brenthostetler

Integrating over all difficulties, I vote for the N ridge of Fury.

As requested, here is the trip report on Tenpeak that I filed with The Mountaineers. We climbed it morning of Saturday, July 31 - morning of Monday, August 2, 1999, party of 5; only 4 left base camp to try it. The rock part was 1.5 leads on fair-to-poor quality pluton. Apparently the lower 50 vertical feet of the route has sloughed away, so that the advertised rating (class 4 or class 5.0) no longer applies. It's likely 5.5-5.6 and difficult to protect at the crux. The lower part of the route has fallen as large, unstable blocks into the 'loose gully' noted in Beckey. We carried only one rack and climbed simultaneously (2 on a 60m rope with 2 following tied to the middle and end of a 50m rope). D.W. asked to lead, so I gave it to him. The crux section (with its fresh scarring) was difficult to lead and protect. He did a very good job on it. Overall, he gave an impressive performance. No pickets or ice screws taken or used. It was easy for us to kick steps up and down the snow finger leading to the loose, entrance gully. Crampons taken and used by some, but not necessary. Helmets required. Take two 50m ropes to be happy on the rappel. Your rack can be two small cammers, 6 wired stoppers, and two medium hexes. If you do this climb you absolutely must find the use trail leading to Thunder Basin. It is an unspeakable brush hell otherwise. This is not easy to do. We wasted 5 hours on Saturday in the brush and got nowhere. (We camped Saturday night at 2900' next to the White River after we had discovered the use trail at the end of the day. It's a long day climb from here.) To do it right, cross Thunder Creek (two wooden bridges close together, about 6.5 miles from the trailhead). Continue walking up the White River Trail about 10 minutes (about 0.4 mi) looking for a blazed tree on the right (marked on both sides by a carved arrow pointing uphill). Work through blowdown to find the use trail. You will see large, cut logs. If you do not find cut logs 100-200 yards from the White River trail, don't go any further. Once on the use trail (likely created and maintained by goat hunters) continue up to the lower basin (infrequent, painted, orange blazes on the trees). Cross a side stream on a tree and walk toward the waterfalls of Thunder Creek. To find the continuation of the way trail skirt the alder by going left and walk its margin about 200 yards. Continue up into the upper basin, bypassing two sets of minor rock cliffs on their right. Once into upper Thunder Basin look at the headwall to see two gullies one in the center and one on the right. Don't use either one. Continue up and to the left to find the leftmost (hidden) of three major gullies and go up it until you can easily exit over its left margin rib to the left. Do this and then climb a snow slope to get above the cirque headwall. Don't continue up the gully as we did as you may find a wet, precarious, class 4 heather exit. Then do a rising righthand traverse of the snow slopes above the headwall aiming for the righthand side of the summit complex. The summit block is the relatively smooth, pyramid block to the left with the distinctive snow finger. The snow finger is steep, but OK if the snow is kickable. There is a moat between the snow and the rock, but we did not find it difficult to get across. The gully is loose with several large, unstable blocks. A half-ton block a previous party had used as a rappel anchor moved and jammed one of our ice axes. (It was recovered with care.) The gully is potentially deadly. Be careful. Go up the gully about 100' (climbing past a questionable chockstone) to where it is obvious that is is easier to go up the face. Climb directly up the steep face (not good rock, thin holds, little protection for the first 50 vertical feet). (Apparently the advertised 5.0 route has calved and fallen into the gully.) Go left of a minor nose on the face. Doing this is the crux. Once over the scarred rock it is a class 5.0 cruise to the rappel piton on the N corner (as described in Beckey). Belay here. Go up and over to continue to the summit on the class 4, exposed E face. Downclimb to the rappel piton and do a double rope (50m) rappel to the nasty gully.