scottgg
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Posts posted by scottgg
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Razorback wouldn't be a good descent option for NR climbers, more rappeling than downclimbing.
I've not heard of a winter ascent, hmmmm......
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Trip: Mt Stuart - Razorback Ridge
Date: 8/17/2014
Trip Report:
This past Sunday, August 17th, Mark Bunker and I climbed Razorback Ridge on Mount Stuart. We found the route an interesting alternative to the various other lines on this iconic NW mountain. More engaging than either the West Ridge or Upper North Ridge, this route offers fun climbing, a rad central section, and engaging route finding throughout.
Start on the lowest point of the rock buttress immediatley right (west) of Stuart Glacier Couloir. Glacier is currently in excellent shape. Stay left of buttress crest for 6 pitches (1/2 height), until able to gain ridge just below “razorback feature”. We climbed this central section for a few long simul pitches before gaining the west ridge, which we took to the summit. Reccomended route!
We’ve both been up the peak several times (Mark made the first winter ascent of the Complete North Ridge), though still managed to botch the descent and take a few wrong turns. Mark is a super solid dude though, great day with a great friend!
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Nice John! Great looking area, I've always wondered about Lemah and a traverse! Hopefully we can get together for a climb again someday!
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I recently bought this blue/grey jacket and have no problems aside than it being a little to small for me (I'm 6'6"). I posted it on eBay and you might be able to get a sweet deal on it. Sale ends this Friday evening. Right now it's going for $1.29! Light wear, I wish it fit me better!
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Trip: Linville Gorge - Trifecta
Date: 8/25/2012
Trip Report:
This past weekend I was able to complete a classic North Carolina Linkup: the Amphitheater Trifecta in Linville Gorge. I’ve been eyeing this adventure for the past year and was stoked to finally get it done. Not technically difficult or particularly long, the Trifecta shines in its in-obvious approach, adventurous climbing, excellent position and long history. Included are The Daddy, The Mummy and The Prow. 12 pitches, 5.6, zero bolts.
Becky and I tried the linkup last spring but got skunked by the tricky approach, finally arriving at the base of The Daddy after taking every wrong turn imaginable. That was the only route we climbed that day. This time, however, I had the approach dialed, a full day, and a solid game plan. Ben was game to give it a shot, and we headed east from Central Tennessee Friday afternoon, excited despite the 6 hour drive ahead of us. We arrived at our friend’s Rich and Lisa’s house early Saturday morning. They have a cool cabin on the verge of Linville Gorge, less than five mile of FS road to the trailhead. Sleep was illusive that night.
Wake up at 5:00am, coffee, bagels, turkey, cheese. Rich agreed to join us, and we decided to break the climb into blocks, with each of us leading an entire route. This would speed up change-overs and allow us to maintain forward momentum.
Rich started up The Daddy at 7:45, I tied in 10m from the end and Ben tied into the end. Change-overs went quick: one guy sorted gear and gave it to the leader, other guy flipped the rope, while the leader re-hydrated and got ready to blast off. This worked well and we topped out after 1:20. Down the descent gully we went, choosing to down-climb the steep rock rather than rappel. I led the 3 pitches of The Mummy, and we took a quick lunch break once on-top of Mummy Buttress. From there we looked around for a forgotten classic called Good Heavens. Never found anything that matched the description, so we headed for The Prow. Easy, but lots of exposure on the 3rd pitch. Arrived back at the car at 1:50pm, pleanty of time to keep climbing!
Decided to head north from the trailhead to Table Rock, home to several solid multipitch climbs. Climbed Peek-a-boo, fun jaunt with a one-move-wonder on the 2nd pitch. From the anchors you have plenty of time to stare across at “the move”, a step across with plenty of air beneath your feet. It went fine, and we decided to top out the route via the original finish, a lichen-covered steep final pitch. That one felt really satisfying to complete, reminded me of some scrappy Cascade mixed route. When we topped out, the group vote was to call it a day, so we hiked back to the parking lot, grinning from a day well spent.
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Looks great, looking to head across the pond one of these days!
Thanks for the inspiration!
