Blake

We did it last summer and found p8 the crux as well, harder than the .11a pitches. How was the Gold Medal Ribbon (last pitch)? We did the finger crack to the right, and avoided that crux slab pitch in the hot sun.

There's a bill in committee in congress, proposed by Rep. Doc Hastings, that would repair the Stehekin Road washout and restore a lot of great climber/hiker access. The Yakima Herald just ran an editorial in favor of the bill . Please let your congressional rep, and senators know your view on the issue! The bill goes before the House Committee on Natural Resources on Sept. 10. Washington members on the committee include Democrat Jay Inslee and Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers, so it's especially important to contact these two folks. Doc steps up to the plate on Stehekin August 4, 2009 by Scott Sandsberry (Full Article Link) The history in a nutshell: The pioneers built the old Stehekin Valley Road that follows the valley, overlooking the Stehekin River, well above the floodplain. In the 1930s, the feds came along with their infinite wisdom and transformed a critical 2 1/2-mile stretch of what the locals still call “the old wagon road” or “the detour road” into part of the then-new Pacific Crest Trail. Civilian Conservation Corps crews replaced that section of the road by running it down below, along the river … where it was bound to be washed out in time. In 2003, that time came. After the flood washed out a chunk of the road, the Park Service promptly abandoned the road above that washout. This bill would have the PCT, not the road, down along river’s edge. The road should never have been moved in the first place, and Hastings’ bill would allow the National Park Service to rectify a long-ago wrong — because the way the law is now, that road can’t be put back where it should have been all along. The road cannot be moved, because of the wording in the 1988 Wilderness act. (This despite the fact that the 1988 act’s author, former senator and governor Dan Evans, has written in support of Doc’s bill to say the intent of the act was never to prevent this kind of problem-solving solution.) Doc’s bill would allow the road to be moved to its proper place — as originally built above the flood plain — and allow access to areas that, until then, will remain unseen by most of the Wilderness lovers who might otherwise enjoy them.

Clint, the first pitch comes in a little more from the right side, you actually step left to a stance underneath that red looking roof. However, once at the base of the climb, it's essentially impossible to get lost. A ~5.10d stemming/lieback variation around the .12a tips corner is about 25 feet to the right of that pitch, starts from the same ledge, and ends on the same ledge. The route is really amazing, and quite an awesome feet to free, as it's definitely still dirty and grainy. Sol and Jens may have trundled the belayer slayers, but it's not as though they rehearsed all the moves or had it clean, shiny, and polished.

What a cool story and awesome-looking climb guys. You must be so stoked, the hype is infectious! So now the CBR triple header... who will be first to link the Scoop, The Tempest, and the West Face?

Nice photos. P1 linked-up is 55m to a good stance above the steep corner. On P3 (After that fist crack) I went right into the easier hand crack, but it dead-ended, so had to move left into the finger corner/seam and then up the face climbing to the belay. I thought this tips crack was the technical crux. There's a good #1 pod above there in the face traverse, impossible to see from below. For the 2nd to last pitch, we also tried up and left on the ramp under the fin, then climbed back down, went right, and up that lieback finger-crack pillar, directly to the bottom of the prow. For folks not wanting to carry over the scenic scramble to the plateau, there's now a couple rap stations (and a creative tree usage) to facilitate descent with a 60m rope, skier's left off the summit.

Sol, we thought the grades of what we freed were spot-on as well, but were very sustained, not like pitches of the same rating at Washington Pass. (And of course DOE has wild exposure, pumpiness, and some moss and graininess to boot) It wasn't the usual alpine "one move wonder" type of pitches, but I don't think Pete is saying you guys sandbagged anything.

Way to hold it together guys. At least no #2s were smashed in the making of this climb. Dan, you are always styling these 5.10X pitches!

Darin, I've run into several other folks (non CC.COMERS) who have done it as well. I think people like the idea of an alpine rock climb on shuksan, because it's a big beautiful peak, but lacked an appealing rock climb. (Much like Jack mtn, or Mt. Buckner) I've posted it before, but I think this is a 5.8 climb for a 5.10 climber. We didn't find the long arete at the base to be the mental crux, knowing that it wouldn't ever get harder than 5.8. Nice lead by Matt to onsight it though. (without that knowledge) No other pins needed, and not a lot of spots to put them either. This route seems to fit in nicely with Nooksack Tower in that it should remain boltless, and that it has an 'on-paper' difficulty which does not represent the true challenges of the climb. Grade III 5.8 or 5.9, so it's like climbing Orbit or Outer Space right? Just keep doing pullups in your back yard, and you can ropegun Araya up this thing in 15 or 16 years. But wont Ella develop an inferiority complex without a route to her name?

Nice Matt. Were you completely underwhelmed by this thing or what?

Trip: Mendenhall Towers - Various Date: 7/28/2009 Trip Report: I recently had a great time in Alaska, climbing in the Mendenhall towers.They are the most distant peaks above my luggage here, photo taken at Juneau Airport. This is a range of granite peaks accessed via Juneau, which has seen very little alpine rock climbing activity. I was with my friend Jason Nelson, and we helicoptered in to the towers on July 9th. We were in there for 8 or 9 days, and it took two days to get back down to civilization on foot. While there, we climbed three new routes and repeated a route as well. All of our routes were grade IV or IV+, but the one rock route on the northern side of the towers is a grade V. The climbing was phenomenal. I drew up some very bad topos while tent-bound, which might or might not help future parties if anyone is interested in heading out there. I've got some more pictures, video, and tons of writing here: BlakeClimbs.Blogspot.com The AAC helped finance part of this trip through the Mountain Fellowship Grant, and I am very thankful for the help.

