leearden

Yes, they used a GPS to access the point from a road, walked in, toproped the thing from above during a weeks long cold snap. They said it was VERY wet climbing, and this was during a once / decade cold spell( down in Spokane at least). I recall they said the river was frozen, though I don't think they toproped it from the very bottom.

Erik and I happily used your rap anchors on the way back down to the highway last night. Thank you. We also placed rap anchors above and below the black striped flake, hanging SUPPLE AND POUTING, at the top of the wall. Unable to reasonably link L&P to our fall line, we rapped straight down to a smaller cave, then down another 200'.... We cleaned 200' of SPLITTER finger locks, accessible from 50' left of the beast. 2 pitches of finger sized bliss. Both pitches climbable and rappable with 1 60m cord. COME AND GET IT BITCHES! We cleaned and equipped it but didn't climb it, because we wanted YOU to get it first.

Sweet pictures gentlemen. They've made my day. Great job on the red point too. kudos

Oh yeah, Jim Langdon and Mead Hargis topped it out and descended climbers right 43 years ago. One day, on site, via a different route.

Only erik and I, now you. As far as I know

Thanks for the update Blake, I am pleased to hear of the wall getting some traffic, it definitely deserves the attention. L and I are starting to consider getting back there this year, especially since hearing reports of new intro pitches that will surely make the approach easier, as well as making the descent quicker and safer. Thanks to whomever has taken the effort to upgrade the crag. Anyone here know about new additions to m and m wall?

Thanks to Jeff and Partner, and thanks to Joe and Partner for the beta. NOTE--Unnecessarily long post intended for anyone seeking details about the climb and approach.We did the route on Sunday, but likely would have headed west to more popular climbs in the cascades if we hadn't seen your posts here regarding the Lion's Head. We drove in after dark Saturday late, thus missing views of the massif from the road in. A bit disoriented, we started walking Sunday morning with only a vague clue where the cliff actually was. We found the hiker's flagging immediately (hard to miss), and followed them uphill until they ended (this was a mistake, and we should of broken off right early on). Heeding Joe's comment of staying higher to walk on slabs rather than 'schwacking through the jungle, we chose to err on the side of caution, staying high. This put us on the ridge to the NE of the wall, where we descended to the cliff from the climber's left (east). Upon arriving and looking back to where we started, we clearly had covered WAY more terrain and elevation than we needed to. Although we had negligible bushwhacking and easy walking on stone, our approach probably wasted an hour or so. We took about 3 hours to the base. I gambled, hoping I'd be able to find snow-melt at the wall (Thanks for the pictures Jeff!!!), E chose to carry all his water in........SUCKER. Snow melt was ample and should remain so for the season. The route was awesome, awesome, awesome. Big ledges, skint knees, shade all day, free water at the base, these were undoubtedly the best 5 pitches I've done all year! We agreed that the route was NOT "dirty" (E called it fairly clean, I called it pretty clean), though it's clear that the 2 recent ascents cleaned off many of those foot smears for us(thanks again gentlemen). We managed to find the faint climbers trail and flagging at the toe of the talus field, this way out was a cake walk compared to our approach course. We probably could have reached the car in an hour if not for those delicious berries everywhere. The climbers trail is direct, though faint. Some markers are visible, we kept an eye out for logs that had been sawn as an indication of the human trail. It is unlikely that I could have found or even stayed on the trail on my onsite attempt of the approach. We were fastidious about staying on the trail, backtracking many times. I'm glad we did. Please...DO THIS ROUTE

thank you for sharing!

...uhm..... i mean....... nice pics.......... real pretty. looks beautiful,.......

F@ off!!!!