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Ha ha ha! What's up man? I have a few projects for us Mark, whenever you get around to gettin down here!
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Solid work John and Doug! Wish I could make the show!
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Trip: KY/TN/NC - Good times, great oldies
Date: 4/8/2012
Trip Report:
Since leaving my beloved Cascades for the East Coast, I’ve been getting into this whole “cragging” thing. I’ll take an alpine summit anyday, but hitting the cliffs for some convenient pitches sure is fun. Here are some shots from “local” crags we’ve checked out the last few months.
Tennessee Wall
Near Chattanooga, TN. 95% Trad, 100% Cool
King’s Bluff, TN
My new local crag, this beauty sits about ten miles from the house. Mostly sport, few trad gems. Last Saturday, Ben and I climbed 26 routes here. Good local challenge, done in Luke Gullberg’s memory (who was 26 when he passed away on Mt Hood).
Red River Gorge, KY
Yes.
Linville Gorge, NC
This place is the heat! Check out Table Rock for accessible 2-4 pitch routes, and The Amphitheater for inaccessible 3-5 pitch routes. Found a new favorite East Coast route on The Daddy, 5.6.
Approach Notes:
Call if your in the area, all PNW'ers welcome!
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very cool!
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Nice Mark! Take a camera up that way?
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Thanks for another adventure Mark! Couple shots:
Droping into the wild and wooly Thunder Creek Basin:
Mark starting up the second pitch to the dead snag:
Box gully of pitch 3:
Mark on the thin 4th pitch:
couple loose blocks, but overall a blast to climb! Cheers to Mark for his patience and ubiquitous motivation!
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Howdy! I will be in Colorado Springs July 18th- 23rd (Monday to Friday) and I'd love to get up to RMNP. Send me a message on here or shoot me an email at scottgulATh0tm@ilDOTc0m if you are in the area and game for some climbing. 5.9ish, maybe try a couple of the classics..
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Assassin Spire- The Shooting Gallery (IV WI4+) FA
"Tom Sjolseth and Daniel Jeffrey, March 2010"
Hard to pick a favorite TR, but this once sticks out for the good writing, bold objective, and excellent pictures!
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Super inspiring John!
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Work brought me to TN, and we are only 3 hours +/- from Chattanooga. So I will have to check out T-Wall for sure!
Do any climbing with Jens recently?
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Trip: Roadtrippin - Bozeman and Devil's Tower
Date: 3/15/2011
Trip Report:
Becky's spring break conveniently lined up with a WA to TN moving trip I made last week, and we figured the drive would break up nicely with various climbing stops along the way. The day after I flew into Seattle, Mark B. and I took our gear for a great hike up Mt. Snoqualmie. Crappy conditions, but great exercise and a chance to catch up with a friend.
Mark, drinking in the views
A quick hike up the Mighty Tiger Mountain with some good friends on Sunday was followed by frantic packing. Our road trip then began in earnest last Monday morning. We stopped briefly at Frenchman Coulee, brushing up on our chimney technique and clipping some bolts.
Seven virgins and a mule
The Feathers
Then it was off Bozeman, MT where we climbed Tuesday in the main fork of Hyalite Canyon. Absolutely amazing place! We climbed 5 routes in the Genesis area, with The Hangover being the highlight. Can't say enough good things about this place!
G1
Willow Gully
Lower Green Sleeves
The Hangover
Faithful steed
We were concerned it might be too early for the Devil's Tower, but seeing the splendid spire the following morning erased our doubts. Sporadic snowpatches dotted the base but the steep flanks were totally dry. The Durrance Route provided an excellent path to the surreal summit.
1st pitch Wiessner variation
Durrance Crack
Scrambling to the summit
Success!
We arrived in Tennessee two days later with lingering smiles and surprisingly scratch-less furniture. Big thanks to John Frieh for Bozeman beta, Eric Knoff for the ride from the Hyalite dam to the trailhead, and Becky for joinging me on this adventure!
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Nice John, looks like a beautiful day! So, are your buddies hooked?
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Nice John+Crew! Hope things stay nice and fat for another month!
