[TR] Chair Peak - Random partners climb NE Buttress TR 2/20/2011

[Friedrich]

Trip: Chair Peak - Random partners climb NE Buttress TR

 

Date: 2/20/2011

 

Trip Report:

There are plenty of concise, matter-of-fact TR's on Chair this weekend so I'll try to put a little more color into this one. Let me know if you enjoy it.

 

I hadn't climbed anything serious in several years, but on Friday night, I said "This is ridiculous! I need to get up off the couch and climb Chair Peak on Sunday!"

 

So I hit the partners forum, where someone named "Karl Schmidt," had just posted: Same peak, same day. Yayy CascadeClimbers.com!

 

After trading a few text messages, we were on.

 

Like so many others this perfect weekend, we had a great climb. Karl is a solid guy and I would climb with him anytime. His youth and fitness were a good complement to my age and cunning. (translation: he put up with me being out of shape because I had a couple of tips and told entertaining stories.)

 

After an epic approach and a wait in line, we finally started up around 2pm. Knew we were in for a late night hiking back, but with clear cold skies and NE exposure this route could be climbed safely in the afternoon. It was not going to melt out nor storm up. We were confident we could get up and down easily before dark.

 

I took the first pitch. I must be really screwed up, because I found it to be a really good stress reliever. God I have missed this. Never again will I go so long without climbing.

 

Watching Karl come up, it was clear he had better technique than he gave himself credit for. At the belay we discussed simul-climbing to stretch out the 2nd pitch with running belays, as suggested in the WA Ice guidebook. He was totally up for it. He led off and then.. forgot to stop.

 

We simul-climbed quickly through pitch 2 and well into pitch 3. At the ice step, I shouted to him to go for it. He placed his first-ever ice screw, went up the waterfall with no trouble, and kept going until he got to the false summit. Go team!

 

We lingered on the summit enjoying ourselves. I was glad to see my skills were intact. Karl was rightly proud of his leads. Now I just need to climb more and get my cardio back so I can keep up with him!

 

We had no trouble finding the descent gully (despite all the bad descriptions in print books) since I'd climbed up that way years before.

 

We rapped from the fixed pins, arriving back into the bowl while the winter sun was still out.

 

If there is an intermediate rappel station it must be buried in snow, because we didn't see any. With a single 60M rope we ended up roughly 100 feet above where the slope lessens, but the soft snow was easy to downclimb, and we even started our glissade on steeper ground than one would usually do.

 

Hiking out through the soft snow sucked, but we got back to the car eventually, with time out for the old man to nap.

 

Note to self: Before a climb, get more than 3 hours sleep.

 

Conditions were EXCELLENT. There was a bit of solid ice on the 1st pitch, right where you want it to protect the ascending rightward gully. The ice step at the top of the 3rd pitch was short but fun blue ice. The rest of the route was firm snow just right for easy step-kicking.

 

Overall a great climb with a great partner on a picture-perfect day.

 

NE Buttress Route in all it's glory. The ice variation to the start of the route can be clearly seen.

 

Karl coming up to the tree belay on the first pitch. Good times.

 

The money shot. Karl climbing the crux ice step near the top of what would be the 3rd pitch, if we weren't simul-climbing the whole damn thing. Go man go!

 

On the summit.

 

Looking SE from the 2nd saddle below the false summit. These are the somewhat elusive fixed pins atop the SE gully, which is the standard descent route for the NE buttress and NF routes. If you see this you're about to descend the correct gully to get back to the Source Lake bowl. If you don't see this you're about to descend the wrong gully.

It was a perfect day to solo the route, and indeed we saw someone else do just that. Here is the soloist in the middle of the ice step crux.

Closeup of soloist on the crux move.

Aaaaaand he's up! Nice one dude, whoever you are.

 

Gear Notes:

60M 8.9mm single rope

 

Rack: 1 long screw, 2 medium screws, 3 pickets, green and yellow alien, 1 RURP piton, 3 double slings, 3 single, 1 cordelette, 1 daisy chain, 2 lockers.

 

Due to our extended simulclimb, Karl ran out of gear on the 4th pitch. Wanted another picket.

Didn't use piton

Didn't use 2 of the screws.

Placed yellow alien twice, could have placed the red if we'd brought it.

