Trip: Chair Peak - NE Buttress
Date: 12/27/2009
Trip Report:
beautiful bluebird skies and only one other party on route!
sitting on the summit for the 2nd time in less than a month! did the N face last time and ended up rapping in the dark
nice sunset though.
anyway, back to today.
top ice step was in nice, it's vertical, but only for a dozen feet maybe.
didn't get any pics of the first pitch, but we went up through the right side, it wasn't in the last time I was up here. it was my favorite pitch, clip the tat, climb 30 ft, place a nut, and run it out to the trees!
made 2 raps, we had half ropes, but they're 50's so why not savor it, after all, the time before I was forced to stop mid rappel and untangle the mother of all clusterfucks, who knew how badly a butterfly coil could get tangled when thrown into the wind?
right now crampons are need to descend down to where people ditch their poles, it's icy hard compacted snow.
overall a fantastic day in the mountains.
PS, who were you, solo reconnoiter, that we talked to on our way up? your beard was frozen.
Gear Notes:
1-2 pickets, 2 screws, shorter are better. I only used one #7 nut on the first pitch. a 60 single or half ropes.
wind repellent
Approach Notes:
no flotation req. although there were a pair of perfectly good snowshoes sitting next to the approach trail when we walked by them in the morning and still there around 3 when we left, who knows?