Athabasca North Face Bypass- 9/5/2004

[Fuggedaboudit]

Climb: -

 

Date of Climb: 9/5/04

 

Trip Report:

Originally hoped for the North Face. Climbed with THE MAN, Barry Blanchard, contact him through Yamnuska Guide Service. We got up into the bowl at the base of the NF, about 20 meters in elevation below the first ice, but Barry felt the entire bowl was unstable after doing avy tests on way up the bowl (it had been heavily slabbed the day before). Weather looked like it was going to crap and we saw party abandoning the Silverthorn. Nice thing about climbing with a living legend, Barry was like- whadya wanna do- super mello- wanna descend? I'm like shit, came a long way from Brooklyn and I'm like F-it can we get up another way? As if he's gonna say, no. The thing is, nothing I can second in my life is ever gonna phase this guy to lead. So we dropped down and traversed left. Went up a snow gully that is between the N Ridge and the NF (hence, the NF bypass). This then took us to the upper N Ridge (crappy rock) and then up and over to the summit. Of course as we hit summit ridge (beautiful) the weather cleared and it was gorgeous at the top. Descended the AA col. The endless scree on descent sucks, no two ways about it.

 

Gear Notes:

I brought two Quarks. Wished I had brought a ski pole!

 

Approach Notes:

Watch out for avalanche risk as you approach NF! One bad thing about using guides, you can rely to much on them and forget to be self-reliant. Need to take Avalanche Awareness Courses before I head back out west. If it was just me and a friend I would have just plodded up.

Edited December 29, 2004 by Fuggedaboudit

[Alpinfox]

 

Cool. Love to see some pics if you got any.

 

Here is a nice TRIP REPORT I found online.