marc_leclerc

They just found a better way. There was a fair bit of speculation on where the logical free climb would go between us. Good on tony for making so many trips up there to price it together, and great that Jacob was stoked to go up there. Both those guys are great. Somehow I think our Chinese Puzzle wall line, while harder, is a bit more plaisir

Based on the lack of comments, people are clearly way more psyched on the 20,000th ascent of the NEB... Hats off to Tony and Jacob !

It is quite a bit busier than it used to be. The energy of the place is good though and you don't have to look to far outside the box to find quiet. Parking can be horrendous. Parking in town, or near the North Walls and riding a bike is often a nice option.

From air this April. Zoom in real close to see the missing chunk of glacier, lower right side of pocket cirque, and the angling serac wall left behind. Unfortunately a shitty photo but at least it's something. I went up there within a couple days of the slide, and saw it all cleaned right down to rock, but didn't think to take pics.

As of May I was driving to the TH in a stock sidekick without problems. There was one washout about 2-3 kms with some boulders, but easily negotiable in a jeep type vehicle. Could be better by now though. Go get it while there is still snow on crossover. Seems like an unusually sweet year for NEB! Glacier gone early and still plenty of snow on the descent to boot ski. Makes for a helluva nice ride compared to talus hopping all the way out searching for water in the hot sun. As for 2wd vs 4wd. It's nice to drive all the way to the TH, of course, but the approach is easy by alpine climbing standards and a 5km road walk add on shouldn't really be a big deal. I've walked from Chilliwack lake Rd to the mountain easily more than 20 times. Probably 15 times on skis even...

Brette and I just did this again a couple weeks ago, and were surprised by how chill it was even with some snowmelt in the gully (easy water!) It's mostly 4th class with little 5.6 sections. Took us about a hour from the third peak to the propellor cairn. That being said it requires a certain degree of 'self assuredness' with route finding on wet/loose/slippery rock. It's a lot more technical and the route finding is much less obvious than the standard descent. I liked that bugaboos shot in the original post, I was trying to figure out how in earth I missed that bit all those times!

We got lost in the fog on the way from Lower Statlu to Upper Statly and missed the lake altogether. Then we traversed Recourse, thinking we were climbing Vienesse in nearly zero visibility. It ended up being a day trip carrying bivy gear... I hope you get better weather! I would think that from the alpine bench above upper Statlu, that it would be possible to make the traverse in a day and to leave the bivy gear behind for the actual climb, light packs are always good for morale! So three days isn't a bad itinerary - one mellow paced day finding your way to a high bivy above upper Statlu, a day to do the traverse and descend to the bivy, hike out the following morning. But if you only have two days, perhaps cutting the traverse off short after recourse and hiking out the same evening would be an option if that is a suitable pace for your party. I am not usually too concerned if I have to pick my way down off a mountain by headlamp, but in the Chehalis the terrain seemed complex to the degree that I felt such an endevour would quickly become an epic... Something to keep in mind.

We watched the glacier slide three days ago from chinese puzzle wall. It was pretty f---ing awesome! NE butt should be fairly accessible now.

Good shot steph! I was there yesterday, still there. Looks passable to me but likely not a great idea, best to wait till a bit more falls off. Brette and I skirted the left side on slab and under the upper blocks in similar condish a couple years back. But it required some shoulder stands to get from one slab to another, which was actually a lot of fun. E pillar and Navigator wall are good to go!

