[TR] Mount Fury- North Buttress 7/4/2004

[iain]

Climb: Mount Fury-North Buttress

 

Date of Climb: 7/4/2004

 

Trip Report:

A small group of friends had their eyes set on Mount Fury this year after gaping at the Luna Cirque last year from Mount Challenger. But what route to do? The NE face was now off-limits for climbing as it had been skied, so we had to do something that those guys probably wouldn't dare ski. So Hal Burton scheduled some time away from his undisclosed location to team up to climb the North Buttress, a supposed "classic" mixed climb of the Picket Range. The other members in our group of friends chose to climb the south glacier route, a fine line in its own right.

 

 

The dock at Big Beaver Trailhead on Ross Lake. Many an adventure/epic has commenced and ended here.

 

After a hike down to the Ross Lake Resort, the taxi was taken without shame to the Big Beaver Trailhead, where the long hike in to Access Creek began. After passing by the forbidden jungle of McMillan Creek and finding a good log crossing, we found ourselves deep in the devil's club fighting our way up the Access Creek drainage. I just kept saying to myself how much this must have sucked with skis on the pack.

 

 

Finally emerging from the character-building slide alder of Access Creek into the talus below Luna Peak.

 

We spent the night in the talus below Luna Peak, each of us donating a hearty portion of plasma to the Access Creek mosquito community.

 

The following morning was spent hoofing it up snow gullies to our first view of the southern pickets, an in-your-face shot of the imposing faces of McMillan Spires, Inspiration, Deg, Terror, etc. Heavy clouds occasionally obscured the summits, adding to the alpine feel. We made the mistake of coming around the corner a little low, which put us on steep heather. Mr. Burton actually had to self arrest on the heather at one point. Go high. After a bunch more traversing and climbing of snow and glacier-polished rock, we found ourselves at Luna Col, perhaps one of the finest camp spots in the country. The col is perched between the two massive cirques of McMillan and Luna, with jaw-dropping views all around.

 

 

Finally getting down to business. Camp at Luna Col. The North Buttress of Fury looms on the right.

 

As we were lounging around enjoying the views and healing the wounds from Access Creek, we hear voices down towards Luna Cirque! Who the hell is out there? None other than "Mr. Pickets" Wayne and some liberal moonbat named Josh. They were looking in good spirits but it was obvious they had just been through some battles up high. Sure enough, they provided a great story of their epic over part of the northern pickets, including what has to be a first descent of an unappealing gulley over by Ghost. They proceeded to make us look lazy by romping up Luna Peak, getting a weather report for us, and heading out for some jungle warfare with Access Creek.

 

The next day was pretty socked in up on Fury, so we decided to hang out and see if the weather improved. We took a lazy trip up Luna Peak, a necessity to tick off because you would never dream of battling your way in there just to climb that chosspile. We Oregonians were right at home on this stuff. Chossy and low-angle, just the way we like it.

 

The next day, there were no excuses. Hal Burton and I headed off down to Luna Lake at 3:30am. The descent proved challenging in the dark, and we wound up downclimbing a hideous steep dirt gulley after being treed repeatedly above steep dropoffs and waterfalls. After several hours we were at the base of one of the couloirs used to access the North Buttress.

 

 

The intimidating gully used to access a notch in the North Buttress.

 

The snow couloir was gripping. Frequently we had to downclimb into the moats and do vertical snow climbing back out. We could only make it up by chimneying our packs against the rock behind us, as tools just slid through the snow. With only 2 pickets to work with, a fall would be quite serious, and the moats were enormous! Much of the time was spent on poor rock with crampons, or snow bridges threatening to send you into the abyss.

 

 

Gully fun! This took a lot of time, and we were getting worried that we would be running late. This climb is long!

 

We finally got to the notch, providing incredible exposure to the icefalls below. The climbing above the notch went well, though there were some route-finding issues. Nothing that we were not expecting, but a little nerve-wracking when the clock is ticking. We had both promised that the headlamps would not come out again that day.

 

 

The climbing went on-and-on for hours, with continuous exposure and uncertainty with what difficulties lay ahead. After the first snow arete, an imposing wall of what looks like miserable, steep rock sits in front of us. We traversed left on steep snow, and then followed a gully full of somewhat tenuous mixed climbing. This finally gave way to full-on snow, and eventually the final, classic, beautiful steep snow arete came into view.

 

 

The view of Luna, and our camp at the col from high up on the North Buttress of Fury.

