Fury N/Buttress

[forrest_m]

this came up on a thread a while back called "southern pickets" (yeah, I know, fury isn't in the south pickets...) anyway, scroll down 6 or 7 posts and you'll see it.

http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000046.html

[cmonster]

Thanks for the post. It answers some of my questions about the carryover. Still, it doesn't really talk about gear or how they really actually got on the buttress. Keep the info coming.

[cmonster]

I am looking to get some first hand information from anyone who has done the N/Buttress on Fury. I've read the guide books, looked at the maps, seen slides, etc. We are planning to go in via Wiley Ridge, climb Challenger and then Fury N/Buttress out Access Creek.

What is the climbing like on the N/Buttress (i.e. grade, difficulty, etc.)? Is it easy enough to climb with big Picket packs? If so, that could save us having to drop back into the cirque for our gear. What kind of pro have you used on the route? Pickets? Screws? Cams? etc...

Lay down the skinny for me...

p.s. and yes, we are mentally preparing to get our ass' beat down by the approach.

[wayne]

fury is the stuff of dreams.the crux is a wide 5.8 move off a ledge the lower section is quality 5.6/7. we went up the left side t o gain the ridge/notch.we took 8 pieces but wished we had brought a screw.1 tool if skilled.if you bivvied at luna pass you wouldnt have to carry over.more? write.w

[philfort]

This is the route Jim Nelson describes in Selected Climbs II as "Exposed class 3", correct? Typo? The actual text description made it sound a little tougher than that.

[Tod]

My buddy and I carried over the route last year. We came from Whatcom Pass, over Challenger, stayed high along the glacier all the way over to the right (west) base of the buttress. Our experience was that of steep-steep snow gaining the buttress, 4th class climbing, and occasional low 5th. Our packs were not day packs, so you could probably nock the ratings down if you didn't carry over (recommended). There is a loose gulley 1/3 of the way up on the right (west) side so a helmet is highly recomended.

Great route to dream about, great route to be on, great route to brag about. Everything is great about that route (except for the approach).

Tod

[cmonster]

philfort,

The route in Selected Climbs II is actually the Southeast glacier, not the N/Buttress.

[philfort]

Oh, I was thinking of Mt Terror I think... oops

[cmonster]

Wayne and Todd,

Why the difference in description of the route? One has a lot of 3rd and 4th with a little 5th while the other has 5.6-5.8. Quite a difference.

[Tod]

cmonster,

Difference in descriptions can be because of variations in routes. Since we carried over we may have had a different experience than other groups that have not. Groups that have not may have accessed the buttress from the east side via Luna Lake, whereas we accessed the buttressed directly from Challenger on the west side (without dropping down and coming around from Luna Lake). Much like other large ridge/buttress routes, there are many variations that can change the character of the climb. Our route stayed slightly on the west side of the buttress for the first third of the route, I am not sure where others have gone, but we ended up climbing loose gullies that had a mix between 4th class and low 5th. We also had heavy packs on, which can also change the character of the climb (i.e. description of the difficulty).

Hope this helps....

Tod

 

[z]

I was wondering if you could elaborate on "preparing mentally to be beat down by the approach"

Does this mean you are spending hours in meditation envisioning yourself walking uphill with a large pack?

Do tell about your mental training regime....

[cmonster]

Tod

Thanks. I was thinking that the differences might be due to accessing the ridge from the east or west.

I wondering if the 5.7-5.8 folks started on the east side of the buttress?

Accessing directly from the glacier (i.e. west) is what we've been talking about. We have plenty of time and have done the research, so if our packs are too heavy, we'll camp up at Luna and then head up the buttress. If our packs are light enough, hopefully a bivy on top of Fury and then out Access creek without having to drop back into the cirque.

Z-

We've been pouring honey on our faces and letting the ants go at it while dogs gnawed on our kneecaps. We figure nothing in the pickets will be as bad ;-)

Actually, we just plan to take things slow and not try to do too much. Many options and alternate plans. We know we're gonna be tired and that we might get spanked by the weather. By keeping our plans realistic, I think we are prepared to succeed rather than flail.

 

Good climbing.

[This message has been edited by cmonster (edited 05-25-2001).]