[TR] Measuring the Cirque-umference- 3/13/2005

[jordop]

Climb: Measuring the Cirque-umference

 

Date of Climb: 3/13/2005

 

Trip Report:

PaulB and I went into the Eight Mile creek valley NE of Pemberton this past weekend trying to get the conditions just right for a direct line on the east face of Cirque, which is about 1500-2000' of 50-55 degreeish ice, snow, and rock. Necro and I had tried it too early last year, and Stemalot and I tried it too late (entrance pitch fell down in the night). This time there was just too much rock showing in the low snow year, and we decided that although an ascent would go, it would likely require MANY belays through the rocks. Here's the face last May:

 

So Paul and I thought we would try these cool, lower angled couloirs at the head of the cirque. But you can't really see into them at all past the halfway mark; the walls on either side are sometimes over a hundred feet high. Steve and I had noticed these before, but in most years they are guarded by forty foot cornices at the top. This year, with the June-like snow levels, the cornices were a more manageable twenty feet.

 

The left one had a massive chockstone about 2/3 the way up with a partially formed icicle which looked troublesome, so we tried the right hand one, which looked more challenging too. there was at least a full pitch of steep ice at the top of the thing, plus lotts mixed ground below it.

Note cornices at top.

 

The climbing was awesome in the couloir, about 500 feet of 50 degrees styrofoam, with a 70 degree ice bulge.

 

But then we came to this wall of shit that looked like it was about 65 degrees from the bottom, but was more like 80-85 up close. I managed a web of shitty nuts for a belay as Paul tried to fuck around with it. Icing sugar, rotten ice, no cracks for pins, and punching through into air (it was obviously a decayed waterfall)

 

So we bailed off pins and then noticed from the bottom that the very upper part was actually a full on mixed/WI5ish chimney.

 

In a better snow year or maybe in the fall, these lines would be incredible, but you obviously have to get the conditions just right. The cornices are worrisome as well, triple layered and 20-40 feet overhanging.

 

This area is a lot like the Sumallo in the "holy shit" size of things, and there is a similar scope for things to do.

 

Oh yeah, there is also what looks to be a continous ice line of about 1500' that forms on a nearby aspect. Too rotted out now in March, but the sun would be low enough in January to make it go. No photos for that one!!!

 

Oh, the approach from truck to bivy is 90 minutes.

 

Gear Notes:

Pins, screws, pickets, big skid plates for the road!

 

Approach Notes:

8 mile FSR. Bring someone else's truck.

[jordop]

Here's the cornice in a normal snow year

[Stemalot]

Glad you guys had fun without me. We'll go trim down those bloody alder trees later in the year!