[TR] Nooksack Tower - North Face 8/24/2009

[Matt_Alford]

Trip: Nooksack Tower - North Face

 

Date: 8/24/2009

 

Trip Report:

Eric Murphy and I climbed the North Face of the Nooksack Tower on August 24th.

Seven years ago Eric and I almost pulled off a car-to-summit push on the Beckey Route and got our asses thoroughly handed to us in a two day descent epic in a storm.

I was again humbled by this mountain and the seriousness of this route.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gear Notes:

Pack a full set of Alpine skills, tat, and read up on rappel anchors

 

Approach Notes:

Price Lake

[kevbone]

Last picture is the best.

[dberdinka]

Welcome to the club.

[NoahT]

I work for Scott Davis, of bertulis/davis. He says the thing he remembers most about that ascent was a huge serac calving off into the lake, and sending a tusami-like tidal wave across. They thought the world was coming to an end. Strange the things that will stick in your mind 40 yrs later, and what all will be forgotten. He remembers a "5.9 move or two."

[Matt_Alford]

I work for Scott Davis, of bertulis/davis. He says the thing he remembers most about that ascent was a huge serac calving off into the lake, and sending a tusami-like tidal wave across. They thought the world was coming to an end. Strange the things that will stick in your mind 40 yrs later, and what all will be forgotten. He remembers a "5.9 move or two."

 

I will likely remember a couple different things about this route in 40 years. Mucho respect for both Alex and Scott.

[Matt_Alford]

Welcome to the club.

 

A club for the mentally disturbed.

[ivan]

i sense a story is held back

 

will always have the softest spot in my heart for this climb - mike braiding my hair at the bivy w/ his my-little-pony brush - the carefreeness - the innocence - the deathblocks rattlign down on me as i belayed him near the top - the anti-anchor i had once bringing him up to me - the "what?" when told i had to jump onto the glacier at the end of our last not-so-quite-lng-enough rap - percocet and absolute abscene of being on the walk out - the most hungover drive home, b-ham to p-town, in 100 degree heat in the history of man

 

so spill, whahappen?!?

[NoahT]

I know, that's how I feel...! And when I press him for specifics, they inevitably vear off-track, melding seamlessly into other unrelated climbing memories. So it goes maybe, the truely memorable details don't necessarily mean anything to anyone else--cause they weren't there! And kind of a lot has happened since then.

 

N

[dberdinka]

Here's Alfords original epic

 

www.alpinefever.com/guest/nooky.htm

 

Exciting details are included such as..

 

Not ten minutes into our trek, my tofu burrito and fresh hot salsa of the night before were screaming at me. I quickly diverged and dropped into the bushes to relieve myself of the pains and what must have been 20 lbs of deadweight.

 

and

 

Eric complained of having to take a shit, but the prospect of pulling off his harness and rooting through his pack to find some toilet paper with half-frozen hands convinced him to wait until we got down.

 

finally lest I forget

 

I am not in the habit of checking out my climbing partners feces, but I shit you not (no pun intended) when I say that we would have needed six blue bags to pack that sucker out. In any case, It was unlikely that any trace of Eric’s newborn would remain by morning as the snow was beginning to fall a steady pace as we strapped on our headlamps and made our way off the glacier.

 

 

[LostCamKenny]

You guys should have mooned the route, too

[Alpine_Dreamer]

Wow, nice job going back for more after the first epic. I read your original TR of misery and woe when prepping for an attempt at the NF back in July (we got shut down by weather). There can't be more than 10-15 folks who can claim to have been on top of that beast TWICE - congrats!!

[t_rutl]

last pic rocks

[goatboy]

Nice work, Matt!

[Don_Serl]

Mucho respect for both Alex and Scott.

 

...not to mentioned Kevin McLane, who soloed the frigging Tower more than 30 years ago, back in the days when he occasionally seemed to not care too much whether he lived or died. (he lost the route, of course, high up, and had to climb considerably harder terrain to reach the 'safety' of the summit... SHEEESHH...)

[fatboy]

glad you fellers made it back ok. see a pin w/a white sling on it up high in the steeps?

 

from a fellow summiter, albeit solo.