KaskadskyjKozak Posted August 8, 2013 Posted August 8, 2013 Trip: Mox Peaks SE Spire (Hard Mox) - West Face (Beckey) Date: 8/6/2013 Trip Report: I had planned to climb Goode this Sat to Tue but my plans fell through. I had previously corresponded with my friend Andy B who was one summit short of completing the Bulger List about climbing Hard Mox, so I pinged him and he was available to climb Mon-Wed. I got the time off from work - game on! We approached on Monday per the usual and camped at the Depot-Redoubt Creek divide. Depot Creek Falls were flowing fast and furious, with lots of spray. Lake Ouzel is completely melted out and the outlet was a bit tricky to cross. Andy donned some rubber shoes he brought for camp and I chose to wade across barefoot. Drying off feet after crossing the outlet: Ascending slabs above Lake Ouzel: We started out from camp around 4 am on Tuesday. The first part of the traverse was entirely melted out and the talus was tedious to negotiate. Once we hit snow, it was a lot easier. The snow stopped short of the Col of the Wild by a few hundred feet, and more tedious talus and scree was in order. Looking back at the traverse from camp: The Col of the Wild in August conditions: Route-finding to the base of the final gully leading to the start of the route was straight-forward and pretty much exactly as Beckey describes. The snow finger was quite melted out and undercut so we rappelled it (60m). We were not sure how we'd get back up, but figured we'd do what we had to when the time came. We started up the rightmost gully around the rib below the snow finger and hit the class 4 terrain. Since we were not sure if we were on route or what was above we set up a belay. 20 feet higher, we knew all was well, and so we shortened the rope and simulsolo'd up the class 3 gully (loose) to the base of the route. The 10-foot step: Man what a place! Andy traverses the crumbly ledge: Checking out the snow finger: I led the first two pitches. You can't exactly zip up the route, but there is pro where you need it. I then gave Andy the honor of leading the third pitch to complete his final Bulger summit. As for rock quality: "doveryaj, no proveryaj" ("trust but verify"). We did 3 rappels back to the start of the route, downclimbed the top of the gully and then did 2 rappels to get past the class 4 section. Everything else went smoothly with one bit of trickiness at the snow finger. We camped a second night and hiked out early Wednesday. Andy prepares to rappel from the summit: Some shenanigans at the snow finger: We were the only souls on Hard Mox or at Lake Ouzel as far as we could tell, with the exception of a party of two that we spied ascending Easy Mox while we were summitting the SE Spire. View towards NW Spire from the summit of Hard Mox: Congratulations to Andy on this notable summit! And thanks for such a great trip! KK summit stoke: Andy celebrates on the summit: Gear Notes: 4-5 C4's .5 to #3, a few nuts, #1-2 Master Cams, pink and red tri-cams. Quote
Eric T Posted August 8, 2013 Posted August 8, 2013 Congratulations on ticing Hard Mox!! Way to be. I'm dying to get up there. Congratulations on your Bulger achievement! That's a rare club to be in... Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted August 9, 2013 Author Posted August 9, 2013 Congratulations on ticing Hard Mox!! Way to be. I'm dying to get up there. Congratulations on your Bulger achievement! That's a rare club to be in... Thanks, Eric! But to clarify - Andy finished the Bulger. I am at a measly 24 right now... Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted August 9, 2013 Author Posted August 9, 2013 Well done! Thanks! Nice register entry, BTW :-) Quote
tvashtarkatena Posted August 9, 2013 Posted August 9, 2013 (edited) What did I write? I can never remember. One guy sent me a summit register instagram for another peak I'd completely forgotten I'd climbed.... Talk to Mr. Brooks. You can go from 24 to 100 pretty quickly! 45 in one year, as I recall. I'm tired just thinking about it. Edited August 9, 2013 by tvashtarkatena Quote
mikebell Posted August 9, 2013 Posted August 9, 2013 Here is a pix of one of you on the top from Easy Mox. My partner was bagging his 99 of the 100. Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted August 9, 2013 Author Posted August 9, 2013 Here is a pix of one of you on the top from Easy Mox. My partner was bagging his 99 of the 100. Sweet! Thanks! Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted August 10, 2013 Author Posted August 10, 2013 'dat whole depot creek area => Indeed. I've had two trips back there already, and I do plan to return. Quote
ivan Posted August 10, 2013 Posted August 10, 2013 my second trip was sadly waylaid by canadian customs gotta wait until some of my more jolly climbing partners get street-legal again Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted August 10, 2013 Author Posted August 10, 2013 my second trip was sadly waylaid by canadian customs gotta wait until some of my more jolly climbing partners get street-legal again I'll bet you could easily entice Nastia to head up there... and there will be no border probs. Quote
ivan Posted August 10, 2013 Posted August 10, 2013 no border probs, da, i grant ye - my wife, on the other hand.... where is that old girl n' oleg, anyhow? been more than a week since them fools went off to dragontail... Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted August 10, 2013 Author Posted August 10, 2013 no border probs, da, i grant ye - my wife, on the other hand.... where is that old girl n' oleg, anyhow? been more than a week since them fools went off to dragontail... No idea. Maybe a return to epic form? Quote
Stumptownistani Posted August 12, 2013 Posted August 12, 2013 Nice one KK, that area looks sooper sweet. Quote
YocumRidge Posted August 14, 2013 Posted August 14, 2013 no border probs, da, i grant ye - my wife, on the other hand.... where is that old girl n' oleg, anyhow? been more than a week since them fools went off to dragontail... Did Young Warriors on Sunday - a very cool route, but for some bizzare reason managed to get too far left on P3 too soon and ended in the vertical J-burg-like jungle. Anyhow, got back on route higher up. WTF I got the ticket for having a brand new annual Discover pass, so trying to fight it now which is not easy Quote
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