WORD! ( I totally agree with you) Marc and summitcjb. It would be great to watch... if everyone valued the bold and beautiful, though I must respect that some like to have bolts and a lesser commitment option for all climbs. Boldness will always be worth something,... in our own heads. Also, let's respect the feeling of climbing a bolted route, WITHOUT THE BOLTS THAT EVERYONE ELSE USES. For a climber to feel that complete commitment to his/her gear and to the universe that Mr. Leclerc alludes, all the while ignoring the impulse to "bitch out" and clip that bolt right next to your hand. Isn't that a good feeling too? Then you can rename the trad version of the same line----"Equipped by a pussy" to append: Perhaps you've read Mr. Honnold's account of his free solo of the Regular Route, with the tat from a perfectly good bolt blowing across his hand as he contemplated a long, long, long trip into eternity...?????? Look it up... what did Alex do?????????????? ----------THAT WAS BALLS

This left shoe still has good rubber on the toe and nearly fits me. Shoe looks to have been lost only 1 or 2 years back. If you are still in possession of the right shoe, or any other slightly smaller sized shoes with good rubber, please send them to me immediately. love arden

cool post jizzy, i've read all the posts, thinking how moving it would have been to be in the mountains that day.... I was trying to build a snowman in Missoula, outside of the "X"s. That fargin' "snow" just would NOT to pack into a ball. My Mom came out to make me wear one of her tube-tops on my face as a mask. I recall being disgusted at the thought of me mum's boob-garment on my face

I don't know how much is private, but I did notice full page real estate advertisements in the climbing magazines a few years back. Advertisements said to buy this land, build a house, have your own private crag right off your deck. probably not good for john Q. public

I recently, ignorantly posted pictures of climbing (on what I thought was State land) to share information and stoke with the local community. Local landowners have expressed concern about images of their "backyards" easily found over the internet. Cordially they've requested these pictures be taken down. To help preserve our access, can anyone help me edit the titles of the pictures i've submitted? I wish I could just delete them from the gallery, but i've not yet figured out how. help thanks

an online comment board warns of some nefarious activity out tum tum way. Not to be scared away, the development duo of George and Greg, have given Spo-tucky yet another fine concentration of problems close to the road. local hardman offers a fine spot after falling I'm comforted by my spotter, thanks marty 4 finger spot???? boy, you sure got a purty mouf [img:center]http://cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/507/medium/DSCF6341.JPG[/img] moving on... same problem higher up, a la corona Of course the vacation couldn't last forever, we need to ditch this body and get back up that river.

sweet terrain, Amazing how steep those slopes can be, and right off the beach. Fishing from that harbor, I always figured there to be great skiing and overall adventure for someone who wasn't wasting their time pushing pots out at sea. Though I never brought skis up there I often enjoyed the slope behind westward seafoods during offload. An hour of frontpointing then a 30 second luge/glissade with my raingear taped shut at the ankles and sleeves. Are you a resident? I assume you are the other guy that climbed the periphery of Dutch Harbor ice with Roger while he offloaded? good pics. thanks for refreshing the memories

what is "bump"?

I agree completely, but some First Known Ascents may be too valuable to our peers to keep secret, even if the reporting does dilute the experience for future ascentionists. Indeed, for me you touch at the real magic of adventure climbing, moving up despite the uncertainty of a passage above. This uncertainty of success (and the horrifying prospect of an irreversible impasse) is what makes each person's first ascent (percieved or literal first ascent, it doesn't matter) a trial and a true test. to example: my first multi-pitch climb up was straightforward and laughably within my physical capabilities, but without the mental crutch of a copy of the routo topo and descent description this same route would have been a far more serious outing. i'll say it again... TICK MARKS KILL ... (brain cells)

jeepers, thanks for the warm fuzzies... anyhoo, i got a batch of L's pictures, and I found some from the upper portion of the wall. L taking his shot at p5. and me following it and a few more beautifully composed shots down at some punter trying to follow L up p2.... not bad eh? If I hadn't seen that incredible shot of Blake climbing through the clouds on "Gorillas in the Mist", these last would have been my favorite pictures of the year. in the cave, it's impressive. as big as a tennis court, won't give further details but go check it out. to access cave from the highledge, one could get up there 2 ways: -- via the left....5.11 arch under the roof to a stance belay, then, mandatory free face climbing at 5.11c (now protected) to the cave or -- via the right, cracks to the future...a2, 5.8 Sign in at the cave register. I left a can of red rustoleum to record your thoughts on the cave wall. Please leave: your name, any new (or old) routes accomplished, the weather on the day of your ascent, poetry, favorite color, whatever thoughts happen to be going through your head at the moment, or whatever. enjoy . . . . .. jokes...... please don't do that

Absolutely. This route was very clean when we started. It's even safer now. This route is closer to the car than any other route of it's size at washington pass(I'm interested in comparisons). You could watch people breaking into your car. This route faces due south. this route catches weather protection from the ridges west of the wall, to the effect that we were once able to continue climbing in t-shirts through a squall obscuring the rest of the valley 5 of the 8 pitches begin and end in the same crack, No wandering. This route has sustained pitches with good gear: pitches 1-6 are 5.11, pitches 7 and 8 are less. this route is steep

Sorry to mislead you drater, Our route is in Eastern/central WA, as it is on this side of Washington pass. Unfortunately, the powers that be, over at htmland security have made it clear that it shall be classified as a North Cascades route. Scroll up to the N Cascades section.

