Trip Report
I knew I wanted to get out the day before Memorial Day. There was a thread on Facebook about several groups doing several peaks on several days. One of the ideas was Smiley Mountain. Having done Smiley and stayed at Iron Bog Campground, this area intrigued me a bit. I started looking at peaks in the area. The ridge to Ramp Mountain (Peak 11,151) from Antelope Pass looked really cool. Plus I figured we could get a second peak, since Peak 10,995 was right there.
I bounced this idea off of Dylan and John Fadgen and they were in. Deb and Tom heard my idea on the Facebook thread and were interested as well. John thought the peak was a bit tame and wanted some spice. I suggested they run over and tag Smiley (I always feel bad dragging John to a lesser peak with the "big catch" right there).
We headed over at different times on Thursday night with Deb and Tom beating us there by a few hours. We were hoping to get over Fish Creek summit at 7,400 feet without encountering snow. Just over the pass, we hit a small drift, which John easily busted through and we were off to camp. Deb and Tom found a nice camping spot a few miles east of Iron Bog campground and we met them there.
At some point, we decided that if we could get the vehicle to Antelope Pass, the group minus me would do Ramp Mountain and then continue on to Smiley. I would head back to Antelope Pass and grab the car and meet them at Iron Bog CG. Sure enough, we got just short of the pass before a massive drift right at the pass stopped our tracks. The loop/shuttle plan was on.
As expected, the ridge from Antelope Pass to Ramp Mountain was incredible. Views of Copper Basin and the big Pioneers on one side and the Antelope Creek valley on the other. The snow filled Anderson Canyon climber's right was very scenic as well.
We made it to the top with a trail for large sections on the ridge and a few class 3 spots to make things more interesting.
On top, we made final plans. I actually thought I would be the slow party, having to hike about the same mileage as the rest of the group, then drive an hour to meet them. So instead of going to bag 10,995, I opted to head out right then.
So Dylan and Tom headed up 10,995 while Deb and John got a head start toward Smiley and they all met back up for Smiley.
I drove the vehicle to the campground and then thought out the route they would come down off Smiley. Instead of the campground, I chose to drive up the road a ways to where the ridge dropped to meet Iron Bog road. After a nap, lounging in the sun, re-hydrating, and panicking because it was getting late and they weren't there; I drove to the campground in case they snuck past me. They weren't there, but on return to my previous location I spotted Dylan descending the ridge where I had thought and returned the rig and waited for all 4 to come in.
They were beat down after a long day, but still in good spirits. I was well rested and ready for a cold drink and hot meal.
It turned out to be a great day all around. The weather couldn't have been better, nor could the partners on the trip.
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