Pfeifferhorn Climb 11/22/2009

I left my car at 4 30am, summited the Pfeifferhorn at 10:30 am.  6rs up, 2 1/2 hrs down.  I got back to the car 1:00pm
Total time roughly 8.30hrs
Mov time 6.10 stopped time 2.28
Exactly 10 miles round trip.
I tracked myself with 2 gps's, my Garmin GPS Map 60CXS as well as my Garmin Forerunner 305.  I have accurate way-points and mapping.  



Did the traditional climb from the White/Red Pine Trail Head, and went the Red Pine way.  Crossed the frozen lake and made my way to the North/South facing ridge that gets you to the high Ridge you will need to climb westwardly across a very exposed rocky ridge to the summit Mountain.  That final summit is about 300 feet or so.  Conditions on the summit mound were excellent to the climbers left of the snow field.  Wind was 30 plus up top, gusts higher, as a storm was on the way in.

http://picasaweb.google.com/davidmpeter/Pfeifferhorn2?feat=email#


Summit Pfeifferhorn Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUFdThXEhyA

This is a picture of a very frozen Red Pine Lake, Utah.  Ice is 10 inches thick or more.  

From Red Pine Lake, Utah Head East to the South/West Ridge line.  It was tedious if not dangerous.  There is soft snow up to your waist, and constant falls into holes near all the granite boulder fields.  Don't get stuck in one of these.  All of the snow bridges around them are weak.  We need more snow to make this easier to get around.  It took me 2 hrs to get from the lake to that ridge.  That is slow going.  With Ski's or snow shoes it wouldn't be an issue.  I had neither.  Once on ridge it goes good, as well as the upper Ridge.  The scramble on the ridge to the start of the summit climb is precarious, and a no fall zone for the most part.  Take your time.  The weak snow there is just enough to make it difficult.

This is the ridge up to the top Ridge line where you will head west along a knife edge ridge to gain the final summit.

This is that final East/West ridge.

                                   This is the final summit climb.  I climbed the rocks to the left of the snow, but  came down the snow as it was softer than I thought prior.

It was a cold 7 degrees when I started without windchill.  Summit winds were 30 plus. 

Summit Pfeifferhorn Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUFdThXEhyA