gyselinck Posted June 22, 2005 Posted June 22, 2005 Climb: Mount Stuart-Girth Pillar Date of Climb: 6/21/2005 Trip Report: NOLSe drove out to from Portland Monday afternoon to pick me up in E-burg. I rode my bike out to our old meeting spot because I didn't want to explain directions back to the house. In a little under a half hour we returned to the house to pick up my gear. There we found L0ngpause and Lyger completely wasted and acting goofy as they drank almost my entire bottle of jin upon my leaving in that short time. The approach up the Mountaineers Creek went very smooth. Trail is completely snow free and the brush isn't bad, yet. I think it took us 2 hours and 40 min., I forget. Monday night we hiked up to the base of the Ice Cliff and stashed a bunch of gear. We then returned to our bivy site and prepared for early sleep. The plan was to wake at midnight, climb the Ice Cliff in the dark and reach the pillar by early morning. About 5 min after crawling into my sleeping bag I heard people noises and popped my head out to see what was up. “Craig, is that you?” Turns out suckbm and uwclimber were there to climb a route. Throughout the night a family of seven goats attacked our camp. I continuously threw rocks at there heads to try to keep them away. I got zero hours of sleep, damn goats. Mosquitoes were also bad. We woke at midnight and climbed the Ice Cliff in the dark. We followed the ramp (climbers left) which went very smooth. We soloed the whole thing expect the last section getting on top. One 70 meter lead did the trick. There were a few crevasses showing on top, but they posed no problems. Things went way faster then expected and we soon found ourselves at the base of the rock section in the dark. We climbed the first two rock pitches getting to the pillar in the dark and were at the base by first light. After some exploratory climbing, we climbed the standard route up the pillar. We found lots of booty including sewn slings, carabiners, nuts, a hex, a number 4 camalot, and a pair of crampons hanging on the wall (we left these). NOLSe lead the aid pitches, we were able to run the first pitch out nearly 300 feet! All in all it took us 17 hours to climb the pillar from the base of the moraine, 2 of the hours were wasted exploring new territory. Upon arriving at the false summit of Stuart we were greeted to bad weather moving in. I thought I heard distant thunder. Descent was easy and straight forward. We were able to easily plunge step down the Sherpa. We then hiked out that night and got back to our car right at dark. I was complety wasted from being awake for more the 24 hours. The pillar is in such a cool setting. The climbing is difficult and always fun. This is my all time favorite route that I have done. I don’t own a camera, thus no pics. But NOLSe might post some. Gear Notes: Ice Cliff - two ice tools, 4 screws Rock Section - Fairly large rack, lots of water Approach Notes: Approached via Mountaineers Creek, trail snow free to upper Stuart basin Quote
Alpinfox Posted June 22, 2005 Posted June 22, 2005 Sweet. Nice work guys. So it took you 17hrs from bivy site to bivy site or bivy site to car? And how many pitches of rock did you free vs. aid (just trying to get an idea of how I would do this, not trying to criticize you guys). Quote
spicoli11 Posted June 22, 2005 Posted June 22, 2005 Congrats.......girth is where its at on ol stu-bags Quote
spicoli11 Posted June 22, 2005 Posted June 22, 2005 Hey......what was the left side of the pillar like.....alot of snow?? Quote
ivan Posted June 22, 2005 Posted June 22, 2005 i know who left the #4 and a buncha nutz i guess the leashless didn't turn up though! Quote
layton Posted June 22, 2005 Posted June 22, 2005 hey crain and john nice work boyz. will be seeing both of you i'm sure this summer (i'm playing hookey all summer so email me if ya wanna suffer). Quote
L0ngpause Posted June 22, 2005 Posted June 22, 2005 Hey Guys, Really Great Job!!! Nolse, um, it was nice meeting you, sorry Lyger and I were so trashed and dressed like futristic warrior princess and a burned out hippy. Thanks for the GIN Gyselick!! You are a great roomate!! sorry for eating all your oreos Quote
gyselinck Posted June 22, 2005 Author Posted June 22, 2005 sorry for eating all your oreos Thanks for leaving me the frosting though. Quote
L0ngpause Posted June 22, 2005 Posted June 22, 2005 Yeah, I don't like the frosting. You're welcome. Quote
Jens Posted June 22, 2005 Posted June 22, 2005 Colin & I found the crampons low on the route and then decided to ditch them up higher. We figured we'd leave em' hanging for some soul willing to carry em' rather than jettison them. Quote
NYC007 Posted June 23, 2005 Posted June 23, 2005 any chance you can give us a lil more beta on the Ice Cliff? Quote
gyselinck Posted June 23, 2005 Author Posted June 23, 2005 Shits falling down pretty regularly, everyonce in a while something huge will go. Ramp on climbers left goes pretty quick. We belayed the last section leading to the top wich consisted of two or three easy/moderate steps. Brought 4 screws but used 3. On top there are a few big, deep crevases. We were able to walk over snowbridges, but chances are they wont be there much longer. It has been really warm and its going "out of condition" more and more every day. Quote
specialed Posted June 25, 2005 Posted June 25, 2005 NOLSE, etc.: Nice job. I'm glad you guys got the opportunity to climb the route from the moraine up. I'm sure you agree, its a much better mountain experience that way. Also, I think bivying at the morain and doing the whole thing in a day from there is smart. Nice work. Hope you didn't aid those nice cracks too much though. Quote
Alex Posted June 26, 2005 Posted June 26, 2005 specialed handing out olive branches to NOLSE...what is this world coming to? i agree though, its nice to know someone is getting out, cause i sure aint! (Carnation skate park notwithstanding.) Quote
John Frieh Posted June 27, 2005 Posted June 27, 2005 Sorry for the belated response... I left for Idaho the day I got back from GP and just got home. Great TR Craig! Pics as requested: Ice cliff/GP overview: GP 2nd pitch: GP 2nd pitch sunshine! Windshirt? Or climbing top? New route exploration… flake of death summer version (winter version here): GP proper (rock fall variation line… climbers left of Nelson’s line): Upper belay ledge: Top of pillar: Quote
John Frieh Posted June 27, 2005 Posted June 27, 2005 Hey Guys, Really Great Job!!! Nolse, um, it was nice meeting you, sorry Lyger and I were so trashed and dressed like futristic warrior princess and a burned out hippy. Nonsense! Best trip send off I've had in awhile! Great meeting you two also! Quote
John Frieh Posted June 27, 2005 Posted June 27, 2005 Colin & I found the crampons low on the route and then decided to ditch them up higher. We figured we'd leave em' hanging for some soul willing to carry em' rather than jettison them. Those are mine from my first GP neutrino biner retrieval trip... Should packed them out but weight concerns dictated otherwise. If somebody is looking for a pair of SMC crampons... Quote
John Frieh Posted June 27, 2005 Posted June 27, 2005 i guess the leashless didn't turn up though! No ergo... yet! It was dark when we went by so their is a good chance we just didn't see it... If anyone does find a Quark Ergo please let me know! Details in the lost and found thread... Quote
sweatinoutliquor Posted June 27, 2005 Posted June 27, 2005 Hey you guys, great job out there! Great pics Nolse, thanks for posting! I gotta get up to that mountain! Quote
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