Sol

nice bra! alpine bouldering mecca shots?

we did what dru said and it seems like a better way. fwiw, a few weeks after ty and i climbed springbok we came back and tried steinbok. the road had been considerably pruned and the approach was way better. to whoever put some hard work in up there!

nice send and thanks for the new anchor.

do work.

what a whiny little bitch. drep, what have you done for index lately? routes that could use a scrub: imperial fun senseless thoughts of paranoia everest with lycra sisu good girls like bad boys technicians of the sacred bravo jean marc earwax crack another man's car that's a start at least.

I think there are really only 4 hard rock routes in the enchantments that hold enough worthy stone for the motivated free-climber. CBR-West Face (5.12a): barely holds its own in this category, an awesome line, amazing climbing, but barely more than 10 moves of 5.11 in its entirety. the warm up. CBR-The Tempest Wall (project): when freed it will proabaly be the hardest climb in the enchantments, 12a-12d. While the roof pitch will be hard to forget, the rest of the route proabaly isn't much harder than 5.11b. It'll be good climbing through the headwall roofs and the easier crack pitches are good, but it just isn't sustained enough to be the best. Dragontail-Dragons of Eden(project): I think this is the one. All it needs is a scrub, a couple of fixed pins, and a sender. Pitch two is five star quality, very aesthetic. The pitch 4 crux (unfreed on lead, reported as 12b) is awesome climbing too: funky face crux above the pillar, then classic thin fingers in a bottomless corner. The quality climbing continues up the great white headwall, with the 11b middle pitch being one of the wilder free pitches i've ever climbed (exposure!). Easy approach, easy descent, an aesthetic line, awesome hard freeclimbing, and a long finish will make this the classic hardperson freeroute. Prusik Pk-Der Sportsmen (12a): I do beleive this one's waiting for a second ascent. This one could be a contender. Haven't been on it so i can't really comment, but the line is sick, the topo claims brooke sandhal 5.11 spicy, and the finish is supposed to be wild. Coming into shape right about now, so maybe in the next couple of weeks ill have more to say. I think it's an exciting era for the enchantments. In the next couple of years these lines will likely be scrubbed and freed, heralded as the new classics. It's cool to think about them being linked-up, and besides der sportsmen, there isn't a bolt to be found anywhere (please lets not get into that tired uninformed "i heard" bullshit about der). Train hard and get hyped. Oh yeah, and wouldn't it just complete the puzzle if someone put up a hard rock route on Mt. Stuart and we could climb quality alpine 5.12 on each of the big 4.

