goatboy Posted August 2, 2003 Posted August 2, 2003 I wanted to report that my partner James and I climbed the T-F Traverse over July 29-31. It was in fairly good condition, complete with the "problems" that Nelson alludes to in his route description (Selected Climbs Vol I 2nd Edition). July 29 -- we hiked up to Boston Basin upper camp and had dinner. Observed a party descending the W Ridge Forbidden Couloir by headlamps as we drifted off to sleep . . . July 30 -- We got up at 1:30 AM and had coffee. We were surprised to see the same party STILL descending the unnamed glacier below the couloir . . . Grim for them I suppose. Started hiking toward Torment Basin at 2:30. Topped out on Torment at 7:15 AM and headed down towards the Traverse. Most of the difficulties were in the first third of the ridge -- once we truly regained the ridge crest after all the North side monkey business, the hard part was done and the last 2/3rds of the climb went really fast, comparatively. We arrived at the base of the W Ridge of Forbidden at 3:30 PM and summited Forbidden at 5, then grovelled across the loose NE Face of Forbidden in a tired, unfocused, dehydrated state. It was the least pleasant part of the otherwise great day. July 31 -- Slept in, drank coffee, hiked out to salt-and-vinegar chips and cold beers in a cooler in the car . . . All in all, we completed the Traverse over 16 hours, back at camp by 8:30. Of note were a few problems, including the huge bergschrund we encountered immediately upon accessing the North side of the ridge (after descending across the SE Face of Torment). Also, we traversed across hundreds of feet of very exposed 50 degree snow. I carried crampons but due to the unseasonably warm weather, did not need them in the soft snow. Also carried rock shoed, unnecessarily. However, the two tools I took (actually, two lightweight ice axes instead of ice tools) worked very well for the soft, steep snow. If I were to offer any advice, it would be to bring two tools for SURE, and consider bringing crampons if it froze hard the night before. Otherwise, you may not need crampons. We did the whole climb with a 60 meter 8 mm rope, doubled over for simul-climbing. This route has been described as one of the best in the range, and I would have to agree -- once you regain the ridge crest. It is certainly long and committing, and presents interesting challenges and opportunities for routefinding and decision making. For example, we ended up rappelling 11 times over the course of the day, soloed a bit, and simulclimbed the great majority of the time. I'm sure other parties may have chosen to manage these sections via other strategies, some faster, some slower. In short, it was a great trip with a great partner, and I highly recommend the route. I will try to share some pictures soon. Quote
Gaston Posted August 3, 2003 Posted August 3, 2003 This is preposterous. Anyone who crafts a post with such attention to detail and cool, off-handed language like "monkey businesse" is obviously a phony. Nice try, goatboy. Go climb something for real, and then give a post like the rest of us do: short, incoherent, vague. What's up with the "Pumpkin" thing, anyway? Quote
goatboy Posted August 3, 2003 Author Posted August 3, 2003 Gaston, You must like that "Pumpkin" thing, huh???? You're absolutely correct, it WAS preposterous. What sort of "monkey business" am I up to, anyway? I will make every effort, in the future, to be less inclined towards climbing things for real and to recline deeper into vagueness, briefness, and incoherence, based on your effective feedback. Thanks for helping me -- and all of us -- evolve into a better internet community of climbers. As to editing out the hand . . . Yeah, could have been a better picture without the distracting fingers in the way, huh? But at the risk of getting back to the subject, which is climbing, has anyone else done this route lately and encountered better or worse conditions? I'm curious about people's impressions of the route at different times of the year, for example. It didn't appear to me, from the lack of fixed gear on the ridge and the entries in the Torment summit register that the Traverse gets done a whole lot, but I imagine it will become more popular as time goes by. Anyone else done it who has different views or impressions of it or its aesthetic quality? Quote
Off_White Posted August 3, 2003 Posted August 3, 2003 By "lack of fixed gear" did you mean that your rappels did not have old slings on them? Aside from the odd old pin here and there, I'm not much accustomed to finding gear on routes. As to impressions of the route, I hope to get back to you later this summer on that subject. Quote
goatboy Posted August 3, 2003 Author Posted August 3, 2003 Yeah, by lack of fixed gear (which to me was a good thing rather than a problem), I meant that compared to the ridge on Torment (nests of slings everywhere) and the W Ridge of Forbidden (slings, biners, daisychains, rap stations, all kinds of stuff all over the place), the connecting ridge had only one sling in situ that we saw the whole day. There were no fixed pins that we saw, and no fixed pro anywhere . . . it seemed to be more of a wilderness alpine climb than the two summits on either side of it. Good luck on the Traverse, Off_White! I hope to hear about your trip when you do it. Quote
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