3 Classic Cascade North Faces

[Stuart]

As a newbie to this area, I was wondering the other day if there are 3 North Faces here equivalent to the Classics in the Alps (Eiger, Matterhorn and Grandes Jorasses). Pub talk last night got as far as Mt Stuart and possibly Bear Mountain.

Not looking for the biggest or baddest necessarily, but the 3 with history and good routes, and obviously no push over.

[rock-ice]

Baring should be a obvious anwser.

[Stuart]

What about Index over the road then? And stuff like Goode, Johannesburg etc. Give me your reasons.

[Stuart]

Come on. There must be some more suggestions. Think of it as some good for the community - it'll give Colin somethings to enchain this summer!

[JoshK]

How do you enchain a face??

 

 

[David_Parker]

Colonial, you can see it from the road just like the Eiger! I don't think Colin will be doing it summer though.

[dberdinka]

The North sides of

 

Stuart

Goode

Slesse

 

all have multiple high-quality routes, including not only three of the most popular and classic rock routes in the range but also have plenty of opportunity for mixed or snow and ice routes in the right conditions.

 

Fury sounds pretty sweet too as do other big faces in the pickets, but the difficulty of access and lower quality rock kind of excludes them in my book.

[David_Parker]

Fury sounds pretty sweet too as do other big faces in the pickets, but the difficulty of access and lower quality rock kind of excludes them in my book.

 

Err, Darren, like the Eiger is quality rock? Personally I thought the rock on NB Fury was pretty damn good. I think a classic North Face should have both ice and rock to test the skills of the all rounded mountaineer. NF Bear is all rock (at least when most do it). Stuart is a ridge, not a face. Goode has a face, but the NE Butt is the classic line. Then again the Grand Jorasse classic is the Walker Spur, an indistinct ridge I suppose. I think the idea of a North Face classic means it doesn't get much sun, therefore it has ice. There must be ICE!

 

I also don't think remoteness or difficulty of access should have anything to do with it. If there were no bivy hut near the Grand Jorasse, it would feel fairly remote too.

 

Intersting topic though!

[Dan_Petersen]

Willis Wall. fits David's criteria.

[JoshK]

Mount Triumph's North Face biatches

[AlpineK]

Willis Wall. fits David's criteria.

 

Not that they aren't without challenge, but anything on a volcano doesn't really fit my idea of a classic alpine face.

 

NE face of Triumph is a good one, so is Furry, Bear, and Barring. The North Norwegian Buttress is pretty awsome too.

[JoshK]

I agree about the volcano faces. They are pretty ugly.

[Trav]

Check out Greybeard's north face.

[Dru]

I agree about the volcano faces. They are pretty ugly.

 

But the volcanoes are an important part of the Cascades, if you have a classics list that doesn't have a volcano, are you denying part of the essential yet ugly nature of the Cascades themselves?

 

I mean...in the Alps you have rock routes (Walker Spur), ice/mixed routes, good rock (Piz Badile), bad rock (Eiger)

 

In the Cascades you should have steep rock, mixed faces, volcanoes and bushwack all represented. And a Beckey "obvious descent gully" too.

[genepires]

One mans classic is anothers choss heap.

 

My classic N face is

-coleman headwall on baker (big ice)

-north side of slesse (just damn big)

-north side of stuart (variety of routes)

 

with a honorable mention

-dragontail (once again lots of variety)

-whitechuck east gulley (yeah yeah, but it is ne facing and therefore dark inside. classic climbing)

-north side of johanesburg (sp?) Never been on it but have stared at it alot.

[EJohnson]

Nooksack Tower

[Ade]

Volcanoes are an important part of the Cascades but the classic North faces in the Alps typify the best of what the range has to offer. There's plenty of crappy rock and uninspiring climbing there too but it, unsurprisingly, isn't represented.

 

So a volcano route, like the Coleman Headwall or Liberty Ridge would be good including some bushwhacking and shitty turd class gully because the Cascades has a lot of them doesn't fly.

 

These are supposed to be routes climbers aspire to not avoid like the plague.

[Stuart]

Personally, as mentioned before, I reckon the faces should have ice/mixed routes on them most of the year. Nothing lasts all year round anymore. Stuart and Slesse seem to be consistently mentioned, but the 3rd face is a little harder to pin down. Triumph looks the part... but so does Goode. Lets here the pros and cons of these from people who've done them.

[Off_White]

I talked to three guys who did N Face on Triumph a couple years ago at the bivy site on the NE Ridge. They didn't seem that impressed with it, but had a good time. I think they did the original line, not the Burdo variation. Seemed at odds with the oooh-wow impression I'd always held of that side of the peak, maybe they were just jocular but reticent hardmen.

[layton]

I talked to three guys who did N Face on Triumph a couple years ago at the bivy site on the NE Ridge. They didn't seem that impressed with it, but had a good time. I think they did the original line, not the Burdo variation. Seemed at odds with the oooh-wow impression I'd always held of that side of the peak, maybe they were just jocular but reticent hardmen.

 

I went to go do this line last year by taking the notch down from the NE ridge...not the way to go on a low snow year! Take triumph pass. Anyway, i was able to scope the route and it look...er, uh, well...like Off White said, not too impressive...actually kinda dumb. I x'ed it off my tick list as a SUMMER route (hint hint).

 

The N.F. of bear was quite the experience, has anyone mentioned that? Also the N.faces (albeit super compact) of the Chehailis (sp?) range are quite inspiring.

 

I also can't see how the NF of greybeard could be on the list.

[Dru]

the Chehalis isn't in the Cascades Mikey.

[layton]

also, why does everyone always bring up the Willis wall? does objective danger make something a cool? I'm more impressed with the steep shit.

[Skeezix]

NF of Sharkfin is pretty slick. Short but schweeeet!

[Ade]

"Short" isn't something you should be able to apply to these faces.

[Skeezix]

"Short" isn't something you should be able to apply to these faces.

True, but NF of Sharkfin is pretty slick. Short but schweeeet!