Trip: [FA] Silver Peak - Ice Cold Zach Daniel's
Trip Date: 08/24/2023
Trip Report:
Not much to report here but an uneventful new route. Ice Cold Zach Daniel's, 5.9+, 3 pitches, FA Daniel Montgomery and Zach Colburn.
The north face of silver peak had kinda always been on our radar as something we felt should be climbed. We hiked a load of bolts to the top last October during our Indian summer (anticipating too many death blocks for any kind of ground up nonsense, which turned out to be accurate). Found a line that seemed like it would go and used up a drill battery. The face was shorter than we hoped (about 80 meters) but seemed worthwhile enough.
I went to Utah for about 5 months, came back in April 2023 and waited for the hot days of summer. This basin stays cool and shaded making it nice for the month of August when a lot of the pineapple basin routes are roasting. We hiked up again with more batteries, rapped down and bolted the lower pitches, climbed the route and hiked out.
First pitch has 3 bolts and wanders through some choss to a ledge with 2 bolts. This is just so you don't have to link a full 120foot pitch if you don't want to. About 5.7
Second pitch is about 90 feet with some juggy, dirty 5.8 climbing.
3rd pitch (100ft) is quite clean following a line of positive holds diagonally across the face. Fun 80 degree face climbing that requires some thought. It is a little traversy but the rope drag is minimal.
To descend make 3 straight 35m raps down from the last anchor. The anchors on the climb dont have rap hardware.
It's a pretty short route, approach is only about an hour compared to the tooth though. And it's shaded. There's a ton more potential for similar routes up there, but I don't really care much about bolting any more easy routes. A job for the guides.
Gear Notes:
10 draws and a 70m rope
Approach Notes:
Go to Snoqualmie pass and drive back heading for Mt Catherine/ pct crossing in ollallie meadow. (Fs road 9070) Follow the road back as far as your car will take you then walk it to the end where there's an old fire pit. A trail heads north from here. Follow it to the talus field that sits below the gentle northwest ridge of Silver peak. Then go straight along the talus towards the face/ follow hunter trails along the edge. Pretty easy and doesn't take long. At the base of the face scramble up dirty ledges , the right and traverse back left to the first bolt. (The last rap takes you over the ledges) Zach wrote a more detailed approach beta on mtn project