[TR] Snow Creek Wall- Champagne 9/19/2005

[catbirdseat]

Climb: Snow Creek Wall-Champagne

 

Date of Climb: 9/19/2005

 

Route Description:

Leave any gear you don't want to take at the base of the Outer Space Walk off. Take the Easter Tower Notch route to get to the start of Champagne. There is a short chimney with a couple of 5.8 moves that is easily protectable. Don't try to avoid it by going around. Scramble up the rest of the gully, 4th class, to the notch.

 

The first pitch of Champagne is easily recognizable. The hardest moves are the first few out of the notch up a left facing corner (nuts for pro). Traverse left on a narrow grassy ledge and then continued up a crack to a roof and traverse right past an old 1/4 inch bolt. Don't belay here if you have a 60 m rope. Continue on up knobs with a crack for pro to a nice belay spot by some bushes with a 2 foot wide ledge to the right.

 

You have a choice for the second pitch of a 5.4 gully straight up or, better, to the right on knobs and chickenheads, 5.5. Walk right on the ledge about 10 ft and you'll see a crack that peters out about 10 ft up. Ascend this then clip an old 1/4" bolt with a loose hanger. Continue up and to the right on easier climbing on big chicken heads with no pro for about 30 ft. Step right into an easy groove where eventually you'll get a cam, then continue up to a broad, grassy ledge, a good spot to belay. This pitch is a bit run out but it is quite easy and fun. You'll end up directly below the big chimney.

 

The third pitch goes up a 5.6 chimney that some claim is harder than that. There are two chockstones, initially for pro, and then various cracks on the right side that take nuts. Top out by pulling over chockstones. Belay immediately above or continue on. Probably better to belay here for communications. If one of you is wearing a pack, be "generous" and volunteer to lead this pitch, and let the follower wear the pack.

 

The fourth and last pitch is up a low 5th or 4th class offwidth. The crack was too wide for the pro at first but narrows to where you can get a cam in about 15 ft up. The pitch finishes on another big ledge with large trees.

 

Here you have a choice of three or more ways of getting up to the ridge top from about 5.4 to 5.8. The easiest of these is the one furthest to the right and starts by a small doug fir tree. Best described as 5.fun. Enjoyable and easily protected. This puts you at a flat area with a piton in a block for an anchor.

 

Scramble (some may wish to rope up) along ridge about a half rope legth to a rap station hidden under a block. It is right before a pair of skinny rock pinnacles.

 

Make a 30 m rappel to a ledge. Make another 20 m rap to where a ledge system will take you left to the dirt. Follow goat paths up to a notch (below which is White Slabs/ Umbrella Tree) and continue along the ridge, up and over a hill then back down to the Outer Space walk off.

 

Trip Report:

Our group of six arrived at SCW at about 9:30 am. I led up the 5.8 chimney and brought up Jim and Erin. Jim brought up the rest while Erin and I got started on the first pitch. I led using a single set of nuts and set of cams to 3.5 Friend plus Blue to Orange Aliens and placed every cam except for the Blue Alien. Rope drag can be bad on this pitch, if you aren't careful, because of the way in which it wanders. Double ropes might have been nice.

 

Dawn and Ben who both started leading this year followed, with Dawn leading the first pitch. She cursed like a sailor (as usual) on what she later would call her toughest lead to date. Jim and Lee were in the cleanup role with Lee leading solidly on the first pitch, which is the hardest one.

 

We waited at the belay long enough to be sure Dawn would be able to see which way we went on the second pitch. I was sort of guessing on this based on reports from Toast, but we got it right. It's more fun going up the chicken heads rather than the gully to the left (the more obvious way) which is how we'd done it before. We waited at the grassy ledge for what seem a long time and headed up the chimney. At the top I had a better view of the second pitch and waited to bring Erin up. Ben went past the ledge and headed up the chimney, forgetting he'd soon run out of rope. He stopped and belayed from a chockstone, brought Dawn up to the ledge from which she belayed so he could continue. Erin didn't like the chimney on account of the pack she was wearing. She slung it so it hung below her, but then it kept getting hung up. Packs and chimneys don't get along.

