lunger

Trip: North Hozomeen Mtn - Zorro Face, IV 5.9 Date: 8/31/2013 Trip Report: “squamish?” Written at the end of a planning email for Hozomeen which addressed some nagging details, this would become our refrain throughout the trip. Labor Day offered a nice climbing window, and our list of objectives included just plain ol’ good times at Squamish, which typically promises immediate rock, clean rock, solid rock, protectable rock—all conspicuously (or suspected) absent at our objective. Most likely, many of you are aware of the opening passage in Jack Kerouac’s Desolation Angels: “Hozomeen, Hozomeen, most beautiful mountain I ever seen, like a tiger sometimes with stripes, sunwashed rills and shadow crags wriggling lines in the Bright Daylight, vertical furrows and bumps and Boo! crevasses, boom, sheer magnificent Prudential mountain, nobody’s even heard of it, and it’s only 8,000 feet high, but what a horror when I first saw that void the first night of my staying on Desolation Peak waking up from deep fogs of 20 hours to a starlit night suddenly loomed by Hozomeen with his two sharp points, right in my window black – the Void, every time I’d think of the Void I’d see Hozomeen and understand – Over 70 days I had to stare at it.” Later in the novel: “The void is not disturbed by any kind of ups or downs, my God look at Hozomeen, is he worried or tearful?... Why should I choose to be bitter or sweet, he does neither? – Why cant I be like Hozomeen and O Platitude O hoary old platitude of the bourgeois mind ‘take life as it comes’…” “take life as it comes” indeed. This is a useful mantra when approaching the west face. We had suspected an approach from the N down a gully would grant us access—Colin Haley’s blog post seemed to confirm this suspicion. However, this approach is nontrivial; the initial gully third-class down-climb, while loose, and dangerous, pales next to the shenanigans required to cross several precipitous ribs to our targeted launch point. A slip at any point spells an unpleasant end in the valley a couple thousand below. The approach took us a tedious and painstaking 4.5 hours (this after a first day of humping heavy loads 11+ miles to a camp just N of the peak.) Camp in that basin; S and N Hozomeen left to right, with the west (Zorro) face mostly out of view; some of its northern margin on the right skyline. Our approach continues down (out of view) from the furthest notch on right. Views during approach included the Picket range. Approach soloing; downclimbing skills or funeral bills. squamish? “take life as it comes”, also a useful mantra when trying to piece together leads up loose, sometimes friable and/or vegetated and/or wet, mostly welded shut (read: sparsely protected) metamorphosed basalt. The stuff is also called Hozomeen chert and was valued by the Salish for making knives and arrowheads. Hozomeen apparently is native Salish for "sharp, like a sharp knife." Looking up at much of our (foreshortened) route, which tends left to the central summit in this pic. Finally at the base, we decided to take it one pitch at a time, figuring we would try to retain the option to bail. squamish? Rock, paper, scissors, Rolf wins first lead this time. End of rope. I follow and gain an appreciation for the climbing challenges this Hozomeen chert will proffer; sparse pro and selective handholds will be the order of the day. I lead up a second long pitch to the only evidence of human visitation: a ¼ inch bolt and a bail ‘biner. Someone came, saw, and turned around; foreboding. (We did not see any other indication of passage higher than this.) After a couple pitches of metamorphosed basalt, we were talking about turning around too. But we could see trees on ledges above, and figured we could still bail in a relatively safe and reasonable manner. squamish? The land of milk and honey beckoned us. The third pitch required an exposed step-around with muddied feet; expletives drifted down to my belay. No pics. My pitch 4 went steeply up to a ledge, and traversed left; we were somehow making our way, and could still bail. Rolf’s face at the pitch 4 transition betrays some of our uncertainty. During his pitch 5 lead, some curses and words in the wind, “I wanna go home”. It was probably just the wind; he would’ve said simply, “squamish?” I’d like to forget pitch 6. I was forced up a steep 5.9 corner/arête with a paucity of gear. And what few pieces there were went into mungy and rotten fissures. Loose rock abounded, and without gear, there was no way to constrain the ropes from sending it down. Rolf didn’t get hit, but reported that he dutifully tied knots below his brake hand in case he was knocked out—so sensitive to my needs. I grunted up to a fat ledge, and Rolf managed to follow without getting shelled. Then Rolf drew one of the plum pitches, the seventh. 