As noted by the author, the pendulum fall is not on 'Cerberus' at all, but on Catharsis Crack, which is the first pitch of 'Labyrinth', a mostly independent and still unrepeated free route that crisis crosses over the final pitches of the aid line Wrist Twister. It is a shame that it remains unrepeated as we intentially bolted the line safely to encourage repeats, although the it is more reminiscent of the Verdon in terms of bolt spacing vs say Chek. The direct start that takes the thin crack of Wrist Twister is still a project, likely 5.14- and a bit run at times. The reason for the name Catharsis Crack is that I had initially suggested doing a 'new route' to a girl I was after, you know like an arts and crafts date for big kids who climb. She was stoked on the idea and even put in the first bolt, but a few days later told me things weren't gonna work between us. I was pretty gutted, and knowing that she really wanted to FA the route as badly as I did I went to finish the job alone as a sort of 'getting even'. The thing was that that afternoon it was raining cats and dogs, and being an undercling traverse beneath an overlap the route was quite the running waterfall! As I self belayed out the arch, laden in gore tex, ice climbing boots, ski goggles and a drill on my harness I struggled to hold my breath each time I stuck my face into the torrent to eye up the next cam placement. Eventually one of those cams ripped from the flaring fissure sending me on a pendulum fall that I can assure was quite a lot more exciting than the one in the film, it was large enough to draw a decent quantity of blood from my hands and face. After this I added some extra bolts to prevent such things from happening again, and so that people might actually climb the route as I had clearly demonstrated that the gear was 'insufficient'. Needless to say I went home that evening with much less anger in my heart, and a day or two later the girl let me know that our status had shifted from 'not happening' back to 'maybe'. I asked her if I could finish putting in the bolts, so that we could free the route together the next weekend... She agreed. Being a young impressionable climber who had missed out on the stone master era, I decided that the route ought to be bolted in proper style. And so some funny paper accompanied me on the final push to equip the line. What followed is a bit fuzzy in my memory although I remember getting into A3 terrain before remembering that I was supposed to be placing bolts, and had to back aid to get the bolts where I needed. Later I found myself unable to judge whether the edges I was trying to hook were sloping or incut, no matter how hard I concentrated the damn things kept changing shape! I passed this crux by throwing a sideways dyno out of my etriers to a small tree, which I am sure is a key hold for those who repeat the line still. This was the last time the paper ever came out on a bolting mission, I don't know how Bridwell made that all work back in the day. Anyways, the lovely lady and I freed the route a few days later finishing on Cerberus. The route was such a success that she only dumped me once more before finally deciding I was alright. Labyrinth came a couple weeks later, when my housemate Luke and I spied the dyke leading from Cerberus over to the Wrist Twister proj where the difficulties end on that line. Hopefully someone repeats that soon. It would be fun to write a condensed TR of the things we got up to around Squamish back then. But I have to wait till I'm at least 40 so I don't get fired by my sponsors for being a bad example. Anyways.... Some background on the video at least!

I'd have to disagree about the Daily Planet in Squamish. That is a typical first 12a on sight for a lot of people. Easier than the 11c pitches on Astroman I'd say. But 'Boogie Till You Puke' is a hard onsight. Lots of inobvious 180' spins off of chicken wings to get around awkward bulges and constrictions. It spat me out few times on my first go which is not normal for me on 5.10c! The Stern Farmer in index really strikes me as a nails onsight. It boggled my mind on the onsight attempt, then felt effortless once I knew how to enter the flare.

I knew the equinox was the 23rd. I have no doubt that if I tried to claim the 1st solo winter ascent of any of the Torres on the 22nd, plenty of people would be more than happy to rip into it and discredit it. Early spring it is. The climb was so fun. Just classic aesthetic climbing, never particularly hard. Just really good times in a really great place.

Hey JMS, how's it going?! I'd recommend the E ridge of Alpha in mixed conditions. Done it twice, both times great! Try to nail conditions when the trail to lake lovelywater is still dry and you can hike up with your boots in the pack. I've always stashed my shoes at the lake, and hit snow line just above. There is a short pitch of M5, usually 5.7 or 5.8 in summer. Then another slightly easier pitch above, then just really aesthetic 4th class mixed interspersed with tricky moves. Also, in similar conditions, when the peaks are icy but the road/trail is dry, the Nesakwatch spires have great mixed climbing. Good rock and protection, lots of options both easy or hard. Well worth a look!

Thanks again! I will be in touch, but it seems I may have found another pair in the correct size out here. Cheers!