Trip: Colchuck Balanced Rock - FA: The Tempest Wall IV 5.10 A2 Date: 8/28/2008 Trip Report: In order to be a succesful climber in the Pacific Northwest you have to be able to adapt. Plans set in stone for weeks, even months, can be shut down at the last minute with alarming regularity; fickle cascade weather being the main culprit. Such was the case last week as the slowly increasing chance of precipitation crescendo'd at 4 in the afternoon with 100%. Our second attempt at a large north cascades project would have to be postponed, and we were back to the drawing board. Worse yet, blake could ditch me completely and head out on an extended trip amongst clearer horizons in the Idaho Sawtooths. The Enchantments were are best bet and i had to think fast. The Google chat box quickly filled with ideas for the range: Boving Route to Solid Gold, the Girth, Der Sportsman. Blake shut each one down. I was scrambling for ideas when he replied: new route on CBR? i saw a line to the right. It was on, and i was hyped. He claimed thin cracks through headwalls, aid for sure, so we brought the kit and caboodle. The approach was more comical than usual, quite cold, and a bit stormy. The first day we scoped things out, found a line, and fixed the first pitch. Blake threw down a mix of mostly free with a bit of aid, a badass heel-hook, and even placed a knifeblade while free climbing. Pitch 1: We went to bed that night a bit intimidated by our chosen line. The next day we woke up early to a brisk morning and numerous cups of coffee. I taught Blake how to jug on pitch 1: The weather was worse than the day before, clouds were blowing through, and we were being hit by intermittent mist and drizzle. At least we'd be dry under here: What really can i say about the roof. The lead felt like I was in a trance. Did it take me 20 minutes, or 2 hours? I had to stop at the base and ask myself if I really was going to do this. The problem being, enough gear to get me to where? In the end it worked out fine, and yes, I think it will go free, it's mostly gold camalots! Colchuck Reality Crack. Cilogear! Being that it was all the same size i had to backclean our two two's out the last half of the roof and then all the way up to the belay. I tagged them to Blake and he embarked on his first real aid pitch ever. Self-portrait of Blake enjoying a steep learning curve: We named the ledge atop the roof the "yin-yang ledge", and the next pitch which starts with the more moderate aspect of the roof crack, "The Lighter Side of the Moon." Fun free climbing up good dirty cracks. Blake starting out: Myself seconding: An easy 5th class pitch led us to the base of the headwall which began with akward free up a pillar then onto the face. It soon turned to aid up a series of dirty corners and roofs. I short fixed a couple belays when the ropedrag got bad or i needed gear. The finale involved an aesthetic set of triple cracks and brought me to a great stance ontop of the headwall. I was stoked to give up the lead up to this aid gumby: Actually Blake was doing a great job his first day out aid climbing and he pushed us on up the next pitch. Aid through a flare lead to a fun moderate corner crack and a slightly sketchy belay. Darkness fell as I seconded, and i quickly remedied Blake's nest with a solid angle that we fixed. We could tell we where near the top and we really wanted to be off the face. The day had been cold and long and we were getting pretty worked. Aid led up to a dirty wet corner, a heelhook mantle, then a short chimney put me on the ridge, "The Great Escape." I hooted and hollered and then Blake did too. Three simul pitches got us to top and the Tempest Wall was sent. A moderatly painful morning-after was tempered by the idyllic alpine ambience. The Tempest Wall With a scrub, everything but the roof will proabaly go free at 5.11-. I think the roof will go somewhere around 12c or so. It'll be one hell of a fight at the lip. Rack of doubles from black alien to .75, 3 #1's, 4-6 #2's, 2 #3's, a single #4, set of nuts, dbl set of rp's, few pins or not.

ill take the printer.

yo d-dog, fwiw, jens and max felt sandbagged on the approach as well.

darin and blake cage fight who do you have your money on? blake won't let me post his super good beta... and speaking of old and slow, ill be 30 in 2 weeks, and ill proabaly be leaving chunks of my meniscus all over the trail on the way in.

That's some funny shit. I actually know the dudes that own sidewayspeople. Yes, they are major stoners, and they are from my hometown of Kalamazoo, MI. In the last few years they've opened and closed down two different skate shops in Kzoo and have gotten into major tax trouble. They've got an awesome sticker though of this guy with his face smashed into the ground (presumably after a bail on a skateboard). Too funny, hahahahahahahahahaha.

expect hard snow and ice; late summer conditions.

Blake, Dan, John, Darin, Matt, Max, and Jens, any beta you would like to share on the "short" yet grueling eastside approach to the gunsight range? Thanks dudes!

sick

some from my watched topics: Good girth pillar beta here No tr, but good TC beta Index Traverse in Winter Stuart N Ridge in Winter FWA of NE Ridge of Triumph Bertulius Route on Nooksack Tower Dragonscar Winter sickness on Chiwawa Kearney route on Colfax Poltergeist Pinnacle in the Pickets East Pillar of Slesse Navigator Wall on Slesse North Rib of Slesse Darin's Pasayten Trip Part 1 Part 2 Megalodon Ridge on Goode Dissapearing Floor on Mt. Hardy

we didn't see anything. there is an obvious and harder line in the dihedral to the right of solid gold. inbetween it and the '77 route. somebody should go get it.

was that on the start of P2? that would make sense, as it was our only true spice on the route. thanks again for drawing the lines in clint, way more evolved than me.

don't you keep a ninja outfit in your rig?

nice.

giv'er

that 8600ft bivy is the shiznit. nice pics.

RAD TRAD DAD'S! Congratulations you guys.

that shit looks sick!

I don't understand how you guys climb so fast while taking so many awesome pics.

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=596327