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[TR] Mount Ossa (northern Tantalus Range)- North Face ("Reaction Time") 7/17/2005


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Posted (edited)

Climb: Mount Ossa (northern Tantalus Range)-North Face ("Reaction Time")

 

Date of Climb: 7/17/2005

 

Trip Report:

6743097_ossa_2_steveharng-med.jpg

 

Andrew Rennie and I walked up thru superb forest (REALLY nice hiking, altho very steep in places low down!) into Sigurd Ck - see Matt Gunn's "Scrambles" guide for good description. 6 hrs to fine campsite on flats below glacier.

 

Up at 3, away at 4. Up glacier well to left to avoid serac hazard. Across flats, then easy descent into basin beneath peak. At schrund 7:30. VERY difficult crossing: suspended ice blocks (OK) to 10m fine blocky solid rock (OK), then about 8m of 85º snow - took 1 1/2 hrs to carve a diagonal groove - no pro (of course), with nasty ledges below. The crux of the route...

 

Once onto the rock, we found excellent climbing on generally superb rock - nearly as good as the Chehalis!

 

P1, 50m: direct up 10m 5.8 face, then diagonal far right to below dihedrals on crest.

P2, 20m: fucked up and took wrong dihedral, moved left and belayed. loose.

P3, 50m: mount block on left face, step onto face, climb to right-facing corner (10m 5.9), then easier along crest to left.

P4, 100m: move together along crest to left, then turn rightwards as crest swings towards summit.

P5, 55m: continue up rib (some 5.8).

P6, 30m: continue to top of rib below right side of snowfield (some 5.8).

P7, 55m: traverse slabs 20m left beneath snowfield, climb wet slabs 10m to back left corner of snow (no pro to this point, mid 5th); climb onto wall right of grotty chimney (great flake), move out right, then up, then back left to a crack on mostly small but square-cut holds you have to discover by committing to moving (10m 5.10-); move up and right to belay.

P8, 35m: angle up grooves to right (some 5.8), then cross left to reach top to avoid climbing directly above belay - some loose blocks.

 

Total time on route (excluding schrund) 5 1/2 hrs.

 

Superb views, then down W ridge. Continue down crest well beyond a little valley to trio of lakes - we did not, and had to cut back HARD right (east) to avoid being cliffed out. Camp-to-camp 15hrs.

 

We were tired, so we stayed a 2nd nite, got up at 3 again and walked out - took 5 hrs tho, so we were NOT early for breakfast... Nor did I get any work done that day...

 

Excellent rock in a nice valley with some of the finest forest-walking I've ever encountered on the approach - what's not to like?

 

cheers, don

 

Gear Notes:

maybe a dozen nuts, 7 or 8 cams to #2 Camalot (?). placed one Lost Arrow on P5 to protect a slabby traverse. took only 1 tool (hammer) each, which was fine cuz we could lower them to second the schrund wall.

 

Approach Notes:

Sigurd Creek trail (from Ashlu road)

Edited by Don_Serl
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Posted

jordop,

my guess is that Odin's Ice is the corner to the left - no one seems to know for sure, but that's consistent with what appears in bivouac.com. 30hrs continuous car-to-car in winter for that route - stout lads...

cheers, don

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