none_dup1 Posted April 23, 2001 Share Posted April 23, 2001 For the benefit of anyone thinking about the Colchuck/Dragontail area right now, here is a brief report. Yesterday morning (4/22), Colin Haley, Tom Breit, and I drove from Seattle to Leavenworth with the intention of climbing Colchuck Peak, preferably by the N. Buttress Couloir route. We found the gate at the campground still closed, so walked the road three miles to the trailhead. The road is dry for the first half, then partially to completely snow-covered for the last portion. The 4.5-mile trail to Colchuck Lake is obvious though snow-covered, and easy to walk without snowshoes. Ski poles are helpful. Colchuck Lake is still frozen and we crossed it twice. Be careful on the edges, though, as we punched through to water a few times. The glacier and surrounding snow fields bear witness to the relative lack of snow this year. The std. Colchuck Glacier route to the col looks fine, and the snow should be plenty firm right now. However, the N. Buttress Couloir contains about three feet less snow than it did at the end of last May. At that point last spring, it was an easy romp requiring no pro or rope assuming one is comfortable on 45 degree snow. By contrast, the lower sections of the gully are revealing much more rock this year. To our dismay, surmounting a chockstone part way up (on the extreme left side of the gully) requires either a few awkward rock moves in a narrow slot with a thin ice tongue for your feet (left side), or climbing a slightly wider ice hose that may or may not be solid (right side). Above that, the going should be easier as the angle kicks back, but it is difficult to say how the upper portion of the route looks right now. You won't know until you get to the N. Buttress itself, exit the couloir, then head up and left for the top of the mountain. Having climbed the upper portion twice last year, I suspect it will be fine now, but may involve short sections of low-angle mixed climbing in places. Having found such easy conditions last year, I prevailed on my partners to skip the rope, rock and ice pro, second tool, and more aggressive steel crampons. Alas, with the conditions we found, we couldn't convince ourselves that the moves around the chockstone could be safely made with our light-duty equipment and no means to belay each other. A uncontrolled fall at that point on the route could be ugly as the lower gully is steep and narrow. In addition, the hour was late, it was snowing, and the tops of Dragontail and Colchuck were cloud covered. So we bailed, hiked 7.5 miles back to the car, drank some very cold beer, listened to rap music, and dined at Gustav's. Our advice for any of the routes up there would be to: (1) consider waiting (at least if you're planning a day trip) until the road opens, which should be soon; (2) take a little more gear for all but the easiest walk ups as the conditions appear to be more like Nov. of a typical year than early spring. For example, a second tool, short rope, a few ice screws, and a bit of rock pro would greatly increase the margin of safety on the route we attempted. It could certainly be soloed, but better tools and crampons would be desirable. We saw plenty of small ice formations all around the lake and surrounding peaks, which suggests that this last month has made for excellent mixed conditions. Get it while it's cold. On behalf of Team Spearhead, John Sharp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highclimb Posted April 23, 2001 Share Posted April 23, 2001 john, you gave my under age cousin beer...shame on you. i wish i could have come along crossing, the lake must have been cool. Aidan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Caveman Posted April 23, 2001 Share Posted April 23, 2001 Aidan, We train our climbers young. Before you know it you'll be hammerin' Ole Grandad Whiskey when you're 21. Heheh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
none_dup1 Posted April 23, 2001 Author Share Posted April 23, 2001 Colin declined my offer of a beer, and opted to sleep in the back seat as he did on the way over from Seattle. I tried to keep him awake with my music, but I believe he slept right through the noise. Not even Iggy Pop could wake him up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Caveman Posted April 23, 2001 Share Posted April 23, 2001 Nice try MrGoodTime, Try some Sabbath or something wilder next time since annoying does not work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highclimb Posted April 23, 2001 Share Posted April 23, 2001 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII AM IIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRROOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNN MAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN. Aidan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Caveman Posted April 24, 2001 Share Posted April 24, 2001 Super Nice we have Aidan on the right side. MrGoodTime, You'll have to get Colin in on this! BTW nice attempt on this kewl as heck route guys. [This message has been edited by Cpt.Caveman (edited 04-24-2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
none_dup1 Posted April 24, 2001 Author Share Posted April 24, 2001 Aidan: You animal. When I saw Black Sabbath in 1978 at the Arena, they were already old and tired. Van Halen opened and blew them away. "Jamie's Cryin'," "Runnin' with the Devil," and all that. We stumbled out of the Arena after listening to a very lame "Iron Man." We were stoned as rats, and happy to be alive. God Bless America. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Caveman Posted April 24, 2001 Share Posted April 24, 2001 MrGoodTime, Sabbath is a never dying classic of a band. Van Halen is good too though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.