[TR] Salami Slab, Darrington - Snagglepuss 07/05/2020

[curtveld]

Trip: Salami Slab, Darrington - Snagglepuss

Trip Date: 07/05/2020

Trip Report:

My COVID-era partner and son, Ty and I made a quick trip to the Salami Slabs to test-drive a new variation to Snagglepuss. You may not be aware of Snagglepuss because it is not among the ‘Only Darrington Routes Worth Doing’ identified in climbing books and the internet. But it is fairly long (7 pitches) and has some good climbing that might entertain you adventurous non-slab-phobic types.

Ty looking relaxed among the knobs, dimples and scoops of pitch 4.

Leading the Catwalk – which follows the thin white dike angling left

Team selfie at top of the route, spitting distance from the Snagglepuss tree

The Snagglepuss – a massive Doug-fir with a silvery dead top that that looms over the route

Hanman and I kicked off the Snaglepuss Project about four years ago, followed by the neighboring Purdie Shuffle. Both routes have good to great climbing with excellent views of nearby peaks and the Clear Creek valley. The Catwalk variation creates an excellent 7-pitch hybrid option that is slightly easier than the original.

CV on FA, July 2016, with the giant snag visible in upper left

Hanman below the gleaming goodness that would become the Purdie Shuffle

For an abundance of details on how to get there and what you’ll find, check the stuff posted on another climbing website. The approach is comparable in scale to Three O Clock Rock but a bit more 'interesting' (don't worry, no brush). Much of Snagglepuss is mid-fifth with harder sections up to 5.8+, though the easiest line is not always obvious. There are bolts where you need them, runouts where you don’t, but nothing approaching an R rating. If you are offended by bits of moss and needles on your granite, skip pitches 6 and 7.

Returning to grand Salami ledge on the descent.

Gear Notes:
Standard Dtown toolkit - dozen slings, single cams to 3", double 60s

Approach Notes:
FS Road 2060, take left branch over bridge, park at first boulder drainage, hike uphill. Approach details can be sleuthed from link mentioned in TR

Edited August 3, 2020 by curtveld

[JasonG]

Thanks for the reminder!  This fall I will need to sample these routes.  I mean it!

[curtveld]

You might like it Jason - no seracs or sketchy rap anchors!

Here's the topo. You might need to play with your print settings (checkbox for "fit image") to get it to scale correctly 

Edited August 3, 2020 by curtveld
added topo

[Trent]

Thanks Curt! It looks good, will have to check it out!

[mountainsloth]

More slabbage growing in the slabbage patch. Love it! Wish I were there to play. 

[genepires]

Alright then, back up to the slabbage!

 

[Off_White]

This looks like lots of fun, thanks for sharing!

 

[TylerTheTater]

Hey Curt!

We took a trip up to link Snagglepuss and Purdie Shuffle this last week.

Had a blast up there! Replaced / cleaned a bit of tat, and generally just had a bunch of fun. Ol’ Snagglepuss up top is pretty gnarly, haha.

Thanks for putting in the work! An adventurous little gem for sure. 

[mountainsloth]

My friend and I climbed this route the other day along with the 2 pitch “Top Cat” above. Overall we found the climbing fun and cruiser. It felt like the easiest multi pitch in the darrington area. The perspective gives you great views of exfoliation dome.
 

Even though it was dirty in spots, we thought the best pitches were pitch 2 of Top Cat (photo below)

…and pitch 5 of Snagglepuss.
We added one last horrible adventure pitch above Top Cat to reach the top of the formation. Cool place!

[TylerTheTater]

AWESOME! So stoked that people are starting to get on Top Cat. That top dihedral pitch is definitely one of the best.

Really interested in hearing which way you went to make the top of the formation! Curt and I found that traversing around the base of the “Top Hat” to the North Saddle wasn’t too bad, but it sounds like you took a more direct route.

Hope you had a blast up there!

[Otto]

That looks like fun, Curt! Especially that first pitch 4 shot looks really cool. Thanks to you and Mark for doing the work, and sharing the photos and topo.

Your son looks just like you! Looking forward to meeting you some day, as I'm sure our paths will cross.

[curtveld]

On 8/3/2021 at 4:57 PM, mountainsloth said:

My friend and I climbed this route the other day along with the 2 pitch “Top Cat” above. Overall we found the climbing fun and cruiser. It felt like the easiest multi pitch in the darrington area. 

Great news, Jeremy!  The 'easiest multi in Darrington' was always the goal and it has worked out pretty well. It nudges right up to 8+/9 in places, but always backs off after one or two thin moves. 

That dihedral on the ninth pitch is definitely a gem! Hopefully it will get enough traffic to stay semi-clean. How did you guys get through the Alcove above the Snag?   

[curtveld]

You're welcome, Bill.  If anyone appreciates the effort and satisfaction involved in Darrington route development, it is you! Drop me line anytime and we'll go climb something.   

Edited August 7, 2021 by curtveld

[JasonG]

On 8/2/2020 at 8:56 PM, JasonG said:

I mean it!

Oops. Hopefully this year?  Need to get out there with you @curtveld and we can get Casey and @Trent to come along as well!

[curtveld]

1 hour ago, JasonG said:

Oops. Hopefully this year?  Need to get out there with you @curtveld and we can get Casey and @Trent to come along as well!

Sure, even when you can't get to Squamish or the Bugs, there is a bit of both in D-town!

[mountainsloth]

On 8/4/2021 at 11:53 AM, TylerTheTater said:

AWESOME! So stoked that people are starting to get on Top Cat. That top dihedral pitch is definitely one of the best.

Really interested in hearing which way you went to make the top of the formation! Curt and I found that traversing around the base of the “Top Hat” to the North Saddle wasn’t too bad, but it sounds like you took a more direct route.

Hope you had a blast up there!

Oh, I found my inner monkey and mostly used the trees straight up from the top cat anchor  🤪

[OlympicMtnBoy]

Cool, I need to check this out!

[tanstaafl]

Thanks for your work on this Curt; I'd never even heard of Salami Slab before as it's not in Rattle n Slime and I don't always haunt Mountain Project.  It was a fun day out on Sunday; got surprisingly warm on the slabs by the afternoon!

 

[TylerTheTater]

On 8/13/2021 at 7:50 PM, mountainsloth said:

Oh, I found my inner monkey and mostly used the trees straight up from the top cat anchor  🤪

Ooof, that must have been quite the shwack. My last time up we downclimbed from the summit that way and I had pine needles in my pants for days after.

Taking a traverse from the top anchors, there is a dirty but extremely splitter hand crack that would set parties up on the summit in 2-3 pitches. I tried to clean it the best I could, but it's still unpleasant climbing and needs some Index level gardening before becoming a good addition. 

I am just not sure that there is any good way to that pinnacle up there, which is a huge bummer.

Edited September 8, 2021 by TylerTheTater

[mountainsloth]

On 9/2/2021 at 2:16 PM, TylerTheTater said:

Ooof, that must have been quite the shwack. My last time up we downclimbed from the summit that way and I had pine needles in my pants for days after.

Taking a traverse from the top anchors, there is a dirty but extremely splitter hand crack that would set parties up on the summit in 2-3 pitches. I tried to clean it the best I could, but it's still unpleasant climbing and needs some Index level gardening before becoming a good addition. 

I am just not sure that there is any good way to that pinnacle up there, which is a huge bummer.

Good to know! I’ll keep it in mind next time I’m up there.