The Real Nick Sweeney

Great work! You’re killing it!

Thanks Sepultura. That range is amazing... wow. Chuck does not have a flight service, he’s a private pilot that we got connected with.

Rad looking climbing. Somehow this got even cooler to me now that it’s been discovered that the route has been done before - both teams had incredible, adventurous experiences on the same route.

That’s just like, your opinion, man.

An absolute pleasure meeting you and sharing the route with you, Matt! if you are a competent alpine ice climber, GET YOUR ASS TO THE NORTH SIDE OF HOOD ASAP. The goods are waiting.

Solid day out!

Very cool! Strong work. That’s a nice looking line to say the least. How long did the approach take you?

SO sick.

Awesome trip!

That’s what I thought as well - Direct N Ridge of Stuart felt like a comparable effort. Both climbs took me two days, I unexpectedly bivied on the descent from Stuart.

What are your thoughts on the commitment grade of this route? I’ve seen it mostly referred to as a IV, but I recently spoke with some guides who strongly felt that it was a V. Nelson/Potterfield give it a V, curious what others think. Obviously, it doesn’t matter at all at the end of the day... this is an ass-kicker!

A rite of passage, for sure

The bivy was incredible, but not THAT incredible!

The bivy was incredible, but not THAT incredible!

Trip: Johannesburg - 1957 NE Rib Trip Date: 08/01/2020 Trip Report: Here is my report with photos for the mighty Johannesburg: Spokalpine Amazingly, we shared the face with Karsten and Matt (Karsten posted a trip report on CC right after their climb) but used different starts. As a result, we never even saw each other on this giant, complicated route. We started an hour earlier than Karsten and Matt, but they reached the bivy hours before us(!) and continued up and over the summit. Karsten and Matt used the traditional 1951 start while John and I took a lower start, far right of the waterfalls. Gear Notes: Singles .4-1, nuts, ice tool, aluminum crampons, approach shoes Approach Notes: None