and got the first glimpse of Vagabond Peak, a slightly-shorter neighboring peak of Cloudripper we'd need to summit on the way:
The route passed by Green Lake:
at which point we climbed up above the treeline and up a large alien-looking boulder field to get the first glimpse of Cloudripper (at left. Vagabond peak is in the center):
Tekewin knew what to do. He drank some water (click for larger):
and after more bouldering, reached the summit of Vagabond:
The climb up was largely Class 2, with some an exposed Class 3 climbing near that top. The register lives in a hole inside the summit block:
The views were spectacular, and after a break, we pushed on to the now-very-visible Cloudripper:
To get there, we downclimbed the boulders on the opposite side of Vagabond and then climbed up the boulder field of Cloudripper to arrive at the rocky summit. The views from Vagabond were amazing, but Cloudripper had even better ones (click for larger):
There are lakes on all sides, and the lakes we passed en route weren't even visible because Vagabond was in the way. We looked at the lakes, peaks and glaciers for a while, and descended back the way we came. Unfortunately there was an active fire somewhere, and the smoke significantly reduced visibility, but it was a great day regardless.
Also, I found Rupert:
It looks like he had a bad day, but maybe he cleans up nicely; stay tuned.
