Senior guide Kip Sprout recalls a fun “backyard adventure” from his first summer at SEAG (St. Elias Alpine Guides) – an overnight on top of Donoho Peak!
As my first summer in McCarthy was getting into the full swing of tourist season, I found myself with the same “weekend” as three other friends. We knew we had to make something out of the opportunity we had, so we planned to tackle Donoho Peak in a beautiful alpine backpacking style.
Following in the footsteps of guides before us, we made the decision to camp on the saddle just 350 feet shy of the summit of nearly 6,700 feet. With this plan in mind, we packed our lightweight sleep systems, cook gear, and layers. We all went pretty light as the trip was not far from home nor “of any real length”.
The next morning, we woke and caught the morning shuttle to Kennecott. From the shuttle, we began through town and down the already familiar Root Glacier Trail. Upon reaching the glacier, we beelined directly across it, aiming for the easiest path into Donoho Basin. In no time, we found ourselves removing our crampons and exiting the glacier. As we gained the basin, the cool and dry air flowing down the Root Glacier quickly shifted to warm and humid air. We followed the small trail through the brush that runs through the basin, and eventually ran into the lower lake. It was here that we decided to call lunch, enjoying a scenic Mt Blackburn reflection off of the lake.
After lunch, we headed directly for the south gully that marked the beginning of our climb. We believed to be on trail, but abruptly found ourselves bushwhacking through thick alders. Instead of making the wise decision to turn around and find the trail, we naively pushed through the brush. By the time we emerged from the brush, we found that a tent had been ripped off of one of the member’s packs on the way through; this served as one last bruise to the egos. With low hope of finding the tent, we continued onwards to the gully.
The gully provided us very straightforward climbing up a slowly steepening pitch. We took the easy elevation for the first 2,000 feet of the climb. As the gully grew steeper, we made the decision to traverse over to an alpine step connected to a ridge leading nearly to the saddle. From the step, we started up the ridgeline where we found more solid rock due to the tundra partially keeping it in place. As we ascended beyond the basalt and into the limestone layer, the tundra quickly disappeared; we were left with loose rock with the occasional semi-solid handrail.
Along with our medium deteriorating, the weather also worsened. We had long been watching a storm roll up valley into us, so when it hit us, we were as prepared as possible. Knowing we couldn’t stop where we were, we committed to reaching the saddle within the rain. As we neared the saddle and the ridge we were following began to disappear, we found that the rain had turned to snow. Pushing through the last steep section on loose rock led us to the saddle where we would build camp and rest for the night.
We all squeezed into an MSR Elixir 2 tent to make dinner, and after regaining lost calories, I retired to my tent for the evening. Since we had lost a tent on the way up, the two-person MSR tent acted as a three-person tent for the night. I’m sure it was a cozy night for them piled into the tent.
The following morning started with pancakes, a backpacking speciality of one of the members. As we ate our breakfast, the clouds began to part and we were treated to the best views yet. We enjoyed seeing all of the Gates and Kennecott glaciers, and the fog over the Root glacier provided a mysterious atmosphere to the morning. After breakfast, we broke down camp and began up.
We only had a few hundred feet to reach the summit, and the climbing was on par or easier than what we had done the day before. This made for a quick summit, allowing for lots of time to enjoy the scenery from the peak. We sat around for over 30 minutes, taking in the beauty of the Kennecott Valley.
After soaking it all in, we began back down in order to make it to the town shuttle before they stopped running. Progress on the descent was quick, and any worries of saturated choss were quickly disproven. This was a relief to us all, and allowed for a clear headspace on our way down. After a long break on tundra, we traversed our way into the south gully, and were delighted to find easily glissadable snow. This saved us time as we ended up doing standing glissades for around 1,500 feet.
At the bottom of the gully, a trail was very obvious. Instead of repeating our mistake, we took the trail through the dense brush and were swiftly spit out onto the main trail through the basin. As we passed our bushwhack, the member who lost his tent told us to enjoy a snack while he went and searched for the lost package. Within no time, the bright orange tent bag was located, and we were back to the trail.
We found our way back to the Root and crossed in no time, being sure to enjoy the blue skies on our way out. Before we knew it we were walking through Kennecott, feeling accomplished and proud. Donoho proved to be a rewarding and challenging objective, and for those looking to tickle the itch of adrenaline, the exposed scrambling towards the top of the mountain provided.
written by: Kip Sprout
photos by Kip Sprout, Morgan Marks, and Olga Iwaniuk
updated 07/2024
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