Knifepoint Glacier in Wind River Range

[Brad Rogers]

Has anyone been arcross Indian Pass and went across Knife Point Glacier? I have a trip next week where we have about a mile of travel over this glacier and I am wanting to avoid taking my microspikes on a week long trip for only a mile of glacier travel. Anyone ever done this in trailrunners? If everything goes as planned we will be crossing the glacier in early afternoon.

[Brad Rogers]

Anyone? I head out tomorrow night.

[Tim Cheek]

I haven't been on it, but like you I'm headed there next week. I decided to bring my microspikes.

[Brad Rogers]

Thanks Tim. If all goes as planned we should be crossing early afternoon on Wednesday next week.

[Tim Cheek]

Where are you headed from knifepoint?

[Brad Rogers]

We are crossing Indian pass over Knife Point Glacier to Glacier Panarama to camp and then over Blaurock Pass the next morning.

[Tim Cheek]

I needed mine!

Did you?

[Mary D]

It's a glacier. It's made of ice. This was a low snow year, so the surface will be mostly bare ice.

[Brad Rogers]

My hiking partner was feeling the effects of the altitude so we stopped at the top of indian pass and went back down to camp in titcomb basin. We were afraid that once we crossed the divide on our planned route we would not have an easy exit if his symptoms worsened. We did go up and over knapsack col the following day, past peak lake and elbow lake to camp. He ended up feeling better but we took the conservitive route and stayed on the west side of the divide within an easier walk of the trailheads.

[Tim Cheek]

I'm sympathetic to your partner. I went ahead with my trip notwithstanding a head cold and I'm still recuperating…

The glacier was slick. I was on it at noon on a partly cloudy day. The microspikes were the minimum; ideally I'd been wearing KTS crampons. The microspikes would slip out of position or slip off entirely after thirty yards or so, but with only a few hours on a glacier out of a nine day route, they were an okay weight/compromise. I think if I had not had something on my feet like them, I'd have spent more time mucking around in very loose and just as slick mud and talus that was likely more unstable and hazardous than the glacier itself.

I brought a helix potty trowel, but ended up relying on my poles only.

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