dberdinka

Anyone who's climbed the West Ridge of Forbidden has probably taken notice of the Northwest Rib. A beautiful fin of rock that breaches the icefalls of the Forbidden Glacier and shoots straight for the summit. I had considered this route for years but never got around to doing it until this August. I happened to be there, just a day or two after Phil and Lambone had climbed the East Ridge. After a rainy weekend, high pressure began to build in the beginning of the week. Living in Bellingham, I was able to leave work in the late afternoon, make the Marblemount office before it closed and get to the trailhead by 7:00 PM. Breaking a good sweat, I reached the high camp in Boston Basin just as it got dark. The night started with a layer of clouds blowing in from the east and filling up the Cascade River valley to a stones throw below my bivi site. While I looked at stars, tents a 100' away were buried in clouds. About midnight a small breeze started from the west and soon built to an incredible gale. Laying in my bivi sack I felt like I was about to be rolled down the hillside. Around 6 AM the winds had not died at all, so I packed up and began stumbling up the slabs below the glacier. The coulior was still in good shape, so I rapidly found myself at the West Ridge notch. To reach the NW Rib from here one has to descend a steep wall on the backside of the notch. Several hundred feet of downclimbing led to a single rope rappel, some more downclimbing then two more rappels onto the headwall of the Forbidden Glacier. This slope is initally 50 degrees and poised above a huge bergshrund, so I chopped a bollard and did one more rappel onto lower angle terrain. A descending traverse led to an obvious ramp leading onto the NW Rib near its base. From here it's at least 1200' vertical feet of climbing along the sharp crest of the rib to the summit. Easy scrambling led to a sharp, horizontal stretch of excellent rock. Climbing past this required some hand traverses on the very crest of the rib. A steep tower at its end formed the crux of the route. I climbed this directly by a short pitch of 5.7/5.8, again on excellent rock. More easy climbing led to a deep chimney just left of the obvious snowpatch on the face. Another short pitch of 5.6/5.7 led up the chimney and through a short slot to the upper rib. The last 800' of the climb were truely exceptional. By staying exactly on the rib crest, one finds sustained low-5th climbing that rivals the West Ridge in quality. Just below the false summit I trended left to the summit. Between the quality of the rock, the position and the commitment of the approach, this is possibly the finest climb I've done in the Cascades. Gear: 60 meter rope Ice axe & crampons picket small rack to 2.5 inches I wrote this up in conjuction with another post here: http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001047.html [This message has been edited by dberdinka (edited 10-14-2001).]

Nolan Russell, click on the little face/question mark along the header of any reply to get the skinny on that poster. Sexual lists his occupation there.

The Ushba axe, I've heard good things. Current axe, old X-15 60 cm, 24 oz. Ushba axe 13 oz and $225. Thats 225/(24-13) = $20.45 per ounce of weight savings. To rich for my blood, need to find a sugar mama...

AAAAgggh, TG don't go there! Lots of good ideas and some good humor. Thanks a lot. I can only imagine what other obtuse topics we can discuss for the next 5 months. Anyone have experience with 10pt aluminum crampons on alpine ice? Since I already own more crampons than I have feet, I wonder if they're worth the 7 oz I'd save. On a similar note promountainsports.com carries a 9 oz ice axe. It reminds me of a can opener for some reason. Darin

