Norman_Clyde Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 I second the above about the Eastern descent gully. Also, if you didn't mind a half mile detour, from the gully top you can traverse to the south, side-hill the west slopes of Bryant Peak and come over the pass at the south end of the basin, which is less than 45 degrees the whole way from the summit, unless there's a cornice. No rope required. I suppose this is the wimp option, but it suited me when I soloed the rap gully 2 years back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jja Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 If you do bring a rope, a single 50 will get you to the second rap anchor in the gully - it's a sling with a rap ring on a monster pin on the left .. it's way obvious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.radon Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 (edited) Depends on snow levels. One year jdog and I had to dig it out and collaps a big cornice before we could rap off that second rap station. Edited March 1, 2004 by mr.radon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jja Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 I'm now going to reveal the fact that I've climbed that thing way too many times ... there are actually two rap anchors for the second rap, one of which is about 15' higher than the other, in low snow conditions the lower one should be exposed - as it gets buried the high one is available. As of three weeks ago the high one is in reach with a good stretch of the arm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skykilo Posted March 1, 2004 Author Share Posted March 1, 2004 Oh, the beta, the horror, make it stop!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 If I clip the high one, do I have to do a sit start? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jja Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 the sit start involves an m-9ish move that is way heinous. it awaits a send. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmilingWhiteKnuckles Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 You are most welcome! Did you follow my beginning line up the main funnel for the face above or did you go to the right up through the rocks? The ice/snow in the first section was great! Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timcb Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Wazzu- was that you I saw camped just below source lake sunday morning ~8:45? you headed up to the ne slab of tooth w/ cascadeclimber? glad you had such a successful weekend  My partner and I were less successful on both the NEB and NF of chair. On the NF, we started climbing up too early (discovered only after returning home and having a look at the photo in nelson and potterfield). We crossed the moat/schrund and headed right up the first depression on the NF wall. I backed off that when I found the ice to be rotten, aerated and thin. That, plus what looked like several steep (60 and 70 deg) rock steps that would have been very difficult to protect and covered with loose snow barred further progress. I just didn't have the nerve to continue. bummer about starting up the wrong side of the face though..  Then we retreated off the NF and headed over to the NEB. My partner Mike started up this time, but before commiting to the first little chimney on the right side of the lower NEB he also got spooked by steep rock covered by thin loose snow. So we headed down off the mountain.  Basicly, I think we were just in over our heads a bit and surprised by the difficulty (and sketchiness in particular) of the climbing. It was my first time up at Chair, and so I'm not surprised that we failed- I'll just have to come back when I'm a little more prepared and experienced. I'm wondering though if my experience is fairly common amoung cc.comers. There's so much buzz about that climb and I've thought about it frequently enough that I think I had begun to underrate the commitment of the climb.  Have others of you had similar experiences on Chair? For those of you that were successful this weekend- what in particular (besides general experience) do you think was the difference between your success and my failure to summit? Did you find the same or similar conditions, but were just more willing to hang it out there? or did you not find it sketchy at all? did you think conditions on Chair were "good?"  Thanks  Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CascadeClimber Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 I started too far climber's left my first time on the NF, too. It's significantly harder over there. In the correct groove the climbing is easier, though still a bit runout and often mungy. Â Go back and get it! Â -L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen_Ramsey Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 You are most welcome! Did you follow my beginning line up the main funnel for the face above or did you go to the right up through the rocks? The ice/snow in the first section was great! Hello Smiling! Â Here was the approximate route that we took: Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurthicks Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 (edited) tim, i did the NF with CKouba on saturday as a day trip. left the car at 5am. it was both of our first times up to Chair and we (or me at least) were a little worried about getting off route/lost, etc. all was ok though, i brought the topo from Selected climbs. Â the route was really snowy and there wasn't that much ice. the moat was easily bypassed on the right side. pickets were the most useful pro we took with us. we did a long 1st pitch to a fixed pin, then a pitch to trees, then around the corner to more trees, then to the top w/ pickets. we averaged one piece of pro per pitch. i didn't feel exposed or too terribly committed during the route at all. some wallowing was had. anyways, it's too bad you didn't follow our footsteps, i bet it was a nice staircase on sunday. Â alas, i didn't make it up the Toof this weekend like we wanted to, but what about next weekend? any takers? Â kurt Edited March 2, 2004 by wazzumountaineer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timcb Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 --wazzu wrote:-- anyways, it's too bad you didn't follow our footsteps, i bet it was a nice staircase on sunday. ----------- Â yeah, we were certainly looking for footsteps on the traverse over to the base of the NF, but after about 50' of obvious steps, they'd gotten filled in by spindrift coming down from above so my partner and I were looking at completely virgin territory. perhaps if we'd just kept going west along the base of the NF we would have found your steps again.. Â and what's the consensus- which route is harder: NEB or NF? or about the same? Â Anyway, I'm definitely looking forward to getting back on chair (this time with a copy of the topo in my back pocket) Â Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg_W Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 and what's the consensus- which route is harder: NEB or NF? or about the same? Â I've always heard about the NEB being in slightly thinner conditions than the NF. I've done the NF twice and never the NEB, but I have been told that the NEB is slightly more difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klenke Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Info and pics for NEB can be found here: NEB Route page and Photos (start here on page 4 of the photo sets and work your way back to page 1 to view pictures of Sabertooth's and my climb on 2/22). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmilingWhiteKnuckles Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 Aha! I can't take credit for those tracks. Saw them from the top. They must have been from Saturday. Â I put in a thin line of the route I took which I guess would be the NE face of the NEB or something like that. Â The route you took looks exciting. How was getting around the big rock block on the upper part of the buttress? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen_Ramsey Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 The route you took looks exciting. How was getting around the big rock block on the upper part of the buttress? Hi SmilingWhiteKnuckles, Â It was OK, had some mixed moves and such. I don't have much of a basis for comparsion, but we found it to be challenging. Â Cheers, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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