Climb: Tang Tower-Brush Humpers Delight

Date of Climb: 10/14/2004

Trip Report:

With visions of first ascents dancing in our heads we couldn't help ourselves. So on what might have been the last truely beautiful and warm fall day of the year, Wednesday October 14th, Gene Pires and I met once again in the predawn darkness of a Monroe parking lot.

Twentyone miles back up the Sultan Basin Road, four miles of hiking back up to Boulder Lake, another wet thrash around the lake, steep scree and then death-defying shrub pulling to a high col. Time for a short break and a chance to admire the inaccessible rock horn of Peak 5144.

[image]www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/509/140Peak_5144_lg_1.jpg[/image]

Two quick rappels followed by a long traverse on slabs and thick brush, then finally a good view of our objective, a thousand foot tall buttress of slabby granite leading towards the summit of "Tang Tower".



More thrashing got us to it's base. We climbed a line that started just left of it's lowest toe. Thin cracks connected by friction climbing was once again the theme of the day. The second pitch went through the left edge of the faint white scar in the following photo.



The climbing was generally good, though the lichen was definitely thicker than what we had found the previous week on the slabs of Sine your Pity. A fair amount of hollow, detached flakes spiced the climbing up a fair bit as well.



The views aren't bad either...



After five long pitches, mostly 5.6 or 5.7 with an occasional crux move up to 5.10-, we reached the top of a tower which required a mandatory rappel. One very rotten, very faded sling of indetermitable age indicated that we were not the first people to have passed this way. Oh well, we had still experienced a surprisingly stiff adventure. We rapped then did a traversing pitch along a shrubby, gendarmed ridgeline. Rather than climb another four hundred feet of low 5th class to the summit we traversed off so we could make it home in time for tea and cookies. We made it back down to the car in only two hours rounding out a twelve hour day.

Evidently Chris Greyell and Dave Tower were active in this area maybe twenty years ago and established several routes on what they called "Boulder Crags". They also developed a handful of routes on Prospect Peak, including "the most classic handcrack in Washington" and climbed a number of peaks in the area. I assume they did something technical on Peak 5144.

Reagrdless of whether it's been climbed out or not, this area is definitely off the map. If you choose to go you're guarenteed a full-on adventure and will probably get to climb a thousand plus feet of good granite to boot.


Gear Notes:
Medium rack plus kifeblades and lost arrows. Leather gloves for the approach.

Approach Notes:
B2+

Another nice trip Darin!
I made it out to Static Point for the first time this past summer & was seriously intrigued by the amount of other granite in the area. Good to hear someone is out gettin' it.

BTW, I was the other guy with Sol on the Dreamer a few years back when we made it down way late. Love to do some exploring/climbing with you next summer, when I become a full time PNW resident again.

, Jimbo

How about this?

Nice!

Darin,
Can you clear up some uncertainty on my part?
I have a question:
Is your "Tang Tower" the slabby summit at right-center in this photo or is it some subsidiary point near to that summit:

That summit is Pt. 4800+ (see map).
Thanks.

BTW, your Pk 5144 is known as "Bushwhack Peak."

In your reality that peak is known as 4800+. In our's it's known as Pootie Peak, the small point to it's east is Tang Tower. In Chris Greyell's reality it's known as Boulder Crags, though I've yet to talk to him about it. Here is a rapidly scribbled topo.

Sine your Pitty... was quite good. " " Buttress was forgettable. In general it's like climbing on a slightly chossier version of the West Butt of Blueberry Hill. Still a good place for an adventure.

Thanks, Darin. Cool B&W pic.

In both our realities it is Pt. 4800+. That wasn't a name on my part; that's just its elevation.

Speaking of Greyell & Tower, I believe I saw those slabs they climbed on Prospect's east side. The same general features and angles as Pootie and Static but not as long:

A picture worth posting to this thread. You can see why the area would offer excellent technical slab climbing.

Tang Tower from Pootie Peak (Fallacy Peak):

It's Monday and I don't want to think and I just saw Paul's photo so I've attached an appended version with a topo of the the final 3 pitches of "Sine your pity". These pitches were very asthetic, linking thin finger cracks with clean moderate slabs.

Bump... anyone been out to the area since this TR?

Blake -

Climbers other than those mentioned in the thread have been there before and after this TR was first posted.