[TR] Chopping Block- NE Buttress 7/24/2004

[Alasdair]

Climb: Chopping Block-NE Buttress

 

Date of Climb: 7/24/2004

 

Trip Report:

Left the car at 5:45 and headed up the trail to the campsite at the east side of the pickets, below the Mcmillan spires. Traversed accross to the barrier and crossed the barrier in the obvious red rock gully. Once over the barrier continued directly to the ridge between Deganhardt and Chopping block took this ridge to the summit. Rapped off and headed back to the barrier. Followed the ridge of the barrier into the trees and conviniently ran in to Jim Nelson who marked the point on the ridge where we should drop down to Terror creek. Lost the trail immediatly upon dropping of the ridge and bushwhacked all the way to the old logging road where the trail we took up starts. Hiked back to the car. Got back to the car about 8:15.

 

One question: does anyone know if there really is a trail of any sort that heads up the ridge on the west side of terror creek? If so where the fuck is it, and how do you get to it?

 

Gear Notes:

8 mil rope

no crampons

no axe

no extra cloths

no nothing...

 

Approach Notes:

long

[wayne]

Damn the whacking! The only person I know who does that approach successfully is Colin. It may be non betable in writing.

[layton]

She was Chopping Blockery

[skykilo]

The trail is a state of mind. Sorry the Sun Maid Raisin lady didn't help you all that much. That's a nice push for a day.

[Alasdair]

She had fallen off of the tree when we got there so we taped her back on. I hope she was still there when you guys got back to her. Did you get up Terror?

[skykilo]

We made it up Terror, that was some fun.

 

The Sun Maid Lady was just to point out the super secret route. Last night, Ross, Jason, and I took the super super secret route, which leaves the ridge earlier. I think I like the plain old super secret route best. I hope she was there for Barry, Jim, and Morris this morning. Duct tape probably would have done a better job.

[TeleRoss]

There is a "trail" that leads up almost to the top of the ridge. The key is finding the log crossing of Terror Creek near 2100'. If you can find that log crossing you'll find the "trail".

[Norman_Clyde]

The Raisin lady came through for us. We left her there for future parties. I was beginning to take her down on the general "leave no trace" principle, when Jim pointed out that leaving a trace in this spot is just what is needed. To call her "litter" is disrespectful and downright insulting. She is the one who points the way!

[Ziff]

there is passage that can be described as a trail, but easier to find going up.

[Juan]

So what did old Jim climb? And did anyone do Terror N. Face this past weekend?

 

Sharp

[whiplash]

Nice work, thats a burly day.

What did you bring for a rack?

[Norman_Clyde]

A whopping six of us did Terror N. Face on 7/25: Jim, Morris, Teleross, Jason, Skykilo and myself. No TR as yet, maybe because everyone is waiting for someone else to post. I have a few photos but no really good ones. I just tried to attach, but they're all too many MB and I have no good program to compress. I sent a few to Skykilo who has better software, and can probably get a few up.

Edited July 30, 2004 by Norman_Clyde

[Juan]

Wow. Had Brad and I not gone to Canada, there would have been 8 people on the route. Amazing.

 

Do tell about the route. I hear it's lots of 4th to low fifth with little pro. One 5.7/5.8 chimney at the top. Was that your experience? How about the gully to the Mustard Glacier? Much snow still?

 

Thanks,

 

John Sharp

[geordie]

I climbed the CB in 2001 and wrote some notes on the approach. Follow Beckey's description (p397) about traversing at 2000' at the road end. I found a decent log crossing of Terror Creek.

However, I went left to find a good climber's trail up the ridge. It was flagged and even had some saw work. Fred said go right and trend right, but the trail I found did the opposite.

I do have some GPS readings if you really need them..

[Norman_Clyde]

Lots of 4th and low 5th. Lost count of how many 30 meter pitches. At least half were very comfortable for simulclimbing. The only 5.7 was one short friction traverse, about 1/3 of the way up the buttress. We suspected that we had strayed from the easiest route at this point. We tried a couple of other ways to go around the difficulty, but did not explore them fully. Once past this obstacle, it was back to simulclimbing for most of the way. The final arete is very sharp and photogenic, but no more tricky than the rest (no 5.8+ found). Then there's one 3rd class downclimb, and about 200 yards of loose 3rd class to the summit.

 

Himmelhorn-Ottohorn col was about 45 degree snow on the south side, steep and broken snow and rock to the north. We scrambled on the rock and took one rappel to reach easy snow. The remaining traverse is straightforward: no further crevasse or moat problems prevent access to the base of the route.

 

Probably the most dangerous part of the whole climb is the descent gully, which is a major bowling alley. The talus on the W. Ridge just beneath the summit is also much looser than it appears.

Edited August 1, 2004 by Norman_Clyde

[Rad]

Last summer Ed Williams and I rapped off the chopping block at 5pm, walked South down the slabs below the Chopping Block and out onto the ridge below. We did not drop down to the Terror Creek until we reached the end of the ridge. We never encountered a trail of any sort, despite a line in a Beckey photo suggesting we would. In the midst of our evening thrash down to Terror Creek we found an old rap anchor at a cliff hidden in the trees on the bush thrash. We added another sling and launched into the unknown. The thrash down to Terror Creek, which we forded (see photo by searching 'rad' in photos) around 1700 ft, was the most sphyncerfying part of our 4-day trip. We got to the trailhead at 1am. Maybe there once was a trail, but it is not on that narrow ridge. Going up that way would require spiderman's skills.