I've suddenly had the urge to lighten the load I carry around for alpine climbing. My knees might have been a lot happier had I done this in June. So I've got two strategies to employ, carry less equipment (cheap) and/or carry lighter equipment ($$$). The first thing I did, actually the second after burning some cash, was to figure out what was so damn heavy in that pack. The rope, the rack, the crampons, the ice axe the sleeping bag and the rain coat seemed to be the culprits in order of offense. So I guess my first option is to just do day hikes. The second option is to get rid of some of this stuff. If I carry a minimal rack, It seems to me that the sleeping bag would generally go first, only to be replaced by a down coat and pile pants. Doesn't such much lighter to me? Instead I ordered a new half-zip, super 8000+ fill, micro ripstop, blah blah sleeping bag from rei-outlet. Relatively speaking it was cheap at $190 with shipping and tax, but I only saved about 16 oz over my old bag. That one hell of an expensive pound ($12 an ounce) I took off my back! Hmmm, well I guess that old bag needed replacing anyway... Well how about if I replace my biners with Neutrinos (cost $14 per ounce of savings) Maybe a 9.4 mm rope (cost $9.37 per ounce of savings over 10mm rope) Or a new axe ($10.75 per ounce of savings) Aaagh, this sucks! 5 lbs will cost me $920 bucks. Sounds like a waste of money. So is there any advice from light weight aficionados out there. How do you lighten the load? what have you found to be non-essential? Is this an interesting thread? or boring gear talk? Thanks!

Frostbite Ridge is a beautiful, interesting route, with some steep snow and a bit of rock scrambling between airy pinnacles. Supposedly the full Scimitar Glacier can be a hard man ice route later in season, never done it though.

Everyone seems to be implying that the glacier is pretty broken. There is a variation of the Corkscrew route that avoids the glacier all together by approaching from the back side. I descended this way after climbing the west face (chossy) and found it to be decent scrambling and pleasant travel. I believe I took the Bedal Basin trail (could have the name wrong) to under the west face. From there meadows and ridges lead up and around the peak to a small snowfield under ramps that intersect the Corkscrew Route not far from the glacier. Could be a good late season alternative, check Becky book for details.

The following 5 routes are some of my favorite, they all offer a mix of glacier travel, steep snow/ice and generally good easy to moderate rock climbing. Northwest Rib of Forbidden Northeast Face of Redoubt Northeast Face of Mesachie Entiat Icefall on Mount Maude Northeast Rib of Goode The following are my 2 favorite volcanoe climbs, both great! with some technical challenges. North Ridge of Mount Baker Frostridge on Glacier (the best slog in the PNW?) Freak -- did Life on Earth on Habrich this summer. It's a good climb but not quite as wonderful as K.M. makes it out to be. Maybe two star (**)? The "nose" is not as steep or as sharp as the photos make it out to be. The trail is definitely steep though! [This message has been edited by dberdinka (edited 10-04-2001).]

Once again, I'm confused.....

So just right of photo, you can see what I believe is the Girth Pillar (?). Wasn't there some talk about massive rock fall on the route earlier in the year? That is certainly some very clean looking, grey granite, but it doesn't look quite like a fresh rock scare. Any thoughts, info? On top of that, The north face of Buckner had at least 400' of dirt showing on Sept 15th. When are you guys saying in was in shape? Sure it's climbable, but I wouldn't be calling it in shape. The following was posted on 9/14/2001 quote: Originally posted by David Parker: Hey summitseeker, just thought you should be aware N. Face of Buckner is VERY IN! I know because I did it only 2 weeks ago and it will only be better now. I'm curious to know what makes you say it isn't. I don't think it is prudent to report things like this because someone reading your post might cancel a trip there and later regret your false beta. Just something for you to consider. Dave Confused in B'ham..... [This message has been edited by dberdinka (edited 09-28-2001).]

Woaw there David, please don't stop posting on my account. I'm always interested in finding out about route conditions in different parts of the range. However, in this particular case, considering that a vast majority of climbers would make a distinction between the "North Face" Route and the "North Coulior" route, rather than insulting folks such as summitseeker when they state (correctly) that the North Face of Buckner is out of shape, maybe you should provide accurate information about what you climbed and the condition it was in. Of course, this is just my opion but the belligerence around here wears thin. Lambone --- Ouch!!

