3:45am to cloudy skies and rain, so Wham was cancelled. A couple of hours later, though, the sky was stable enough for us to head up Arrow. Three instructors, myself, and the 7/8 students headed up. The ascent route was mostly talus and low angle slab with some lower 5th class moves. It took two fixed lines in techy places. This was my first summit! The peak offered beautiful views of peaks for miles. The rain and hail came quickly and made those slabs very sketchy. Those two fixes turned into seven fixes.

I was really happy with the climb. The instructors were great! They made an intentional effort to incorporate me into the climb. I helped spot students, manage ropes, clean fixes, and even helped build anchors. It gave me a good picture of being an OB instructor.

After a stormy night of thinking my tent was gonna blow away, I awoke, packed and headed back to civilization. Right before leaving, the mountain goats came into camp, which rounded out my wildlife sightings of pikas and ptarmigans. Seeing the San Juans was incredible and the development I got out of the trip was priceless. This course is so unique and has given me a very broad experience within OB. I love it! Now I prepare for the final resupply which requires going over a 4x4 pass. I'll definitely report back on that.