5.9+, climbs a nice corner (but with a section of unavoidable decking potential), then a tricky traverse to another corner, up and then traverse again to the only belay opportunity. Again, only so much gear and rope management was possible; missiles flew by my safe belay spot, but a few also threatened while climbing—somehow, no carnage. This wouldn’t happen in … Rolf up the p7 corner. Hand jams!?! Pitch 8 had a couple steep sections. Here Rolf discerns which holds to clean and/or trust. Pitches 9 and 10 stretched the ropes, continuing up the “corner” system we had identified as a weakness. More 5.9 (mostly easier) runouts. At the belay at top of pitch 10 I placed the only iron we used, a crappy pin to back up a solid piece and a marginal piece. For pitch 11, Rolf raced the sunset to a ledge. Uncharacteristically, this pitch didn’t stretch the rope; he thought we should take the bivouac bird in hand. I thought we were close to the summit and could possibly manage to climb to the top in the twilight-soon-to-be-night. He pointed out that idea was risky, and his logic prevailed. In retrospect it was definitely the right move. “take life as it comes”, also useful for shivering through the beautiful folly of an exposed bivy on a sloping ledge one nasty pitch from the summit. We’d brought some warm clothes but could have been warmer. All in all, the bivy wasn’t so bad, and definitely not as miserable as our unplanned bivy on Lemolo Mox across the way. Hozomeen wasn’t done with us. In the morning, I put together a long and winding pitch on some of the worst rock and pro conditions on the face—one strong cup of coffee, scary to the last drop. But it got us to the summit ridge! Unfortunately, the only spot to belay again made rope-disturbing rubble unavoidable. On the finishing moves, Rolf got clocked right in the helmet with a softball-sized rock, but was ok. Shudder. Top of our climb, just North of the summit, shortly after getting rocked. Glad to have done it. Another Scurlock masterpiece. Our route makes its way up to the left-facing corners directly below the summit. Our bivy occurred on the relatively large snow patch right below the summit. In the background is the Southwest Buttress, climbed many years ago by some hardcores. Kerouac again: “And I will die, and you will die, and we all will die, and even the stars will fade out one after another in time.” But we won’t die on Hozomeen. Hopefully not in Squamish either. But I will climb again at the latter. Both Rolf and I have mildly obsessed over this face for years, and were gratified (gruntled, even) to execute our vision. I expected technical demands exceeding 5.9, but given the challenges of Hozomeen chert, was glad for the limit. Probably half the pitches had some 5.9 moves, depending on what you trust for holds. We stretched the rope for most of the 12 pitches of pure adventure. I am fortunate to have a teammate like the curmudgeon: rich in experience (old), strong (for his weight), solid (old), and somehow able to check my relentlessly positive delusions. Thanks hardcore. A couple summit shots: And more pics. BTW, we descended the North Face route, rested, ate and drank, packed up and marched to car. The mosquitoes for the last couple miles were some other $#!+. Gear Notes: Single set of nuts. Tricams up to hand size v useful. We took lots of small cams, but the doubles would actually be better in the mid-range. Approach Notes: Nontrivial. Day 1, due to tons of rain the day before, we elected to take the scenic Skyline trail instead of the steep bushwhack. Day 2, follow your nose and low sense of self-worth.

