Table Mountain Options, or Alternatives?

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arlohike
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Table Mountain Options, or Alternatives?

Post by arlohike » April 21st, 2018, 12:21 am

I haven't climbed Table Mountain yet, and it looks like there are a couple options to reach the summit. Which route is best for someone who's afraid of heights? Is there a route that doesn't require walking along cliff edges, or worse, drops on both sides? I can do a few yards of that at a time, but I'll be miserable if there are longer sections or lots of sections like that.

For the last few years I've had a tradition of hiking up Larch Mountain (from Multnomah Falls) on my birthday in May. Since that's closed this year, I'm looking for alternatives. I recently tried Hamilton Mountain and Augspurger Mountain, but stopped short of the top of both due to a combination of steep drops, high winds and low visibility. So I'm open to other suggestions for something similar to Larch -- not crazy hard, but worth taking the day off for.
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kepPNW
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Re: Table Mountain Options, or Alternatives?

Post by kepPNW » April 21st, 2018, 9:53 am

Heartbreak Ridge has the least exposure of any route up there. Definitely not Larch, but nothing treacherous if you're okay with going up a decently large talus/boulder field.

The "north exit" off the summit has a few iffy sections for the vertigo-challenged. (Probably easier going up?) Westway adds "walking on marbles" to the fun of steep slopes with moderate exposure.
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Bosterson
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Re: Table Mountain Options, or Alternatives?

Post by Bosterson » April 22nd, 2018, 10:17 pm

There isn't anything on the Washington side that would really approximate the "experience" of Larch - longish, gentle grade, old forest, manicured viewpoint. I would say that the closest thing in WA really is Augspurger, but you said you already tried it... I can't figure where you would have encountered "steep drops," but Auguspurger has effectively zero exposure compared to Table via any route. If you do go up Table, I would recommend not going south at the top to the viewpoint over the face, as you are literally at the edge of a 1200 ft cliff. You will probably want to go back down via HBR, as the NW Ridge has a couple climby spots that aren't a big deal but, again, are very exposed compared to anything one might encounter on Augspurger. Really, I would recommend just giving Augspurger another shot - after you crest the "summit," you can continue down the north side about 1/4 mi to a really swell viewpoint of Rainier, Adams, etc. :)
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arlohike
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Re: Table Mountain Options, or Alternatives?

Post by arlohike » April 23rd, 2018, 12:10 pm

kepPNW wrote:
April 21st, 2018, 9:53 am
Heartbreak Ridge has the least exposure of any route up there. Definitely not Larch, but nothing treacherous if you're okay with going up a decently large talus/boulder field.
Great, thanks. It seems like the common loop is to go up this way and come down a less steep way. But I'm not bothered by slippery steep grades, as long as there's no large drops nearby.
Bosterson wrote:
April 22nd, 2018, 10:17 pm
There isn't anything on the Washington side that would really approximate the "experience" of Larch - longish, gentle grade, old forest, manicured viewpoint. I would say that the closest thing in WA really is Augspurger, but you said you already tried it... I can't figure where you would have encountered "steep drops," but Auguspurger has effectively zero exposure compared to Table via any route.
There were a few scary spots near the junction with the Dog Mountain Trail on the back side of Dog Mountain. But where I turned around was an exposed rock ridge at about 5 miles. That was on a day of high winds and snow, and I could only see about 30 yards, so I couldn't tell how long that section would be. It's good to know it wouldn't be like that the rest of the way up.

I guess I'll recon Heartbreak Ridge next time. Table Mountain seems to have more cachet and I'd like to do it at some point. But I did enjoy what I saw of Augspurger and that might provide a little more solitude (once past Dog Mountain) to meditate on my advancing age. :-)
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Re: Table Mountain Options, or Alternatives?

Post by kepPNW » April 23rd, 2018, 12:44 pm

arlohike wrote:
April 23rd, 2018, 12:10 pm
kepPNW wrote:
April 21st, 2018, 9:53 am
Heartbreak Ridge has the least exposure of any route up there. Definitely not Larch, but nothing treacherous if you're okay with going up a decently large talus/boulder field.
Great, thanks. It seems like the common loop is to go up this way and come down a less steep way. But I'm not bothered by slippery steep grades, as long as there's no large drops nearby.
Coming down Westway is not for the feint of heart! There are a few spots that definitely cause serious pause, particularly if snow is involved. I think it's easier to go up that way, because you're not looking down, with these concerns. Definitely lots more exposure than Heartbreak.
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Re: Table Mountain Options, or Alternatives?

Post by Bosterson » April 23rd, 2018, 1:39 pm

kepPNW wrote:
April 23rd, 2018, 12:44 pm
Coming down Westway is not for the feint of heart!
As in, going down it makes you have a "feint of heart" - ie, you change your mind? :lol:

No, but I agree. Going down Westway is like walking down a steep slope covered in marbles. It's not very fun even in dry conditions and if you don't mind the dropoff to your right. Going down HBR isn't very fun either, due to the steepness. The NW ridge is definitely the "fun" one, but I don't think the scrambly exposed bits (minimal though they are) would meet the requirements here.

Arlo - I'm still totally unable to conjure anywhere on the backside of Dog that would have anything I would refer to as a "dropoff." Given that, be warned that the ridgetop of HBR does have a few spots past the Chiefs that get close(er) to the edge. As long as you don't walk up to any of the viewpoints, there is no chance you would actually fall off, as you're on the left side of the ridgetop, but just FYI so you know what to expect.
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Re: Table Mountain Options, or Alternatives?

