robertm Posted April 14, 2004 Posted April 14, 2004 Climb: Brothers Traverse-SE Ridge to S. Brother to N. Brother via traverse Date of Climb: 4/11/2004 Trip Report: Der Wanderer and I headed over to the Brothers to climb the Brothers. I have looked at them long enough so I decided it was a good weekend to give them a go. We approached on Saturday to Lunch Ledge and bivied. From there we climbed the S. Brother SE ridge climbing a series of gullies and a 1/2 pitch of super solid 5th class rock to put us on the S brother summit ridge. The traverse from the S. Brother to the N. Brother had steep exposed soft snow that improved on the west aspects. Rock pro came in real handy to set reliable simul anchors. It took us about 3 hours between the peaks. Note: Finding the lower approach over to the "Great Basin" to do the traverse N. to S. is really involved. This is how we ended up climbing the SE ridge. The rock over there is really pretty damn good. This is a real classic as far as I am concerned... challenging, great views and rewarding summits. Gear Notes: set of med to large chocks (used frequently) 8.5 mil rope long slings pickets - snow too soft to use Approach Notes: No snow until 3000 feet. Soft snow above. Quote
Sabertooth Posted April 14, 2004 Posted April 14, 2004 Nice! That last pic is awesome with the annotations. Quote
bremerton_john Posted April 14, 2004 Posted April 14, 2004 Nice Climb! You know, it's been mentioned in previous posts that the guidebook committee for the Olympics is presently working on the new edition. The Brothers Traverse was something that they felt could use an improved write-up. Robert, would you be willing to contribute? Quote
robertm Posted April 14, 2004 Author Posted April 14, 2004 I would be happy to contribute. Our experience on the route might be different than some parties due to the fact that we did the climb in April (snow cover). The mountaineers description for access to the Great Basin is so misleading that it would be better if you had no description at all. From lunch ledge (~5300) ascend right and up eastward several hundered yards. You should be no higher than 5800 feet to find the gap to head into the great basin (it is farther than you think). That being said I think the traverse from the S to N isn't all that bad (summer might be a different story). Also, SE ridge of S. brother is a pretty cool option rather than the standard S. Coulier. (my .02) Quote
wayne Posted April 15, 2004 Posted April 15, 2004 Hey, again: Good Job, My girlfriend and I were the ones you ran into on the way out Quote
Der_Wanderer Posted April 15, 2004 Posted April 15, 2004 Hey Wayne, I thought I recognized you when I saw you at the lake but I couldn't recall until a few steps away...I saw your Pickets enchainment slideshow a few months ago. Good seeing you there. -Theron Quote
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