kurthicks

It looked filled in with remnant snow from our huge winter last year plus our early season snow right now. Probably a cruise up the couloir to the ridge crest; it is a long way to the true summit from there though. It may be more classic after a low-snow winter followed by a couple good storms in the autumn to create some melt/freeze a la the NE couloir of Dragontail. It doesn't look to be that steep and I bet it'd be a better ski than a climb...

yep, easier to pull upwards IMO than an autoblocking device (short of the redirected GriGri in Ivan's photo). I usually clip a sling to the prussik and back to my belay loop as a backup in case the Garda shifts and doesn't catch.

you can do the leg prussik(s) above the waist, if you use a Garda at the waist. Just like in Ivan's photo, but swap the Garda for the GriGri.

It's seasonal in that the route gets at least partially buried once more snow falls (Mix-up picture from Feb 2010); this will decrease the uniqueness of the climb and probably complicate finding suitable anchors too. Access will also surely change when the road closes...we drove to the trailhead and hiked to Cascade Pass in tennis shoes!

FF told me this summer that they still make the "Spoonbill" if you ask for it. I'm planning on getting on this winter.

Trip: Mix-up Peak - The Misunderstanding (FA) Date: 10/25/2011 Trip Report: Yesterday Forest McBrian, Dave Jordan, and I established a new line on Mixup Peak in North Cascades National Park. The route climbs the northeast face of the north summit and is partially visible from Cascade Pass. We had spotted the seasonal line last week while climbing on Sahale Peak and hoped that the weather would hold out long enough so we could sneak in an ascent. Fortunately the weather was with us and we had clear and cold temperatures immediately following a brief warm spell that included rain up high--this created perfect conditions on the climb. The line climbs the center of the North Face. Approaching the route (in upper right corner) The route begins in a narrow gully that sits about 60 meters east of the obvious couloir that splits the face ( 2004 TR for that line). The first pitch set the tone for the route with excellent sticks in perfect snice, but a dearth of protection opportunities. Each of the following eight pitches were all rope stretching pitches, totaling almost 1800’ of climbing on the face. This route was both longer and more difficult than we had anticipated and is unusually sustained for a Cascades line--only two pitches didn’t have 55 degree or steeper terrain and all of them went straight up without any side-to-side deviation (except pitch two which moves about 15 meters right at mid-height). The belays were all sheltered from icefall, but close enough for good photos! Pitch one Pitch three (one of the easy pitches) Pitch four We found the crux to be surmounting a roof draped with icicles on pitch five and agreed that the pitch was undoubtedly the best pitch any of us had ever climbed in the mountains. Forest led it in impeccable style. Above the crux was an incredible ice chimney that led to yet another ice pitch and, finally, a short snow slope to the crest. Pitch 5 crux Following pitch 5 (Cascade Pass trail in upper left) Following pitch 5's ice chimney Pitch 7 Following pitch 7 The technical climbing ended at a small notch in the summit ridge where we took in an incredible view of Johannesberg and Formidable in amazing evening alpenglow. It was a perfect day in the mountains. Gear Notes: Knifeblades (4-6) Cams (purple TCU to 3”), doubles to 1” 2-6 short screws 70m ropes, two ropes recommended in case of retreat. Approach Notes: Hike to Cascade Pass. Follow the trail onto Mixup Arm. The route starts about 60M east of the prominent couloir. It lies above a remnant snowfield that is obvious on the USGS map. An easy 2.5 hours to the base. Descent Notes: From the crest of the ridge at the notch, traverse on the west side of the ridge southwards towards the south/true summit for about two rope-lengths on shattered rock. Gain the first obvious notch and continue past it to the second notch. The rock quality in the second notch is noticeably better than along the crest. From here, we down-climbed the East Face to the Cache Glacier on steep snow to 55 degrees. Rappelling may be necessary in other conditions. From the Cache Glacier, traverse north and west around Mixup Arm and back to Cascade Pass. Here is a modified Scurlock photo ( original) showing the east face. We downclimbed just west/left of the ridge that lies just right of the center of the photo. Special Notes: We found that the route gets a tiny bit of sun until about eleven in the morning. Small amounts of spindrift and ice chunks came down during that time, but after the sun moved further south the debris stopped. Due to the exceedingly compact nature of the rock, anchoring options were extremely limited and much time was spent finding anchors that frequently (and unfortunately) verged on being inadequate. Although we managed with 60m ropes, we strongly recommend bringing 70m ropes to potentially give more options for finding belay anchors. Mix-up Peak, The Misunderstanding IV, AI4R, M4 2200’ of climbing Kurt Hicks, Dave Jordan, Forest McBrian October 25, 2011

