Dreams of Long Days

These days, I fill my time with work. The work day often starts in darkness and often ends in darkness. Occasionally there is skiing and hiking, climbing indoors, diving at the pool. Times are good - but in the heart of Winter in Vancouver one can often find oneself pining for the longer days of Summer.


On the first day of July last summer, we were embarking on a climbing epic. There are five Russians sleeping with me at in the Ambulance. Dima and Isabel are sleeping in the trunk of the Subaru parked next to us in the Steward Lake Trail Head in Leavenworth. Cell phones chime at 3am, and we scarf down a disorganized breakfast. All I can remember is spooning a full can of salmon into my mouth with thoughts of protein.

We have our eyes on a single-day summit of the Serpentine Arete on the Dragon-Tail Peak nested among the Enchantment Lakes.

We will climb as two parties of two, with Dima and I leading Ulga and Kosta. It is roughly 18 kms walking to the Dragon-Tail base, then a 3300 ft trad climb at 5.8, then a glacial decent to rejoin the 18 kms home. When the sun rises, the Enchantments are in view and we follow a moraine to an iced crossing and finally touch rock.

3000 feet of climbing to the summit where several mountain goats mock us with easy movements on the steep rock.

Time to replenish the water supply and descend via the glacier off the back side of the mountain. Here the scenery was truly spectacular!

We made it to base camp for just after 11pm. Make for about 21 hours of continuous forward motion. I was totally wasted. Today that's the kind of long day I'm dreaming of.