How's this?
Attempt 2 (Greg_W & Bug).
Tyler_151 posted a plea last winter for help getting up Rainier this spring. I wanted to go up the South Tahoma route and it is an easier climb so I volunteered to take him with. BillyGoat, Pandora and Greg_W wanted to go also so we became a party of five. Tyler_151 broke some bones playing hockey, BillyGoat had family issues (the wife said “NO!”), and Pandora said I was too weird. Apparently, she has had trouble in the past with CC.COMers wearing leathers and boozing it up. I denied all accurate accusations of past behaviors but she still refused. So it was down to Greg_W and Bug. Shit. No girls again.
Since it had been snowing on Rainier with no significant consolidation periods, we decided to redeem Greg on the NE Coulior.
I packed my pack with the usual gear and tried to pry it off the garage floor. No go. I started stripping everything that was not crucial for survival. I even left my Cobras behind in favor of my aluminum Cassin and a North Wall hammer. We had our packs a little extra light since we had a grand plan of climbing the coulior, walking up Dragontail, and exiting the plateau via Cannon pk’s N gulley.
So here is what really happened.
I put on my leathers and we got up to Colchuck lake in good time Friday afternoon. We set camp in the boulder field at the base of the moraine and broke out the booze. I brought a little scotch and Greg had some bourbon. Yes, these are crucial for survival.
Camp
Saturday morning we got up about 5:30, ate breakfast and packed. We were off by 6:30. The snow was frozen on the top 2 inches but still soft underneath. The wind was blowing lightly and it was about 35 degrees F. Dragontail and Colchuck were in the clouds. We didn’t ever see them fully exposed. The higher we got, the better the snow got. But once we cleared the lip of the moraine and were walking across the basin out of the wind, we started breaking through again. We still made good time to the base of the coulior and geared up below the alluvial fan. Greg wanted to lead and I was happy to have kicked steps to walk in so off he went. The schrund was easier than the previous week and required only a big step across. (note, the right side looked easy to me for getting around the schrund. Greg thought the left looked easier.) He cruised up the runnel for about a hundred feet then veered right to the rock to get in a pin.
Base of coulior
From then on he averaged two pieces a rope (50m) and we sailed up about a thousand feet to where he and Bronco had veered up the left gulley. The runnel was fun climbing with firm snow/ice. Greg ventured out of it to place pro but got back in it in the steep parts. From Greg’s first stance, I lead off right through a small step and over to rock get in a piece. The snow was getting sugary and I was slowing down. After placing two more pieces, I saw a spot right before the traverse up and left that looked like it would have a crack but it was only a seem. I got in a manky kb and a worse screw but I was able to wedge myself in the crack between the rock and snow. The snow was too soft for a bollard. At that point, I noticed my right crampon strap was broken. I lashed it on as best I could. The wind had picked up a little, blowing spendthrift up the couloir and the temperature was down to about 25 degrees F. The snow was now deep sugar with a four inch soft crust. Kicking steps all the way into firm snow took forever. I finally realized that I could weight all three points evenly while pulling up the fourth and not have to kick past the crust. Occasionally, we broke through and would drop a foot or two.
Greg came up and led across the steep left traverse to a rock where he got in a good stopper. From there, he was able to get in a couple more bomber pieces and get into a scoop at the base of the ice gulley. We ate lunch there and took a break while I fixed the rivet on my crampon. Leading up the ice gulley with my aluminum alpine ax and north wall hammer worked out OK but I was thinking about my Cobras back home. I wasn’t feeling too comfortable with my crampon and I hadn’t been on steep ice way off the ground for several years. I thought about the threads here regarding climbing after kids and how that affects attitude at altitude. The pitch took me about 45 minutes.
Greg cruised up with a smile on his face.
Just past crux.
I lead up another short pitch and Greg lead another up around a corner. We were now at the base of the slab that exits to the right. It had sugar snow and partially frozen moss in shallow cracks. It did not look fun. The cornice was big but there was a good ledge underneath it. We could also see old steps going out that way. I went out under the cornice a ways only to get trapped under the cornice by my ski poles sticking up. I set one pole and left my pack there. There was a screw placement a little further on and I got out to where the cornice was not as overhung. But at that point there was a smooth rock to climb. I glanced back to see how the rope was running and saw the entrance to a chimney chopped through the cornice above the screw. I missed it on the way through because it was filled in with spendthrift and the old steps came out to the rock. I backed up to the chimney and chopped through to the top. It was great to see flat ground with a few boulders to sling. Greg came up to my pack and I threw him a rope and tried to haul but it got stuck in the chimney. He didn’t even complain about having to push it up through. In fact he seemed quite happy when he popped up.
Pop up.
It is always fun to finish a climb but it is funner to tick a long one after a long hiatis with kids. I have been working hard to get back in shape and get back in form. This was a great checkpoint. Greg is a solid, steady climber but keep your bourbon in your pocket.
Gear Notes:
4 pins (2 kb, 2 short la. A couple baby angles would have been handy), 8 slings, biners, few medium nuts, 4 medium hexes (I would take red and gold camelots instead of the 2 big hexes.), 1 screw (placed it twice), one picket (could have used another), ice tools, and standard gear.
Approach Notes:
Dry trail all the way.