 

 

The final long arete to the summit pinnacles. Icefalls crash far below on both sides. The exposure is staggering! This climb just keeps dishing it out. After endless snow climbing up the arete, we hit the summit ridge, unsure of what was the actual summit. After popping around to the west side of the mountain, we were able to traverse some snow, then up a gully to what we thought was the top. Sure enough, the register was there. Thank goodness we are no longer on the steeps, after 12 hours on the move.

 

 

The summit of Fury, finally. We topped out at 4:00pm.

 

Our other friends had long since topped out on the south glacier, and thankfully we had a great track laid out for us to get off the mountain and back to the col.

 

 

Hal Burton's glad to be back on the tame terrain, and heading home! Mac spires are impressive from every angle.

 

Finally, at about 8:00pm, we staggered back into our camp. Fury offered up a beautiful lightshow as we downed more food than I care to disclose.

 

 

The trip out was a blur of bushwacking, heather, alder, and trail dust. The descent down Access Creek was much better than the ascent! Somehow we found a good line through there this time. By the time we were back on the boat dock waiting for a taxi, people looked a little beat:

 

 

We made it home, and the next day was a motionless day. It was great to see everyone made it to the summit of this beautiful mountain. Great to put some faces to cc.com names out there too! I can't think of a more fitting location to run into you guys.

 

As for the North Buttress of Fury, I often wonder if "classic" is synonymous with "ass-kicking". It was a long climb for me, with a host of diverse problems to overcome. It is a solid test of your all-around skills in the mountains. Thanks to Wayne for some words of wisdom on the route too.

 

Oh, and I'm supposed to add YEAH BILLY! Thanks for lending some photos to help us along.

 

Gear Notes:

Small set of hexes, largest sizes used frequently. Set of nuts, smaller tricams, 2 screws (not used), 2 pickets (would have liked 3).

 

Approach Notes:

Brutal.

[specialed]

Nice guys. Brilliant Pic's. Sounds like a fun adventure.

[cracked]

 

But no skis???

[Dru]

[AllYouCanEat]

Way to go! The ne face looks better than when we skied it. Thanks for the pics too. It brings back some interesting memories. I'll have to get back up there for some reminders eventually. Maybe next year...

[Dru]

iain its good to see your belaying practice paid off!

[skykilo]

Quoting iain:

 

The NE face was now off-limits for climbing as it had been skied, so we had to do something that those guys probably wouldn't dare ski.

 

What is that, some kind of challenge?

 

That looks like a sweet climb. Here's to the Northern Pickets.

[iain]

Quoting iain:

 

The NE face was now off-limits for climbing as it had been skied, so we had to do something that those guys probably wouldn't dare ski.

 

What is that, some kind of challenge?

 

That looks like a sweet climb. Here's to the Northern Pickets.

 

No challenge, just impressed with the line and the mental endurance to get skis up there. The upper section you skied looked good, but the lower section looked very broken. I think there is a lot less snow than when you were there. I read your Degenhart report. Please don't kill yourself.

[DonnV]

Great TR! Great pics! Good job!

[terrible_ted]

Nice job!

 

I'm planning a trip up there next week, actually, and I was curious about your choice of ropes. What did you guys bring, and what do you wish you'd brought? We'll be going up as a pair as well, so I'd like to get by with as little as possible, obviously...

 

-t

[iain]

We borrowed an 8.5" 1/2 rope and doubled it up for the rock stuff and single for the glacier descent. It made for some short pitches when that was necessary, but saved some weight. There was a lot of simul-climbing and it worked out pretty well.

[terrible_ted]

We borrowed an 8.5" 1/2 rope and doubled it up for the rock stuff and single for the glacier descent. It made for some short pitches when that was necessary, but saved some weight. There was a lot of simul-climbing and it worked out pretty well.

 

That's a great idea. Can I assume it was a 50M? My 8.6X50 comes in at 4#, which would beat the hell out of the other options I was considering...

 

-t

[iain]

It was actually a 60m rope, for what that's worth. Having a bit of distance between us was nice, as it usually allowed for at least a few pieces to be in at any given point.

[goatboy]

Great report and inspirational photos.

 

I climbed the "lesser route" mentioned (that has since been skied) and would agree that it was both classic and ass-kicking. I believe I lost about 10 pounds on the trip.

 

Thanks for the trip report!

[Redoubt]

We borrowed an 8.5" 1/2 rope and doubled it up for the rock stuff ..... It made for some short pitches when that was necessary, but saved some weight.

