[TR] Toppling Tower- North Face 8/20/2005

[gyselinck]

Climb: Toppling Tower-North Face

 

Date of Climb: 8/20/2005

 

Trip Report:

I had planned on climbing the East Buttress of Big Snow, but sketchy partners bailed. At last minute I phoned Cook. Toppling Tower came to mind…We ended up working a line up the north face.

 

Made plans to meet at Snoqualmie Pass at 6:00am, both not realizing that meant waking up at 4:30 until the following morning. Crap! We reached the katwalk, and then the lakes, then bumblebee pass all in good time. I told cook not to worry about filling up water, fore we could fill up at Edds Lake. Nobody ever goes there and I didn’t mind drinking straight from the lake.

 

As soon as we rounded Bumblebee Pass I was astonished to see 4 hikers decked out in fishing gear heading toward Edd's. As we approached them one man yelled out. “Are you guys going to be quite at the lakes?” I found this odd and asked why; where he went on to explain that the fish were native. (Like that would matter!) I quickly challenged this remark and asked him where he thought they came. “Nature,” he said. Huh, I guess fish have wings.

 

The only known route ascends the S. face, and then traverses onto the W. Ridge. Being lazy and not wanting to walk through brush, we instead went to the N. Face. The whole climb was like a delicate dance. At one point we even had to climb a tree. Loose rock, dirt, moss, and vegetables describe the character of this route. Grade II, 5.7. On the summit we found a register which had one entry dated nearly 30 years earlier; October 17, 1976. We descended the “standard” route up, rappelling down the s. face. 4 scary raps with a single 60m rope did the trick.

 

We then returned to our (my) gear stash at the outlet of the lake to find nothing remaining but candy rappers. WTF…Here we were a mile from the furthest trail at a lake rarely visited and my car keys, drivers license, headlamp, sunscreen, and phone were all missing. It turned out those dumb shit fisherman thought that we accidentally left our gear and taken it. They took all the goods, but left my food (hanging in a tree) and trash rappers. I was extremely pissed, tracked them down on the trail only to learn they had handed all my stuff to a ranger. I then had to run around Ridge Lake and find the ranger, who gave me my stuff and basically said it was my fault for leaving it in the open. Who would have thought…

 

Some pics. Cook may have some better ones.

 

Toppling Tower from Edds Lake:

 

Cook bravely leading the scarry first pitch, shows route characteristics:

 

Summit register:

 

Gear Notes:

good selection of different size pieces

 

Approach Notes:

lot of miles, little climb

[Blake]

nice adventure, I don't know what one could do differently to ensure that gear caches aren't taken, short of leaving a note sayinng "don't touch".

[ivan]

when you talked w/ the fishermen, did they know you were climbing?

[gyselinck]

yeah, they asked where we were headed and I specifically pointed to the tower. (they thought toppling tower was chimney rock ) They said they were going to watch us climb it. They were just a bunch of old idiots. I pretty much left my stuff right below the tower too. And we were up there the hole time knocking big rocks off, yelling on belay, off belay, and crap like that making lots of sound. So it was pretty obvious that we were still up there. But they just thought that my stuff fell out of my pack. It was kind of funny, they took all things like headlamp, car keys, sunscreen, etc, but left the pile of candy rapers and empty water bottles, plus my food which was in a tree.

[ivan]

well then, i hope you called 'em fuck-nuts!

[Juan]

I once saw a group of native fish. They wore headbands and rode small horses. Not sure where they came in.

 

Sharp

[cook]

Thanks for a good climb Gyselinck. You forgot to mention how I let you lead the super loose crux pitch. I'll put some more photos up today or tomorrow.

[cook]

This photo was taken looking straight down at Gyselinck at the top of the first pitch. From here, climb class 4 trees and heather to the belay.

 

Gyselinck leading the crux third pitch

 

Toppling tower. The descent is via the obvious gully in the center. The route Becky describes traverses left along the tree band and then ascends the ridge that is blocked by the tall tree.

[thelawgoddess]

amusing tr. glad you got your stuff back!

[Lyger]

huckleberry mountain, bumblebee pass, burnt boot creek, toppling tower... Sounds kinda funny, are you sure you didn't just go into the woods and smoke weed?

[Lyger]

I see Gyselinck, your hot date that you were going camping with at the lake was Cook. Nice! I like your taste!

[cook]

No drugs on this trip Lyger, but it does sound like we went climbing in fairy tale land. Note: Gyselinck's hot date was not Cook, it was his mom, but she bailed. Also: we did not go climbing in fairy tale land, it was actually tough guy land. Those landmarks were mislabled in the Beckey guide. It is actually, hell mountain, flaming feces creek, stinging of death pass, and the tower of infinite pain and moss.

Edited August 24, 2005 by cook

[deadbeatchrist]

So they were all typos? Is that it?

[knotzen]

Did the candy rapers attack the candy rappers? Where were the candy wrappers in all this?

[knotzen]

Or maybe the candy rappers would not have been attacked by the candy rapers if they had been wearing candy wrappers.

 

Ya think?

[cook]

Yes deadbeat, those were all spelling errors in the guide, anyone could have mad that mistake.

 

Knotzen, the candy wrappers were left by the fishermen, you see they raped gyselinck's stuff, but not my wrappers.

[knotzen]

Yes deadbeat, those were all spelling errors in the guide, anyone could have mad that mistake.

 

Knotzen, the candy wrappers were left by the fishermen, you see they raped gyselinck's stuff, but not my wrappers.

 

Deadbeat?! No, I'm just an editor with a keen eye and a sharp, incisive, inexhaustible wit.

 

OTOH, I could in fact be a self-deluded deadbeat.

[cook]

Sorry Knotzen, I meant no offense, the deadbeat message was directed to the previous post by the one who calls himself deadbeatchrist.

 

You, I believe, are not a deadbeat.

[deadbeatchrist]

a "keen eye and a sharp, incisive, inexhaustilbe wit." ??

 

I believe the part about the wits... but am having doubts about the keen eye.

[gyselinck]

all you guys are freaks

[knotzen]

Well, what do you know? You're just a deadbeat.

 

[Lyger]

I don't know if you should call us all freaks Gyselinck, we know what you really call the bathroom! No sense even pretnding you are tough after that one.

[deadbeatchrist]

I take offense to being called a deadbeat.

[cook]

calling deadbeatchrist a deadbeat is also calling him the savior of mankind

[knotzen]

I take offense to being called a deadbeat.

Dude.