Mt Baring free routes and Mt. Index

[bigwalling]

I'm just wondering what people know about the free routes up there. Also any free routes on the Norwegian Buttresses of Mt. Index?

[Matt_Anderson]

Re: Index - Only been on Swim - The Fifth pitch should not be done in the heat - horrendously frustrating. Otherwise, very nice, The Second and fourth pitches are really nice.

Re: Baring - Two free routes that I know of on Dolomite tower (the tower furthest right as you're looking at the N face.) Regardless of what route you do, make sure that you wait until the snow melts out, even from the buttresses above the approach: Burdo says he saw a huge amount of ice scour part of the approach during an early season foray.

Also, it appears that a significant amount of rockfall scoured the slab that is used to exit the primary approach gully. Nothing came down when we were up there (a little over two days), but an area a few hundred feet across on a 45 degree slab was littered with a substance similar to concrete. We also noticed some hangers taht were rather beaten up. I can only assume it was the result of a large rock fall, especially since Burdo says that slab had always been very clean when he was on it.

One route goes at low twelve with a whole lot of sustained .11. Its called Vanishing point. Very nice. Is got about 14 pitches on the main buttress, but many of them can be joined with a 70 meter rope.

Another, I believe, is called Northwest passage, is supposed to be less sustained, but has a crux .12c pitch.

Reportedly, Doorish may be working on a third free route up there.

Re: the main face on Baring - There was a trip report last summer by somebody with a rather detailed description of a route that Beckey put up on the face (I think??). You should be able to find it with a search all posts for baring.

matt

[mneagle]

Here's a trip report I put in on the North Face of Baring a few months back.

http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=000058