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[TR] Juno Tower- Clean Break 7/11/2004


chucK

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Climb: Juno Tower-Clean Break

 

Date of Climb: 7/11/2004

 

Trip Report:

It was still very cold the next morning. We were feeling a bit beat up after the hike in and Rebel Yell yesterday, so we weren't moving too quickly. It looked like maybe we were gonna bail, but that woulda been a pretty unpalatable option when looking back a week or a month later, after the visceral assault of that cold wind had dulled.

 

Luckily, the weather appeared to improve and we gave it a go, starting up around 10am.

267cb-p1.jpg

Pitch 1, Clean Break

 

After negotiating the snow field, I dropped my stick/ice-axe in the pile on the big ledge, and Jeff geared up for the first lead. It's a doozy. Steep, sustained, and once you think you got it licked, it kicks back again with a steep, slanting section of thin hands. Glad I was on second. Nice lead Jeff!

 

267cb-cb.jpg

"The Clean Break"

 

The Clean Break pitch is cool and nowhere near as strenuous. The sun was starting to come out more and we were rolling along. We had some routefinding issues on p3. After some confusion, we went to the top of the LF dike corner instead of taking the less-used looking finger crack described in the Kearney. This ended up working fine, with just a slight downclimb to start p4.

 

The pitches ran together on fine granite. A very thin sequence after a fixed pin, and a strenous diagonal fist crack were highlights. The fist crack pitch had a second crux, a corner with small tips holds and dish-smearing for feet that really got my attention. The Kearney topo says "RP's useful", but I think you'll be much happier if you have small cams for the parallel placements.

 

267cb-ur2.jpg

Easier terrain on upper route

 

A few more pitches and the ridge eases off. We simuled what Kearney calls the last five pitches. We stayed mostly left, and never even saw the "Wild Crack". I thought the rock was very good on this finishing section. Fun scrambling.

 

267cb-view.jpg

obligatory "view from top" photo

 

The summit views were stupendous, blah blah blah. No hints of the nasty cold wind and clouds of yesterday.

 

We musta screwed up the descent, because it was heinous. We dropped down the gully just below (SW) of the summit, and couldn't find passage N, until way down. At which point we then scrounged way back up again to the ridge crest, then more down again to Sunset Col. Even though we probably screwed up, it only took about 2 hrs to reach camp.

 

Packed up by 8:30pm, hike out. Made it to the basin and intermittent trail by dark. Home 3am yellowsleep.gif.

 

Busy weekend!

267cb-ovrv.jpg

the route from below ~8 pm

 

Gear Notes:

Brought a 4.5 Camalot (by mistake, still in pack from day before), didn't need it, and probably didn't need the #4. #3.5 found some use.

 

Kearney description seemed right on, and useful.

 

Approach Notes:

Snow at base soft enough to ascend with approach shoes and stick. A bit of hairy exposure over the moat right at the top.

 

Gas station in Oso open at 2am! rockband.gif Red Bull!

Edited by chucK
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All right, chucK, good going! It looks like you took the hard version of my weekend - climbing Chianti the first day, cool! We were bivying on the knoll directly below the East side of Burgundy col on Saturday evening. I suppose you had already passed by. Would have been fun to run into you! Myself, I wouldn't have been ready for another hard climb the next day, too much work/couch time recently. Great 2 days for you!

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Looks like you guys did the same two climbs in two days that Forrest and I did a few years ago, just in the reverse order:

 

http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB2&Number=49093

http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=UBB2&Number=49096

 

A great combo! Now I'm waiting to hear about a same-day linkup! :-)

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