Zenolith

krowell@gladstone.uoregon.edu

Began hiking in to the route at 2am on Sunday the 29th and got to the base of the routes (both Sunshine and Elliot Headwall) at 4:30am. We were prepared for either route but we saw that there was an upper 'shrund running from above Horse Shoe Rock all the way across the headwall with a small place to pass on the right or left. Crossing that would have been the crux, but the long traverse over to the middle of the headwall (on 50-60* ice) would have been tiresome as well. It looked like the route would have gone by linking ice fingers with only a little climbing on kitty litter but we decided that it looked less than fun. We headed straight for H Shoe Rock and crossed the lower 'shrund on a little vertical ice and headed straight up. We found 3-4 sections of vertical ice 12' high or less which were no trouble with two tools. It was my first time using the new Rages and they pretty much did the climbing for me. We did not follow the Sunshine route proper since we did not angle right toward the ridge; we went straight up on 45* ice. The freezing level was 8000' so we had great cramponing on a fun mixture of alpine and water ice. We topped out on Cathedral Ridge about 150' from the summit ridge and continued up on feathery ice to the totally dry summit ridge. We looked down every major route on the mountain except Cooper and Wy East and they all looked to be in great shape because of the lowish freezing level. We heard only one small episode of rockfall when we were climbing up beside the Elliot Headwall. The sky was clear for most of the night and only began to cloud up as we neared the summit. We went down the south side since we didn't want to downclimb the 1000'+ of ice we had come up. The South Side route was interesting; the 'shrund is huge and you can see the dirt at the bottom. There was one place to cross it where there was a bunch of ice wedged in the narrow part near the rocks to skier's right of the Pearly Gates. I reccomend the route in late season when the freezing level is 8000' or lower. As the season wears on there may be a bit more rock/scree exposed but there was none on our climb until the summit ridge. In fact, I would not hesitate to climb the Sandy Headwall if the conditions were the same. The Sandy is pretty much the same -maybe a bit steeper in places. This year however, I don't think there is enough snow above the Elliot Headwall to provide that elusive 1000' of water ice we were after. We carried a full alpine rack and 13 screws but didn't rope up. If you go, (and want pro) carry a few screws for a running a belay and maybe a cut-off picket or two. The carryover took 8.5 hours with 6.5 being the upward portion. Ignore the naysayers; do the route. It was a blast.

Any non-guidebook beta on these? We're planning to give one or the other a try this weekend.

I have a full set (all 8). I like them but there are two drawbacks. The biggest one is like a Camalot #3 or so. I also have a set of Metolius so its not a problem for me. Also, the axle is short on the quads making the distance between the cams nil. They walk a bit more b/c of this. The micros are great-like a more affordable alien but not as well built. They are probably comparable in craftsmanship to Trango stuff but many people mistake them for Metolius on first glance. If you like Metolius, you'll like these for the money. I would not buy them as a first set unless you are dirt poor since I don't like them in all situations.

My bag is a Marmot Massif 10*. I like it and it is roomy. I don't know how much it weighs but it seems light. If I was buying now I would get the lightest bag that wouldn't cramp my thrashing. I enjoy a good snow ditch for sleeping in the summer and am never cold since I wear a clean base layer to bed. In winter I am in a single wall tent and have noticed that if the condensation freezes (usually) on my bag I can shake it off outside before I stuff it. I was cold on the 4th night out in Feb at 7000' near B Top this year, but it wasn't too bad. If you are going to be out a long time a light bivy sac will not add much weight or bulk considering the weight and bulk savings of down over synth.

Well said. My thoughts exactly. I have had to humble myself and back off and I know that such is part of why I go to the mountains.

Hey Unc, Argue for composting if you think we're depriving the soil. As far as I know most climbing areas and mountains don't produce food for humans so leaving apple cores and other biodegradeables does nothing but disturb a balance that works fine without your trash.

If you were up there and saw anything please call Lane County Sherrif SAR. (541)682.7448

If you were up there and saw anything please call Lane County Sherrif SAR. (541)682.7448

Erika, I'm not trying to hide the fact that I think its STUPID to use pot to overcome fear that you can't get through mentally. I don't think it "kind" however, to respond to the thread on that subject with my opinion since that would ammount to useless spray... You're not the only one who reads more than one board so I'm not shocked to hear that you know the contents of my posts elsewhere (like the Atomic thing). Are you going to tell us what your SN on the other site(s)is/are?

I was planning to buy some from barrabes. They are US$113 each and shipping is US$40 for brand new ones. I'd pay $220 for yours since they're used.

Erika the Spray Queen STILL thinks I was referring to bolts in the post he linked above. Even after I explained that I meant fixed pins (which do exist in the High Cascades). I know of a FIXED (and safe) rap station on the Jeff Park route and this on a mountain known for its rotten rock. Erika, get over yourself already.

Good point Dru, At Smith I've seen the sport climbers run for the caves and huddle inside when a cloud hides the sun. If it starts to rain they might be in there all day fiddling with their stick clips. Another topic but how lame are those things? I've clipped a bolt or two but if I can't climb to the first one I figure i'd better go back to posing at the gym (which have neato padded caves sporting Giant Jugs).

What condition is it in? Does $100 incl. shipping? Why are you selling it?

Bless me Poope, for I have done a bummer... I bought Rope Gun shorts at the REI sale. I'm going to take them back though and use the store credit to buy a #20 LA to carry between my butt cheeks to remind me that I am a sinner. Also, I told my wife that I've been suffering 50' runouts b/c I don't have a full set of tri-cams. I convinced her to let me spend the grocery budjet on them. Oh yeah, I painted the tips of my fingers and toes black on the way back from climbing and told her... What do I do. I am bad...

