thelawgoddess Posted July 6, 2005 Posted July 6, 2005 Climb: prusik peak-west ridge Date of Climb: 7/3/2005 Trip Report: i scored an enchantments permit from wolfs for the three-day weekend. (thanks again, wolfs! ) in all my years of living in wa, i’d never been up there, so markws and i figured we’d make it a weekend and give prusik a go while we were there. on saturday morning we parked at the snow creek trailhead, and a local buddy (thanks, ryan!) gave us a lift to the colchuck lake trailhead. we stopped for lunch at the lake, where mark caught a couple of trout in less than 10 minutes. the breeze picked up while we were there and kept the heat of the day from baking us silly. once rested we began the final 2200-foot grind. there is very little snow left up to aasgard pass. i only remember crossing a couple of small patches high. by the time we were at the top i was wearing shell pants and my goretex jacket, as well as a hat and gloves! once over we were both surprised at how much snow there was. the first lake we came to was still frozen so we continued onward. it was very cool to see prusik in the distance! we ended up at inspiration lake, below the snow line and a short jaunt to prusik pass. it was cold!!! the wind was mach’ing and it was all i could do to sit in the tent with my sleeping bag and make a cup of hot chocolate through the door. but it was an amazing spot, with the lake right there and those brilliant granite cliffs behind it. the next morning we were rudely awakened at about 6am to the sound of hooves and bleating, as a local group of mountain goats made their urine-seeking rounds. the babies were cute! we eventually rose and prepared for an assault of prusik. what an awesomely short approach from our tent! we made it to prusik fairly early and saw one group heading up the scramble and another getting ready. turns out the latter was headed for the south face so we didn’t have to wait for anyone. it was a beautiful day, but the wind was pretty constant … and quite cold! we were climbing on one half rope doubled over so that made for short pitches, which worked out well since there are sections that would have heinous rope drag anyway. the climb started out fun … then got more "interesting" ... and gradually felt more exposed as we gained the ridge. at the pitch before the bolt we had gone up the vertical thin corner on the right. the party behind us went up left. we were wondering why that pitch seemed so much harder than it should have been! the bolted move was fun and the chimney was about as short and pleasant as a chimney might be. the summit – yay! (except for all the mosquitoes!!!) the descent consisted of multiple raps – 5, i think. at which point we traversed back towards the start of the climb. there were several snow patches to cross, which are real fun in rock shoes, but it wasn’t too bad. the mosquitoes, on the other hand, were. all in all, a great climb in an amazing setting, though! on the way back to inspiration lake we saw several furry marmots. the next morning, wayne1112 and lane walked by camp, on their way out to prusik. on our way out of the enchantments, we spied them starting their climb of the south face. you can just make out a helmet at the base. thanks for the wonderful weekend, markws!!! and for carrying my pack … Gear Notes: 60m half rope bunch of nuts some hexes a few cams Approach Notes: see above. Quote
Bug Posted July 7, 2005 Posted July 7, 2005 Great TR! Does "a bunch of nuts" equate to huevos grandes? I didn't think it was that hard. BADDA bump. Seriously, great pics and fun story. Quote
lancegranite Posted July 7, 2005 Posted July 7, 2005 Mark never carried my pack for me........... Quote
TeleRoss Posted July 7, 2005 Posted July 7, 2005 Nice TR and pics. I was up there solo yesterday. Beautiful day, sunny and warm with a little breeze to keep the mosquitos away. Passed a bunch of people in the morning on their way out and then in the afternoon a bunch of people coming up, but there was no one else up on Prusik while I was up there. Prusik is bootie central. A handful of nuts and some nice new blue slings. A couple more trips up there and I'll have a full rack! Quote
Kitergal Posted July 7, 2005 Posted July 7, 2005 Awesome TR!! Love the baby pics!! Gosh they're cute!! Quote
minx Posted July 8, 2005 Posted July 8, 2005 nice TR. love that marmot pic! sounds like a fun trip. looking forward to my trip to the enchantments even more! Quote
thelawgoddess Posted July 8, 2005 Author Posted July 8, 2005 minx, you will LOVE it. i didn't really post many scenery pics (even though i have a bunch) but it is amazing up there. so many pretty lakes, not to mention all of that wondrous granite ... mmm mmm good. Quote
jkrueger Posted July 8, 2005 Posted July 8, 2005 Nice outing! I've been wanting to do that one, but haven't found anyone to carry my pack for me . . . Quote
thelawgoddess Posted July 8, 2005 Author Posted July 8, 2005 Nice outing! I've been wanting to do that one, but haven't found anyone to carry my pack for me . . . i actually tried to get him to carry me, too. here's a few more pics for minx ... Quote
minx Posted July 8, 2005 Posted July 8, 2005 thanks TLG! that's just what i needed today for lunch. mmmmm....scenery! can't wait. going for a whole week Quote
thelawgoddess Posted July 8, 2005 Author Posted July 8, 2005 take a good bug repellant. and lots of film or space in your digicam. and extra camera juice. (i almost depleted my battery in 3 days.) Quote
Kraken Posted July 10, 2005 Posted July 10, 2005 i really should be institutionalized just for the pure fact that I've lived in WA my entire life, now I live in AK, and have never really climbed, hiked, or camped in the Cascades outside of Rainier. Don't worry, you need not say anything. I hang my head in shame! Quote
thelawgoddess Posted July 11, 2005 Author Posted July 11, 2005 hey, i moved to wa in 1990, and aside from one winter in t-ride, i've pretty much lived here the whole time ... and this was my first time to the enchantments. :crosseyes: Quote
Bug Posted July 11, 2005 Posted July 11, 2005 take a good bug repellant. Don't get so personal. Nice TR and the followup pics are great too. Quote
thelawgoddess Posted July 11, 2005 Author Posted July 11, 2005 oops; didn't mean to dog on bug. i meant to say, "take a good mosquito repellant" ... Quote
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