Trip Report
Alpine Scramble - Norse Peak
11 scramblers ascended Norse Peak. Weather was pleasant but cloudy on top; sunnier weather and partial views increased during the descent.
Fritz Klein
- Sat, Apr 20, 2019
- Alpine Scramble - Norse Peak
- Norse Peak
- Scrambling
- Successful
- Road suitable for all vehicles
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The trail was easy to follow farther than I expected; some of the snow patches on the trail were icy, but too small to make microspikes worthwhile. Once the snow was continuous, conditions were quite variable, but snowshoes were needed much of the way. There were a few narrow spots on the upper ridge where it was safer to remove the snowshoes and to protect with ice axes.
We easily avoided avalanche-prone open slopes and some fairly large cornices on the upper ridge.
Participants on this trip included very experienced scramblers, recent graduates, and one 2nd-year student for whom this was the last scramble he needed to graduate. Apart from minor difficulties with snow conditions that slowed us down somewhat, we all made it to the cloudy summit. The forecast had been for sunny weather, so the clouds were rather disappointing, but the views did start to open up on the way down. Also compensating for the lack of distant views were the very interesting patterns of rime on the burnt trees.