colt45
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Posts posted by colt45
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Thanks for the climb Jason!
I would describe this route as a longer and chossier version of the complete north ridge of stuart, with a lot of attention-grabbing routefinding along the way. The climbing is never technically difficult, but there are large amounts of low class 5 on somewhat loose rock. The arete is cool because of its length and position, and gives a "full alpine experience" (VERY different from the "pure rock climb" feel of NR stuart).
Here are a couple more photos:
The route as seen from the approach. The towers are easy to see about 1/3 of the way up.
The small but extremely unstable glacier that, in retrospect, was a bit close for comfort to our bivy spot (several hundred feet below where this photo was taken). The huge release we heard around midnight was likely the big block at lower left. After this I started to wonder what would happen if the entire glacier slid off...and then I decided to just get some sleep.
The link cam that broke on the first pitch. The plastic trigger wire design takes the flimsy nature of aliens to a whole new level! (note: I was pretty gentle while trying to remove this cam, compared to what I have done with my aliens and camalots for years with no problems whatsoever. Moreover I think these can get jammed easily if the cam pivots in the crack, because the lobes are extremely long)
Edited to add: OP contacted us and replaced the cam for free! Moreover the new version of the cam has been modified to correct this weakness. So I'll have to give link cams another try...
A cool, exposed traverse passing the first tower.
An awesome snow arete about 2/3 of the way up.
The coolest part of the climb: the summit arete suddenly appears after the last several hundred feet of rock scrambling.
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I descended it ~10 days ago, there was snow most of the way. It faces south, and we were descending in the afternoon, so it was pretty soft. Obviously conditions could be totally different early in the day after a cool night.
From Teanaway, snow was mostly continuous above 5500ft or so.
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Awesome! So how much snow was up there? Any photos of Stuart...?
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Davis-Holland is probably dry: it's steep & south facing.
When I first climbed it, we hiked in through intermittent rain and the wall was soaked....then the clouds cleared, and the route was dry enough to climb just an hour or two later!
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TPMV, Stern Farmer, Narrow Arrow are also good solo aid pitches.
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Rainy Day Women. Good lord, how do you get past the upper crux? 12a? hah.
??? I think RDW is easy for 12a. In the Smoot guide it's given 11d......
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I found an article by the head of the UIAA safety commission on rope failure: according to him the only cases of rope failure in the past 20 years have been due to either (1) cutting on a sharp edge, (2) acid damage, or (3) using a twin or double rope as a single strand. He has also tested 25-year old ropes, and says that in every case they still held a UIAA test fall!!
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I had the sheath fail (rip open after a fall) near the end on my old sport climbing rope--so I chopped it back a few feet. The majority of the rope's strength is in the core so I just keep an eye out for sections that feel soft or flat.
It is often said that there has never been a case of a rope breaking in a fall, unless the rope was cut on a sharp edge or chemically damaged (e.g. battery acid). I can't confirm that this has "never" happened, but I have never heard of a single case.
Incidentally there was just a post on another forum about a rope that broke during an extremely short fall with no sharp edges, in a climbing gym! But my guess is this rope had previous damage that was not noticed. Link here. (in the photo of the rope, note that part of the sheath and several of the core strands have an extremely clean cut...) The rope in question was sent to BD for examination so there should be some answers soon.
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In March I saw at least 6 parties climbing it at the same time! And the last party in line was climbing in a style I have not seen previously: a group of 3 in which everyone was wearing blue jeans and flannel shirts. So anyway it gets crowded (but they all did finish before dark).
The end of the route & descent are no problem. Just be sure you keep traversing along the summit ridge until it's obviously easy to get down (the entire descent is visible from the parking lot).
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Actually now that I think about it, that last photo is probably the one you're interested in...but climbing the ice cliff would be pretty cool too.
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Thanks for the heads-up. So, what is that brown thing supposed to be on the left side of the sales flier...?
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How did the NF of Colfax look? Got a photo?
Here you go:
And there's a convenient warm-up route right next door:
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Thanks Todd! Looks like I'll need to wait a few months.
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I heard that the moves off the ledge on Thin Fingers were significantly easier before a flake broke. This section sure seems harder than 11a to me!
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Actually I probably shouldn't have posted the answer given that being there and taking the photo is an unfair advantage...but this is the first time I have actually recognized one of the routes on this topic!
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It's the South Face of Pernod--and I know only because I took the photo! Intimidating, licheny, old school 5.9 (felt like 5.10 to me). This 150' pitch would be a classic if it were a bit cleaner.
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I have been skiing silvretta 404's on all sorts of terrain and snow, and they have been great...the only disadvantages I see are that the toe doesn't release (but as was mentioned tele bindings don't release at the toe either, the 404s do have forward and lateral release at the heel), and they're a bit heavy.
Obviously given unlimited money and shopping time it's always nice to have the "ideal" setup...but if the 404s fit your boots, I'd say go with them!
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Anyone know who to contact to get their website updated?
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by the way, you can now purchase the parking pass online: they mail it to you within a few days, and I think that printing out the receipt from the website and putting it on your dashboard suffices until then.
https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/wa/license/select
on the above website, go to "other" and select "vehicle use permit"
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I'm currently contemplating getting a real light summer bag and am looking at the Marmot Atom and the WM HighLite
I have the Highlite, and it's amazing! 17 ounce total weight for the "tall" size, and it keeps me warm into the upper 30 degree range as promised. I'm also in the market for a 15-20 degree bag, and I am almost definitely going to buy another WM. Sure they're expensive, but a light pack and comfortable sleeping mean a lot to me...
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How warm people sleep is such a huge variable that any rating you give to a bag will probably be plus or minus 10 degrees. What would the rating mean?
True--but if the ratings were consistent among different companies, they would still be quite useful as a relative standard.
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by the way, does anyone know the status of raptor closures on the rostrum? I know in prior years it has been closed from spring until Aug 1 but have not been able to find current info.
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There's a beefy bolt, visible in the photo below my left foot, and a perfect #3.5 (and/or #4) camalot placement near my left shoulder, so pro isn't an issue. There is less than 20 feet of chimneying and then you turn a roof of sorts to gain an awesome (and also well-protected) dihedral.
Even if the bolt were missing it would still be well protected because you could get #1-#2 camalots in the crack near the bolt.
Black Diamond Speed 28 Pack
in The Gear Critic
Posted
Agreed, I have had one for 2 years and use it as my only pack (sport climbing, skiing, 3-day alpine climbs, CTC trips, visiting the parents in chicago, etc). Highly recommended.