wfinley

Trip: Ruth Gorge, Alaska - the Eze routes Date: 5/2/2009 Trip Report: We were in the Ruth Gorge from May 2 - 13, 2009 and climbed Mt. Barrill, Mt. Dickey & Freezy Nuts and "attempted" (if you can even call it that - "scoped" might be a better description) the West Face of Dan Beard. I'm a tad long winded in my writing - so if you're really interested you can read my full trip write up here: http://www.peakaweek.com/index.cfm?section=mountains&page=Alaska&cat=Alaska%20Range&contentid=576&viewpost=2 In short... it was freakin' hot when we flew in there. It was one of those trips where you get there and everyone says "Duudde... you should have been here last week. It was EPIC. Things like The Escalator and Wake Up got climbed. It's too hot now to do anything." We dug in and the next day went for a ski tour up 747 Pass... and after watching a cessna sized snow bomb from the upper slopes of Dickey go careering over our heads we decided to read the fine print in the front of the climbing guide about avalanche danger. After sitting around a while the weather changed and we managed to climb the Japanese Couloir on Mt. Barrill, the West Ridge on Mt. Dickey, Freezy Nuts on Werewolf Tower - we also spent 2 days heading up the NW fork of the Ruth to scope the West face of Mt. Dan Beard but I wasn't too into the icefall on the route so we skied back to base camp. Below are some select pix. Barrill's Japanese Couloir: Dickey's West Ridge: The view from the summit is awesome! Freezy Nuts: Yes - that is a tiny 2 inch by 1 inch pebble chockstone. I can't believe someone (a) rapped off of this and (b) actually went through the trouble of leaving a chain link on this rap station. This is like when you read about alpinists rapping off a frozen snickers bar on Annapurna becuase they're too hypoxic to know better... except the elevation here is 7000'. Gear Notes: Lots of heavy food; both ski and climbing boots; Pynchon's Mason & Dixon that's been on the shelf for a year staring you down. Approach Notes: Drive to Talkeetna, get your CMC at the NPS, eat sourdough pancakes at the Roadhouse, argue with TAT over airline miles.

You'll want skis with silvretta 500s (they best releasable mountaineering bindings). You can use 300s or 400s - but they don't release as well - and I once really tweaked my knee with 300s. As for skis - I dislike those scaled skis. In my opinion they can't decide whether they want to be downhill skis or touring skis... and as a consequence they suck at both. About the only thing they excel at is skiing up moderate hills without skins. If you ski down anything even remotely downhill non-scaled skis will leave them in the dust. You can ski them up steeper hills without skins - but most people end up doing the herring bone and people with skins tend to be faster. However... I'm a ski snob and think lightweight skis without a rocker tip suck so I'm not a good judge.

You're missing the point; the reason climbers buy new tools, fatter skis and lighter packs is so technology will enable them to climb harder and easier with less training! Nice job on the routes; we flew in a few days after you guys and watched the aves rip in all directions. For those who don't have a clear idea of what the objective danger on the approach to Wake Up is like - here's a pic of the hanger belching.

Jared - as of this morning your partner was descending to the Gorge with another party. Not sure about his schedule or plans are but I thought you might like to know. Good luck with the healing. Believe it or not - there is ice in Virginia, the rock-climbing is awesome and New Hampshire is 8 hours away.

Thanks for the writeup! I want to reiterate that the dZi Foundation is an excellent organization; anyone who has spent time in Nepal should consider supporting them.

Here's a photo of the ash cloud that drifted across SouthCentral Alaska this past Saturday while we were out skiing. More pix here.

Thanks for the info. The Sawtooths look pretty awesome - can't wait to explore them!