Hey Einer! Sweet offer and thanks for the fast reply. Do you think they might take a Batura size 45? Or would that be too large? Cheers

Hey guys, it's a bit of a longshot, and typical last-minuteness on my part. But I am trying to put together a pair of ultralight approach skis to take winter climbing in Patagonia, leaving on Sept 9th. If any of you guys have a pair of Silvretta 404 or 500's kicking around that you'd like to get rid of for cheap-ish and ship to Cali I'd love to put them to good use.

The video of Dean soloing the nose is an all time classic, and if I had not watched that as an impressionable youngster, for better or worse, the vision for some of very special climbs may not have happened. Definition of a pioneer. What I love and respect the most about Dean is although sometimes peculiar, and 'out there', he never changed to suit the expected 'image' of pro athletes these days. He was a genuine soul, true to himself. Not a cereal box type of athlete, which some people didn't like, but that's their issue. What a badass, huge respect. He might be gone but legends never die. Long live Dean Potter.

Basically what keenwesh and I both said. Sorry for drifting the thread. As far as 5.15 goes as the list the OP suggests, it can't be far off. It would make most sense if a woman with VERY strong bouldering skills does it. I've never been on a 5.15, but once the 9a grade is reached it seems that hard boulder moves are always involved, rather than the pure fitness that can often comprise low and mid 5.14's. By pure fitness, I mean there are consistent moves in the V7 to V8 range, maybe a bit harder, to V9 or V10 if it's a bouldery line, but routes 9a (and harder I would guess) usually have a crux or multiple cruxes in the V11 and above range. There are many strong, badass and super inspiring women climbers around today, as well as in the past, in all areas of the game. It won't be long until a lady climbs 5.15. Another question: when will we see 5.15 on gear from anyone at all?

NEB of Slesse in summer is a way casual solo, you are totally correct there. Basically a bunch of low 5th with the occasional 5.9 in the gym sort of pitch. The north rib is a bit less casual, as it has more slabby type cruxes and trickier route finding, but if you asked Brette she'd say it was nothing more than a fun day out, 2/10 in seriousness in the grand scheme of what's been done. Many routes have a much fiercer reputation than they deserve. That said, NEB in winter is infinitely more serious to free solo. +1 vote for Silvia Vidal, proper badass. 5.15 sport is an indication of extreme athleticism, but not 'badass-ness'.

Been done, Brette onsight soloed the north rib as well. She also free soloed 'Chiaro di Luna', 20 pitch 10d in Patagonia which is way burlier than either of those two, especially with the much less trivial descent. I don't really see her climbing 5.15, not really her kinda thing. But she did lead the grand illusion, 13c crack, placing all the gear. So u never know

A #6 BD barely fits anywhere on pipeline. A #5 is absolutely useless. The largest wild country friend I believe is a tiny bit larger than the #6 BD and you might be able to slide it in some sections, but if you don't want to run it way out you need a #9 valley giant or two. I put a fairly tipped out #6 at the start of the steep offwidthing, and ran it out about 25ft to the bolt. That part is pretty easy, 5.10- heel-toe kind of stuff. From the bolt to the apex of the overhang is legit burly offwidthing, sandbag for 10d. Kicking high heel-toes in the back with your body hanging out of the crack. 'Hevy Duty' protected this section with a #6 stacked against a block of wood! If you are gonna do that you had better be super confident questing out into a sea of scary hard offwidth burliness. I laybacked from the bolt to the apex of the overhang (more like 10d than climbing straight in) placed a sketchy #3 big bro then crawled back inside the crack. From there you have about 25ft of 5.9 heel toes again. Even though I had my rope clipped to the big bro, it felt like a pretty dangerous maneuver crawling back into the offwidth. Super classic pitch! Basically, bring a #9 VG unless you are a total boss at wide cracks. Or layback the crux then crawl back inside but accept that you might dismember yourself on the ramp if you blow it. I'd recommend Wild Turkey on the bulletheads too, you don't need big gear for it and it's classic and burly.