Post by kepPNW » April 23rd, 2018, 3:27 pm

Bosterson wrote:
April 23rd, 2018, 1:39 pm
kepPNW wrote:
April 23rd, 2018, 12:44 pm
Coming down Westway is not for the feint of heart!
As in, going down it makes you have a "feint of heart" - ie, you change your mind? :lol:
:lol: Heh, yeah, I've seen people totally lose it there. ;)

Bosterson wrote:
April 23rd, 2018, 1:39 pm
No, but I agree. Going down Westway is like walking down a steep slope covered in marbles. It's not very fun even in dry conditions and if you don't mind the dropoff to your right. Going down HBR isn't very fun either, due to the steepness. The NW ridge is definitely the "fun" one, but I don't think the scrambly exposed bits (minimal though they are) would meet the requirements here.
I definitely like this one best, myself! There are just those couple-few very short stretches... Nothing as bad as Westway (especially with a howling wind!), but more "breathtaking" than Heartbreak. I do dislike coming down those boulders, though.

Bosterson wrote:
April 23rd, 2018, 1:39 pm
Arlo - I'm still totally unable to conjure anywhere on the backside of Dog that would have anything I would refer to as a "dropoff." Given that, be warned that the ridgetop of HBR does have a few spots past the Chiefs that get close(er) to the edge. As long as you don't walk up to any of the viewpoints, there is no chance you would actually fall off, as you're on the left side of the ridgetop, but just FYI so you know what to expect.
Right. I can't picture anything behind Dog that's at all exposed, either. There's one beautiful overlook, but that's it.
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arlohike
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Re: Table Mountain Options, or Alternatives?

Post by arlohike » April 23rd, 2018, 9:46 pm

kepPNW wrote:
April 23rd, 2018, 12:44 pm
Coming down Westway is not for the feint of heart! There are a few spots that definitely cause serious pause, particularly if snow is involved. I think it's easier to go up that way, because you're not looking down, with these concerns.
What I meant was I probably wouldn't mind going up and back on Heartbreak Ridge, even though most people generally prefer a less steep grade on a descent if it's available.
Bosterson wrote:
April 23rd, 2018, 1:39 pm
I'm still totally unable to conjure anywhere on the backside of Dog that would have anything I would refer to as a "dropoff."
Does this look familiar?
Screen Shot 2018-04-23 at 10.30.49 PM.png
As soon as I walked out past the trees, it was a howling wind and the rocks disappeared below me in the blowing snow. I didn't know if it would get better or worse ahead, so that's where I called it a day.
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Re: Table Mountain Options, or Alternatives?

Post by Bosterson » April 23rd, 2018, 10:26 pm

I think I can guess where that is, at least roughly. The trail should head down hill and rightish and then enter the forest, I think. It's possible our conceptions of "exposure" are quite different (I know that climbing/scrambling for most of my life has made me much more comfortable with it, but I've never heard anyone say Dog was exposed before outside of crampons conditions in the dead of winter), or maybe you would have felt differently if you were familiar with the trail, which it doesn't sound like you are. (And if a strong wind is blowing down the hill, that could be treacherous.) But that spot is definitely just a hill, not a cliff, no different from any other part of the Dog trails. I think if you go back there on a nice day (I hear we have some of those coming up :) ), you'll be able to see the terrain ahead and will find it's no big deal.

[Edit: it looks like I misread your earlier post and you did get past the backside of Dog, and instead turned around up on the Augspurger (mountain) side, in which case I agree with Karl that it looks like your photo is from right before you crest the powerline ridge on the way to Augspurger. Regardless, that spot too is just a hill.]

Depending on your fitness level, Aug is about 12 mi out and back, while Dog-Aug is around 14, and has maybe 700 ft (? from memory, I'd have to check a map to be sure) more EG, so it's a good day's work if that's what you're looking for.

That back north viewpoint past the top of Aug also has a bit of that remote feeling you get back up Larch - at least prior to hitting the road and tourist hordes at Sherrard. ;)
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Re: Table Mountain Options, or Alternatives?

Post by kepPNW » April 24th, 2018, 6:19 am

arlohike wrote:
April 23rd, 2018, 9:46 pm
kepPNW wrote:
April 23rd, 2018, 12:44 pm
Coming down Westway is not for the feint of heart! There are a few spots that definitely cause serious pause, particularly if snow is involved. I think it's easier to go up that way, because you're not looking down, with these concerns.
What I meant was I probably wouldn't mind going up and back on Heartbreak Ridge, even though most people generally prefer a less steep grade on a descent if it's available.
Ahhh, okay, yeah that's the path of least exposure, for sure.

arlohike wrote:
April 23rd, 2018, 9:46 pm
Bosterson wrote:
April 23rd, 2018, 1:39 pm
I'm still totally unable to conjure anywhere on the backside of Dog that would have anything I would refer to as a "dropoff."
Does this look familiar?
Yes, know the spot! Right before the powerline clearing. This is what it looked like two days before xmas...

Image
12/23/2017


But! Just over that rise, it's really nothing but a sloping meadow...

Image
2/9/2018

Bosterson wrote:
April 23rd, 2018, 10:26 pm
Depending on your fitness level, Aug is about 12 mi out and back, while Dog-Aug is around 14, and has maybe 700 ft (? from memory, I'd have to check a map to be sure) more EG, so it's a good day's work if that's what you're looking for.
When I've just done Dog-Aug, it was 16.5 miles and 5750' EG.

Doing Dog-Aug-Dog (best to get lighting from both directions!) it was 15.5 miles and 6600' EG.
Karl
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