RE: Crossan I've climbed Crossan. The "crux" pitches were the first 500' or so of ~50 degree mellow snow leading up to the ridge. We climbed it in early May and climbed to our high camp in the morning before the route was in full sun. Once you actually reach the ridge of Crossan it's pretty straight forward all the way to the summit. We camped at 9500' and easily climbed to the top and back to camp in a day. The next day we slept in and then descended to the Kahiltna in early afternoon which is a bad idea -- the bottom slopes were wet and heavy and lots of point releases and rocks were coming down. RE: Dates Mid-June is too late for anything in the AK Range other than the West Butt and rock routes. I'd suggest early-mid May. RE: Time The people I know who have had good luck on Foraker all acclimatized by first slogging up to 14 camp on Denali.

I may be in Stanley for a few days in late June for a wedding and I'd like to do some climbing. Unfortunately we won't have time to do an over-nighter into the Sawtooths area but will have time to do day trips. Where I can find out more about potential cragging areas near Stanley? Likewise -- any suggested moderate routes (5.6-5.8) in the Sawtooths that are doable in day? Thanks!

If you're aiming for rock routes - the Tetons are best in late July. Devil's Tower has a voluntary closure during the month of June. For the Grand consider the Exum to check things out. If conditions are good then you can go for either the N ridge or the N face. Having fun -- sounds like a great trip!

Hell yeah Clint! That cold sugar snow sucks - way to give it a go! I'd have sat in camp drinking coffee and whining about conditions. Good luck with preparations for spring!

I skied in my Invernos. But that was before AT boots were light and comfy. If I were to do a route like the West Butt again I'd take my AT boots and Dynafits.

Take skis. The skiing at 14 camp rocks! As for tents; I always take my tiny 2 person Integral Designs tent into the mountains. It's small and cramped - but I'd rather stay small and cramped then haul the extra weight. Then again... I have mastered the ability to remain in a prone position without moving or getting up for a bathroom break for 17 hours at a time. Remember that the West Butt is a social climb; make friends with some people (hot ski girls with lots of food are the best) who have a 'mid and camp near them!

Awesome! I pretty much wasted my college degree by going to Stone and the New instead of studying. I have fond memories of sweating out a jello-shots hangover on Yardarm's run-out!

We are a group of 2-4 (current team is still in limbo) climbers looking for other climbers willing to share costs to fly into the Mt. Logan area sometime this spring (dates are still flexible but most likely late May / early June). We're not looking for partners -- just people willing to share costs for a flight from Chitina to the border (with Claus). Claus quoted me $950 RT with less than 4 but said he'd offer a discount for a team over 4 (he hasn't said what the discount is though). I understand his Otter can hold 8 plus gear. The only caveat is that everyone would have to agree to a set fly out date (as opposed to the usual come down and call for pickup). We are in Anchorage so costs can also be shared for a ride from Anchorage to Chitina. I do realize it's still December but note that Logan has a 3 month application period so you'd have to decide by mid-Feb.

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If Palin wins I'm joining the Alaska Independence Party and will vote for secession.

So do you think this is actually due to altitude or more to do with the fact that for weeks on end your brain is only stimulated by what's for dinner, who has to shovel next and should I put in another picket?

Rest in Peace James. Edit... condolences posted here: http://www.rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1993384

Wow... awesome photo of Denali's west face. Where'd you take that from?

Memorial recently placed on seldom visited local peak. RIP Ger.

I think we ran into you near Jackass Pass. Were you the party that got lost trying to reach the pass?

I have a torn and tattered copy that I've thumbed through for years. It's a wonderful book! I just climbed Wolf's Head a couple weeks ago and thought it was an excellent route well worthy of classic status. What's interesting is the new Cirque guidebook author (Bechtel) goes out of his way to criticize the route brushing it off as and saying it attributes to a "myopic" view of Wolf's Head. Likewise I never saw the book as a guide... just good stories and great photos of places I'd love to visit!

Joe Kelsey's guidebook gives a good overview of the range and includes route suggestions for everything from scrambles to snow, rock and ice. The time to go is now!

Slightly more friction in rap mode. In autoblock and belay mode I can't honestly say I noticed a difference.