 

We continued on up to the ridge and waited for what seemed like an interminable period of time, beefing up the rap anchor and waiting some more before we started rapping. Built a new anchor for the second rap as we didn't see any existing ones. They probably all got burnt up in the fire.

 

Got tired of waiting so pulled the rope and did the second rap. Shouted at Dawn and waited some more and finally heard voices and then spotted Dawn quickly followed by Jim. Glad we were all back together as it was now 4 pm or so. Got everyone down uneventfully and pulled the ropes without either getting stuck.

 

The tennis shoes we hauled were nice to have for the hike, although Ben elected not to bring them. That's a long walkoff in rock shoes, if you ask me.

 

Started down the White Slabs walkoff by mistake, but quickly recognized we were in the wrong place and reversed course and soon saw the familiar flat area at the top of Outer Space.

 

The down hike was uneventful except that Ben, Erin and I missed a turn at the very bottom and had to hike back up a hundred feet or so to our waiting packs and the water we were so thirsty for.

 

Hiked out to the cars where we arrived at 7 pm, very late. Jim and Erin had been racing each other on the trail. Jim had been in the lead until his pack came open and its entire contents emptied out on the trail. Erin caught up while he was hurredly stuffing everything back inside. Lee's wife wasn't too happy to be kept waiting. Erin missed her dinner party and got a speeding ticket trying to get to a phone. The Sheriff's deputy very kindly let her use his cell phone as he wrote the ticket.

 

Jim, Erin and I stopped at 59er Diner for some food while the others headed quickly home.

Edited September 19, 2005 by catbirdseat

[Dru]

This seems more like a route description than a trip report?

[catbirdseat]

Yes. The route is not described in any book that I know of, and I wanted to make a concise route description available. It is a route that can be done by less experienced climbers, but lack of beta puts off many who would otherwise enjoy this route.

[dkemp]

Thanks much cbs!

Doxey

[ncascademtns]

CBS,

 

I

didn't

have

time

to

read

your

long

book

report

but

good

job

anyways!

[Bug]

The thin red Becky book has a description.

Why don't people use that?

[catbirdseat]

Hmm, I lost my Red Beckey book. When you say "thin red", what are you referring to? An older edition?

[Bug]

1976

[catbirdseat]

Dude, you just dated yourself.

[ScottP]

Isn't that a euphamism for masturbation?

[ncascademtns]

Dude, you just dated yourself.

 

No, he just dated the book. On the other hand you dated yourself.

The thick red beckey book is for the northern - northern cascades.

What you have is a case of Dementia.

[goatboy]

True, True.

 

SCW is in the brown book.

[bwrts]

There is an old (out-of-print) FB guidebook circa 1976 which is orangish red and not about the north cascades. It was the Leavenworth (and Index?, others?) instruction manual.

[Dru]

So are all the routes in that book Thin Red Lines?

[catbirdseat]

There is an old (out-of-print) FB guidebook circa 1976 which is orangish red and not about the north cascades. It was the Leavenworth (and Index?, others?) instruction manual.

So Bug, since the guide is out of print, would you mind copying the description for us, if it isn't too long?

[Harry_Pi]

Hello capitalist!

So the guy just posted a trip report or route description and had a little fun. Can't we all just get along? Love you man!

Thank you for allow me to post.

[viktor]

FWIW, the red Beckey/Bjornstad guide - 1965

Carlstad/Brooks (white cover) - 1976

[Bug]

Dang Victor. I was going to say 65 but it just seemed too long ago. Thanks for the update.

BTW, I was climbing in 76 but not in 65. Oh, and I have dated myself.

[catbirdseat]

My interest is two-fold:

 

1) I am curious to know if we were actually on the original route.

 

2) More people ought to enjoy climbing this route because I think it is pretty good.

 

And one more thing I forgot to mention. I think there are peregrin falcons nesting on Easter Tower. They were dive bombing us all morning. It was cool watching them- magnificent animals.