S. E. W. S. east butress direct on a single rope

[nalo]

I am interested in climbing the east butress direct route on South Early Winter Spire in a few weeks and am wondering if its possible to descend the route by rappelling back down it with a single rope. So i guess my question is this: are the rap stations on the route more than 30 m apart?

thanks for helping me not die

[Billygoat]

I am a bit curious myself

[Mr._Natural]

dont rap it, downclimb south arete.

[Szyjakowski]

dont rap it, downclimb south arete.

repeat downclimb south arete.

[scott_johnston]

There are not established belay/rap stations on several pitches so you would have to construct something and leave it if you chose to rap back down the route. I have not done the route in a couple of years but have climbed it a few times and as I recall only the first 5.11 pitch has an established anchor all the others you will have to build yourelf. You will be faster to go over the top and descend the S arete.

[Gary_Yngve]

and even if you did decide to rap it, getting from the second bolt ladder to the first bolt ladder would prove to be quite tricky, as it's pretty traversy.

[Lowell_Skoog]

I usually downclimb the SW gully. It's easier (class 3) than the south arete and safe enough if you stick together.

 

It's interesting that today climbers would consider rappeling a ~10 pitch route on a peak that has a walk-off down the backside. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, necessarily, but it's sure a different strategy then when I started climbing. How did this get started?

 

Last summer a friend and I climbed Gimli in the Valhallas of B.C. The peak has an easy scramble route down the backside, yet we listened to two parties kick rocks on each other well past sunset as they rappeled back down the technical route after summiting. Call me an old fart but I kept thinking "What's with kids these days!" I asked one of them about it as he tromped past our camp in the dark and he said, "Oh rappeling is much faster." Well it wasn't, according to my watch after we scrambled down the back side the next day.

[nalo]

Well, the reason I ask is that I'm not exactly the best climber in the world, and if my partner and I go too slow / something happens I am interested how committing the route is. How high do the established rap stations go? Where is the point of no (easy) return?

thanks again

[gmknight]

Sorry about the thread wander but I am also somewhat puzzled over this obsession with rappelling. I used to climb at Sespe Wall in SoCal, has a nice simple downclimb right next to the two pitch routes but someone decided it would be a good idea to drill some rap rings onto the route. weird.

[TimL]

If I rememeber correctly, you can rap the route either from the top of the first bolt ladder or the pitch before it. After that the route wonders enoouth that you would have to leave gear. After you get past the second bolt ladder, the route goes much quicker.

[DPS]

I bailed from the top of the first bolt ladder in a snow storm with a single 60 meter rope. Left creative anchors like jammed knots and the like.

[Lowell_Skoog]

Well, the reason I ask is that I'm not exactly the best climber in the world, and if my partner and I go too slow / something happens I am interested how committing the route is. How high do the established rap stations go? Where is the point of no (easy) return?

 

That makes sense. It's been 8 years since I last did the route, so I don't know about the current anchors. I agree with what others have said--it would get tricky after you finish the first bolt ladder, which spirals around the buttress rather than climbing straight up. That's somewhere between the 3rd and 5th pitch, depending on where you start belaying. I suggest bringing a light second line in case you need to back off. If you're "not exactly the best climber in the world" (me neither) you'll probably find it helpful to haul your pack in a few places.

[jrb]

The route isn’t as committing as it looks on paper. I want to say there are only 3 or 4 pitches that I would call “rock climbing” pitches, most of it feels pretty alpine in nature (read: easy ground, with a hard move here and there). If you feel fine on the first three or four pitches you will do fine. While the last two or three pitches (I don’t have a topo in front of me) are a little run out, they are barely low-fifth class in my book. You’ll run up them. I did it last summer, and my buddy took a big fall (at least 35 ft, he got off route) before the second bolt latter. Even with the extra drama we polished off the route faster then we expected. We had plenty of time for a few beers in town.

[Suz]

I suggest bringing a light second line in case you need to back off.

 

Double ropes rock the house!

[Ben]

Here are some notes I took two summers ago after climbing it. At that time, it looked like there was a somewhat established rap route (based on the location of slings w. double rap rings). Of course, I didn't didn't do it, so can't vouch for how straightforward it is. Read on:

 

"There is now a well-established rappel route, or so it seems. As I remember, from bottom to top: at the base of the second pitch there is a tree anchor; at the top of the 5.9 (tree anchor); the double-bolt pseudo hanging belay on the first bolt ladder should/might get you down to the base top of the 5.9 pitch (this is questionable, but should work b/c the 4th pitch is short); and then there are 2 more tree anchors above and a 2 bolt anchor on the sub summit. This would mean 6 double rope raps to the easier ground..."

 

They would all be double rope raps, but I can't say if they are 50 or 60 meters. Again, I haven't done this, just noted that it might be possible based on the in-situ gear I saw last time. To be safe, bring your walking shoes and be prepared to walk off. (The added benefit to walking off is that you can feel superior to the south side crowds when they ask you where you came from...)