[TR] N.Twin- West Ridge 9/25/2005

[NorthStr99]

Climb: N.Twin-West Ridge

 

Date of Climb: 9/25/2005

 

Trip Report:

So after eyeballing the Twin Sisters for the 7+ years since I moved here, Sunday became the day to tackle my first grind up to the West Ridge (thanks to everyone here for all the approach beta, etc - never had any solid information from anyone firsthand, only vague mentions of "better bring yer bike" and such).

 

I got an abysmally late start out of Ferngully around 1 PM, and proceeded to proceed post-haste to the Middle Fork bridge off of FS38, fully expecting it to be locked per beta. Lo and behold though, what to my wondering eyes did appear when I arrived at what I had assumed to be a locked and inpenetrable gate? Yes indeedy, a Locked and Inpenetrable Gate. "A-HAH!!" I thought slyly though, "I have brought forth my trusty and too-seldom used mountain bike, I shall show this puny locked gate the futilitism of it's lockedness." 5 minutes later as my legs and lungs mutinied and refused to assist in further efforts at pedalling, my smugness left me and I meekly stumped the rest of the way up the mining/logging roads to the top of the clearcut above Dailey Prairie (and just where is this cotton-picking Prairie AT, anyway? Did I miss something??)

 

An aside: I noticed in a few previous posts where people ditched their bikes where they headed off the last "decent" road and went up #9100 - why would you want to slog back down that last mile or mile and a half or so on foot when you could coast it with a modicum of caution?

 

OK, so anyway, a lung-bursting 3+ hours after leaving the car, I gained the log landing at the base of the West Ridge (I really should start giving some thought to being in better condition before intiating these sorts of self-flagellating outings ). At the last hairpin below the landing I bumped into a pair of more time-wise but less vehicle-possessed folks who thoughtfully offered to borrow my bike for a few minutes. I told them that would be cool, just as long as they brought it back when they were done. They sagely declined.

 

I ditched my bike at the log landing and started up through the shrubby ugliness of the old clearcut scar. (NOTE: The old LOG LANDING is the place to leave your bike, NOT farther below. The water bars across the road are a hootenanny on the way back down ol' #9100. Just watch out for the loose rocks and such.) Secondary note - the trail through the clearcut shrubbery is pretty overgrown, so if anyone has a lot of extra angst and energy to burn off, bring your machete with you and hack some of the doghair back from the trail. This would be a perfect way to get over that bad break-up you just went through.)

 

Huckleberries in abundance were available by the handsful along this stretch, and I mean these huge big-as-the-end-of-your-thumb gobstoppers (this would explain the ghoulishly purple grins sported by the would-be bike-borrowers lower down). Juicy, but just so-so on taste.

 

After wheezing my way up through the brush and breaking out into the pleasant remnant of actual forest overlooked by the loggers, it became an actual HIKE, rather than the previous 6 miles of tedious road-slogging. Some really nice climax forest here, with some actual yummy BLUEberries just before breaking out of treeline (not the OK-in-a-pinch-pretty-good-but-less-than-sweet huckleberries earlier).

 

Just past these last bastions of natural anti-oxidant treats, I broke out onto the Ridge proper and got a real good look up at the N. Twin. By this time it was after 5:40, but the trail flattened out along the ridge for a ways and picking my way through the rocks was TONS easier than the thigh-burning purgatory of the past 3 hours. I was pleased to find that the rock was everything I had heard about it - super-sticky and sound, with nary a wobbler as I worked my way farther up the ridge. What a terrific view...

 

I managed to get up to the point where the ridge took a decidely upward turn at around 6:20, and decided that if I really wanted to wind up down-climbing in the dark sans headlamp, I could keep going, but that if I wanted to keep limbs unbroken and skin non-bloodied, now would probably be a good time to stop and soak in the view and munch the landjaegers in my pack along with the peanut-butter granola bars so thoughtfully provided by my dear Cat (her nickname, not my actual cat. I don't have a cat. Why on earth would I want to have a cat for goodness sake?)

 

To the south I could see Mt. Rainier dimly through the haze of the beautiful late afternoon, and to the west I could see out past the SJ's into the Strait. Hey, I could even see my HOUSE in Fernburger from here. Well, I'm sure I could if it wasn't so hazy in the valley, anyway. The Canadian peaks ranged away to the north, and all was well with the world.

 

After my protein and grease rich "lunch" I booked it back down to my bike, eschewing even the ever-tasty blueberries in my desire to NOT impede my much-looked-forward-to 6-mile coast-back on the bike with the pesky darkness usually following sundown. What took me over 3 hours on the way in blurred by in about 20 or 30 minutes on the way back, which would have been less if I hadn't needed to go slow through the gathering gloom in some places which were rife with loose rocks scattered over the trail.

