[TR] Goode- Northeast Buttress 7/12/2005

[Blake]

Climb: Goode-Northeast Buttress

 

Date of Climb: 7/12/2005

 

Trip Report:

On monday late morning, myself and a friend drove up the Stehekin road to its current drivable end, the 13.5 mile point. From there, our hike up Bridge creek was fueled by Huckleberries and HC We lost the trail in the big washout at Grizzly creek, but our eventual route up to the bivi spot seemed faster than the 2+ hours I had seen suggested elsewhere, not to mention it cuts about a mile off the trail distance. The floods of 10/03 definitely reshaped the hills, but theier brush-clearing properties helped us to get on and off of Goode. These two pictures should explain the route we took, which was fast and pretty easy. If water was really high, this approach might not be feasible, but on a hot afternoon in July, water was low enough to easily ford N. Fork Bridge Creek and all other streams. Maybe someone who has done the other approach could compare the two or mention how long the other one takes (including extra trail time)???

 

 

 

Our snaffle and mosquito-plagued bivi was made worse with concern over how the glacier would go in the morning using strap on aluminum crampons and light axes. We left our site at about 5:00AM planning on carrying over to Park Creek. This was the first serious glacier navigation that I've done, and we were glad to have a couple ice screws along for the first few hundred feet. After zigging and zagging a bit, we found a sketchy little snow bridge, and were able to make it cleanly onto the rock of the NEB, about 7:00.

 

 

We pitched out a couple hundred feet, then did a running belay for the next 700 vertical feet or so, keeping 1-2 pieces between us until our rack ran out.

 

After this, climbing was fun on low-mid fifth class that was made more exciting due to the packs and exposure.

 

Somewhere in this section I clipped an old Becky piton, and although I'm sure its not the first or the last time I've done so, I couldn't help but think how cool it was to have this connection to the first ascentionist and FA party of such a (now) classic route.

 

I kept thinking that we would be climbing in clouds by the end of the next pitch, but they moved up with us, and by 2:00pm we were on the summit with clear views. We had left our gear a few hundred feet below at the rap to blacktooth notch, and after downclimbing to anchor, we made a traversey rappel and a semi-belayed scramble over to the notch.

 

From there, it really was an obvious descent gulley, with a couple rappels, and short downclimbing. A fun glissade landed us withing a few feet of that night's bivi.

 

From high on the Park Creek side of Goode, we found it best to angle right and cross several small streams up high. The goal being to get to the ridgeline which is skier's right of the large creek valley and obvious washout below. (this washout has dammed a small lake in Park Creek, visible from above.) Once on the ridgeline, a good climbers' path leads to the valley bottom.

 

The hike out consisted of a quick run down the ridge to the Park Creek Trail, and a race to our cinnamon rolls stashed at Bridge creek. These fast 10 miles were followed by a never-ending 2.5 miles back to the car.

A fantastic route, once you hit the rock most of the challenges are behind you, but you've still got a long way to go.

 

 

 

A note to others who go up: We took TONS of webbing from the route, mostly around rappel blocks. Please cut out the old manky stuff. If there are aready 7 runners on something, you don't need to contribute an 8th and leave it all there.

 

We also bootied some stoppers and a biner, so to whomever is marking their gear with a dot of red and a dot of green, it was a fatefull find, as that's how I mark my stuff as well.

Gear Notes:

Crampons, axe, 2 screws.

Two medium cams, two small tricams, a half-dozen nuts. Stoppers 7-10 were used most. Probably could have left the cams at home and brought a medium tricam/hex.

 

Approach Notes:

No snow until the glacier. No snow on the rock. Snowfield in upper Park Creek Drainage covers talus.

 

The messy washout in Grizzly Creek might confuse others (we lost the trail here). From above it looks like after crossing the creek, one should hike back upstream on the far side of Grizzly Creek, as the trail is on/near the hillside. The creek has many branches in here, be sure you've crossed them all before trying to locate the well-worn trail that heads up-valley.

[Dru]

[Blake]

P.S. Frosty_the_tradman... from what Steddy wrote in the summit register, it looks like he and your girlfriend were up to no good while you and JShamster climbed this last summer.

[Zoran]

I was impressed last year looking at Goode from Black Peak. You did great job.

