[TR] Juno Tower- Clean Break 8/21/2005

[telemarker]

Climb: Juno Tower-Clean Break

 

Date of Climb: 8/21/2005

 

Trip Report:

Driving north on hiway 97 at 1am on Sunday under a full moon, I realize it's been a while since I've been this motivated to get into the alpine. And Clean Break promises to be an especially rewarding treat. It's amazing what spending a week with in-laws in Albuquerque will do for one's motivation to climb. Worse, their home is within easy view of the Sandia Mtns.. Now, God forbid you seek a climbing partner through the New Mexico Mountain Club WITHOUT first having your TOP ROPE CERTIFICATION!!!

Between Wenatchee and Chelan, I try to rationalize alpine climbing with fatherhood/husbandhood to my 4 month old son and wife. I conclude that it would be more detrimental to me and my family to NOT climb. At least a large part of the risk in climbing is in my control. My biggest fear is the day I quit climbing to be safer, I get run over by a Guiness truck. From Chelan to Pateros, I merely enjoy the empty hiway and illuminated hills. From Pateros to the TH, I quit zoning out. I'm white-knuckled and alert, thinking at any moment a suicidal deer will jump out in front of me and I'll never make it to Juno Tower.

I reach the TH at 3am, and Ed Hobbick is there already, having slept a few hours. I've gotten one hour's sleep but it doesn't seem to bother me yet, but I know at some point it'll hit me, hard. Ed chows down breakfast while I hang out in the middle of hiway 20, taking it in, glad to be back in Washington. We're hiking soon by 3.45am. Ed is one of the more literal minded persons I know, but we always seem to have thought provoking conversations on the approach. This helps the upward slog fly by.

By 5am, we're within radio distance to Kyle Flick and Steve Tift. Kyle climbs by the book, and Clean Break is no different. He and Tift came up the evening before and fixed the first two pitches, as Burdo and Nelson suggest. We catch our first glimpse of the route. It's damn long, but looks like it kicks back up higher.

It's good to see Steve out here. You want him on your climbing team. Steve learned to climb at the Pinnacles in Peshastin, he never complains or turns down a pitch. He'll just a plug a piece in and go type of climber. LYSMASTFU. One of the best all-around climbers I've met. Flick, well he's been on a successful streak lately. It's been a prolific summer for him.

Steve and Kyle jug the first two pitches, and I arrange for Steve to set up a top rope for Ed and me for the Paragon. I climb it clean, and immediately regret not leading it. The next pitch is eery, in that the entire slab (the break) seems hollow.

On Clean Break, every belay is on a spacious ledge where you can kick back and relax. The climbing has short, hard sections interspersed with much easier climbing. Steve leads the delicate traverse pitch. I wait in vain for him to peel off. It's not fair, he can jump off the couch and lead alpine 5.10 after taking a couple months off from alpine climbing. I lead the same traverse, and find the foot and hand holds to be too positive to be 5.10. In fact, I find the hardest pitch to be the diagonal fist crack to delicate face climbing up higher, which Ed leads.

The pitches fall away without too much fanfare until we summit to perfect weather and gusty winds. As is Kyle's custom, he mumbles something about being slow and is booted up and descending before we've even taken off our harnesses. It's 3.30pm, and we want burgers in Twisp so we all hustle off. Of course, we catch up, and relax below Sunset Col, knowing tons of ground to cover to get back to our gear, then down to our car. I don't mind, I'm just lucky to be out here and not in Albuquerque.

L to R: Ed, Kyle and Steve

 

Gear Notes:

Gear to 3.5 inches is sufficient. No 4 inch piece is needed like the Kearney Guide suggests.

 

Approach Notes:

Very nice approach, over a well trod trail.

Edited August 26, 2005 by telemarker

[thelawgoddess]

i was drooling over the topo for that climb just last night ... wishing i had the skills and energy for it. nice work!

[chucK]

Nice job! Quite a marathon when you add in the driving. Though with a 4-month old you're probably acclimated to lack of sleep.

 

How did you guys get off that thing? When we did it I went way down a gulley then had to climb way back up to get back to the ridge and then back down to Sunset col. I'm figuring from many people's descriptions of an easy descent that there must be some traverse up higher? Is that correct?

[smithisheaven]

shorts over poly-pro, steve, steve, steve. good job guys. looks like a cool route.

[Kyle_Flick]

Chuck, What worked for us was to only descend the gully about 50' and then begin traversing to the north around a ledge and generally followed the ridge crest or just below it until it started cliffing out. Then we downclimbed straight to Sunset Col via a series of ramps. Only took about 45 minutes.

[telemarker]

shorts over poly-pro, steve, steve, steve. good job guys. looks like a cool route.

 

Hey Smith, what's up? Yep, shorts over poly-pro. Steve wanted to wear his steel toed boots and logger's helmet, but we talked him out of it.

 

Cragging Sunday?

[Dru]

shorts over poly-pro, steve, steve, steve.

 

no kidding, how can i give any star rating to a trip featuring the old S over P?

[Chriznitch]

nice pics dude. Did you at least climb the Knife Edge in ABQ?

[telemarker]

thanks...Nope, I couldn't even get to the crest...My in-laws wouldn't let me borrow their car. But hey, I got lots of jogging in I sent a club-wide e-mail to NMMC and thought I'd get at least one response, but they didn't know if I knew how to belay or not, so they didn't want to take the chance of climbing with me. Longest week of my life thus far...

[Blake]

I met Steve Tift and his wife in July when they visited the Bakery I work in several times.... Steve's a really nice guy for sure.