wayne Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Trip: Mt Stuart-NW Face Couloir - Date: 6/11/2011 Trip Report: NW Face ice couloir/1984 route / "the Eighties Testpiece" 2006 report from Craig under thin conditions Facebook album Always on the look out for great alpine ice climbs, I was hoping the elements for this route on Stuart were in place. first the route must be in shape, and the road should be open to the trailhead. A trip report on Stuart Glacier Couloir-cc.com settled these issues for me, all that was left was to find a willing participant or two. Tom and Daniel were looking forward to extending their ice season. None of us could believe a big ice climb could still be in in mid June. Heavy packs were loaded with every weapon in the arsenal: Pins, pickets, screws, cams, stoppers, etc. Snowshoes were handy getting us to the only dry place to sleep,: a large boulder. Tom took the only flat spot so I piled up avy debris for a flat, dry spot. A cold night led to a 3:00 am wake -up. It was going to be a full day of exciting mountaineering. The start of the climb didnt quite connect. It took a long reach to connect to some pretty unstable ice ribbons. After that, the traverse right was exciting, ending in a steep, short chimney. The other interesting leads were the pitch to get around the Great Gendarme, and the spicy mixed top out around the summit cornice. It ended up being an awesome outing. We did the climb in 4 blocks with some looong simo-soloing. We reveled in the stellar climbing, exposure and ultimately stunning summit. This is a route that should see much more traffic. It is a gem. Special thanks to Jim Nelson at pro Mt Sports for beta and gear. Video pending, check back More on my blog below Approach Notes: Mteers Creek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Piston Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Sweet! I see what you mean...looks like some sporty climbing and definitely a beautiful location. Nice Pics! Can't wait to see the video. Some of us poor suckers had to work this weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbcbd Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 bad ass! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Frieh Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Nice work guys... for sure a great route! Great to see others climbing it. But having climbed this route I gotta say you guys tilt the shit out of your photos! It is no where as steep as your photos make it look Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne Posted June 12, 2011 Author Share Posted June 12, 2011 [video:youtube] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurthicks Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 how steep John? if I were to pitch the whole route, how many would it be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineMonkey Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Kurt, It has been a few years, but other than some rock pitches I had to do, I think the snow/ice climbing is a consistent 45 degrees. I think if you were to pitch it out it is between 12 - 15 pitches? I think that is what we did, but some of our "pitches" were probably much shorter than a rope length as we meandered through some crux rock bands. Just from my memory, don't take anything I say to seriously. Good job guys, seems pretty late in the season for that route to be good still. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Frieh Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 how steep John? if I were to pitch the whole route, how many would it be? 1st pitch is 3/3+... it doesnt need to be super fat as you can get really good rock gear (1/2-3/4" crack) on the right... as long as it hasnt delaminated I think you could get up it safely. We belayed the 1st 2 pitches (wee bit of simul to get second belay) and simul climbed the rest of the route. I could see belaying the last pitch to the ridge if the cornice is big but we didnt. Link to my TR: NW face Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom_Sjolseth Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 If it's formed, the first pitch is probably WI3. In the conditions we found it, it was all rock for the first 15 or 20 feet, then a delicate tool placement into a tiny islet of delaminating snice that sounded pretty hollow when you swung into it. M4 or M5. There is good gear before you get off the ground on p1. If this route is fully formed and there's a ton of ice on it, it would be fairly straightforward. We caught it in thinnish conditions, but not as thin as Gyselinck found it. I thought it was a challenging route, far more so than Stuart Glacier Couloir. *I forgot to add, Wayne took the next flattest/dryest spot.* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamelJockey Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Great work guys! Impressive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeShy Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Great job Wayne. Cool photos of the climb, that sunrise photo is awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whatcomboy Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Now that's a sandwich! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmace Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Nice Vid at 1:32 while he is belaying off two axes only? Belayer to leader, "um might wanna put a screw in" hahaha, good job at keeping the winter stoke alive, although it does look quite warm out. keep up the good work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_b Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Great! Certainly looks like it was a good year to do it. It seems the climb doesn't come into conditions very often, which combined with lack of info made it a test piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainsloth Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 stunning sunrise photos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 (edited) Nice Vid at 1:32 while he is belaying off two axes only? Belayer to leader, "um might wanna put a screw in" hahaha, good job at keeping the winter stoke alive, although it does look quite warm out. keep up the good work Jmace, You know I wouldnt let that happen. He was also in the anchor. Still trying to make it up there. Hope your Cannucks make it! Edited June 15, 2011 by wayne1112 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom_Sjolseth Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I'm pretty new to this whole climbing thing, and it's nice to have someone like Wayne and Daniel to babysit me!!! But actually what I said to Wayne was [as I'm belaying Daniel], "you might want to watch the middle just in case he pulls taut". Wayne said, "Copy that". Meanwhile, I was clove-hitched into the [bomber] anchor with the rope. I was connected to my ice tools (equalized) with my personal anchor to support my stance, and to take some strain off the anchor in the event of a fall. Daniel [leading] said, "I might want to put a screw in". He was just thinking out loud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downey Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 bad ass! nice pics, nice work. looks like a great route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.