Very astute observation Dwayner, I once wrote a paper about phallic symbolism. Humankind sees the phallus as a symbol of power and conquest on some level. The Washington Monument, rotundas, domes (like those on state capitols and The Capitol), all erect penises standing, poking their "power" into the sky. Have you ever noticed the phallic shape of most nuclear power plants? Where do they dispose of the waste? Yepper, a hole in the ground (a "gash" in Mother Earth no less). Sounds like Freud was right on; "Just because every member of a group shares the same psychosis does not mean they are not sick." Classic oedipus complex...

I think rescue insurance like they have some places in Europe is a good idea. To be fair though it should be voluntary-if you don't want it you can pay for your own rescue. I think this would decrease the total number of rescues by making incompetent people think twice about taking on too much. Barring that, I think we should continue with the system we now have. People should be free to get into any situation they want to whether others think it stupid or not because there are a lot of things that my taxes pay for that I think are stupid (like the drug war and limosines for the mayor).

There's a new book out called 'Glaciers!' by Michael Strong et al. that I think is more in depth than any of the others. There are a lot of good tips in it. Here's a tip of my own. You'd think it was common sense but you'd be surprised... Don't girth hitch your axe so that the sling runs over the head; you'll cut it the first time you have to hammer a picket in w/ it. Don't be an idiot and pound with the adze either. Max is right about the long rope ends. You need enough to set up a C-pulley at least. You cant haul a climber out by yourself without at least a z on a c but you can belay a prusiking or climbing victim with a C on his harness and a prusik at the anchor.

Mine are Metolius in all sizes. The reason? Smooth action and easy to grab, very durable, made locally. I do own some Rock Empire cams as well and like them too. They are 4 cams as well but the cams are closer together than most and don't seem to walk as much as wider cams.

Thx for the info Erik. I have never noticed that about friends since I don't know anyone who uses them (I use some rigid stems but have never had a problem like you describe). I don't aid climb (yet) so I dont really have much use for offset cams. I do think they may be handy for a lot of columnar basalt climbs where the larger cracks are more weathered on the outside and thus don't take a regular #10 Metolius as well as I'd like. That inspires me to start a new thread...

Erik, Notice the subtle winking Icon on my original post...it means I was joking. You are too sensitive my friend.

I agree with Mike. People who want someone to filter the content of the site should lighten up a bit. You don't really have to read it, just like you can mute commercials or turn off the TV; censor yourself. I don't rely on route beta from here or any other internet source (besides csac). If someone gives beta I take it into consideration if I think they are for real, but I don't change or make plans based on what I hear here. I enjoy some of the humor that is technically spray and if this site were all beta I would get bored and go to a rowdier site.

The Erik Snyder who wrote to the editor of R&I has a very familiar prose. Erik the Spray Queen, is that your letter? I agree with the it, but I'm glad they did Washington state no favors. I don't want it to become a climbing destination; the crags are crowded enough already.

The way we came up.

Sunday the 20th we started out at 4am after spending the night wondering if the wind would slow down enough to let us go up. We had camped at 5900' on the right lateral glacial moraine so we just followed that up to where the glacier widens and becomes heavily crevassed. There were two of us climbing together above camp and we decided to stay on the lower slopes of the N Ridge to avoid roping up. This worked well and we got to the 'shrund (9800') at 6:00. I don't usually travel that fast but we had great conditions and were anxious to get past the Mohler Tooth before the sun hit it. We crossed the upper 'shrund by climbing 8' of water ice between it and Mohler Tooth. We then climbed up steep slopes to the base of the "5.1" ridge. The wind was howling up there so I racked up in the shelter of a giant ice fin. I stepped up onto the ridge and got quite a shock. I stood on a hump and looked down at the exposure on both sides. I was standing on a crusty ice ledge about 2' wide looking down at a drop of hundreds of feet on both sides when a big gust took my balance. I dropped to my knees and regained my center of gravity. I backed down to look for a belay and to survey the route. The start of the ridge was too hard for pickets and too soft for screws so I looked ahead at what I would be climbing. The ridge has a long (3-400') series of very sharp pinnacles. After this the ridge flattens and widens as it stretches off to the summit (which was completely covered with ice). We could see that if we got past the pinnacles we could get to the base of the summit pinacle. These begining pinnacles are steep enough to make me want two tools but totally unprotectable. My partner suggested we traverse on rotten rock ledges on climbers right (SW). It looked really scary b/c of the enormous exposure and the wind was coming up that side. With no feasable belay available, the strong gusts, lack of pro, etc we decided to back off. Note: It occured to me that "5.1" rock when covered with ice, unprotectable, in a driving wind...is a lot harder than 5.1 in crampons and gloves. Later I spoke to an accomplished climber who has done that route in like conditions. He said that the pinnacles are "impossible" when iced up like that and that even when dry they are passed on the SW side. Apparently the traverse is very sparsly protectable in winter/early spring, and belays are a little better than "imaginary". Hmmm Warm temps are coming and may remove a lot of that ice. I would go back and try again in a week if I could (I'm going again on June 2-3). I reccomend using the N Ridge as a backup plan. If you get to the ridge and have to back off you can descend to the glacier the way you came and go around the base of the N summit and climb up to the N Ridge crest. The N Ridge route bypasses most of the worst difficulties (except the summit). This plan should be attempted early since the guidebook says the rockfall can be rather bad until you get on the ridge crest. The route is spectacular and, like Mt Washington, it has a remote, big mountain feel that the rest of the High Cascades lack.