curtveld

Trip: Lexington Tower - East Face Date: 9/9/2011 Trip Report: Lexington has always been an objective evoking mixed feelings. An awesome line in a beautiful spot, but always a fair bit intimidating. This hesitation was not based solely on my own insecurity with wide cracks. On one of my first visits to WA Pass in the late 80’s I talked to climbers along the road: “That chimney was really awkward – I’ve done 5.10bs that were easier!” Sure the select books have it, but with descriptions like “strenuous and intimidating off-width” (Nelson). Beckey uses the terms “exhausting” and “difficult” repeatedly, not to mention “difficult protection” and “questionable bolts”. OK…. no wonder none of my partners ever seem to share my interest in Lexington. In the decades since, I had ticked off the other Pass classics, some harder, some easier, but never Lexington. It had become the last tick. But Andy agreed to do it...again. He had climbed it once long ago and recalled a very long day and considerable pulling on gear. Well, at least that meant there would be gear to pull if needed. So after an early start and tense hike under the Bell, we reached the right-hand toe at the Face’s low point. We were not going to sneak up the left-hand gully and traverse into the route – we were there to do the complete East Face! When we dumped out the gear, we discovered a problem. I had two rock shoes, but they were both left-footed! What an idiot – after all the buildup, now I’d have to wait for another opportunity. But Andy’s ingenuity came through: “You can wear my rock shoe on your right and I’ll wear your approach shoe - It’ll be fine as long as you lead everything”. I agreed to give it a try – in fact, his sloppy shoe would give me an excuse if I flailed! Of course, the actual climb could not live up to the buildup, though it was indeed solid and dramatic. The pro is fine and you do have to engage in some true chimney and off-width climbing, but not always where you expect from the topo. I finally learned how the route surmounts the huge roof shown in Nelson’s photo I had inspected for so long, and it’s pretty cool. And Andy managed just fine with his rock/approach-shoe combo. The familiar approach What’s wrong with these shoes? Clean climbing on lower slab Steeper cracks on pitch 4 Conspirators at belay 5 Time for the biz - the overhanging off-width of pitch 6. The sling is attached to the famous 2"x4". Rappelling into the shadow of the Early Winters group Tat at belay #5, good spot to stash packs Gear Notes: Medium rack to #5 camelot. Descent via rappel

Update: All conditions (moats, crevasses) still excellent as of 9-6. A great year for a September ascent!

Thanks

It is generally quite good, but a fair part of the route can be described as mediocre. Gravelly, rampy stuff, loose blocks in places, stuff more typical of Cascade rock peaks. The group concensus for the entire route was "good, but not great". Still quite recommendable, I'd say.

An excellent outing - thanks guys! Considering how good Jason's photos are, you hardly ever notice him stopping along the way!? I'm starting to think what he does is 99% Photoshop.

A great NCNP classic for sure! I'm not much of a snake guy but those rubber boas are so cool. I was up in SE BC this summer and saw them listed as a species at risk.

Unfortunately I do someone like that, and she got it in western WA. She would be an excellent resource. PM me with your contact info and I'll pass it on. Curt

Rope-gunning the dad up WA Pass classics - very cool! Looks like you're sprouting some little veggie-dreads in this one..

Trip: Squire Creek Wall - Slab Daddy Date: 7/29/2011 Trip Report: After assuring ourselves that we wouldn’t broil, 'Jopa' Joe and I ventured up Squire Creek to attempt the epic padding of Slab Daddy. For those living under a rock, Slab Daddy is an instant classic 22-pitch climb produced by many seasons of hand-drilling by Dave Whitelaw and a small army of collaborators. The climb and basic logistics are well documented, so here are a few photos to enliven a stack of route updates. After a leisurely start and fumbled approach, we did the climbing between 3 pm on Friday and 3 pm Saturday. The first 11 steppy pitches placed us on the Balcony Bivy at about 8. After a calm if mosquito-plagued night, we were back crimping at 0600. After lots more clean, varied and challenging climbing, we turned around at pitch 21.5. The many rappels got us to the snow cone around 7 and we were chowing burgers in Dtown by 9. Only thirty-six hours, but my fuzzy brain and crunched toes felt like they had been at it much longer. But for a climb of this size and quality, the bit of suffering was well worth it! For those that don’t want to climb slabs with overnight gear, a good option is to day-trip the first 11 (or more) pitches. That only requires two 5.10 pitches (#7&11), as the 10+ crux on pitch 2 can be easily avoided (details below). Another way to reduce pack weight is to use a small haul bag (and not carry so much water, duh!). Not owning one, my ancient duffel did it's best but was shredded. Emerging from the mists is the amazing Squire Creek Wall! Slab Daddy climbs behind the dead treetop into the white bowl, then follows the light streak above its left edge. After fording Squire Creek, you face an impenetrable thicket! However, the obvious trail running that runs into the open timber makes access very reasonable. The 3 pm 'alpine start' up the sno-cone burying pitch 1. We traversed it and some grubby slabs leftward to access Pitch 2. The fabled Balcony Bivy, with a flat sleeping pad. Waking up gently to 5.10 climbing! Exiting ‘The Feature’ (Pitch 13) onto the immaculate upper slabs. The small water streaks visible on Joe’s left were encountered on many pitches, but never a real problem. Micro-crimpy 5.10+ dike on pitch 16. The bolts are almost as close together as they look. The long corner on pitch 19 is the best crack climbing on the route. Strategy and Gear The topo linked above is extremely accurate and helpful. There was LOTS of water in puddles on the route, including all the blue dots on the topo. It may taste like our ropes though, after the frequent dunkings during rappel pulls. On a related note, PLEASE use blue bags! Enough said. Joe’s bivy sack was very useful for bugs and heavy dew. Pitch Notes (if you want them) P 2. 10+ crux was running with water. A dry 5.8-ish variation was on the right – one bolt, moderately runout. P. 4& 5 can be combined in a 60m rappel. P. 5 The fourth bolt is damaged and very loose. Not too scary because the nieghboring bolts are fine and not very far off. P. 9 Belay anchor is a bit farther right (~40’) of corner than shown on topo. P. 15 Line wanders - use long slings to reduce rope drag. P. 17 It’s tempting and possible to rappel to the bottom of pitch 16. Our 60 m ropes just reached, but the knot threatened to stick on the pull (yikes!), so better not to combine them. P. 22. Save some small cams for the ‘10- steep’ wall. We didn’t, so headed down with no regrets. Gear Notes: Full range of cams from tiny to #4 camelot (doubles not needed). We brought but didn’t use any nuts. Approach Notes: The creek that landmarks the turnoff from the old roadbed onto the climbers trail no longer has an “exposed culvert” – it’s now the one with the cut cedar log crossing.