We didn't learn of L's and H's route position until after we had picked our route to exploit free climbing potential. As far as I can tell the routes are independent, but intersect in the middle of highledge. We begin at the far right of lowledge, and after gaining highledge we move left, under and past cracks to the future to the left facing roof/arch. There we take 2 pitches to enter caveleft. We exit caveleft UP and out. 3-4 pitches from the cave to the topout. I've had a speedbump with my pictures, so I didn't complete the TR. I can offer a possibly false, poorly pasted, unprofessional rendition of belays used and lenghths to those interested. So if any of you hardpeople don't want your on-sight to get ruined..... . . . . stop scrolling now.. . . .I've indicated the belays we used with a capital B We short fixed to climb cracks to the future( part of L's and H's) then I belayed L into caveright. I left a pin at my belay, indicated with a p Also the first pitch, B1 is mislabeled, it should read 180 feet to lowledge. .

Jim Langdon and Mead Hargis used about 11 pitches for their "L and H route" in 1969. Though I missed an opportunity to climb the supercave with Jim to confirm the location of L and H, I have his topo of the route. I believe L and H begins at the left, and lowest, point of the lower ledge. 5-6 pitches to the mangled tree and blocks at center of the upperledge. L and H then moves right, climbs cracks to the future(with only passive protection mind you), accesses and exits cave from the right,same crack. Jim's topo reads "3 inch horizontal cracks to tunnel behind flake, then 1 lead to top"