Here's a description of the S ridge I wrote for a friend. I believe it is the standard route these days. North Face looks pretty nice though.... APPROACH From high camp in Boston Basin do a long level traverse on scree and slabs, below the Taboo glacier, to the obvious col (3rd/4th class) that leads into Torment Basin. On the other side drop down 150' to slabs that lead up to an icefield (crampons) below the SW face. Follow it to the notch below the south ridge proper. (at least 4.5 hard hours from the car) A lot of people get lost on the S Ridge. TORMENT SOUTH RIDGE From the exact notch, 4th class up 20 feet then follow ledges down left into rubble filled alcove. A steep gully/chimney leads up right and an big grey dihedral leads up left. Go left up the left wall of the dihredal to it's top (80'). Climb up some steep blocks then follow a groove up right past slings, past a short jam crack to a nice ledge with slings below a grey wall with quartz intrusions (1st pitch 180' total, low 5th). Ignoring the slings up and left of you, do a level traverse left around a corner into a dirty gully. A short steep wall leads to another belay at rappell slings (2nd pitch 190', low 5th). Keep traversing up and left another full pitch (200' 4th) to a large ledge where the big notch below the summit is obvious. Basically when in doubt keep traversing left. From the large ledge you can solo/simu-climb into the notch. From the notch an obvious grass filled dike cuts across the SE face. Start following this, halfway across is a good place to head for the summit(3rd/4th class for 300').

I did the Torment-Forbidden traverse last weekend, so I can only tell you what I saw. Coulior is melted out and very ugly. However the glacier can be crossed at its top from the east edge (saw 2 doing this) or you could skirt it to the west as well. From the rock promitory at the base of the coulior there is an easy rock gully to climbers left that can be followed to the west ridge notch. Just make sure you pick the farthest gully to the west (look for slings) Without any snow the descent down the east side sucked, lots of scree and dirt covered slabs.

Go for it.

It's long, it's hard. Much harder than the Grand Wall for instance. I think Nelson's topo in his Random Climbs in the Cascades book is fairly accurate. It's been a long time ,but for what it's worth here are some details. I don't remember using any gear bigger than a #3 Camalot. However I do remember using lots of gear smaller than that! I skipped the 10d slab start. So pitches were 1) 5.8 flake traverse 2) 5.8-9 trav around corner than easily up cracks 3) nice 10a hand crack through roof to ledge 4) 10c corner pitch long and taxing The route then leaves Iconoclast 5) 10a chicken heads to double cracks left of main corner 6) long 10c crack pitch in corner to hanging belay below crux slot (icky bush on this pitch) 7) 10d crux slot is protected well by nuts, you arm bar with your feet hanging out the bottom. Above slot, pumpy layback leads to mossy traverse left across face to belay belay final roof 8) 10a-b short pitch leads over roof to top An incredible rock climb, one of the hardest and possibly best I've ever done.

I recently picked up a camera dropped on the trail into Boston Basin. If you can identify it and when you lost it, it's yours. E-mail me at dberdinka@yahoo.com

Anyone know if any snow has accumulated (dusting or otherwise)in the North Cascades in the last few days? Particularly in the Cascade Pass area. No speculation please. Thanks

How long it takes will depend on the mix of soloing/simuclimbing/belaying you plan on doing. I know someone who soloed it in a little over 6 hours car to car (and I'd bet it's been done a lot faster than that), I also recall taking 12 or 13 hours high camp to high camp the first time I did it. Assuming your in good shape, move fast and will simulclimb all or almost all of the route some reasonable times might be 2.25 hours car to high camp 1.5 hours high camp to base of coulior .25 to 2 hours base to west ridge notch (quick if you solo, slow to belay) if the coulior is melted out, there is an easy 3rd and 4th class gully several hundred feet climbers left. It's the left most gully, look for slings. .75 to 2 hours notch to summit (this assumes simu-climbing,if you belay the whole thing it's like 7 pitches and ?? 3 to 4 hrs ??) Once on top, figure at least as much time to get back down. Enjoy

I'm heading into Vesper peak in a few days and am looking for useful beta. I seem to know a number of competent climbers who have failed on this more than once. Is finding the correct pass really that difficult? Also, I've heard it rated 5.0 to 5.8, any consensus? Thanks Darin

