telemarker Posted June 22, 2004 Share Posted June 22, 2004 Climb: The Mole-North Face via the West Face Date of Climb: 6/18/2004 Trip Report: My friend Ed and I climbed The Mole Friday, in a one day grunt up Hook Creek. We started at 5.30am from Aphabet Rock pull-out, and was able to reach Edward's Plateau by 10.30am. After a two hour snooze on the plateau (it's quite a place!) we checked out the S. face route, and decided to do something a little different. We hiked down Rat Creek a few hundred feet, to just below the giant chockstone and started up the West Face, right beside the 5.12 crack shown in the Beckey Guide. Apart from the odd loose block, there was fine climbing on slab cracks trending north, with the 3rd pitch being the best, 200 feet on great hand jams that crested the Northwest Buttress. We got pinched out about 3 pitches up, so I made two traversing pitches to the North Face. A 50 meter rappel brought us to a ledge below the last 400 feet of the North Face. Endless hand jamming on two 200 foot pitches brought us to the summit. Two double rope raps off the S. face route and we were hiking back to Yellowjacket Tower, which we made be nightfall. The slabs below the tower are nasty in the dark, so we bivied there and skampered down in the morning. Gear Notes: Any gear you feel like hauling up a few thousand feet. You only need one 60 meter rope for the S. Face raps. Approach Notes: Great trail up to Yellowjacket Tower, minimal bushwacking around to the drainage, straightforward hike up to Edward's Plateau. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug Posted June 22, 2004 Share Posted June 22, 2004 Nice alpine fun. What did those N face cracks go at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telemarker Posted June 22, 2004 Author Share Posted June 22, 2004 The north face cracks went at 5.7-5.8 fun and safe for 400 feet. You could start at the base of the N. face and add another 100 feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug Posted June 22, 2004 Share Posted June 22, 2004 Right on. That's my style. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaphappy Posted June 22, 2004 Share Posted June 22, 2004 Maybe I'm really confused but isn't the large chockstone on the East side of The Mole between it and the Duolith? How did you circumnavigate the whole formation, that west side is STEEP? There are 3 variations I know of on the N face. Two are 5.7/8 and are almost exactly 400' long. The other is perhaps 500' and is a bit harder at 9+ish. Way to get at it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crackbolter Posted June 22, 2004 Share Posted June 22, 2004 Right On!! That looks like a fun route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telemarker Posted June 22, 2004 Author Share Posted June 22, 2004 Maybe I'm really confused but isn't the large chockstone on the East side of The Mole between it and the Duolith? How did you circumnavigate the whole formation, that west side is STEEP? There are 3 variations I know of on the N face. Two are 5.7/8 and are almost exactly 400' long. The other is perhaps 500' and is a bit harder at 9+ish. Way to get at it! We skirted below the "hollow" Beckey talks about and is clearly visible in his photo, and I led a long, 200 foot slab crack to the NW Ridge. Then made two, upward, north trending traverse pitches to the western edge of the N. face. Also, there are two chockstones, with one being between the Mole and Duolith, and the larger one further down the gully (west). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaphappy Posted June 22, 2004 Share Posted June 22, 2004 Hmmm, I guess it's starting to make sense. Clearly I need to get the updated version of the Beckey bible my old one has no photo. He refers to a hollow on the West Face route, I assume this is what you mean. I was only aware of the "giant chockstone" between The Mole and The Duolith not of the other further west. Either way nice work! Sounds like a fun way to extend the already entertaining NF routes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeezix Posted June 22, 2004 Share Posted June 22, 2004 Way to go... I've been staring up at the Rat Creek Group since 1978. Some day I'd like to backpack up to the Lost World Plateau and just hang out up there for a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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