[TR] Dragontail Peak - Serpentine Arete 7/9/2011

[Summit_Rolos]

Trip: Dragontail Peak - Serpentine Arete

 

Date: 7/9/2011

 

Trip Report:

Keith, Mario, Sandy, and I climbed Serpentine Arete on Dragontail this past weekend.

 

First gear issue about 2 miles in -- complete blowout of Keith's hip belt. Uh Oh! Return Every Item!

 

Second gear issue when we arrived at our camp at Colchuck Lake -- one tent was missing in action. No worries, the weather was good.

 

From our camp in the boulders and larches at the end of the lake, the route looked to be in good shape:

 

And the goats were in good shape too... well, maybe a little mangy:

 

Hyperactive mice running around our heads led to a fitful night. In the morning, we all managed to sleep through our alarms.

 

Better late than never, we put on crampons and hiked up to the base of the route.

 

Here is Keith leading off.

 

We probably didn't take the easiest start, but after a few pitches we were definitely on route per Beckey. Here is Sandy coming up onto the ledge with the big pillar:

 

Chillin at a belay:

 

Here is Keith starting the crux pitch beside the pillar.

 

Really nice climbing on this pitch.

 

Sandy following up the upper (hand crack) part of this pitch

 

Now starting up the next pitch, another really nice one

 

After one futher pitch, with the hardest bits done, we stopped for lunch in the sun (ahh, sun!). Roughly 1000 feet of climbing down, 1000 to go.

 

We simul-ed the rest of the climb. There were patches of snow, but we were able to keep completely dry. I had to back up and try again a couple times on routefinding on this upper section, but generally it was pretty clear where to go. Some loose bits here, definitely want to be alert. Here are a few shots along the way:

 

Final moves to the summit:

 

And on the top:

 

The hike down was more Draggin-Tail than Dragontail... happy to crash at Colchuck Lake for a second night. Very civilized.

 

A great climb -- thanks guys!

 

Note to self: make sure beer left in creek by the trailhead is well anchored. The bottles are probably floating down the Columbia by now...

 

[Kyle_Flick]

Nice running into you guys on the route. Great day to be in the mountains.

[Summit_Rolos]

Likewise Kyle! Great day out there. BTW, i owe you guys some beers for rescuing my stuck cam -- thanks for that.