And the old CCH guys went to Spain and showed Fixe how to make them.

Thanks for the photo John! You can see in the last photo how much the route is threatened by the massive cornice that forms later in the winter...

will do. Probably headed your way in a few days once it stops raining.

I wrote on your ST thread. The "crazy commute to the Icicle Rd." doesn't happen in winter unless there is a freezing rain event.

still got those old CFBPs? I'd consider buying them back from ya!

we didn't talk about a grade. Maybe II+, AI3+? The difficulties are in the first and last pitches (with a couple mini-cruxes along the way). The middle of the line is pretty mellow overall, but some may want to pitch it out.

yeah, we thought the couloir would be a wallow-fest. Looks like a fun way to salvage the trip!

When you throw it over the shoulder, be sure to hook it on the shoulder/arm that's holding onto the other tool...otherwise it's more likely to slide off your shoulder and go bye-bye.

Crossing lower than we did isn't really possible given the steepness of the terrain between the Sahale Glacier Camp and Horsehoe Basin. Maybe you could drop into Doubtful Lake and traverse from there? The least technical approach (but most elevation gain) would probably be to walk over Cascade Pass and down into Pelton Creek, then turn onto the Basin Creek Trail and trudge up into Horseshoe Basin. Camping where we did, however, make the descent easy and you don't have to carry over. An easy 30 minutes from the top to camp.

I don't know which one you mean Alex. There is only one prominent bottom-to-top line on the East Face, though you could climb the snow slope to the left of our line that starts in a long, overhanging ice plug. Dan - We went up the Arm to the Sahale Glacier Camp at 7500' (3 hours), then had some shenanigans down to the Davenport via a rock rib (the SE ridge, kind of) and snow slopes all the way to 6300' before climbing back up to the start (2 more hours to the base). Good route-finding in the dark was crucial. BTW - the rock in the couloir was quite good and rock pro, though spaced, would be the best for belays.

Word from other AMGA guides that I know that it severs a rope under a shockload since the rope is pinched between two carabiners. At what kN, I don't know, but I've been meaning to ask someone with a pull testing device to do some runs for me.

Index Thin Fingers - Pitch 1 1/2" stainless bolts with chains. 10/2011

The Compressor is a nice jacket and more on par with the warmth of the down models. Down only gets wet if you let it. Don't use it in the rain or as an outer layer in wet snow conditions (I don't use mine as an outer snow layer in the Cascades basically ever). The biggest perk of synthetic is that it dries faster than down while in the mountains. That said, a wet puffy jacket regardless of its fill material is still a wet jacket. Another good option is the Patagonia DAS. Synthetic and super warm, but bulkier.

The Montbell Thermawrap is a fantastic synthetic puffy, but it is I consider it a three-season puffy. The others you mention look like they offer enough warmth for the average bear during the winter (except for wet overnight trips and cold ice climbing belays). Get a hoody. Make sure it fits over a helmet if you're doing that sort of climbing.

when can we meet up?

The Garda isn't designed, or recommended, for belaying a follower.

Time to go skiing!

got an older Montbell synthetic puffy, medium, red. Newly replaced zippers by Montbell. $20.