Climb: Tupshin Peak-East Ridge F.A. (III+ 5.7)
Date of Climb: 8/9/2005
Trip Report: 
Living in Stehekin, I am frequently confronted with views to the summit of Tupshin Peak, which rises 7,200 from my front yard. The most distinguishing feature of this highly distinguished peak (Washington's 99th tallest!) is its enormous East ridge. Tim Halder (TheRunningDog) and I met up on Sunday, planning on attempting a first climb of this route to the summit.
We took the Devore Creek trail south from Stehekin for one mile, before cutting off cross-country at 2,000' toward our planned bivy. Five hours after leaving our canoe on the Stehekin River, we had reached a camp spot at 6,300' just below the East end of the Ridge.
This morning we headed off at 5AM with lots of water, and more than a little apprehension of what types of nastiness might lay ahead on the ridge.
Tim had mentioned to me that one of the aerial photos I'd sent him nearly persuaded him not to join in on the trip, so I attempted to hide my personal misgiving beneath a healthy veneer of overconfidence.
We were able to simulclimb roughly the first 2/3 of the ridge, up and down gendarmes and around exposed pinnacles. The rock quality varied widely from loose blocks, to nice cracks and corners.
The route has a lot of downclimbing, so following does not mean that your moves will be protected. Multiple gendarmes to downclimbwith a couple thousand feet of exposure became a memorable part of the route, and nearly drove Tim insane with frustration.
After about 6 hours on the ridge, we had reached the base of the final summit pinnacle, and were pleased to start multiple pitches with nothing to climb back down. Four pitches with pleasant rock up to mid 5th class brought us to the base of a 4th class ramp/chimney whish is part of the more standard route to the summit. This final pitch saw us on the top, at 1:45 this afternoon, 8 hours after roping up. The register dates back to the peak's initial climb by the Darr party of Portland, in 1940.
We enjoyed a carefully saved cinnamon roll for lunch, and savored the views before heading down at 3PM. With two ropes, it's possible to descend the East Face in two rappels, beginning 150' below the summit.
From this Eastern Basin, we booked it back to Stehekin in a couple hours by descending straight to the Devore Creek trail, and hiking to our canoe stashed across the river from dinner and
Gear Notes: Twin ropes, small alpine rack, Hiking Boots, copious amounts of baked goods.
Approach Notes: Hot and Dry.
5 hrs from Stehekin Bakery to Base of Route.
3 hrs from end of route back again.
That's so neat to live there...
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