Hey Dru, and anyone else who's been there, I imagine you took a good look at this face on your way off Rexford. You know if anyone has climbed it, route details? Thanks. Darin

It's a long way down no matter how you do it. Dru, maybe we could hook up sometime for some other climbs in the Chilliwack? Give me an e-mail at dberdinka@yahoo.com. What do you know about the free attempt on Pillar of PI? Looks like an incredible line. Darin

I climbed Labour Day Buttress about 2 years ago. We climbed the obvious buttress on the southern of the 2 6800+ foot peaks. Started out great with a 70' pitch of 5.7-5.8 hands (Thanks for making me not feel so bad about the rating Dru). After that it was lots of moss and lichen covered granite. Not so fun. We descended to the notch with the other 6800' peak (1 short rappel, optional) then did a traverse on the ridgeline heading south (beautiful granite slabs). Much sooner than expected a hidden ledge led down into the next basin, where a steep scramble led over an intervening ridgeline back under Labour Day Buttress. All in all the descent was relatively easy and beautiful. Be warned lots of icefall danger approaching the route. Also the east buttress on the other 6800+ looks pretty cool, probably better than what we did. Have fun. If you have any questions give me an e-mail.

But of course....

After looking through the new KM guidebook I got excited about trying some of the alpine rock climbs around Squamish. Headed up Thursday morning 7/26 to climb Life on Earth, a 5 pitch arete climb on Mount Habrich that KM raves about in the new Squamish Guide. The roads getting in there were rough and I'd hate to try it in anything but a 4wd-HC vehicle. With a heavy foot I was able to get around the road blockade and drive the last 5 sttep km before the trailhead. This made a what would have been a long day into something short and pleasant. The overgrown logging road/trail is well marked and after about 20 minutes a cairn marks a path that leads up to Habrich. This is one of the steepest trails I've ever been on, but it's easy to follow. It took about another hour to get to the base of the route. The climb was 5 pitches almost all of which are rated 10c. Even by Squamish standards I'd say it was pretty soft. Most pitches felt more like 10a maybe 10b in spots. The climb, while good, is not as stupendous as the guide book makes it out to be. After a steep start, it's generally low angle friction/face climbing on a broad arete, a bit contrived in places. At the top a short scramble leads to the summit. Views throughout are excellent. After fooling around at the Malamute and the Brew Pub in the evening we headed for Ashlu, an 11 pitch 10a on an 8500' peak described as excellent. The road mileage in Alpine Select was wrong so we made a number of mistakes and only arrived at short cut creek at 1 AM. Get a recreational road map if you haven't been there before. Basically from the Squamish River Valley, cross the Squamish river on whats signed Bridge #1. Now your on the Ashlu Main follow your nose to avoid spur roads. Way back in there, maybe 13-14 miles from the bridge, the road forks. The left fork leads down and cross the river then up to an abandoned crane (wrong fork!) the right fork is steep and waterbarred. Follow it for 4 miles to a partially washed out bridge. Serious 4w driving. This is Shortcut creek. The description in Alpine Select for the approach is accurate, however 2 hours is ridiculous more like 3.5 to 4 hours from car to route. The country is beautiful, open forest, lots of glaciers, a beautiful lake, heather meadows. We ended up wandering around and getting lost in thick clouds once we got to the high ridgeline. After climbing a couple pitches of excellent rock on what we later figured out was a steep tower on the lower SW ridge, we bailed in the pouring rain. A long wet bushwack led back to the car, another visit to the brew pub and a long wait at the border, the rain never letting up. Definitely a route to go back to, now if I could just get someone else to take their truck....

Hey Dru (or anyone else) what do you know about these peaks? The rock looks excellent (from a distance) but I'm of the impression the approaches now suck. Have I heard something of a grade VI on Urquart? Fill me in...routes? beta? I'm bored. Thanks