Preface: Dead Dog Couloir attempt, 5/30/04

I'm not going to write up a full trip report because I didn't take any pictures and I didn't summit. I woke up at 3am this morning, drove to the trailhead and started hiking at 5:15. It was windy and snowing lightly when I started. I made it up to about 12,500' and tried to locate the couloir I wanted to climb - should have been obvious, this is the main large couloir that runs right up the east face of Torreys all the way to the summit. Only I couldn't see the summit, or anywhere close to it, due to the blowing snow. I stopped and waited for a break in the snow so I could pick the right couloir - wouldn't want to start up the wrong one. The longer I waited the colder I got, so I decided I better get moving. With the east wind and the 3-6" of fresh snow, I guessed that the couloir would be loaded with probably 1' of powder, not the best snow climbing conditions. Plus the couloir would not shelter me from the wind, and one of the couloirs showed avalanche runout - probably from the warming during the last week but I couldn't say for sure. I decided to climb out of the basin I was in and make the trail, and decide whether to just climb the trail to the summit of Grays or Torreys or bail on the hike completely.

The wind really picked up as I made my way back up to the trail - I could not see the trail but knew I could cross it soon. I got out my ice axe to help me up the steep rocky slope - just having my gloves off for the time to get my axe out caused my fingers to go numb. I decided it would be best to call it quits when I found the trail. I found the trail and turned left, and the wind was now in my face, kicking up huge clouds of blowing snow and ice particles. I didn't plan on such nasty conditions so I didn't have any goggles or a face mask - just a hat and my hood over that. I had 4 layers on my upper body and 2 on my legs which was plenty, and snow gloves with inner liners, but my right hand continued to feel cold for a while. The big gusts of wind forced me to turn around and lean over so it didn't hit me right in the face. My face was getting numb and my eyebrows and eyelashes were getting frosted over - it was pretty miserable. I lost the trail for a while but kept going downhill and picked up the trail again. After I descended a few hundred feet the wind wasn't as bad and the temperature was a little warmer, and my movement warmed me up more. My fingers and face were no longer numb. I continued down the trail and it almost looked like it might clear up, but as I reached the trailhead the snow picked up again. More people had started hiking up the trail and I told a couple of them about the conditions higher up. I started up the Jeep, took off my shell jacket and started down the road. By the time I got down to I-70 the frost lining the inside of my shell jacket was just starting to melt. My gloves, both layers, were like ice - guess that wind chill made it pretty darn cold.