What's the easiest way from top of the knife edge of the shield to the crest?

For me ...

As a teenager, the alpine of the Olympic Mountains in WA state were a staple. Crampons and an old-style ice axe became very familiar back then along with hip belays and swami belts although we never practiced catching any kind of fall what-so-ever. I don't recall the type of ropes we used but I suspect they were more modern than the type you mention. After that, for a couple decades, raising a family kept all but the annual backpacking / hiking / glacier trips mostly under wraps - which was ok. Now, several of my boys and a couple grandsons enjoy the hills too. :-)

The last dozen years have been pretty intense with technical climbing, to say the least. Last Sunday we climbed Windy Ridge on Hail Peak (the S ridge) for the second time, enjoying it very much. I must say though, this year's precip has made the 'old' paths low in Echo Canyon nearly undecipherable. And several friends have remarked about the amount of greenery on routes!

Bill Lawry wrote:For me ... As a teenager, the alpine of the Olympic Mountains in WA state were a staple. Crampons and an old-style ice axe became very familiar back then along with hip belays and swami belts although we never practiced catching any kind of fall what-so-ever. I don't recall the type of ropes we used but I suspect they were more modern than the type you mention. After that, for a couple decades, raising a family kept all but the annual backpacking / hiking / glacier trips mostly under wraps - which was ok. Now, several of my boys and a couple grandsons enjoy the hills too. :-) The last dozen years have been pretty intense with technical climbing, to say the least. Last Sunday we climbed Windy Ridge on Hail Peak (the S ridge) for the second time, enjoying it very much. I must say though, this year's precip has made the 'old' paths low in Echo Canyon nearly undecipherable. And several friends have remarked about the amount of greenery on routes!

Bill... I thankyou for your reply. Florian Walchak and I did "Windy Ridge" about a month after the first ascent; we didn't know it had just been done,,, but we went one better. We climbed the little spur just southwest of the beginning of the ridge merely as a warmup. It was about 5.7. And yes, it was a bit windy.

It's overwhelming for me to reflect back on all the climbs and climbers I've experienced over the past 44 yr-s,,,,, but there are two stories I would love to disclose to you after your sweet reply. There's also one I wish I had never experienced. They all involve "Windy Ridge" on Hail Peak.

The first one is how I had lived in Boulder for a while (1973/ 74) and had twice climbed the Third Flatiron in the light of a full moon.
"Gem" (Jim") Fuge and I did a Full Moon attempt on the S Ridge of Hail Peak . We did a full rope length up to a ledge on the ridge in the dark; waiting for the moon to come up over the Crest.
As we waited for the moon to arise over the area of the Tram,,, we laid down just below the chimney and cat-napped for a bit before we were going to proceed. We needed the light of the moon.
It was fairly cool and we were wearing our cold weather gear to sleep warm. Mine happened to be a down jacket/ shirt.

As the Full Moon came over the Crest and we started to proceed; I realized that I had been laying in a prickly pear cactus with the finest of thorns for almost an hour :op I didn't feel them until we started to motivate for the chimney pitch.
We had to rappel back down the east side where we had ascended up in the dark... then hike back to the Crest; then drive back to Turkey Town where my wife tried using tweezers to pull dozens of thorns off my back until I asked her to just shave them off w a razor... which she did. I was spoz to be at work the next morning.

Nuff of that story,,,

Next story;

Florian Walchak and I had done numerous climbs together and had planned on another climb on Hail Peak. Unfortunately , he couldn't make it one weekend,,, so i hiked up to Hail Peak with my first wolf dog, "JACKSON". It was probably a 60 pound pack on my back :op

As Jackson and I were negotiating the rock out crops below the saddle, I looked at him walking to my right,,, on his two hind legs,,, sniffing for what I thot were rabbits or deers. Thank God it was windy.

When I saw the mountain lion about thirty yards in front of me I didn't know if to drop my pack and run, or just Freeze. Thank God I froze , cuz I've since learned if you try to run from a mtn lion,,, it's a bad choice to run!!!

