Ben and I climbed Twin Peaks via Broads Fork. Here is my map of the route from my climbing journal:
And here is a USGS topo of the route:
We left the car at 10:35 p.m., Friday. Arriving at the Beaver Pond around 2:00 a.m., I changed into my mountain boots while Ben filtered water.
Ben at the Moraines
Bobby at the Moraines
We hiked up Bonkers, getting to the top of Stairs Gulch around 4:15. We stopped here for a brief respite, enjoying the city lights.
Ben sleepwalks up the Bonkers slide path
Bobby on the Bonkers slide path
Dawn
Ben and Bobby at the top of the Bonkers slide path Is Ben drunk?
Ben with Stairs Gulch below
Traversing the ridge above Deaf Smith Canyon was fun. We removed crampons for the rock ridge, and scrambled across until we came to an impasse: a small six foot step on the ridge. The sun rose at this point. Neither of us were excited about jumping down the step on the exposed ridge, we donned crampons once more and traversed down into the upper part of Deaf Smith Canyon, at the hanging snowfield below the Twins. Frontpointing up this slope was one of the most enjoyable sections of the climb.
The Twins in the early dawn light
Dromedary and Sunrise Peaks
Sunrise above 10,500'
The tip of Bonkers, ~10,250'
East Twin at Sunrise
Dromedary at Sunrise
Dromedary with Superior and Monte Cristo
The Traverse above Deaf Smith Canyon
The Devil's Castle lurks behind the saddle between Dromedary and Sunrise Peaks
We summitted at 7:30 or 8:00 a.m. The view from the East Twin was spectacular: Superior, Monte Cristo, Devil's Castle, Hidden Peak, American Fork Twins, Dromedary, Sunrise, The Pfeifferhorn, Hogum Fork, Lone Peak, Big Willow Cirque, Perla's Ridge, The Oquirrhs, Timpanogos, Nebo. We were above most of these (only the underlined peaks are higher, though The Pfeifferhorn is just four feet lower!).
11,330'
The cirque in Hogum Fork with Mt. Nebo on the horizon
Das Pfeifferhorn
On top of one twin, looking at another
Not the best handstand
Ben on top
Ben still on top
Ben and the twins
We made a quick jaunt over to the West Twin (individually so we could get photos), ate a snack, enjoyed the view some more, then headed down.
Ben walks the ridge to West Twin
...still walking the ridge...
...still walking the ridge...
...still walking the ridge...
...still walking the ridge...
...still walking the ridge...
He made it!
Bobby walking the ridge
...still walking the ridge...
...still walking the ridge... Great photo Ben!
Twins'-eye view of the city
11,328'
I'm going back
...still going...
Ben got bored and started looking down the Lisa Falls couloir The Y couloir is obvious.
...still going...
...almost there...
Friends on top
I enjoy an apple on the summit
Ben takes a self-photo
We decided to descend the north slopes below Sunrise (O'Sullivan) Peak. We had originally planned on attempting Sunrise and Dromedary if time permitted, and descending the west slopes of the cirque. Alas, the snow was softening (as was our strength/resolve). The ridge over to Sunrise was pretty sketchy. We came to a 30-foot downclimb (at about 5.2 to 5.4), but neither of us were psyched on the exposure. So we descended slightly into the Lisa Falls couloir, and traversed back to the ridge. It was here that Ben and I each took a small fall in the same place. Nothing serious, just a reminder to be careful. At the saddle between the East Twin and Sunrise, I downclimbed the 40 degree slope, while Ben boot-skied it.
I downclimb the 40 degree slope (Ben bootskied it)
...still downclimbing
The corn snow on the descent was incredibly good. I wished I had my skis. Well...we did the next best thing: boot-skiing, belly-skipping, and butt-sliding. We didn't think about shovel-sledding until we were near the bottom, but we did that too.
I convinced Ben to belly-skip down
Woah!
...that's better
Shovel-sledding
We returned to the Beaver Pond mid morning and took a big rest before starting back down the trail. I changed shoes and clothes, Ben filtered more water, and we headed down. At 1:00 p.m., Saturday, we got back to the car. 14-1/2 hours.