Trip: Slesse Northeast Buttress - 2nd Winter Ascent - Date: 4/6/2015 Trip Report: This is a full month late, likely a by product of my brain exploding after my Patagonia trip as well as this climb I am about to describe. It is now undeniable that I have some kind of addiction to climbing Slesse Mountain. I have climbed the mountain more than 10 times by at least five different routes both solo and with partners. I think the main reasons for this are that: 1: It is ridiculously easy to access from the East. 2: The East flank of the mountain is hands down the raddest face in the area. 3: I can be a creature of habit. I had always wanted to climb a big route on Slesse in the winter, and after learning to 'really' mixed climb in the Canadian Rockies it became even more of a priority. I spent most of my winter in Patagonia, managing to bang off some great climbs in the Torres, including a solo ascent of the beautiful Cerro Torre. As I made the journey back north to Canadia a bit of sleuthing had me convinced that Slesse must be in the 'condition of the century' for winter climbing. I tried to find a partner to attempt Navigator Wall, but with only one or two days of stable weather remaining it was too short of notice. Listening to an interview with Stevie Haston on the airplane, I heard him describe his free solo ascent of The Walker Spur in winter which got me psyched, so I began to formulate a new plan. I had climbed the Northeast Buttress of Slesse too many times in summer, including a speed ascent in one hour and fifteen minutes. But in winter the line would certainly provide a completely new challenge. The line had only seen one winter ascent, in 1986, which required several bivouacs as well as aid on the upper headwall. Because I knew the route intimately I was able to slowly convince myself that I may be able to free solo the route in winter, for the 2nd winter ascent and first free winter ascent. It seemed a bit of a lofty goal, so I brought along an 80 meter 6mm Esprit cord and some pins and wires to bail with 'just in case'. John Scurlock photo. Isn't it just irresistible?! My sister, who lives in Chilliwack dropped me off at the start of Nesakwatch Creek FSR and I briskly walked to the Memorial Plaque beneath the mountain where I spent the night. I awoke at 4am the following morning, and after spending nearly an hour huddled in my sleeping bag I mustered the psyche to get a move on. At 5am, I left the memorial and approached directly through the basin beneath the mountain. The snow conditions were generally quite good, and a short WI2 step soon brought me to the slightly threatened slopes beneath the toe of the Buttress. I veered left here, joining the standard summer approach through the pocket glacier cirque. The upper section of the cirque still held a surprising number of deep crevasses, likely caused by avalanche debris from the East Face forming deep craters on impact. I crossed over several bergschrunds on the right hand side of the cirque then climbed directly up to the bypass ramps leading to the Buttress crest. This section, normally a third class ledge walk in summer, was a surprisingly steep and exposed traverse on snow. As I neared the crest the angle and exposure kicked back and I quickly made my way upwards on good snow to the first 5.8 rock pitch. This pitch was surprisingly easy in the conditions I found it in, the air was just warm enough that I could climb barehanded, as long as I stopped every two minutes to re warm my numb fingers. The pitch only required a few minutes of careful climbing and soon I was back on steep snow and neve, now accustomed to the exposure. Dylan Johnson photo of the route, taken the day before my solo. Line shown in red. On the traverse into the Beckey Ramps I climbed slightly too high and had to make a very exposed down climb to reach the correct ramp on the north face. The ramps were coated with perfect ice and neve, making for fun, fast and easy climbing with a spectacular view down into the 'Heart of Darkness'. "This is rad", I said out loud. The ramps led me back onto the crest of the Buttress and the second 5.8 rock pitch, which looked to be slightly more mixed than the pitch lower down. I removed my gloves again, and was able to climb about half the pitch with my hands before transitioning to proper mixed climbing. Finding a thin crack for my right tool, I danced over leftwards with my feet on small patches of ice until I could reach a thin veneer in which to place my left tool. The pitch felt around M5 in difficulty, and above the climbing slowly eased off until I reached to huge bivy ledge at mid height. At the bivy ledge I took a break to eat some snacks and assess conditions on the upper headwall. The steepest pitch appeared to be fairly free of ice, but above, where the angle relented slightly, the rock was decorated by a patchwork of thin white ice. It looked interesting to say the least. The snowslope leading to the headwall was relatively boring and does not need much description, nor