Rad

Trip: SEWS - Passenger Date: 8/15/2009 Trip Report: Rain thwarted our plans to head for BC alpine rock, so we drove East on Hwy 20 instead. We spent a few hours dodging raindrops and getting spanked on Newhalem climbs on Friday. Here's an 11- on the left end of the wall, one of the easiest lines we found. Clouds gave way to stars overnight, and we psyched up for the Passenger on SEWS. We neglected to print good descriptions from Mr. Tooth and Mr. Sun. Red Fred got us there just fine via the Blue Lake trail instead of from here: This is a truly OUTSTANDING route, with great climbing on every pitch on very solid rock. Lots and lots of sustained 5.10, but the 5.11 sections are short, protected, and could be aided. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking. Descend from SEWS shoulder and traverse along the E wall until you get to an obvious large gully. Cross it and traverse the black line to the tree at the start of the route. Looking up at the route. P1 is sustained finger crack goodness. p1 roof (not the crux) Hoping and groping on the roof on p2. Wet fingerlocks leading up to a cool slot roof on p3. Fingerlocks from above. p3 roof slot Slabosaurus. Knuckle mantle downclimb jingus Smearing and smiling. P4 past the crux. Cold belays bring out the bad dancers. Traverse entry to the 5.10 ramp - others do the bombay chimney above this, we later learned. The icing on the cake. Awkward, wet, dirty, and very exposed moves on my lead. Still cool though. Make a leftward traverse to a tree and then across to the final section. Pray the stacked blocks don't fall out. The sunshine came out for only a few minutes while we were on route, but we had sunshine in our souls. I'd say this is up there with CBR and the Grand Wall as one of the best routes I've done anywhere. Kudos to Burdo. It's totally doable for an 11- climber, particularly if you have a 20-something ropegun to lead the hard moves. Wish I'd drawn some of those leads, but I still had a blast and now have a reason to go back. Gear Notes: Mostly small gear. Doubles to #2 camalot, with extra finger sized pieces. One #3 camalot is useful for the last moves before the slot roof on p3. No larger gear needed. Approach Notes: Take Blue Lake trail to SEWS shoulder. Stash packs and approach shoes in tree, and take descending traverse along E wall. A large gully appears and then you cross it to get to the start. See pics

IMO, knot in dyneema doesn't sound good. Options include: double it. triple it. set up a sliding x between pieces. if suitable (e.g. multipitch) use clove hitches or figure eight in rope to allow rope to help equalize pieces leading in to a power point. Equalizing is most important for less than perfect placements. Bomber pieces need not always be equalized.

This is what I've read as well, and it makes good sense for reasons too verbose to include here. But how do you put it into practice? How do you get to the upper section of lead-only routes (which is most) without having climbed or french-freed the lower parts? I am a noob in this as well but would like to improve.

Unless you're feeble like me. Negative self talk will hold you back from reaching your full potential. Read Performance Rock Climbing or spend time with John Frieh.

E Ridge direct on Forbidden is great, no ice games. Sahale Arm is fun, easy. Both can be easily done as day trips, or camp in Boston Basin and do both.

There are a lot more variables in play in the mountains than at most rock climbing crags. We each develop our own risk profile. It's probably best to climb with people who have similar risk profiles and to generally refrain from imposing our own ideas about risk on other adults as they should be free to make their own choices. "Fall mountains, just don't fall on me......." "I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die. So let me live my life the way I want to" If 6 Was 9. James Marshall Hendrix.

RAD Did you climb the many routes on the horn of the Unicorn? Not quite sure what you mean. I chose a line climber's left of the rap line because it looked harder and more interesting- and we'd humped rock gear up there so by golly I was going to use it. It was still only a few moves of 5.6 or so protected by a couple of nuts. I'd agree that the rap route is probably low 5th class and could be easily soloed by a competent party, though a fall wouldn't be pretty.

A wonderful birthday indeed. Nice.

Matt's right about sandblasting. It will wear away softer material much, much faster than hard material. Obviously, concrete is WAY softer than those granite chips. More labor, but scrubbing holds by hand with 409 or goof off or something should work and be less obnoxious than large volumes in the sprayer.