 

Pitch 1: picket, clipped the fixed slings, bomber screw, yellow alien, sling the belay tree.

 

Pitch 2: Picket, sling a rock fin, picket.

 

Pitch 3 (continuing simul): yellow alien, screw, climb the waterfall.

 

Pitch 4 (continuing simul) another picket, to the false summit, belay from 1 ice tool buried as a deadman and sat upon (the classic Butt-Axe belay).

 

Karl pointed out after the climb that he felt a little too runout after the waterfall. Another picket would have been good so there would have been more than 1 piece between us when he was nearing the false summit and I was climbing the waterfall. In retrospect he's right. However he compensated by making sure every move was super-solid. And conditions were so good that self-arrest would have been easy for either of us. Still, every climb is a learning experience for both partners, and I was glad to get a tip back from him.

 

Approach Notes:

The crux of the approach was when Karl's car started making scary noises. It took some time to effect a field repair, and we didn't leave the parking lot until 9:00am with the sun well up.

 

My new rule: Always bring snowshoes, no matter what anybody else says, even after a spell of clear cold weather like we just had. Others may report "postholing not too bad", but your car might lose important bits, you might start late, you might have a very sunny day, and you might punch through constantly. Like we did. Also you might have a wheezing old geezer along, like me.

4 hours to the base of the route.

 

 

Always Bring Headlamps: We were good little boys and brought our headlamps, and we knew we could get up and down before dark. So we had a great time and no worries.

 

NOTE TO SELF: call wife from summit where you might have coverage, so she'll know you'll be home later than expected. This increases your chances of being able to climb again next weekend.

 

[Le Piston]

I did enjoy your TR Friedrich...and appreciated the nice pictures and beta. I was unfortunately working during the stellar weather you enjoyed, gnashing my teeth and wishing I was up on Chair Peak. Glad you found a partner and had a good climb. Thanks, from a fellow wheezing geezer!

[ktschmid]

Eric it was great climbing with you! Huzzah to an awesome climb, good conditions and fun times. Though you forgot to mention that you brought up flavoring to make to snowcones. That's right, TO MAKE SNOWCONES

[Friedrich]

Haha. Yep, it's a tradition of mine- Bring up the most improbable food to share on the summit. Wait till next time. It might be sushi.

 

@Le Piston: Thanks! Sorry you missed the weather window. Maybe if this snow ends with another clear cold snap as currently predicted, avalanche danger will drop again and we'll all have one last chance for winter ice climbs. Hey, one has to hope, right?

[SmilingWhiteKnuckles]

Damn! Snow cones! Who needs hot tea anyway.

 

Nice meeting you both in the parking lot. What a day up there! And a beautiful night. Your headlamps coming down to Source Lake were sort of comforting...comraderie I guess. We did wonder why you were going so slowly and it was good to find out why. Old geezer my ass, that's one burly approach and descent with just boots!

 

And Friedrich, I liked your report. You can probably tell, I have trouble keeping things concise...oh well.

[Friedrich]

Nice meeting you too. We also got a kick out of watching your headlamps from across the bowl.

 

At first we were looking up at you and it was like "Ha! Someone's coming down later than us!" then it was "Damn, they are totally passing us." But the whole time it was still cool. 3 cheers for climber comraderie.

[spionin]

very entertaining. way to get yourself off the couch!

 

cheers!

[Khartoum Wood]

Cheers.I just climbed Chair last weekend for my first time I love that climb.

[The Ospray]

1 RURP piton

 

Curious as to why you brought a RURP? (I have a feeling you may be mistaken by the name) RURPs are pointless these days unless you are aiding a horizontal hariline seam. The cable on them is only swaged to hold like 500lbs. Specters, Angles, LAs and large sized BD peckers seem more appropriate these days for mixed terrain. Oh and nice TR, it was a pleasure to read. Chair is one of my favorite quick little climbs.

 

Cheers

Todd

[Friedrich]

D'oh! You're right. It was just the thinnest knifeblade, #1. I bring it because it's light and works in thin cracks where nothing else will. It has come in handy a few times. Unfortunately this time I dropped it, so I won't be bringing it again

 

Glad you enjoyed the TR, and thanks for pointing out the clarification.

 

Cheers

Eric