Congratulations.

Z

[klenke]

Good job, Blake.

Summit by 2:00PM. I guess no impromptu bivy for you.

Where you crossed Bridge Creek it was still covered by an avy slide for us in August 2002. We walked across the snow bridge on the way back. On the way in we didn't go far enough up the trail to see the avy slide and instead crossed in the trees downstream.

[goatboy]

It was recommended to me to climb the Buttress from a camp in the NF Bridge Creek and descend the same Buttress back to camp via rappels and downclimbing.

 

Having just been there, what would you (Or anyone else who has climbed the route) think of such a strategy?

[Snafflehunter]

Having done the route myself, I'd say that it seems easier to just descend the S side route and traverse around the mountain to Storm King Col and do the 1 rap from there. It doesn't take that long to walk around the mountain and get back to camp in the basin just below the glacier. This way you don't have to worry about routefinding your way down the climbing route, and don't have to worry about bringing loose shit down on you as you make successive raps down to the lower part of the ridge (where the rock is much looser). Plus, this way you can see all sides of the mountain which, in my opinion, is situated in one of the finest areas of the Cascades. I'm sure someone will disagree.

 

By the way, nice work Blake. Sweet climb!

[mvs]

I agree that Storm King Col was straightforward if you want to go back to your camp in the basin. But if I did it again I would definitely carry over. It is just a lot of work going back down those brushy/slabby sections, crossing the stream, etc. If you don't make it down until dark you _might_ not find your camp! We gave up looking and sat miserably only to find our camp 5 minutes away at first light :-).

[forrest_m]

we climbed the route over memorial day and descended the route. we made 11 raps and downclimbed the rest unroped. (sounds like my stoppers blake found - FYI, they're pretty old, PM me if you want the full history)

 

we were 3 people with a single 50 m rope, and comparing notes with several other people who have done it, our time was almost exactly the same as going around via the stormking col.

 

if i were to do this route again, i'd do it as a carryover and plan to spend the night on top. (there is a perfect flat bivy spot, really one of the best in the cascades, on the exact summit) then descend the park creek side, down park ck. to PCT and out. both of the descents back to the n. fork bridge creek valley are a pain and only necessary if you have to collect your camp.

[goatboy]

Any hope of water if you bivy on top (short of carrying it all up from the glacier)?

[forrest_m]

over mem. day, there was lots of snow near the summit and you could fill a water bottle from running water less than a pitch below the top. i'll bet right now you wouldhave to drop down to the notch e. of the summit to find snow (blake?). late season you are probably SOL, but you could probably find some snow at least partway up the route instead of hauling all the way from the glacier.

[gyselinck]

I really like your pics.

[Blake]

There is currently enough snow next to the summit to melt for your water needs. there are a couple bivi spots on the very top that could accomodate 4-5 people. The summit was in continuous clouds from mon night through today, except for two hours on tuesday afternoo. If you head down park creek, i'd highly recomend following the directions I wrote to make it to the valley floor. IMO the glacier will be very hard to get by within a couple weeks.

[Steddy]

way to go, blake -- maybe you could PM and remind me what the register witnessed? find anything else special on the way up, a few hundred feet up the ridge at a nice, fat, flat ledge?

[Sol]

P.S. Frosty_the_tradman... from what Steddy wrote in the summit register, it looks like he and your girlfriend were up to no good while you and JShamster climbed this last summer.

that steddy, what a shit talking bastard.

[Blake]

way to go, blake -- find anything else special on the way up, a few hundred feet up the ridge at a nice, fat, flat ledge?

 

No, you leave some Rasta bivi gear? the only ledge on route is a couple thousand from the bottom of the rock.

 

Thanks for all the comments all... if anyone wants to climb logan, buckner, or anything else from Stehekin this summer, don't hesitate to PM me or email.

[tyree]

hmmmm i wonder who found that Irie find? i swear that i left it on that ledge. Steddy the only thing you were getting it on with was the summit register

[tyree]

DEATH MARCH BLUES

[Steddy]

DEATH MARCH BLUES

"are you gonna be alright?"

[Steddy]

... Steddy the only thing you were getting it on with was the summit register

[EWolfe]

Ted, ya bastard! You're gonna make the register all sticky!

 

Great TR, Blake!