Lundin short rock climb

[Al_Pine]

Looks like one more day before the rains hit. Don't have much pressing at work. Hatch the plan and execute. Head up to Sno Pass with the soloist to try some pitch I've been eyeing. Festivities undertaken on the drive up, I shoulder the load and head up the Sno Mountain trail. Sure is harder with a rope and gear n' shit loading me down! Pass up my usual bouldering spot in the fairy meadows of Cave Ridge as there is a need for speed today. I need to be back before anybody knows I'm gone. Stumble on up to Lundin, climb part of the West Ridge and get set on the overhanging perch above the prospect.

 

Takes me about 15 minutes, (no lie!) to unsnarl the rope, #%*& , but I get the toprope set up and rap on down (too much of a pussy to lead this unknown thing with a soloist).

 

Down at the base of the prospect. It's looking good. Clean rock, and a cavernous chimney going completely through the rock, then some slightly overhanging cracks .

 

I'm not that experienced with the soloist yet, so I'm tieing a backup knot every chance I get. This, of course, unweights the rope so it won't feed by itself, so I gotta pull the rope snug by hand every chance I get too. Luckily the climbing turns out to be fairly easy. Easy ramp, then the cool chimney. The chimney is behind a big flake and the edge is all sharp with holds. There's a big chockstone at the top to mantle up on (I tested and cleaned it off on the way down.) Phew, partway there. Now some featured steep corner crack. Then a ledge.

There's a mealy-looking handcrack curving up the last twenty feet or so. It's right where the toprope is heading, but it's just a bit overhung and thus intimidating (soloist manual says, ...will not catch upside down falls). I try to wimp out right, but the soloist holds me and won't let me go away from the anchor. So, I go for it. All goes well, awesome finish. Handcracks rule .

 

Reach the top, pull up the rope. Pack and celebrate.

 

Hurry hurry back to the car (no ticket ), zoom on down the road to the big city. No even knows I'm gone!

 

 

Topo above. It's on the South Face of the West Ridge of Lundin. It's probably about 5.8 in the upper crack part, 5.7 below. Don't know gear exactly since I didn't lead it, but definitely bring a handcrack-sized cam or two. Reachable from below via several options, or traversing over from partway up West Ridge. Rapelling down to it works too.

[JoshK]

Al_Pine said:

Looks like one more day before the rains hit.

 

FWIW, the weather report looks great for the entire next week...

[minx]

was this on sunday? we were up in that area and thought we heard someone.

 

sounds like you had a good climb

[Al_Pine]

It was on Monday Sept 15. I believe that answers both of your questions.

[Al_Pine]

Like Iceguy I avoided work yesterday and bombed up to the mountains. I headed back to Lundin.

 

Headed up to the same dropoff point but toproped a line further right and all the way from the base. It follows a line on the left side of the big arch that is just right of the line in the photo above.

 

This time I rapped all the way to the base (60m rope). After some noisy trundling on the way down (the bottom half of the face has/had more loose blocks than the upper half), I started up some exciting flakes that begin pretty much straight below the right side of the big arch. There's some fun, clean 5.9 face climbing, stemming and flake pulling on the lower part. Then a large chossy ledge. From the ledge there's a bit of clean blocky stuff to a really clean 10a right-facing sharp flake with small hands behind it, about 20 feet high. Up more blocky to the left side of the arch. This is where it gets really good. This is on the other side of the squeeze chimney of the above-detailed route. The chimney is actually not big enough to fit inside, and it slants up and right, so it's more an overhanging off-width or strenuous undercling/layback. After about 10 feet there's some holds inside the thing (maybe pro here?) but it's still strenuous. At the top there's no great rest and you undercling reach out right to a handcrack that pulls through the roof and heads up steeply in a LFC for 20-30 feet. This whole section does not have many thin moves, but is quite sustained and strenous. Probably about 10a or b. After the LFC crack you connect up with the final overhanging handcrack of the previously detailed pitch. This line was very cool .

 

Though toproping is not as satisfying as a lead would be, it makes for less of a load to haul up there (~ 2 hours). Gear I used for the toprope = #.75, #1 Camalots, small stopper (#3 WC), and a slung chockstone. Leading it might be considerably more difficult so the grades I'm estimating may be screwy. The offwidth/undercling part could be problematic in terms of protection as could some of the face climbing on the lower section of the route.

 

There's some other easy chimney lines up there and still the right edge of the arch (looks hard) to explore. Depending on how much you value a scenic hike and bagging a peak, you might think it worth the 2 hour trudge. It's a warm southern exposure, good for early and late season.

 

The two lines I explored are really quite clean. There were a few sections when a nice handjam was marred by moss, lichen etc. So more of you need go up there and sample these beauties! They are definitely quality pitches (I would think multi stars at the crags), just a bit of a hump from the car.