[TR] MixUp Peak - East Ridge (Attempt) 8/4/2005

[AlpinistAndrew]

Climb: MixUp Peak -East Ridge (Attempt)

 

Date of Climb: 8/4/2005

 

Trip Report:

Again, no partner. Got up early. Set the alarm for 4:30am, but that never happened. I woke at 6 instead. HIked up the Cascade Pass trail in 1 hour 15 min, but wiht a delay when bambi wouldn't move off the trail. Hiked up mixup arm onto the Cache Glacier, whichi is showing a bit of glacial ice in places. Got up to Gunsight Notch to discover a gigantic fucking moat. I suppose I could of rappelled into it off of a bollard or something, but I'm lazy. So I just hiked back to the car. A good five hours in the mountains. Lots of helo traffic over the pass going to the Shady fire

Edited August 5, 2005 by AlpinistAndrew

[catbirdseat]

Is there a moat on both sides of the notch? You know there are actually two notches, right? Did you have a look at the left side?

[DanP]

Funny, I did the same hike Sunday, pulled the same sleep-in instead routine, and saw the same deer (skinny doe with two fawn).

 

I did get around the 'shrund though, on the right hand side where it was only about 6 feet deep (with no axe, which I had mindlessly forgotten at home). A few kicked steps allowed me to climb down in. There was class 4 about 20 feet up toward the notch that got me out and over where I needed to be.

 

It's a lengthy scramble/class four after that - real nice holds everywhere. Rapping down took a while with non-consecutive anchors. The last one seemed awefully sketchy off a horn with a crack all the way around the base and a hollow sound when whacked. This was on the more direct final rap route straight down to the notch, not back down the gully 100-feet past and below the notch. It was backed up and equalized on another horn and had fresh webbing, so I figured it would hold. Nice free rappel from here, while trying not to bounce my anchor down on my head. Bring 20 feet of webbing (maybe less) for the adjacent horn, and you will save yourself some grief and still get the more direct route. More on that rap: a 60-meter leaves you with about 15 feet of class 4 down climbing, but don't sweat it, it's all there. A final 30-foot mini-rap back down into the shrund saved some sweat not having to downclimb on pebble-littered class four. Earlier in season would have saved that trouble.

 

4 hours hiking up, 2 hours climbing up, 2 hours rapping down unknown route with 4 spaced out raps plus down climbing, and 2 hours hiking out.

I was reminded of the time it can take to routefind when you face an obstacle or unknown route - even without ever getting off-route.

 

A nice day and nice mountains tempting me all around! I think the fire started that day becuase I saw smoke that afternoon only.

 

Dan P