Holy Smokes! Amazing story. Thanks for posting. So you took a 100 footer a mile up and were unscathed. Then you took a 200 footer sans cord and sans helmet (lost in first fall) and crawled away with one fib fracture. Then a plane appeared just as your last fuel was running out. Sounds like you still had some luck after all. Bummer about your foot.

Fantabulous!!!

Hopefully I'll get in the alpine without exposing myself or partners to these risks. This is exactly why I prefer rock to ice/glacier and why I refuse to do Slesse until the Pocket Glacier has slid. I'd guess that within a decade the glacier(s) on the S of Forbidden will be much like the Slesse Pocket Glacier, sliding off the slabs entirely by late summer and creating terrible hazards during the June/July transition period.

Sweet! Thanks for the TR.

Nice positive post Dawg. I've taken my kids there twice, and am grateful the Mtneers made this open to the public. It would be easy for lawyers to get in the way of that. The only thing that could be improved is holds. It looks like there are t-nuts all over the main wall but no holds on any of them (last I checked). Are there plans to put holds on them? That would make the 5.4s more friendly for small kids. Don't worry Pete, the UW rock is still there, and it just gets slicker every year. If you're affiliated with the UW you can get in the gym and boulder there too.

Cool Lance. Dawn patrol rocks!

Thanks a ton Don. So are these approach notes right? cc thread on Steinbok/Les Cornes approach Dru, any word on current conditions or whether fires have/will shut this area down? Thanks

So do you bounce off that tower if you fall at the crux? That could ruin your day.

Agreed. The best practice for NR is to get your simulclimbing dialed in so you can totally cruise the easy sections.

Well, I thought of GM for general crack challenges and difficulty. Warning: unsolicited beta/spoiler alert: GM P1 off the ledge has a cool committing undercling and then when it gets wide there is a hidden crack to hold (yummy). Solid crack and jams to the belay. GM P2 has a squeeze/OW that is awkward but short. But I was really thinking of GM P3. It starts with committing moves past a crack and then to a dihedral with a large crack in back. That crack reminded me of the Gendarme p2: fist or a bit larger and strenuous. Either go straight in or, as I did, work some liebacking in there. A few easy lieback moves got me past the OW crux on the gendarme. Others may find other solutions. Basically, if you have some crack skills and the instincts about when to abandon one approach and switch to another (e.g. lieback vs jam) then you'll be totally fine. Worst case is you hang on solid gear and french free it. AND you should do the FULL NR because the second pitch of the lower N Ridge is the best pitch on the whole line IMHO. Heart of the Country is fun, but it's straight-in hand jamming that isn't really like the gendarme.

Yep. The Gendarme is not as fearsome as some would have you believe. BOTH pitches are short, with good rests between moves. If you can do Godzilla and Toxic Shock you'll have no trouble with the lieback moves of Gend p1. If you can do GM you'll sail up Gend p2 (actually, I thought parts of GM were a good bit harder than the gendarme, though rated the same). Go get it! (and write a TR)

Thanks for the TR. Great peak and setting. Too bad the rock is so crappy.

Hey all, Looking at this route and wondering if there is any update on the approach roads etc. Also, is the green line in the following topo the one that contains the direct start? And is the blue ramp line the chossy early pitches? Thanks much, Rad Alpinist topo for new Steinbok routes

Fools, reason will not work against his force field of immutable principles. Set phasers to ban.

Great pics. I'll echo Berdinka. I had some wonderul adventures when I was homeless and unemployed. Glad to hear you are too.

Ratings schmatings. This perennial debate is boring, particularly when people feel that the so-called hardest rated area is somehow the most valid. Why is no one arguing that the so-called easiest area is the most valid? The answer = ego. It's all about your ego. Get over yourselves. If a route is rated 5.9+ and it kicks your ass does that make it cool? If the same route is rated 11a will your griping about its soft rating somehow diminish its quality? It's the same freakin route! Just shut up and climb your 60m.