does the WI3 runnel I took to bypass the first 5.8 pitch on the headwall. The 'rotten pillar' pitch was straightforward enough and soon I was on the crux, stemming in crampons around detached flakes in a corner. On top of one of these flakes I paused to remove my crampons and warm my hands before embarking on a slightly insecure bit of climbing on downwards sloping holds. I traversed back right to a small roof which I passed on juggy finger locks, and now at the apex of the small overhang I was able to peer upwards to the iced up slabs I had observed from below. It was clear I was going to need my crampons again. I placed a large nut and clipped myself to it for security, then gingerly stepped into my crampons one foot at a time. I mentally rehearsed my next sequence as it appeared from my airy stance, then removed the nut securing me to the wall and committed. I switched my feet on a good hold and stepped up and right onto the slab. With my frontpoints set in small divots I balanced upwards, holding a small edge with my left hand for balance. I uclipped the ice tool from my right side and reached upwards for a small bit of ice pasted to the wall. Now at the edge of my comfort zone, I gently tapped the tool twice against the ice until the first two teeth sunk in. I tested the tool carefully, then took care not to make any sudden movements while I slowly searched out higher edges for my feet. The edges I found sloped slightly downwards but my frontpoints found purchase enough to balance higher still. I carefully pulled out my left tool and placed it in thin but good ice above bringing me to a comfortable stance on a ledge. The crux now behind me, I allowed the mental RPM to decrease steadily until I was ready to continue. Jim Nelson photo from their 1986 ascent. This shows the crux pitch with the same patches of thin ice that I encountered. As I climbed excellent mixed terrain above I could really admire my wildly exposed position on this beatiful mountain. The whole buttress stretched out below me, black stone stained white with snow and ice. My tools found purchase on the well featured rock and the climbing gradually eased off pitch by pitch until I crested the final summit ridge and found myself standing in the sun. Eating a bar with the summit register in hand, I wrote, "Northeast Buttress - 2nd winter ascent. March 9 2015. Very exciting". The crux pitch was likely delicate M6, perhaps M5+, but someone will have to do a second free winter ascent to verify. The west side of the mountain was surprisingly warm compared to the shady, iced up North face, but the ledges and gullies were still covered in snow and neve making for a quick and pleasant descent. Descending the scree slopes on the Crossover Pass descent was nicely facilitated by the well settled snow and I was rewarded with a spectacular view of the route I had just climbed. After stumbling down the steep wooded trail below, I arrived at my bivouac site and ate a candy bar before packing up my equipment. Walking the road back towards civilization I pondered my options. I had no ride back and considered walking the fity kilometers to my sister's house through the night. I thought back to the ascent I had just made, it's often surreal when a long time dream, like climbing Slesse in winter, glides into the present, then into the past. I knew that my mind needed a break, I needed to relax and digest the adventures of the past months. As I thought these things, an animal control vehicle pulled up to offer me a ride. The driver was a likeable guy named Mark and we chatted, mostly about travelling, until he pulled up to a bus stop in Chilliwack and bode me farewell. A bus arrived a moment later and soon I was just a block from my sister's home. Her husband Robert saw me walking down the street through the window and came to greet me at the door. They welcomed me in happily, and at 6:30pm we all sat down to a delicious supper. Parting shot, taken from a plane that flew around the mountain the day of my solo. If you zoom in on a high res version my track is visible bottom center. Gear Notes: Lightweight bail kit! Approach Notes: Super chill relative to radness of climb.

bdellympian, I don't know the mountains on the washington side of the border nearly as well as I should. But although it's a bit further to drive, routes on the E and N sides of Slesse are good candidates for expanding your experience. The ratio of length and seriousness of the climbs vs length of approach is pretty favourable. A route I'd recommend in the Wadd is the South ridge of Serra 2. 1500 meters of granite from easy 5th class to 5.9. The big routes in the Waddington are really big, its an awesome place.

One could aid climb something heinous under a serac and name it after him/herself. It would likely go unrepeated for years! Fame , glory,beautiful women...

A lot of the face routes dry really fast. The cracks can seep a little longer, but if the road is dry there are probably lots of dry slabs and aretes to go hit.