good info., thanks G

It is good climbing rock. I'd say the pro is there when you need it. Any perceived runouts in the pics are more a function of long pitches and voluntarily-spaced pro on the more moderate terrain. Mike, we didn't use Rolf's bell-bottom-mural-van-era rack, but it would have suited the old school nature of the area...just around the corner to the east is the c. 1970 Firey route.

thanks for the report, both climbs on the list now. and nice pics!

cool TR and nice pics. gotta get back there sometime!

Haha mr marker, I think they prefer a tent. And wayne, the finger flying has flagged--it must be his rough edges are getting polished (credit: spouse), because i know i'm only get more annoying with time. Thanks folks. People should check this out if they've got a day to burn up there--this is the McTech (McTerror) Arete of Crescent Creek Basin. Woodcutter, the approach to Crescent Cr Basin is pretty well beaten in--seems to get a bit more so with passing time. But it is significantly harder to follow than the trail cutting right up to Terror Basin. Aside from hanging onto the trail/track, the only other piece of key beta is the elev. 2000' log(s) crossing of Terror Creek. And for emphasis, after crossing, just make sure you pick up the track after each occasional blowdown obliteration. Once up on the Barrier, in general the track stays quite close to the crest; the airy cliffs/dropoffs on the climber's right side are a useful handrail.

well done, gentlemen. that's a lot of rugged terrain to cover period, much less unsupported/no cache.

Trip: Mt Terror, Southern Pickets - Central Buttress of South Face III 5.9 Date: 7/13/2013 Trip Report: Rolf and I climbed this (likely) new route last weekend, provisional name = Fear and Loathing. Grade III (approx 6 pitches; we did 5 1/2 with a 70m), 5.9 adventure climbing on mostly solid (and well featured) Skagit gneiss. Another objective the next day turned us back, but we'll always have Terror. And loathing. After the most enjoyable and casual 6.5 hour approach (it's an acquired taste) to our camp near the Chopping Block, we could look across lovely Crescent Creek basin at Mt Terror. Hard tellin' not knowin', a route up the face sure looked improbable. We took a casual approach, waiting for the sun to get on the rock (frosty night), and weighed a number of potential routes. The most viable options appeared to be the butresses on the left, center, and right. We agreed the most aesthetic was the buttress snaking up most directly to the summit. Our route - poorly marked in red - goes up the barely lit central buttress to the summit: I didn't take v many pics, my camera was thawing out. And sorry ladies, no butt pics of Rolf on lead--he seemed to quickly disappear from view, as befits a rat. For first lead, I won rock paper scissors, and got probably the best pitch of the route. Up a steep juggy corner (careful hold selection), then a rising, more solid and exposed ramp, that at times gave that familiar feeling of pushing you off toward the void. Some 5.9 on this pitch, an engaging exercise putting together the pieces. Looking down pitch 1. Rolf's pitch 2 took the chimney/gully, 5.8 or 5.8+?, to a nice belay and decision point: the central buttress, or east buttress of the south face? We stuck with our original plan. For p 3, I hung a left and sent an easy boulder prob to gain the ridge crest and a spate of more sustained climbing before it relented to more wandery rambling. 5.8+ again? I stuck to the buttress crest, but there are certainly variations on this ledgy gneiss. Looking down p3 from a belay on the crest, just below a prominent tower; you can see the east buttress off on the left. Rolf's pitch 4 skirted the tower on the left; more moderate climbing, but also greater loose rock management. From his belay, I climbed some steeper rock (nice corners) and then ledge systems, carefully constraining the course of the rope to avoid dislodging some slayers. Super fun pitch, with fine air and views. Top of p 5; mt despair central background. For the last pitch, Rolf ran up a steepish blocky and juggy section, which then backed off to the remaining summit scramble. Nice views both ways along the Southern Pickets. L to R: McMillan spires, Inspiration, Degenhardt Glacier. We then boogied down the West Ridge route and then the couloir back to our packs. For fun and moderate climbing on mostly good rock, in a remote setting, I recommend this climb. More pics. Gear Notes: Tri-cams useful. Brought pins but did not use. Approach Notes: Lovely walk to Crescent Creek basin. There's now a non-high-wire-walking log that takes you across Terror Creek.

right on Tom, solid exposition of a stellar trip. gotta get back to that adventure zone...

beautiful day for a ramble in a fantastic area. you got some nice shots!

