[pct-l] Mt. Thielsen Climb

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning,

I have a long-time fondness for Mt. Thielsen.  I first climbed it in 1965,
beginning where I parked at Diamond Lake.  Doing so I crossed the Oregon
Skyline Trail which helped motivate me to hike the whole thing, and
eventually hike the entire PCT.

The summit of Thielsen is less than a mile from the PCT, although it
averages about 40% upgrade.  The lower part is typical rocky trail.  It
then turns to talus and scree, followed by an easy northward large-rock
scramble up a ridge.  The last 50 feet or so up to the summit isn’t
technically technical – if there were such a term – but it is an almost
vertical hand-over-hand climb, followed by about three steps across a north
face.  Those three steps are easy, except they are enough to make a
mountain goat puke.  The exposure across that face is about 1,000 feet --
seemly straight down except it’s really only 150-200%.

The summit is one of the most satisfying peaks I’ve ever been on.  Many
peaks have considerable space at their summit-- maybe even an acre or two –
with one little rock outcropping being higher than the others.  Not so
Thielsen:  The entire summit is a slim rock spire core, the top of which is
about large enough to park a Volkswagen -- maybe.   About the only limit to
how far one can see is created by any haze, clouds, or smoke in the area.  It’s
easy to look down into Crater Lake just to the south, and see the water.

The comment about Thielsen being a lightening rod is well founded.  Examine
the rock surfaces at the peak and see all those 2-3 inch long splats of
black glass on the gray basalt.  Those are places where the lightening has
melted and fused the rock.

Steel-Eye

-Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/