Legend has it that on a cold day in January, a young Indian squaw (Tina) was driving amongst the snowcapped mountains after her hands had gone to the bad place when she suddenly spied this Bloody Mountain:
Months later she returned with her tribe (Dave G, GigaMike, Ryan B, Carmen, Paolo, Lilbitmo, Ty, and I) to climb it's beautiful snowy couloir.
An old dirt road follows Laurel Creek until the base of the Bloody Couloir. The road is very rough and requires a relatively high clearance to avoid the jumble of rocks scattered over it's entirety. Dave G scouted ahead while the Reservoir Dogs awaited the news.
The road became choked by an impassable snowbank just before switchbacking. We parked and began the trek to the base of the climb. Sponsored by Chevy.
We hiked a mix of dirt and snow until the route came into view.
Eight of us began gearing up on the talus field before the snow while the 9th decided he was better off preparing on the rocky stump in bottom of this shot
It was an amazing day, the weather was warm and the snow conditions were perfect styrofoam for kick-stepping up the increasingly steep incline.
The looming turret presented us with two options: left was less steep but was filled with avy debris while the right side was a bit steeper but had a set of boot-tracks that made following really nifty. We continued up the right side and onto a cool-looking snow draw.
Moving up past the tower.
At this junction we were faced with the final route-finding decision. Paolo arrived below the Y split to find the right side being pelted by rockfall and decided it was wise to go left:
Patrick, Ryan, and I decided we wanted the steep chute and figured we could stay out of the fall line if we stayed close to the edges of the couloir. We made quick work of the final stretch (reaching 50 degrees at times) and topped out to a breathtaking view of the Sierra high-country.
Dave G, Tina, and GigaMike kicking up the last stretch of the couloir.
Ty making his way up the final stretch.
Patrick visits with the sun after topping out of the couloir.
A quick traverse of a somewhat corniced ridgeline gave way to a beautiful summit with almost no wind and sunny skies.
Dave G on the traverse.
Summiteers!
The views:
We all decided to scramble or glissade down the ridgeline between Bloody and Laurel.
We headed back into Mammoth for a scrumptious dinner provided by Patrick's lovely wife, Meg. BIG thank you to her for preparing such a great meal.
We all agreed that this was one of the most fun snow-climbs we've had this year. I just want to personally thank everyone for all of the great company.
The next day we soaked it up in the hotsprings and headed back home. The End
http://s908.photobucket.com/albums/ac28 ... =slideshow
