Anti-Gravity: The Pull of a Mountain: Botched Middle Sister

-- It is worth considering our priorities and how they affect the choices we make in the mountains. Thinking ahead of time about what risks, or how much one is willing to put on the line to reach the summit is critical. What will make us turn around is worth knowing in advance so that decisions are almost instantaneous. --

Middle Sister is the 5th highest mountain in Oregon, third tallest of the Three Sisters at 10047 feet. Its prominence is not that significant compared to South Sister (which is ranked 35th in the lower 48 United States) as it stands with North Sister, its col between 8880 and 8920 feet. However, the pair together still tower over the surrounding terrain, while being much more rugged than their southern sister due to many more years of erosion.

Art and I had tried to organize an overnight bivy and climb of Middle Sister twice before, with the trip falling apart both times. Finally, with the last minute addition of Katie, at 1pm we were on the Pole Creek trail to Camp Lake, which is below the saddle between South and Middle Sister. It had been several years since either Art or I had been to Camp Lake, and Katie had never been. We were tremendously excited for climb.

After 8 miles or so of cutbacks and river crossings, we arrived at Camp Lake. It had snowed the night before up in the mountains, so fresh snow blanketed the jagged peaks, highlighting their beauty. We quickly found a protected bivy site, switched to dry clothing, and started bundling up as the temperature dropped. We did not have much sunlight left, so we quickly made our dinner and enjoyed the views before getting to bed for our alpine start.

South sister does not require technical gear, and we had but a few thousand feet of gain left, so we agreed upon a lazy alpine start at 5 a.m. Our route was going to be a bit different than the normal north ridge route. Instead we would take the snow fields and glaciers to the south, up the southwest ridge. We had our ropes, ice axes and crampons to cross the glaciers, and we brought enough technical gear to comfortably build basic rescue systems.

The temperature dropped quickly as it got dark, and the wind howled above the protection of the cluster of twisted alpine trees we were camped behind. I nodded off for short periods only to awaken again, feeling either too hot or too cold to sleep. I never sleep well or at all the first night out; it is a curse shared by many. My head is too busy, the distractions enough to disrupt the process of drifting off, and the excitement of the next day too much to allow for rest I suppose.

After a long night of tossing and turning, and looking at the stars, I watched the glow of my watch ticking its way to 5:00 a.m. It was 4:45 when I heard Art walking up to my bivy- I didn't know he was even awake- "Hey Drew!" he whispered harshly. "Wanna go on a mission?"

I knew it. For the last 24 hours I was waiting for something to sabotage our attempt to climb this mountain. Without much a thought I said yes, and asked the details. I had left my pager at home, and my cell phone was turned off, so he briefed me on the search in progress- three women lost about 10 to 15 miles to our northwest, overnight in jeans and t-shirts. The temperatures had been well below zero throughout the night.

We had our radio out, and were diverted down hill by command from where we came the previous day, so we could clear some trails to the north. Trudging through the dark, I realized I was walking away from my last chance to summit the Middle Sister that season. As we descended to the tree line, the alpine-glow lit up all three Sisters. I felt profound longing to be on those mountains, knowing I could not.

We were about three or four miles from the trail head when the subjects were located by a horse team deployed in the middle of the night. We walked to the car and drove over to the ICP so Art could check on the subjects (Art's our main medic), and meet the other teams and debrief. I was disappointed we missed our chance to summit Middle Sister, however there wasn't really a choice to be made; it was obvious that finding these girls was a much higher priority.

I don't have issues saying no to a summit- in fact, sometimes I wonder if I admit defeat too easily. Regardless, I do feel I have my priorities in check- life is more important, be it mine, my climbing partners, or some stranger. There is a certain amount of acceptable risk, but life is precious.