Jackson was a 96 pound "wolf dog"; but he loved me and I loved him,,, with our lives. Even after he died I found a way to "see" he was OK and still was happy to "see" me.

Bill,,, here is the 3rd story,,, the one I said I wish I had never witnessed ;

I was hiking alone from the upper Tram terminal (as usual) and came across a couple of idiots that had just cut down the biggest Ponderosa Pine Tree right at the saddle just south of Windy Ridge. The stump is most likely still there. They were trying to build a cabin or a hunting blind and I tried to inform them they were out of line. They were armed; I was not.

Had I been an American Indian.......

Gary Lee Hicks wrote:Florian Walchak and I did "Windy Ridge" about a month after the first ascent; .... We climbed the little spur just southwest of the beginning of the ridge merely as a warmup. It was about 5.7.

I wondered about that other start. The first time on the route, we first found the cave and then took time to look around for that alternate start mentioned in Hill's guide. Things elsewhere looked harder and not very protectable. So we took the cave start and promptly got spanked staying too close to the chock stone - I hadn't yet had the chimney-schooling I got in Red Rock a few weeks later. :-)

Next time back there, I'll look for the start you mention. I suspect your 5.7 is now closer to 5.9. :-)

I believe I know of the place on Windy Ridge where you picked up the cactus spines on your full moon attempt. We probably belayed in that area once, and it does (still) have a lot of stealth cactus.

I've only seen one mountain lion in the Sandias - crossing the road on our return to town late one day. He didn't care one way or the other about us. 'Course, we were in a vehicle. That would be sobering to be alone and see one out by Hail Peak ... well, you did have your good friend Jackson but still.

I was working up to ask which way you usually got to climbs on Hail Peak. I've mainly come down Echo Canyon but going back up it can be maze-like the way other gullies seem to join it. And I've come down the more direct gully from the La Luz Trail - the horizontal part of the trail heading over to the tram.

All this talk of Hail Peak almost makes me wish we had gone to it that day ... the name Markingstone was Paul's idea, not that I recall objecting to it very strenuously ... but no, I didn't lead it free - that was John Fleming while I went to grad school in Saint Louis ... I only wanted to reach the splitter crack above & it was worth the effort, even though it seems today as though that whole block is ready to come down (!!!) ... Gemstone remains a Sandia classic, a test piece for all aspiring 5.8 leaders ... Gary it's funny you should mention Antoine Predock ... the sister of my girlfriend at the time worked in his office ... I wonder what is the connection you are thinking of ... ? The Fin was my first climb in the Sandias ... as an interesting side note, we did it the same time as Doug & Wayne did their FA of Mexican Breakfast Crack ... we all rode up to the Crest together that day ... I have no cactus tales, no mountain lion or even bear tales about climbing in the Sandias, only one rattlesnake encounter & that was pretty mellow ...

Bill and Doc...

I wish I had more of "me" to keep up w everything... but, as John Lennon said on his album, "Double Fantasy" ,,, " ,,, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."
The Beatles and Bob Marley and the Wailers were just as important as President Abraham Lincoln to introduce the fact that , "All people are born equal !"
[ Sorry, but I had to paraphrase that,,, because there were more Good People who sacrificed their lives so that WE could enjoy our "sports and activities " ,,, ; etc :o]
It Might all be "Good" if we could just relax, and "Do No Harm". ]

Friends; I apologize ... I'm trying to assist a lot of good people who are nearing the end of their days; It's not an easy task :op

In all of the times I was rock-climbing... I was always willing to give my life to protect my partner's life. My usual prayer was ,,, " Dear God... If any of us have to Die Today... Please let it be me cause it would kill me if anyone I was climbing with were to die today,,, it would burden me with so much sorrow, I wouldn't survive it anyway. " [ Thank God,,, so far,,, no one I have ever climbed with has been killed while rock climbing with me. Unfortunately ; many have passed for other reasons. Life is short. "Do No Harm" ]

God bless, and may we all live to climb another day :o)

^^^ where's a 'like' button when you need it ...