To revive a Berdinka quote: "Good from afar, but far from good". We had the same reaction from a 1991 attempt. It'd take alot of trundling to clean that one up! At least we were able to bail out left and tie onto the standard route and make a summit visit.

We look like a couple of friggen 'Bob and Ira Spring' models! I would have dressed differently if I'd known your camera shoots in Technicolor. I agree that the climbing quality isn't classic, with a fair bit of class 4 and walking. But I really enjoyed the overall experience anyway. The belay panoramas are REALLY good, comparable to Erie, except you've got snowy peaks and overlooks of the upper Methow River and Valley (OK, I'm a geo-nerd). I'm pretty sure I'll go back, probably with my kid or someone that's a bit rusty and wants to do something biggish but mellow. Great day and TR, T.

You might want to look into the northwest approach via Chilliwack BC and Depot Creek. A bit more driving but easier walking, I'd guess.

Twin Rhythm guitars, rocking the dome! Great shots - gotta love that Flange pitch.

Very cool shots, map, etc! A coyote in winter coat? I've never seen one with those colorings.

I go with the crowd that synthetic is the way to go for active use in summer. Better breathability and drying. That being said, I do love the feel of wool against skin for cooler weather. It just has a nice fuzziness in contrast to the silkiness of capilene. I pack it as an extra layer during summer if I think I might get chilled. Nothing like pulling the woolies over the sticky legs and climbing into a down bag! It probably adds 5-10 degrees of warmth.

Definitely! You get many of the best 'climber shots' on this site.

Linky

Yup it was actually sort of hopping up there this weekend. Sat saw three (!!) parties on Exfo, doing three different routes, all nearly bone dry. Sunday, there were five cars at the parking spot. That would be a reasonable total when the road was driveable. It looked like somebody even hoofed it into the Green Giant - now that's some serious road hiking!

My guess is this will be a challenging but not unreasonable route choice for you two. Use your judgement, have an easier backup option in mind, and have a great time!

Your comfort really depends on your experience level. If you have quite a bit, it's not bad. The beaten path follows the left edge and I don't recall any rockfall hazard. More snow would probably be a good thing as it's more predictable than the deep loose rock. This assumes that you're comfortable with step kicking and self arrest. Don't know about the bypass. Sorry if I'm treating you like a total gumby, but I'm guessing you're posting in the 'newby' forum for a reason. This will be a great trip to gain some good off-trail experience!

In the last couple of days, I spent a bit of time contemplating the same route this weekend but decided that avy risks were not favorable. Not telling what to do or not do, but something to consider.

Did the first part of your loop last summer: Easy Pass - Fisher Basin - Silent Lakes - Arriva - and back. Mostly pretty straightforward by North Cascades standard. The talus gully up to Silent Lakes was by far the steepest and nastiest part. If you get behind on day 1, Fisher Basin is a really beautiful place to camp.

Mike's first post points you toward a complete multiple-factor analysis. One more pro for twins is that neither climber has to carry a rope on their back. If it were me, I'd make the call based on how game I (and partner) was for the extra rope handling (belaying and stacking) associated with the twins. If so, twins are a safer and more versatile system.

From my limited experience down there, here are a few thoughts - The transition from spring to summer conditions (i.e. dry rock up high) typically occurs around mid June, so a bit iffy. I did a June trip in '08 and found great climbing in the Yosemite high country (Matthes Crest, Conness) and Mt Whitney areas, and that was an above-average snowpack year. This year's snowpack is even bigger, so may be melting off later? You might try the SuperTopo website for more recent info. As far as routes, there are TONS of great choices at 5.10 and under. The Croft and Moynier select style guidebooks are both useful. That Sawtooth area you mention sounds awesome - wish I was going!