[TR] Baker - Coleman Headwall Direct 12/5/2008

[CTAC]

Trip: Baker - Coleman Headwall Direct

 

Date: 12/5/2008

 

Trip Report:

I left the trailhead to solo Coleman Headwall on Baker at 1:30 am on Friday night. On top of hogs back, I refilled my two water bottles. Above the snow field most of the crevasses are still open. To get to the bottom on the Nose at one point, I ice climbed into a crevasse, walked 300 yards through the bottom of it (I called it the “Corridor of Doom” since each side was about 60 ft high), and climbed myself out from the other side.

I took a quick break at the bottom of the nose, took a photo of the route, and began to climb at 7:15 am. When I got to the first ice band I climbed very steep ice until I was about 8 feet from the top and had a slight overhang. After trying a couple of times to climb over it I decided not to tempt the fate. The one ice screw I brought came in handy when I made Abalakov (a Russian invention often referred by Yankees as a V-thread). I brought my minimalist harness along with 30m 8mm rope, just in case. To save the weight I left the ACT at home and repelled on the munter hitch. When I repelled down I realized the rope wasn’t touching the bottom—so I untied and climbed down. I tried another route but ice was bad. Finally, on the third time I found a way though. Conditions varied from bulletproof ice to knee deep powder. When I was 2/3 of the way up the weather come it. First the clouds, then the rain, and then the wind. I had to refer to the picture I took twice to see where I needed to climb since visibility was less than 15 feet.

When I topped out, after 4.5 hours on the route, the winds picked up. I reckon the gusts were around 70 m/h. I kept getting knocked down and bruising myself on ice formations. I figured I’d take a break when I come down the Roman Wall. Problem was I couldn’t see where the Nose was. I couldn’t wear glasses because they would ice up on the inside and my eyes felt they were lacerated by the ice particles in the wind.

Finally, I found what looked like Roman nose. I began to descent, steering to the right to avoid coming down Easton Glacier. I found myself under rock formations I had never been under before. Fearing I was off course I climbed back up. In hind side, I now know I went too far to the right and ended up on the moustache, right below the Roman Nose. Convinced I was on the wrong path I burned the daylight looking for the exit point. Due to the rain, even though everything I wore was Gore-Tex, I got water in my boots and all the gloves. I began to dig a snow cave using my ice axe. Three feet down I hit ice and realized it was the end of my cave. I remembered topping out on North Ridge two years earlier with Forest and walking along big crevasses near the top. By the time I found the spot, I had been on the summit for over four hours.

I repelled into a diagonal crevasse, chiseled a ledge for my back-pack and began to get ready for the night. I was out of the wind but it was incredibly cold. I drained water from my boots, squeezed out some from down mittens. Everything, from the top of my hood, to the bottom of my feet was covered my 1/8 inch thick ice shell. I felt like an American super hero breaking out of the shell to gain my superpowers. I didn’t have a tent, a bivysack, a stove, a sleeping bag, of a thermalrest. I wrapped an astronaut blanket over my feet, laid my shell over my legs, and sat there wearing my parka, in this crevasse without sleep, shivering for 13 hours awaiting the sun light.

On Saturday morning I had 400 ml of water and one peanut butter bar left. That is it. The storm continued but I felt I had no choice because I wasn’t prepared to spend another night up there. I ate half of the bar, packed, and climbed out of the crevasse.

The descend was long and tedious. I relied on my compass exclusively. I was forced to open my compass using my ice tool since it was frozen shut. At one point visibility was reduced to two feet. That is how far away from a cliff I was when I stopped. I had to back track a couple of times but eventually I saw Hog’s back. I refilled my water bottle and went for the home stretch. I was at the car in one hour.

 

I don’t think this climb qualifies as a “car-to-car” since it was 38 hours long.

 

Overall, the route is in great shape. However, be prepared for hours of front pointing.

 

Gear Notes:

I wish I had a GPS unit. I brought 1 screw, 1 picket.

 

Approach Notes:

Very little snow on top of Hog's Back. Crevasses are still open. Repelling or downclimbing into a crevasse at the bottom of the Nose is necessary to get to the bottom of the route.

[jordansahls]

Holy Hell!!! That is Insane!!! You crazy Russians and your V-threads.

[Marko]

Those long December nights sure can seem like forever... Way to hang in there, and well done summitting.

 

-M

[OlympicMtnBoy]

Nice job keeping it warm (or at least not frozen).

[Dan_Miller]

Kudos on a very tough night out. Great Sufferage.

[G-spotter]

So by "Direct" do you mean the MacDonald/Mather line through what I had understood is now an overhanging serac?

[Stefan]

Uh. Come on. No way.

[Choada_Boy]

Fuck!! Wow!!

[dberdinka]

That's some straight up fucking madness.

[spotly]

Nothing like a mild day out to burn off the rest of that Thanksgiving turkey.

[Skeezix]

Uh... okay. That's cool.

[marc_leclerc]

Nice... always good when you don't die...

[CTAC]

G-spotter,

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with MacDonald/Mather line. By "Direct" I was referring to climbing from the bottom of the nose up as oppose to taking the ramp option on the left. I climbed the lower section between exposed seracs and the nose.

Its official: I got frost nips on two toes and eight fingers.

[G-spotter]

CTAC: The 1957 "Coleman Headwall" line is the one on the right side of the Coleman Headwall, either with ramp variation or the line you took.

 

The 1958 "Coleman Headwall Direct" by McDonald & Mather climbs well to the left, near the North Ridge, up to and through a giant serac near the apex of the face. On the FA this had a narrow passage through it which has fallen off in the intervening 50 years.

 

Hope that clears things up.

[ivan]

you clearly forgot your tauntaun!

[DanO]

One tough climb, I would like to get in some harder climbs myself, but my main partner-my wife, I don't want to break her, won't ever get her out again. Also I need some more time to let my knee heal. Your bivi is more than any would prefer.

 

 

I couldn’t wear glasses because they would ice up on the inside and my eyes felt they were lacerated by the ice particles in the wind.

 

I have had this problem also, with ski goggles and with sunglasses, in really high wind you can't expose any skin, I soloed mount Washington in new Hampshire once in winter along with other climbs up there. I found that by far the best method for me is not the glasses, take a ski mask or a second balaclava and what you do is take the two and put them on and adjust them

to make eye slits. That way you expose little skin and you can

actually see pretty well through the eye slits made by the two

garments. For me this works a LOT better than ski goggles, they just froze up on the inside, you also can adjust the eye opening for conditions, blowing hard across your face? The side with the wind you close down small, the opposite side you can open up a little to see better. I have never seen this in a book, found

it out myself. If you sweat and most of us do, your goggles and

to a lessor amount-sun glasses, freeze up on the inside.

 

Down mittens

 

I also had down mittens and I liked them but in real use on the Mount Washington trip they was getting soaking wet from sweat and

snow melt and they all I had to ware. Luckily I did not have to bivy and I got down in a hurry or I would have been in trouble with my hands. Go with primaloft or some synthetic or wool. Down

is dangerous, this is my thinking.

 

I am impressed with your climb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 5, 2009 by DanO

[olyclimber]

wow!

[Alex_Mineev]

muzhik! respect

Edited January 7, 2009 by Alex_Mineev