Sharing info on obscure, classics

[dberdinka]

So we're finally into those in-between months when the mountains are out of shape but the skiing (or whatever) is yet to happen. This is when I find myself making mental lists of all the routes I'm going to knock off next season. Of course, the list always ends up being a little on the optomistic side and come next year I'll be lucky to get 1 in 5. Its funny how that happens.

Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone out there what to share beta on some exceptional, relatively obscure route they've done in the past, that wasn't mobbed by hordes of climbers packing photocopies of Cascade Select. Cavie, Dru, Pope, lambone, mneagle, David Parker, Dalyward, Mattp (fill us in on SQCW), philfort, Matt A, Alex, genepires, Mr. Chocolate, everyone else out there? Here's my contribution, a description of the Northwest Face of Forbidden. Enjoy.

Darin

http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000228.html

[This message has been edited by dberdinka (edited 10-14-2001).]

[Jason_Martin]

South Twin Sister -- Northwest Face Variation

A number of years ago, my partner and I decided to climb the Northwest Face of the South Twin Sister in late October. After an extremely cold night we found ourselves hiking into the cirque below the face just before the crack of dawn. The snow that remained after the warm summer was rock hard beneath our boots. The conditions were superb.

Upon reaching the base of the face we noted that there was a nearly continuous ribbon of steep snow and ice that eventually connected with the standard West Ridge Route. This "route" was just a few hundred feet to the right of the regular Northwest Face route that climbed the center of the 800 foot wall. The Northwest Face Variation -- as we began to call it -- was comprised of steep snow ramps, short sections of water ice, and a few short sections of rock.

It took us approximately two seconds of conversation before we decided that this particular route looked like a lot more fun than our intended route. So we pulled out our ice tools, clipped our crampons to our boots, and began to climb.

The vast majority of the route was between fifty-five and sixty-five degree ice climbing. We simulclimbed all of it until the last pitch that reached up and connected with the West Ridge Route. This pitch was somewhat mixed in nature. It required a bit of rock climbing up to about 5.5 and continued to present steep snow and ice problems. The pitch was pure joy.

Upon reaching the West Ridge, third and fourth class climbing led to the summit. This rock, however, was completely dry of snow as it had been in the sun all summer.

To descend, one must follow the standard West Ridge route down.

Great Fun!

Jason

[Cpt.Caveman]

Ok check these mtns out.......... Vancouver Island

http://www.islandnet.com/~acc/VIAG/byarea.htm

[This message has been edited by Cpt.Caveman (edited 10-14-2001).]

[chucK]

Well this one doesn't even compare to NW face of Forbidden, but if you're short on time, check out the N Ridge of Foggy Peak. With a bike it's a short day (I was home for dinner in Seattle at 6pm) but you won't find near as many people as the Tooth. There's a bit of bushwhack then you climb up and pop through Ida Pass. The scenery gets cool here. Glissade down about 600 feet then traverse around and back up to N Ridge of Foggy. Awesome granite up on the crest. Easy climbing for about 400 feet. Lonely summit. Take the shorter way back down the SW face route.

Chuck

ps I posted a report earlier this year,

http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000195.html

about another obscure day trip in the Monte Cristo area I stumbled on this year.

[Dru]

Tomyhoi via the snow couloir on the North side (illegal entry from Canada across border) is allegedly a great day out and fastest way up the peak in spring. On my list for next year.

A personal obscure favorite is NE ridge of Silvertip - the one in BC not the one in WA. info online on bivouac.com

[philfort]

Dave and I, and two others, climbed the SE ridge of Fisher Peak last summer. It's extremely obvious and imposing from highway 20, but not climbed often (there's a mandatory rappel off the false summit, where the only rap sling was marked "1991", faded to white and crusty).

The rock is really pretty loose, but the route has some extremely exposed, exciting ridge traversing, especially the downclimb from the false summit to the rappel spot - quite spectacular and scary.

Most of the route is 4th class (simulclimbing), with several mid 5th shorter sections, and a little bit of 5.8 climbing out of the notch after the rappel. Expect a longer, more serious climb than the Grade II 5.5 rating that Beckey gives it. Took us 7 hours from camp to summit (about 1400ft ascent), and 3 hours down (via loose class 4 down-climbing on the S face to a snow gully).

 

[forrest_m]

I did a really cool climb in august of Mesachie Peak via the Mesachie Icefall/East ridge, it was a really fun weekend out. It was pretty melted out, so we didn't rope up, just simlulsoloed the whole thing. One 10 foot vertical ice step, 300 feet of 50 degree snow, then a long moderate (5.5 max), mostly solid ridge, with several sections of almost perfectly flat "sidewalk" with great exposure. We didn't bring a rope, but you might want one if the glacier was snow covered.