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Nice Chris and Sean! I'm hoping to head through Bozeman in early March, and this TR has got me stoked!
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Nice Dane! I had a friend from NC who climbed this the same time you did..
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NC is one of my favorite places to climb and there was an odd SoIll <> NC connection / exchange in the late 70's and early 80's with folks going in both directions. NC climbers were some of the most creative and burly folks I've ever climbed with. All were fairly sly with continuously burning wits and fat ones - hopeful the situation hasn't changed much down there.
Wow, interesting! Yeah, creative and burly sum up those folks nicely!
Hey Ivan, John, and Becky! -
Yeah, Dave and I avoided that plum pillar on the right side, then traversed back into the couloir above it. I'd love to go back there and take that pillar head on, cause the rest of the route was so cool!
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Trip: North Carolina - Friday Night Alpinism
Date: 1/21/2011
Trip Report:
In 2008 Colin coined the term: "Wednesday Night Alpinism", and described it as such: “Leave work at your usual time, drive straight to the mountains, and go alpine climbing all night, preferably in horrendous weather. The difficulty of staying awake at work the next day will help train you for the 40+ hour summit push on GIV...”. While GIV isn’t on my radar screen, getting after “it” in the hills is! The particular day of the week isn’t as important as the pursuit or adventure. Now I just needed a partner and an objective (and a free evening
). I discovered both at a Conrad Anker slide show (excellent, by the way!) in Raleigh this past October, where I met Rich and Lisa, two local NC climbers with a passion/skill set for big climbs. That night we chatted about our shared experiences in the Cascades, from Liberty Ridge to the Picket Range. We also discussed future plans/training climbs, and Moore’s Wall came up. Rich had climbed a two pitch route there called Sentinel Buttress a few winters ago (after work), and highly recommended it as a character building exercise.
Lisa and Will gearing up
Unfortunately Rich was busy at the Outdoor Retailer Show in SLC this week, so Lisa, myself, and my friend Will headed up to the Mighty Moore’s Wall last night after work. Temps were chilly, but thankfully the moon was full and the wind was mild. Night climbing is frowned upon in this particular State Park, and unfortunately the Rangers where waiting for us at the bottom. They were super cool with it though, after we admitted our idiocy and promised to never to do it again. FYI, the park closes at 6:00pm, if you’re ever in the area. I knew I had found a great partner when Lisa whispered (with a huge grin), after the Ranger’s found us, “at least we got the climb in”!
Lisa finishing the first pitch
Lisa leading the 2nd pitch
Couple more shots from ice climbing in Linville Gorge (“Grand Canyon of the East”) this past weekend with Rich, Lisa, Robert, Kyle, and my sister Becky.
[TR] Dragontail Peak - Cotter-Bebie Variation 4/3/2015
in Alpine Lakes
Posted
Trip: Dragontail Peak - Cotter-Bebie Variation
Date: 4/3/2015
Trip Report:
Mark Bunker and I climbed a variation of this stellar route last Friday in about 19 hours car to car. We took a chance on an iffy forecast and experienced beautiful weather and darn-good conditions. The USFS opened the road from Icicle Road to within a mile of the Stuart Lake Trailhead, which shaved 6 miles off the standard winter round-trip hike.
The trail to Colchuck Lake is icy in several places, and the lake is still nicely frozen which allowed quick travel. We were able to break though the ice for water at the northern end, and stashed out poles here for the hike out.
Start of the Cotter-Bebie
Mark following first pitch.
Scott low on the route
Mark climbing though snow and spindrift sluffs
Scott following tricky chimney/slab
Scott just left of Fin
The route with in good shape with several interesting sections. It reminded me of some of the funnest parts of the Gerber Sink, stacked on top of each other. We bypassed the final corner of the route by traversing left under the Fin (not as simple as we hoped) and into a fun gully which took us to the 3rd Couloir. I was pretty toasted at this point, though Mark strapped on his alpine rocket boots and blasted up the 3rd Couloir and took us to the summit. Beautiful hike out under a full moon!
Gear Notes:
New Petzl superlight screws rock! Should have brought more than 3 though:)