jrb

Since my MT plans fell through I'm looking for another option. Bank Lakes looks worth checking out. Anyone know what the deal with camping is out there? I know that there is a start park, but they look pretty booked. Are there any other options?

Anyone been up El Capitain in the Bitterroots? For the most part I’m looking for approach beta, but I’d welcome any route beta as well. I climbed the North Face of North Trapper a few years back and was wondering how the approach compares? I’ve got Ron Brunckhorst's book, but honestly I find that it’s great for ideas but worthless other wise.

I've got to say that the lower section really isn't all that great. It is nothing like the upper in terms of quality. However it makes for a big day so if that's what you are after then go for it. Granted I've never climbed only the upper, and have done the complete twice now so what the hell do I know. If you (or someone in your party) was the owner of the 8 ball, I talked to you in the parking lot. I was in the "late" party.

Ran up the Complete North Ridge of Mt. Stuart on Saturday and figured I offer a little condition report. There is still a fair amount of snow around Ingells Lake, so we had to crampon up there. We then took them off getting up to Stuart Pass, but had to put them on to get over to Goat Pass. We took them off again to get up the top of the pass, and then put them back on to descend to the base of the route. If we would have had boots we might not needed crampons to get to the base. The route is what it is, so I'll spare you the spray. The route is rather dry, but looking down the rappel and at the "slabs" that area is still covered with a lot of snow and looks like it would be a rather nightmarish experience right now. There was lots of snow falling down on the area late in the day, too. The hell that is the descent down the Cascadian was the pain in the ass the way it always is. Since we topped out late we had to crampon up twice going down, and then once going over Longs. Yes, that's right we took are effing crampons on and off six times, SUPER FUN. I took an axe which was nice to have, but my partner did fine with ski poles.

FYI, there is a wasp nest on Pipeline. About 15 feet below the anchor.

Looking for a partner for Beacon this weekend. I'd like to get on some of the 10s.

The snow was really saturated/unconsolidated so we were sinking to mid thigh for the most part. We had boots, which I was glad to have. Approach shoes would work, but rock shoes would suck (right now). This is just my opinion, and I usually try to descend in Chaco which would be even worse. The second rap took all of my 70m, so watch the end of the rope. I’ll put a few more pictures up next week. I’m off to the City for some craggin.

I can not figure out how to insert pictures so I'll have to attach them. Looking down pitch 2, just below the chockstone.

I’ve done the approach from both trailheads, and I feel that they are about the same. Right now, I’d vote for Snow Creek because of snow. Yes, there is an OW/chimney on the route but it’s more of a flare so you don’t need anything big to protect it. I believe the largest piece I placed on this pitch was a BD #2. There are a couple of fixed pieces on this pitch too. Having a bigger piece on the last pitch would have been nice. When it’s dry, it’s pretty cruiser, but it is the mountains so you can’t always count on that. A BD #5 would work nicely, but that’s a lot of weight for using it once. A red or blue Big Bro would be a wiser choice, at least in my book. Picture is looking down the flare

Climb: Prusik-South Face Date of Climb: 5/21/2006 Trip Report: Climbed South Face of Prusik on Sunday, via the Stanley route (the one in the Nelson/Potterfield book), and I figured I do a little TR. We hiked in on Saturday, leaving the SC trailhead around 11:00. We came across several down trees on our way up to the creek crossing. Shortly after crossing the creek, we started hitting large sections of snow. Snow died down at the lake, but still had to walk on several sections of snow (more then I cared for). Getting up to Snow Lakes was pretty chill, but once we hit Snow Lake we were on snow for the rest of the approach. Took a long, around about way up to Nada lake, but it was pretty painless. We got to camp a few hours before sunset. We felt we made good time, but in general the going is still pretty slow. Got up around 6:15 on Sunday, and had a slow morning, finally getting on route a little after 8:00. We linked pitches 1&2 and 3 with most of 4 (belayed 20 ft. under the chockstone). Then climbed through the chockstone and chimney in one more pitch, and then climbed the sweet corner pitch. My partner started the last pitch as it started to drizzle, which then turned to rain, and finally snow. One of the more impressive leads I have seen. It rained/snowed for the entire descent and walk back to camp. Good fun for sure. It took us about 8 hours, camp to camp. We both felt that the weather really slowed us down towards the end of the climb. Having the follower climb with a huge pack (we both had boots in it) didn’t help our cause either. So we did it in four pitches, which was really easy. We had a 70m cord, but I’m pretty sure you could do the same with a 60m. For a rack we took single set of TCU (0-3), double BDs (0.75-2), plus a BD 3 and 3.5 and a set of HB offsets and a few BD stoppers, which worked just fine. Rappel anchors seemed to be in good shape, as we didn’t feel the need to beef anything up. It took us about five hours from camp to the car. Still a lot of snow up there, so the going is slow but the route is more then doable. Just don’t expect to run in there with sneakers on, at least if you are a mortal like us. FWIW, jrb

The route isn’t as committing as it looks on paper. I want to say there are only 3 or 4 pitches that I would call “rock climbing” pitches, most of it feels pretty alpine in nature (read: easy ground, with a hard move here and there). If you feel fine on the first three or four pitches you will do fine. While the last two or three pitches (I don’t have a topo in front of me) are a little run out, they are barely low-fifth class in my book. You’ll run up them. I did it last summer, and my buddy took a big fall (at least 35 ft, he got off route) before the second bolt latter. Even with the extra drama we polished off the route faster then we expected. We had plenty of time for a few beers in town.