We left easy pass trailhead at 4:30 pm and were back by 1 the next afternoon. From easy pass, climb about 2-300 vertical feet then traverse level for about a mile into a small bowl beneath mesachie pass (bivy spots). Cross the pass, drop down and traverse under the icefall, climb up to the ridge and to the summit. Descend to the top of the gully, then traverse the south side of the peak back to camp.

You could also go do daylward and my new route on mt. hardy :-) http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000184.html

[mneagle]

If you're looking for rarely climbed routes, Darrington is a great place to go. The new Rock Climbing Washington guide has many routes that haven't seen print in a while but neglects a few gems and topos for the more obscure routes. It makes reference to the mysterious Brooks/Whitelaw guide that has been out of print for 10 years, but not out of reach. Go to the Darrington Trading Post (can't miss it) and ask for the photocopied rock climbing guide. They have a copy of the Darrington section of the Brooks/Whitelaw guide that they will sell for the cost of the copying, about $2.50 It has decent topos of the rarely climbed Witch Doctor wall and Blueberry Hill. In the 3 o'clock Rock section, check out Shot in the Dark, just left of Magic Bus. It's a great climb that was probably left out for liability reasons from the new guide. It starts out as a well protected arch to a 30 year old bolt about 25 feet off the ground then run it out on beautiful 5.8 knobs for 30 feet to another ancient bolt. (25 - 30 = don't fall at the clip) Then it' another 15 feet to a small alien and a TCU or 2 before the leaf encrusted, moldy slings at the 2 rust 1/4 inch bolts. After that it's some better protected 5.10 face/slab and a roof. We ran out of light and couldn't do the last pitch of 5.10+ but it looked pretty cool. The route is a tribute to the lunatic on lead bolting practices of old. As it is, it's a pretty dangerous lead, but a bolt kit to replace the old 1/4inchers and new anchors

could markedly improve this, but of course don't touch the runout.

[Peter_Puget]

I think Shot may be in the new Smoot guide topo. Its just not numbered on the topo or described in the text.

[philfort]

quote:

---

Originally posted by plexus:

Phil,

Friend did that route up Fisher this year. They got to the False summit and turned around when they noticed the decent gully had absolutely no snow in it. So go on good, or at least average, snow years or you have a LONG downclimb ahead of you.

---

Hmm... the snow gully itself, where you rap into it (you don't enter it from the top), was pretty moderate in angle. It was only two or three hundred feet of 35-40 degree snow for us - I wouldn't think it would be a problem without snow, nor would it affect the length of your downclimb.

 

[plexus]

Maybe he was turned off because there was no snow there when there should have been. Nonetheless, it was one of the best epic stories I've ever heard as far as combining close calls and funny anidotes.

they downclimbed the ridge, came to a spot where they thought they could rap into a part of the gully that had snow, couldn't, had boulder whiz by his head while on a rap and setting up an anchor

Near the last pitch down, had to cut the rope stuck on a rap then discovered they were wrong and had three more raps, got out after dark with one headlamp for two ppl, couldn't find tent, then rolled down the hill during the night cause he tied his legs together in a plastic bag to keep the draft out.

[philfort]

The previous party we'd heard about that attempted it, found their rope not long enough to make the rappel into the notch (in truth, maybe they didn't know they had to downclimb a pitch first?, because the rappel isn't that long), so they retreated back down the ridge. On the retreat, someone broke their arm, and their rope got chopped by rockfall. It took them 19 rappels to get off the ridge, all through the night into the next morning.

Guess it's a good place for an epic....

[plexus]

Phil,

Friend did that route up Fisher this year. They got to the False summit and turned around when they noticed the decent gully had absolutely no snow in it. So go on good, or at least average, snow years or you have a LONG downclimb ahead of you.

My vote is for some cool scrambling and climbing on the southern range of the Twin Sisters. Go up to Hamilton, pay $20 for your gate key from Crown Pacific (they even give you maps of their existing roads if you ask nicely) and pick a mountain. Anything from snow romps in early season to some class 4 to mid-5 (Skookum, Barbara and Nancy). My fav has been Nancy. After getting the summit from a south traverse, rapped down and climbed up the headwall. Cool rock unlike anything in the Cascades--according to a geologist at WWU, it is the largest piece of exposed mantle in the world.