5.12c

The fixed number 4 has a new sling and everything, its practically part of the mountain. Bring one 3" piece, so a #3 Camalot of a 3.5 DMM/Friend

I am in LEavenowrth and hoping for a ride to Everett or SEattle tomorrow. I can pitch in for gas. (206) 779 7526 Thanks!

I am in LEavenowrth and hoping for a ride to Everett or SEattle tomorrow. I can pitch in for gas. (206) 779 7526 Thanks!

Dan, those pics are amazing man. I still have never seen the northern lights and really want to some day.

Pete H and I took a lap up this one today. Very fun, should see more traffic! Good pro and good rock, no schwacking, and sustained climbing. The first pitch is 60m, and probably up there with pitch 1 of Gorillas in the Mist or P3? on solid gold, as the best enchantment pitches at that grade. P6, the 5.9 fin, is also ubber-classic.

Nice Forest and Kurt! Did you find a hot tub to poach out there?

I guess it's all a matter of silly semantics and setting arbitrary guidelines to distinguish one ascent from the other, but oh well, a lot of life is like that. The climb has not seen a free ascent, if free is defined as climbing all the pitches with no hangs or falls during the course of an ascent. IE climbing from the bottom of the route to the top, with the leader of each pitch onsighting or redpointing. That was my understanding of the term "free ascent" but I could be wrong, or there could be no one true definition. The crux pitch was never been sent belay to belay, though the roof part of the pitch WAS climbed cleanly one time while Tom was working the route. Not sure if he used the new bolt at the lip of the roof, or other pre-placed gear that had been up there. Either way, a pinkpoint or redpoint of that pitch is awesome, way above my level and I wish I could have seen that to cheer him on. He also scrubbed and scraped the entire climb, and said the other pitches are spectacular as well, clocking in at 5.9 through 5.11b or so. Awesome job Tom! On the day of the continuous ascent that Darin mentions, the leader took a legit fall on this pitch so based on my understanding of the terms, a free ascent of the climb still awaits. If Lynn hill had done the changing corners pitch on the nose cleanly one time while working sections of the route, then had fallen and rested on that pitch while trying to free "the nose" from bottom to top, would she have done a free ascent of the route? I thought not, but still a hell of an effort and really inspiring.

Climb the NW face of Forbidden, it's the best route in the area. You can get a pass for whatever XC zone is just north of Boston Basin, then bivy at the West Ridge notch (which is the border of the XC zones) and drop down the next morning to do the climb.

That's a slideshow I know I'd pay money for!

Nice Michael and Wayne! Another modern Classic? I'm Glad you hit up the bakery as well... I used to let PCT hikers have the day-olds when they would help do the dishes! Perhaps our hyping of Gunrunner was misguided, but I know Dan and I both had a blast and found lots of lichen-free white granite, without much looseness at all. We rapped once from the top of the NE peak, then I believe once again from somewhere below the summit of the middle peak, then once finally off the South Peak. It took us all day, but if 6 hours is a more reasonable time, then I guess it definitely deserves the downgrade to a grade III route. However, it sounds like you did your new 15-pitchs in 4.5 hours so you guys must have been crushing out there! We encountered 3 short sections of 5.10. The hand cracks off the glacier (shown in your photo), a steep face climbing pitch on golden rock (about pitch 5) and short thin-hands section leading up to the North peak. As you mentioned, we did a short A1 pendulum when a crack here died (might have been this third 5.10 section) but if we'd just looked ahead a little more and started 15' to the right, it would have been avoided.

Hey Mike, Jens ended our second pitch where your third one ended, at the "1993" stamped bolts and red tat, after a leftward hand traverse. There are bolts in a few places though. From there we went up and left, through a 4" crack to a big slung flake, and the devious "monkey traverse" back right into the major corner system again, which was essentially the key routefinding tid-bit in order to keep going. I'm sure you'd see it if you went back, especially now that it is cleaner. Going straight up from the red tat and bolts that you speak of looked like overhanging mossy nailing. bigger version HERE I've attached a super cheesy and lame topo here, but it should be all that's required to make it go. The first few belays are bolted, and enough horns/trees exist to make rappeling from atop the wall a pretty easy option I'd guess.

Just so potential climbers don't get the wrong impression about the danger or scaryness of this climb... The 5.11 mantle move atop the splitter on pitch 1 has bomber gear at your knees or feet, with a vertical crack and wall below you and no ledges to hit. P3, the Monkey TRaverse, will never be in the same condition for future parties as it was for Jens. He chose to climb a big "backwards #7" shaped pitch, resulting in bad rope drag as he launched out across the dirty hand traverse. HE also trundlded some loose blocks and chunks from the crack. His being runout was a function of rope drag, and dirty/mossy climbing, not the lack of available gear. The traverse is now clean and protectable very frequently. Even if Jens had taken the long whipper (I was belaying and praying that he would not!) The area to the left of the traverse is all overhanging, so we are pretty sure it would just have been a wild and crazy swing out into space. Overall this route is very safe and protectable with amazing rock. I think most of the people commenting on this thread would have fun on it. Everyone walks by this wall but nobody has a photo! If anyone has a picture of this wall from the area, it would be great if they'd post it online or email it or something.

Draws or runners are fine for the bolt ladder. Apart from Cruel Shoes you can do Apron strings to merci me, or you can also do some pitches on the peasant's route or Exasperator if you get creative with pendulums. You might still end up on part of Cruel shoes though. Can't help you on the Roman Chimneys, as those are beyond me, but another nice finish would be the last 4 pitches on Millenium Falcon off Bellygood Ledge.

Nope, beause we never saw the wall except in 100' sections as we climbed up it. We were in a cloud the whole day. If anyone has a photo we can draw the line. Maybe Sol or Jens would be artsy enough to make a topo.