Crossing the Threshold (5.8) is good for the grade (and for the Coulee). Steel Grill is an awesome route, but I’d say that Tangled Up in Blue is a better crack climb. In my book it has some great jamming (big hands). It would get my vote for best 5.9 crack on the Sunshine all. All three of these climbs take wide gear (though you can get around it on Steel Grill). Last time I did Tangled I believe I used three 3s, two 4s a 3.5 (along with some other stuff) and could have used more. You have to make an achor at top, but I believe I was able to do it with a #2 and some small stuff. Numbers refer to BD cams. Should be noted that the Middle East Wall a great place to climb. The rock is really solid when compared to the rest of the Coulee.

Planning on heading up to Steinbok this weekend to try the Northeast Buttress. Anyone have any beta and the route (do we need pins?) or words on the access?

Anyone been on Thin Red Line recently? Any word on how much nailing there is or if it can go clean?

We got an early start Saturday morning so we could hit Starbucks and get jacked up on caffeine for the hike in. The first 5.5 miles in is fairly easy and flew by. I was constantly tripping over rocks, logs and my own feet since I was too busy staring at Snow Creek Wall to really pay attention to where I was going. Arriving at Nada Lake is quite breathtaking. It was my first trip into the Enchantments, and I can not wait to go back. After a nice stroll around the lake the real work begins. I have to say getting to Snow Lake was a little more then I was expecting, but it was not even close to the joy that is getting to Lake Viviane. We ran into snow part way around Snow Lake and soon lost the trail. This did not help are cause at all. Needless to say we went from making good time to crawling along. Even when we finally found the trail the final hump up to Viviane was work. It is a mix between snow and bare trail. The snow was pretty soft and it was easy to punch through with a heavy pack. However I would say it was not that bad. The view from Lake Viviane was equally as breathtaking. Then again I was too busy staring at the South Face to really notice anything else. We pushed up to 7,200 ft and camp on snow. FYI, the hike out was a lot easier since we were able to follow the trail back to Snow Lake. We got up early on Sunday with hope of blast the climb and getting back to Vancouver, WA not too late. Plus it was so warm that the rock was warm even early in the morning. The first pitch has a nice 3.5 Camalot over cammed about 10 feet up. I clipped it for fun and work through a little wide funk before finding some great hands. I ran the pitch as far as I could with the hope of finding the top of two. Which I believe I did. Then again I thought for sure that I was off route at the time. There are so many option it was a little confusing at times. Second pitch was pretty forgettable, not bad but nothing to write about. The third pitch is better then it looks and is where the fun begins. It had some nice hand jams and some fun stemming all at a mellow grade. I ran the pitch all the way to the bolts under the chockstone. For the record the bolts suck! Thankfully there is a textbook #3 Camalot placement (Mr. Long would be proud) to equalize it with. The Forth pitch is the bar fight pitch. You start by forcing yourself through a hole that I thought there is no way I’ll get through and I’m pretty small. Then you move over some loose ground and the fun begins. About 40 feet of flaring Chimney. Can you say “knee/heel”? The pitch is a lot like the flaring chimney pitch on the Lizard at Index (I believe that’s the name of the 4p 5.8 on the lower wall), expect it has a crack that is harder to us, but the friction is better. If you know how to knee/heel it’s a cruise, and will feel like 5.8. The final pitch is AWESOME! It’s pretty in your face for 5.9 and the gear can be a little hard at times but it’s all there. Some great jams, a few stems, a lie-back move or two and even a few wide moves. Plus if you have the composure to look around you will find that you are climbing in a dream. Granite peaks all round, a frozen lake below you, and the sound of runoff crashing down into the basin. Plus the route is on the South Face so you’re in the SUN! The summit is a great reward for the journey, flat and plenty of space to lounge (if you have the time). The descent is fairly straightforward. I believe we made five single rope rappels down the North Face and then traversed to the pass. Then it was time to pack up are gear and get the hell out of the Enchantments. Even though we had, had hopes of getting down early and getting home early it did not happen. Finally rolled into the Couv around 3:00am this morning. Man was work hard today. Thankfully coffee is legal. Great climb that everyone should do. Make sure you brush up on your crack climbing, or you might be eating some humble pie on the last two pitches. For a rack we took a set of nuts (only needed the smaller half), a set of TCUs, doubles of #.75 to #3 in Camalots and one #4 Camalot. A #3.5 would help as would a #4.5, IMHO. Then again it is a LONG approach. We hiked in, in boots but I would go in approach shoes. Yes there is snow but there is not much, and plastic bags work well at keeping feet dry.