mattp

That statement is nothing more than self-serving hearsay. Can we hear from someone who knows?

I don't keep track and I'm sure people have done so, but I have not heard of anybody doing it in a day. Not in the winter. Some friends of a friend bivouaced in the North Face bowl, to return from their summit climb to find their snowcave had avalanched away and taken all their camping equipment once.

I was cheering for you guys when I heard you were OK and completing the descent under your own power. Hearing about Bill's toes, I'm worried. I hope he recovers!

Well, it does have a cool name and every once in a while I hear it come on cc.com as the route to do if you want to die...

It could be that I have mis-identified where I thought we found the crux bit, because it sounds remarkably like what you described: the gully itself went through a bulge in a steep slot, and there was an easier route maybe 50 feet left, which is what we took. There was an apparent detour farther left, but we didn't check it out.

I hope nobody got the impression I was asking him or anybody else to "explain their route choice" as in defend or justify it. I thought it interesting that there might be a two pitch variation at that point - but it appears Dru's guess that those "climbers" in the route photo are quite likely just trees is correct. The higher pair, which as noted appears to be linked by a rope, is right in the gully.

I think the "overhype" phenomenon reflects more than simply a desire to impress others. Many climbers seem to feel underconfident to pick a good line without a guidebook author's endorsement or a string of enthusiastic trip reports on cc.com.

I think that lower pair of dots would be on a route detouring completely out of the couloir for a couple of pitches.

I don't know what their specific objective was, but quite possibly they were simply exploring/skiing/hanging out in the basin up below Salish. I tell you: they are twisted individuals and one of them, in particular, has been up there several times with no real climbing intent even though he is a climber. Weird, huh? (He has in recent times talked about the NE Buttress of N. Three Fingers, the face on Salish Peak, etc., though.)

I assume you are referring to the S. Face; that is one that I would say is definitely NOT overhyped. It is simply fantastic. I'm not kidding. There are climbs that I think DO fall into the overhyped category: Outer Space, Liberty Crack, the South Face of Cutthroat, and Observation Rock for example. The Tooth, however, is about as exciting as it gets for the grade and the rock is great. It is easy to get to, easy to set up, and you climb at a continuous grade right to a cool summit with no screwing around. The descent is straight-forward. Lastly, you can see it from I-90 so everytime you drive to Ellensbury you can look up and remember how cool it was!

Isn't that the best 5.10 climb in the state?

Join us at Snugtop's lair tomorrow evening, Feb 21: Canterbury Ale & Eats 534 15th Ave. E, Seattle, WA 98112 Here is an enthusiastic review of the place: "The best part is the crazy medieval vibe running through the place." Lot of folks climbed some pretty cool stuff this past weekend, and there is lots to talk about.

That'd be a couple friends of mine. Twisted individuals who, like you (I presume), think it is a pretty cool area. You don't want to ask questions.

The default setting has to do with how much time you waste on this site (I mean, how many posts you make), but if you donate $ or if you draw enough attention from a mod or administrator you can get a special category all your own. FAQ page

Thanks, Wayne. I cut and paste from some restaurant review website and they must have listed an incorrect address. Oh well. Anyway, now we have it right so (hopefully) nobody drives around lost. (The fact that 15th Avenue and 15th Avenue East have two sets of numbering systems on the SAME STREET is bad enough without looking for the wrong address. Head for Capitol Hill, and it is north of Group Health a few blocks but south of Aloha, at the corner of East Mercer.)

If that lower pair is a climbing team, they are going around what we found to be the crux of the couloir. I'm not being critical: depending on conditions, this might well be a sensible option and I have told folks that I thought there was a detour option at that point.

I suspect you are under-hyping your TR a bit. Nice job, gents! (I can't wait to see your pictures!)

I bet the face had a lot more snow and ice cover all the way around this weekend. I've seen the left one looking like a snow couloir from a distance.

Actually, we ended up knowing what not to go.

Awesome. I can only imagine that it was a significant effort just getting to the face, and the descent, too, may have been complicated. Hopefully, they'll get around to posting a trip report when they've had a chance to rest up.

Look for trip reports of Mt. Persis. I found something that probably meets your needs that way a year or two ago when I was looking for the same thing.

Join us at Snugtop's lair tomorrow evening, Feb 21: [/b]Canterbury Ale & Eats 534 15th Ave. E, Seattle, WA 98112[/b] Here is an enthusiastic review of the place: "The best part is the crazy medieval vibe running through the place." [edited by mattp to correct address after error pointed out by Wayne]

I think that would be the right hand line in this shot:

Even though Saint Elias is very high and closer to the coast than many of the paks, I'd suggest taking a trip or two to the Saint Elias or Fairweathers first. Get a feel for the place and you'll likely have a more successful trip.