8.5 inches does seem a bit short, especially when you had to double it. Those 4.25 inch pitches just seem to be over before you know it. But I guess if you can stretch it out full length for simul-climbing..., and the weight savings are undeniable.

 

Still, I think I'd go with 17 or 18 inches at least, extra weight be damned!

[Pandora]

We borrowed an 8.5" 1/2 rope and doubled it up for the rock stuff ..... It made for some short pitches when that was necessary, but saved some weight.

8.5 inches does seem a bit short, especially when you had to double it. Those 4.25 inch pitches just seem to be over before you know it. But I guess if you can stretch it out full length for simul-climbing..., and the weight savings are undeniable.

 

Still, I think I'd go with 17 or 18 inches at least, extra weight be damned!

 

 

Sweet TR, iain! Glad to hear you're able to have fun on snow without skis .

[wayne]

Nice job Iaxe and Nick , We were hoping you guys got it with the weather and all.

[To_The_Top]

Nice!

[EWolfe]

Iain, those are some of the best pictures I have seen in a while.

 

What a treat!

[terrible_ted]

Hey all:

 

In the interest of future beta seekers, I'm going to add a few notes about our climb of Fury on 7/17-18. If this bugs you, Iain, let me know and I'll repost as a new thread. I just think your post captures the beta for this route nicely.

 

We found that the descent from Luna Col to the lake (where we camped) is easier if you traverse wide to the left (south) at ~5900'. Eventually you'll hit snowfields and some easier talus slopes that lead down to the lake, avoiding the cliffs and the nasty-ass dirt gully that Iain and co. took. We approached the snow finger that Iain climbed from our Luna Lake camp. It took less than an hour to get there. Unfortunately, it had melted out radically. The gap between the upper and lower snow finger was ~15 feet. Water was flowing at thousands of gpm all across the exposed section. The nearest step from the snow to the rock was about 3', but it was wet, downsloping and completely committing. Handholds looked suspicious. Slip and you drown under the snow field. F#ck!

 

We pushed to the next lower approach gully, and for whatever reason walked right on up the rock strewn snowfield and up to the slab walls. I traversed out on the rock, looking for an obvious line to move up, when I heard a deafening crack. I caught the big boulder out of the corner of my eye as it ricocheted off the ground next to me, but I didn't even see the little rock that hit above my knee. I sucked up to the rock tighter than shit on a pig - I vaguely heard my partner yelling rock, but I was off in 'dreamtime.' I could hear the rocks whizzling by and caroming off the wall around me for what seemed like minutes, although it was probably over in less than 30 seconds. We scurried back down the slope and evaluated. The rock that hit me only left a small puncture that closed up pretty quick. I seemed pretty ambulatory, so we decided we'd take the time and scope the final, lowest snow gully, and maybe put off the ascent until the next day.

 

The lowest gully is about 800' below Luna Lake. We found it relatively easy going back up to ~ 4800' where the couloir started to narrow out. Even though we were now running almost two hours behind our initial plan, we figured we could still pull it off... There were three small couloirs leading eastward towards the North buttress, and we chose the middle one. It started out as a chossy gully, leading up to a high chockstone. I was able to fit pro under the chockstone, but couldn't avoid kicking rocks on my partner doing so. Rich weathered it okay, and I contemplated the move. I didn't bring rock shoes (only 5.6 - 5.7, right...), and I found the move to get over the chockstone as ball-busting as anything I've ever done, shoes or not.

 

We eventually gained the ridge, but had a tough day from that point, losing a little more time at multiple points. I'll cut it short: we had to bivy above the snow arete (just below the summit) and had a long day back out. We were lucky, the weather was stable for the entire climb.

 

-t

[iain]

I should have let you know that the summit register is missing a pencil.

 

Quite the full meal deal, eh? 9 hrs from Challenger Arm, my ass Beckey.

[terrible_ted]

After all that I was more than willing to sign my name in blood. I actually had a pencil, as I usually take a lot of notes while climbing. What's funny is my entry for that day was: "6am, left camp. 9pm bivy at col"

 

I took a little solace in the number of entries in the summit register that referred to the 'beautiful sunrise'

 

That's one climb I'll never forget.

 

-t

[mvs]

thanks for the great beta Ted, you rock! I'm taking a pencil...

[goatboy]

I have to confess that I was the one who dropped the pencil in the summit talus . . . . I felt awful when I did it, actually. If someone could leave another one there, I would be redeemed.

 

Thanks!

[mvs]

Damn, I forgot the pencil...alas!