Trip: washington pass - SUPERCAVE/166 Date: 10/4/2009 Trip Report: -ellen pea route -grade IV -5.11 -1 hour approach -8 pitches This wall caught our eye in 2007, 2 children ago, 5 dogs ago, 6-8 attempts ago, 5-6 trips ago. So there we were, driving back east from WA pass and looking up the hill. L says “ho sheet, look at that cave!” Moments later, I was hooked too. Since L has done nearly every (note SLIGHT exaggeration) route in the western states and squamish, our team was in search of something with a little less certainty, more adventure etc. Next time we each got the coveted kitchen pass, we decided against the sport-adventure of the humbugs and instead decided to pack the big wall b.s. to go check out the SUPER CAVE. Getting there in light the night before we begin, we head up to the visitor center to TCB. We pick up some dude thumbing it down to Cutthroat t.h. named Blake who directs us to the obscure passage in the Beckey guide, naming the wall “M and M” wall, citing a route by Jim Langdon and Mead Hargis done in 1969. Though we had been scooped by nearly 40 years, we’re still stoked, glad to be out of the ‘can, and anxious to get into that cave to find: Bigfoot, D.B. Coopers remains, piles of guano, or whatever. After wasting hella energy fighting our way up an undetermined and untested approach… Traversing into the far right of a lower ledge, we arrive and note a bail biner on a nut 30feet off the deck. It doesn’t look like it has been there since the summer of love, but could possibly date back to before I was wearing package hammock verve-tights. L fires p1, 5.11 up to a nice left leaning arch, capped by a classic Cascade shrub-wrestling move, ending at a pleasant stance. My lead. L directs me to the beautiful double cracks leaving the belay up and left. I, for a moment, ponder the glory of sending on-sight that steep, compelling pitch that has been so conspicuous, even from the highway below. Turning my head sideways, I imagine it would look like this... ...Pondering done, I take the easier ground, up and right for an unimpressive lead over mediocre terrain. Although I puss out royally I do manage to stick L with some lame-ass bush crawling and back-traversing to get back left to the top of the pitch I should have climbed. Anyhow, we’ve gained the second ledge to spectacular and steeper terrain. We’re presented options here… Beautiful, striking, glorious, (…think “Clean Break” p1 up Silver Star) cracks/flakes narrowing to a just perceptible seam, up a rope length, then out of sight to a possible traverse into the cave? …or another left leaning arch/roof to a belay, then perhaps a stone’s throw (or grappling hook?) to the cave? We choose the arch, (think p1 of “Central pillar of Frenzy” on mid Cathedral meets the “pressure chamber” on S.C.R.) and my lead. Stoked to redeem myself after frighting away from the double cracks, I’m off like a prom dress, jacked at the nature of the climbing, with L narrating as if reading from a beckey description.... ”Delicate climbing over green lichen under a large roof…….. 5.9”. His assessment from the gri-gri seems about right as I scoot along, 25 feet 2 pieces- head: -no problem, 35 feet 5 pieces- head: -wow this is heady, 45 feet 9 pieces- head: -fuck, am I doubled back?, 90 feet 60 pieces- head:-we should have went to Marcus because this sucks, 120 feet, and at the crux- head: -I’ve used almost everything except what I need to make an anchor right here right now… Again with the choices: --1) Do what L would do… finish the pitch without a whimper, gear be damned, bring up the second as if it were a walk in the park. Or --2) scream at partner something about how hard it is, or I hurt my finger, or I have diarrhea, or whatever. Then as the second is on his way up I can make excuses in my head for why I made the right choice to quit when I got scared. So, as L is coming up I decide that my finger never really healed after climbing that blue problem at Wild Walls last February. NEXT GO FOR SURE!!! L leaves belay…shows his junk L strolls the short crux, looks around at options, exits arch to the belay stance where a combined pitch logically ends. It would look like this… In 2008. 2007. After L brings me up to a pretty good ledge(the least comfortable of the entire route). We are soclose to the supercave, it seems we could almost dyno sideways to grab the bushes hanging down out of the mouth of the supercave. I climb up arch, try to exit arch towards cave. Face climbing seems possible. With a bit of moxie, a strong leader could have pulled the roof/arch, running it out 35+ feet over polished jizzlers and edges, all the while dismissing the prospect that a falling leader could potentially lob 50 feet onto or through the belayer. As we rappel I remind myself that I probably could have finished that pitch and gained the cave if I didn’t have the diarrhea. Not enough time to make another attempt on the cave via the cracks to the future. We decide to rap the double cracks, cleaning and sussing we’ve decided that if this pitch is any indication, this wall could be our project for years to come. We hike down, returning tomorrow to clean and work the double-cracks… double cracks-dead center A month passes, we must return to gain the cave. We’ve hit up all our friends for lost arrows and knife-blades and are ready for the cracks to the future. My lead, I free climb for a while, but have brought the aiders. I note how incredible the free climb will be when someone finally does, but we’re heading for the cave, take no prisoners. Cams, knifeblades and camhooks. 300 feet to the cave. Now, my aid-climbing is only slightly quicker than "Piss on him as you pass Pete"(anyone who's had the displeasure of being stuck on a wall in the valley below that godforsaken red and white portaledge adorned as a Canadian flag will understand, that is really f-ing slow). So, as i'm short fixing up and out of earshot, I wonder, what is L doing to occupy his time........ Finally we gain the cave from the right. It's getting late, we rap 64 meteres out the left side of the cave, readying the pitch for a free ascent. ... returning 3 more times: --- we are able to top out without freeing everything, though L does manage to follow pitch 5 cleanly. --- we again fail to free the 2nd and 4th pitch, then after I am unable to shake the overwhelming feeling that I am going to fall on my head, we bail from the cave --- Then finally, this weekend, we sent the hard pitches. It would have been very nice to have redpointed p5. it would have been even nicer to have climbed the beautiful striped flake, hanging so aesthetically SUPPLE AND POUTING at the upper left of the wall. it would have been even nicerto have climbed cracks to the future, (5.12?). As fun as it has been having a nagging project eating at all of our free time for 3 years, keeping us from going other places for 3 years, we are both terribly happy to have some closure. Gear Notes: we used gear Approach Notes: park at m.p.166, make for talus at lowpoint of gully... go up. When progress is blocked by a chockstone, scramble up left out of gully over loose terrain, 5.1 exposed, then back into gully. Approach is easier and less scary when gully is choked with snow.