2024-03-25, 06:21 PM
(2024-03-25, 05:56 PM)Beardilocks Wrote: Hanaupah Canyon, off West Side Rd, opened up this last week so I decided to go check it out. I haven't been all the way up the canyon in about 6 years and I was curious what it would be like after the flooding and road repairs.
Overall an interesting trip up one of my favorite canyons in the park. On the way out the next morning I ran into two kids (early 20's) that had somehow driven a Honda Civic up from the South entrance of West Side Rd and slept overnight at the intersection of Hanaupah and WSR. You're only making that drive with either commitment & skill or stupidity & luck. The first words out of their mouths when I pulled up was “Did you summit?!” My immediate thought was “Summit what??” Followed almost immediately by “Y'all are crazy”. Yep, they were starting out to summit Telescope from WSR. Only about 11,250ft up. And covered in many many feet of snow. When I asked if they were really prepared for the snow and the climb (and mentioned the two guys getting choppered off the slopes of Telescope last winter) they turned around to show me their helmets, ice axes, and rope. Alright guys. I guess my thoughts on the drive in apply to summiting a snowy Telescope as well. Good luck.
holy jebus. you might want to call them into the rangers now. those kids are going to need to be rescued eventually, and if the rangers at least know wtf is going on, it'll save time trying to locate them (as they prolly never told anyone where they were going).