As
seen in the photo at the left, the East Face was well iced up.
Bivvy Boys: Brad Canady, Paul Dunn, and Bruce Kolpack
The annual Mount Persis Bivvy Climb once again took place this year. With memories of the awesome Comet Hyakutake display at last year's Persis Bivvy (see last year's report), we were hoping for a similar view of Comet Hale Bopp. We just needed the weather to cooperate.
As was to be a common observation this year, there was a hell of a lot snow. We bivouacked at the traditional site, beneath the big Alpine Fir about 100 feet below the summit. Last year there was a distinctive dead branch in that Fir just out of reach… this year it was at knee level.
As
seen in the photo at the left, the East Face was well iced up.
We reached our bivvy site
in overcast conditions. About an hour before sunset, the Western sky cleared
and our hopes were high for some good comet viewing. The beautiful
views of Puget Sound, Seattle, and Lake Washington unfolded
as the sun set, and we enjoyed another excellent creation of Way
Too High Mulligan Stew.
Unfortunately, bad weather moved in shortly thereafter and our
bivvy gear was tested against an evening of wet snow. The next
morning, we just wanted to pack up and get down.