Buckner North Face versus North Face Couloir?

[goatboy]

Seems like many folks talk about climbing Buckner's classic NF route, but I rarely hear much about the NF Couloir route.

 

For those of you who have climbed the Couloir, or who have climbed BOTH routes, please give some info about the quality of the route and how it might compare in difficulty, objective hazard, or bergschrund complications to the North Face route.

 

I have climbed the North Face, so I am familiar with that route (we did it in September, so the schrund was huge but was easily bypassed via the snowfield to the left).

 

Thanks very much!

 

goatboy

[David_Parker]

I did the NF couloir a few years ago. It was fun! It just seemed if you went over there it would be appropriate to do the slightly more challenging route.

[goatboy]

Hi David,

 

Thanks for the response -- was the rock conducive to rock pro at all? We soloed the NF but I may be climbing the NFC with a partner and belaying it . . .

 

Also, did you encounter any alpine ice or was it neve?

 

The NF was 90% neve when I did it, with maybe 60 meters of alpine ice at the very top . . .

 

Thanks!

[David_Parker]

We did not use much rock pro, only near the top as we simuled, more for rope directional than pro. We only placed a few screws in some exposed alpine ice near the bottom after passing the shrund on the left. After that we simul soled neve to the top of the couloir and then found our way through the exposed rock still mostly on snow/neve. I think the scariest part for me was traversing rotten 4th class on Boston Peak to reach the Boston Glacier.

[goatboy]

I think the scariest part for me was traversing rotten 4th class on Boston Peak to reach the Boston Glacier.

 

WORD! Thankfully, that section was rather short, as I recall . . .

 

Anyone else want to weigh in on this comparison between the NF and NF Couloir?

[meganerd]

I'm really starting to wonder whether we found some fantastically new route to get by Boston Peak on the approach to these routes. It was really much easier than we had expected. Felt like second class with a little third to me. THIS IS IN NO WAY CHESTBEATING, I'm a crappy climber, but I'm just wondering what way everyone is going. When we did it (in early-mid July last year), we crossed over Boston-Sahale Col and started climbing up Boston until we were just above the level of Sahale and the climbing got much harder. For us, the way across from here looked obvious and there was a cairn. Very little use of hands. It was loose and required care, but really didn't seem very hard.

 

The problem for us was that it had been a very warm night and the Boston Glacier was 4 inches of slush over crust and it was very difficult to descend that initial relatively steep part. We actually ended up going over to Ripsaw Ridge on the right and downclimbing that (now that was 3rd-4th class). That took so long, and it was so warm that we actually turned back and retraced the entire thing which was lame.

 

Now, Boston Peak itself is definetely another story than the traverse underneath it. Eric and I had been saying on the way back up that we would bag that one to soothe our damaged self esteems. Once we actually got there, I decided I would sit that one out, but Eric was determined so he started up and nearly pulled a boulder onto himself in the process. This was at the same time very entertaining and very worrysome to watch.

[goatboy]

Yeah, I agree. It wasn't that hard, and rather short . . . but still kinda loose and unpleasant compared to the relatively pleasant climbing from Sahale over to that point . . .

[goatboy]

Anyone else????? NF versus NF Couloir?