jordop Posted September 23, 2003 Posted September 23, 2003 Anybody done this route or has managed to uncork where it actually goes? Beckey's description seems a "left foot , then right foot" sort of affair and I can make nothing of it. Maybe up the light colored slab left of the sun/shade edge? Quote
russ Posted September 23, 2003 Posted September 23, 2003 It's been a few years, but wouldn't it be mostly in the sun lite face on the right? Quote
jordop Posted September 23, 2003 Author Posted September 23, 2003 Yeah, that's what i thought too, but Fred's arrow in his photo is pointing at the face with that light colored patch LEFT of that ridge. Seems a lot bigger than the description he gives it Quote
philfort Posted September 23, 2003 Posted September 23, 2003 It's on the right face. Beckey's arrow is wrong! Quote
Cpt.Caveman Posted September 23, 2003 Posted September 23, 2003 philfort said: It's on the right face. Beckey's arrow is wrong! You should introduce input. He is looking for shit like that. It aint his fault all the time. Sometimes the editors are in so much a hurry they just fuck up and forget the details. But my opinion is that if it is a climing book fucking relax and get the details right. What do I know - because everything has an error. Phil you should send the fix to Fred. I mean if you want... Quote
Off_White Posted September 23, 2003 Posted September 23, 2003 I wonder about who is going to pick up the torch Beckey is still carrying. The latest green guide had two errors that I caught in a cursory bookstore scan. One was a trivial route on Fortress that I submitted via email (so it's not the fault of my sloppy penmanship) that is mangled enough as to be impossible to follow, and the other on Thunder Peak (as noted by Lowell Skoog in a thread in N Cascades route reports) that identifies the wrong rib by 180 degrees and only references the AAJ issue with the route report as a description. Two errors in a book is not a big deal, but these were the only two I knew to look for, so I found it alarming. Writer or publisher, I don't know from blame (and don't care to point fingers, writing a guide is a largly thankless task, a real labor of love), but I do wonder who will inherit the mantle? I'm all for adventure, and the odd "obvious gully" is all part of the alpine game, but it's always nice to have some indication of what face the climb is actually on. Before all you Friend-Of-Fred's play dogpile on me, I'd like to acknowledge that his Cascade alpine guides are pretty amazing and comprehensive, far more ambitious and unmatched by anything I've ever seen published for any other range, but the select guides are just not an adequate substitute, any more than McLanes Alpine Select for Canada is a one for one replacement for Fairly's guide, and I think it's a matter of substantial concern as to who CAN step into Fred's shoes, especially if he's starting to lose track of the details. I think Lowell's question about a Cascade Alpine Journal is in part about a way to address this concern. Quote
philfort Posted September 23, 2003 Posted September 23, 2003 ...except the route is "North face/North Ridge", so maybe the arrow is the north face, but it's not the route (or at least not the route that most people do). At least I think. The description is confusing, but the actual climb is not (at least not until the last pitch or two, which we didn't complete). Instead of "left foot, right foot", it could say "go up from Burgundy col easiest way". Top of the peak is confusing though... I certainly couldn't make any sense of it... I think the over-extensive description and crazy detailed topo of the Burgundy summit block is a "Beckey-ism classic" and should be left as is Quote
jordop Posted September 23, 2003 Author Posted September 23, 2003 Seems like a purdy big foobar there, somebody send the guy a telegram or a Pony express. Maybe a smoke signal. Ooh, I got it, a strip-a-gram "Hey there Fred, Seems like you cocked it up in the red." It's the Vons voddy talking Quote
jordop Posted September 23, 2003 Author Posted September 23, 2003 philfort said: ...except the route is "North face/North Ridge", so maybe the arrow is the north face, but it's not the route (or at least not the route that most people do). At least I think. The description is confusing, but the actual climb is not (at least not until the last pitch or two, which we didn't complete). Instead of "left foot, right foot", it could say "go up from Burgundy col easiest way". Top of the peak is confusing though... I certainly couldn't make any sense of it... I think the over-extensive description and crazy detailed topo of the Burgundy summit block is a "Beckey-ism classic" and should be left as is Can't beat the *TWO* topo views of the Corkscrew Route Quote
mattp Posted September 23, 2003 Posted September 23, 2003 Off, you raise a good question. Yes, his books are full of errors, and we defenders of Fred will point out that so are Nelson's guides and Smoots are even worse -- but one thing that distinguishes Fred, in my mind, is that I think he tries very hard to incorporate feedback from his readers. It is actually pretty cool that you could send him an Email about Fortress and he'd try to put it in there. Whatever you think of him, though, it is clear that someobody else is going to be taking over the reigns at some point. I'd nominate Lowell Skoog. Quote
goatboy Posted September 23, 2003 Posted September 23, 2003 As to where the route "goes": I climbed it in a whiteout two summer ago, and I think not being able to see actualy HELPED me, as I was careful not to get suckered up any of the tempting crack systems you bypass before getting to the true finish (which is more closely on the west face than the north). Bryan Burdo's North Cascades Rock book actually has a helpful hand-drawn topo inside for the route. After reaching Burgundy Ledge via mostly-non-descript pitches, you traverse WAY RIGHT (tunneling behind a huge leaning block) and climb up a ramp system which leads to a very thin crack (small stoppers, aliens) which takes you up to a wider dihedral and the summit ridge eventually. It was so cloudy when I did it, we couldn't even see Chianti!!! If you're going to go do it, PM me for more specifics if you care to. Steve Quote
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