Super fun trip with plenty of inspiring views, engaging climbing, and hilarity--much thanks, Tom, for the invite. Have wanted to check out this side of Shuksan for a while, it's as remote and beautiful as imagined--all enjoyed from the comfort of our pimped Concorde. On the loose traverse, Price Gl background: Tom on the ridge crest, near the top: More pics here

skied the Kautz in mid-May 2008 and it furnished ample snow and excellent conditions for turns. hard tellin' not knowin', but you could likely catch it in good ski shape over the next week. as you note, can always downclimb a firm section.

nice trip hombre. that place is beautiful. perhaps add to your list, right out the front door of your affiliate-mobile home: Hue and Cry on the Watchman. Pete and i enjoyed this climb some time back.

nice one (or two)! and as always, great photos. is it just my limited perspective, or is that SE aspect of Larrabee more lean than is typical for this time of year?

enjoyed reading your tr! "interesting" approach, classic, done that. have wanted to return to the steeper aspects in that area since an early (10+ years ago) descent of Big C's western (?) aspect, back when i skied w/ broken bindings (tele)--one of these years soon for sure, thanks for the reminder.

Great TR, Dan. I posted my inferior version over on teh Sickness. That was one stellar adventure that keeps on fueling the belly-fire. Think I'm still recovering from our trip, and then immediately and subsequently getting wrung out by traipsing around the Sangre de Cristos with Sky.

way to slay, fellas! ew

lotsa gorgeous-looking skiing in that part of the range--thanks for the photos!

death to death! but w/ balls not bolts. well ok, maybe one or two placed on lead, but only if absolutely necessary. uh oh, boltstorm brewing sorry dan, back to your badass skiing already in progress.

i do believe the wall of death in this case is the east face that drops from the true summit of 3 fingies, not the aspect a bit further north that dave and john climbed. not to take anything away from your fine effort, but the AFAIK unclimbed wall o'death is a deeper problem to be solved. a bottle the soul to take that thing directly. as always, way to slay himmelstrafer.

Took some mojo to finish the more heinous part of the deproach w/ a busted arm. Heal well and quickly, hard core. holy frijoles that was a great trip. hard to beat skiing powder in a steep couloir in a spectacular area. Found a moment to upload some pics here. A sample: one from the approach, looking west from near the 7000+' col on Colonial W shoulder, w/ Mt Baker, Bunyan's stump, Pinnacle, Pyramid, Luna all laid out. and from high in the couloir (across the valley you can see the col on Colonial's west flank that we came over, right above that long mellow "approach couloir" that drops down to Neve creek--recommended for future interested parties):

neat video. spectacular place. if i recall correctly, the ramp has been skied! nutjob.

your photos do that area justice, thanks. so much skiing back there! but as noted, catching viz is critical.

2012 rocked—difficult to recall all the fun (“fun”?). this is a good way to cement the failing memory. In no particular order; well ok in reverse chronological order: + Family visit to hometown Hamilton MT wherein also got to climb in Blodgett canyon w/ my works-too-much brother + From Sky’s list above: Squamish sampling the Calling and Tantalus Wall (that, or our NM ramblings, hard to choose) + Canadian Rockies trip with Pete and Ryan, chasing weather windows + Northwest Face of Black Peak climb and ski w/ Dan H. -- one of the steepest commitmentest sickliest + “Area closed” with Rolf -- first experience with steep mixed -- think I’d be irreversibly hooked if not for the excellent skiing we have around here. Or maybe our route on W. Black Peak later in the year… Also lotsa good runs w/ my lady, a solo ski descent in the Olympics, and climbs/skis/times with Casey, Pete, Ryan, other Erics and sundry others--thanks all for enduring my company--looking forward to the next year w/ youse.

i'd take the nps report w/ a grain of salt, can be pretty dated info. this time of year, and downfall and/or snow could impede well before MP 21. don't mean to dissuade, just fyi. please report back if you go for it.