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OlegV

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    [TR] North Ridge, Baker - Hardcore variation of NR 5/18/2010

    in North Cascades

    Posted

    Trip: North Ridge, Baker - Hardcore variation of NR

     

    Date: 5/18/2010

     

    Trip Report:

    Strategy:

    Fear is as addictive as potato chips. Nastia, the mountain princess, has a new project for us. I resist at first, partially because the weather forecast is lousy and also because dragging my ass up a snowy hill is too much work, but when she shows up at the front door with her weird-looking pack, I reluctantly agree to drive all the way to Canadian border. We plan to conquer a hard-man ice tower route of the North Ridge of Baker, and if the weather permits, go to the summit, which is not a very serious objective for two Russian alpinists equipped with a cutting edge American climbing technology. To minimize a comfort level, we only bring 6 ice screws, 4 screamers and a single can of fuel. The level of confidence is high - we can get off the mountain no matter what, because we are hardcore bailout-masters.

     

    Acclimatization:

    We find a secluded camping spot at the edge of the crevasse field, pitch Nastia’s superlight tent made of the leftovers of the Russian army parachutes, and go for a casual glacier walk to probe a ground for hidden holes - none were found.

    Baker-ourcamp.jpg

     

    We sleep. Alarm goes off at 3:30 and 2 hours later we are standing at the toe of the 45 degree snow ramp that leads to the base of North ridge ice cliffs. We simulclimb– no pro needed. While having a short second breakfast at the edge of the rotten moat, we make a confident decision to climb up to the right and conquer a steep serac. It looks easy.

    top_of_ramp.jpg

     

     

    The Climb:

    As we get closer, ice walls quadruple in height and imaginary rest ledges appear more like overhangs of ice. “She leads, I live” – I thought. I yanked a couple of pickets into the snow, and am ready to belay and photo-shoot. I am trying to figure out how to turn this into aid-climbing. We need bigger packs, many more ice screws, and preferably a long ladder. The ice is brittle, front points don’t stick, exposure is great.

    serac.jpg

     

    at_serac.jpg

    There is always another option around a corner. We traverse the endless slope to the left and try one more line – no good! I suggest going around a corner and taking it easy. From this point, it is all about finding a secrete passage that leads to the summit. I start the lead discovering steep unprotectable ice that leaves a hairy feeling in my stomach.

    following_NR.jpg

    Instinctively, I search for signs of blue ice, and find one – inside of a small vertical mini-crevasse spitting the ridge. Nice. I like hidden crevasses because you can jam your body into it. Nastia follows.

     

    Bailout:

    At this point, we are shaken, running out of time and debating whether we are off route and it is time to turn on our bailout skills. Easy – we’ll go home and drink electrolytes. It starts snowing. NOAA was right after all. We rap off a cliff leaving a picket for the alpinists of the future, and start a tedious descent off the NR.

    bailout.jpg

    Falling on Roosevelt glacier becomes an undesirable possibility and wet snow stuck to the bottom of crampons is a great help here. Nastia is hating this, and I am concerned about downclimbing a steep ramp with wet feet. The weather is seriously unhappy.

    Whiteout1.jpg

    We go, hoping there will be no wet slides, and our skills prove it. It is raining on a glacier. The snow is soft, the Roman Nose is loose and has a giant moat – we go across without falling into it. I am all about returning home tonight - we are pretty much out of water and fuel. My partner wants to find a tent and sleep with hand warmers in our socks. That proves to be a safe decision.

     

    Aftermath:

    When I was growing up I wanted to explore other planets. It never happened - because most of people are not interested in leaving their SUVs or carrying oxygen bottles in their packs. We do! I just realized how happy I am to meet so many potential cosmonauts. We need to bring climbing to the next level. Going light (or not so light), have the best technology in the world and eat a lot of good protein-rich foods is a key. I understand it is all about a hard core spirit, but there is another way too – make climbing adventurous AND safe. You can’t climb better than 5.14 or fall on ice screws… face it.

    storm.jpg

     

    sunset4.jpg

    [TR] Hood - Cooper Spur 2/20/2010

    in Oregon Cascades

    Posted

    No grass this time. Very odd trip:

     

    1) Parking lot at the trailhead was FULL of dozens of closely packed cars. Yet, we have only met 2 persons sleeping in the TJ cabin, and two cranky dogs (they gotten mellow within seconds).

     

    2) We somehow lost 3-4 hours of time and different people registered different time of events. We summitted around 3pm, not noon. Am I out of my mind?

     

    3) Pearly gates looked like 1C variation - WI3, at least. The summit was completely calm – the wind was blowing from the direction of Black spider.

     

    4) We saw people down below.

    cooper_spur_old.jpg

     

     

    5) The weirdest thing was the wind generated by a strange white cloud. It tried to kill us on the way down, for sure, and was gone by the time we got down.

    I am pretty sure, fucking aliens were having a party at the Black Spider, playing with their antigravity engines and time-worm generators. I love mountains. The only negative is we have to go back “home”, haven’t we?...

     

     

     

    [TR] Der Hood-Wand - Luethold's Little Coulior'a'Kix ePiC! 11/24/2007

    in Oregon Cascades

    Posted

    eric, you should seriously consider publishing your stories. jim wickwire's writing style is nothing compared to yours. i am serious! american people need more mental and physical gymnastics - as they get excessively bored in front of their mile-wide TVs, they may think of the world as a much wider and challenging place. go to publishing business, don’t waste your time in “high” school!

     

    i still wonder why those poor guys couldn't get off the summit last year. feels like a collective suicide to me.. one can jump off the summit into the old chute variation slope and self arrest himself. it doesn't get steeper than 45 degrees. bad call.

     

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