 

I hit the Middle Fork and the parking area about 7:30, 5-1/4 hours after I'd left. Granted, I didn't bag the top, but for a first-timer in worse shape than he'd like to admit and using nothing more than a fistful of printer copies from this website for direction (which was pretty bang on I'd say), I was pretty damned happy with the result. My legs and glutes did not share my elation however, and they seem to be rather sullen about the whole affair even today. I suspect they may make their continued displeasure known tomorrow as well. Pussies.

 

So the lessons of the story here? ONE - Start in the MORNING. As in BEFORE noon. TWO - DEFINITELY take your mountain bike, all the way to the LOG LANDING. THREE - Those nifty rubberized gardeing gloves I heard mention of in another trip report would sure be nicer on your fingers. That nice rough, grippy rock is nice and rough and grippy - good for gription, not so good for dermal longevity on yer little digits.

 

I can't wait to go do it again, following Lessons #1 and #3. Maybe next time I'll wait until next spring/early summer, and take advantage of the famed North Face snowfield descent.

 

Peace out....

 

PS - did you guys know that the Twin Sisters Range is the largest chunk of dunite/olivine in the United States?

 

Gear Notes:

Take your mountain bike. Maybe those nerdy rubberized gardening gloves too, the ones that fit really snug.

 

Approach Notes:

Road very good condition, a bit wash-boardy on the way down (fun to open your mouth and go, "OoOoOoOoOoOo.." and "AH-ah-AH-ah-AH-ah-AH-ah" as you cruise over them at kidney-rattling speeds). Also note, the last stream just before you turn off the main mining road onto the smaller road on the right is no longer visibly yellow as reported in a previous TR.

Edited September 27, 2005 by NorthStr99

[spicoli11]

bigelow on da washboard B

[rock-ice]

Nice write up, good beta. Welcome to cc.com.

[luwayo]

yeah, nice report. i was there on saturday. that steel bridge deck is deadly slick in the morning! bs'd with the atv'ers on the way down, and listened to their tales of yore about how they use to sled across the north face *crevasses* in the '70s. was it really crevassed back then? there's nowt by a tiny patch of snow there now. re: cycling gloves - mine took a beating on the climb. they've been rendered fingerless.

[sobo]

I've never done this peak, so I am not an authority on this subject, but from the references herein, am I to conclude that you climb this thing with gloves on????

[luwayo]

gloves do help sobo, unless your hands are already work hardened; i'm a pencil pusher. was scheduled for squamish the next day, so i wanted some skin left for that. i've worn gloves loads of times, but up until now, only for spring thrashing amidst devils club.

 

anyhow, if you chose to wear em for this scramble, your s.o. may thank you

Edited September 27, 2005 by luwayo

[sobo]

Wowsers! Then that's gotta be some rough rock! I've had tourons ask me if you have to wear gloves while climbing, and I always tell them "no." Mebbe I better reevaluate that answer...

 

Thanks for clearing that up for me, luwayo! And I'm probably gonna have to check out that rock sometime.

[Dru]

And if you are Polish you probably already have velcro gloves you can adapt for climbing.

[sobo]

I am, and I do, thank you very much!

[philfort]

My hands were painful and bleeding for a few days after climbing that thing... (cold rain -> numb hands, probably didn't help). ouch!

[magellan]

Awesome first post, 99. Welcome to CC.

[tshimko]

Years ago on my first attempt of the traverse of the N. and S. twin, one climber came up lame part way up the W ridge of the N Twin. We left him and just went up the ridge and came back. By the end of the day, I could see blood vessel (capillaries?) just below the surface of all finger tips.

 

I really wanted to do the traverse (up the W Ridge of N twin, across to S. Twin, down W Ridge of S Twin, so recruited another partner and did it the next week. If I had not take gloves for that outing, I'm sure that I would have been bleeding on all ten fingertips.

 

The rock of the range is exposed on the surface of the planet in only a few places, as it originates in the mantle layer. It is the most abrasive rock I have ever climbed. Take a look at it...tiny crystals embedded in a matrix, many hundreds per square inch, and very pointy. I have climbed this with water or light snow on it, good friction is never a problem.

 

My first time there I discovered a place where I needed only to walk about two miles to get to the spur road leading up to the ridge. I also discovered that others had driven into the area. My second trip and third trips included driving into Dailey Prairie to that spur road. Gating issues later made getting in there a problem. I have friends that got locked in, had to wait until morning to get out.

 

It's been a long time, but I'll bet that the little road end where I camped the first time, with a fire pit, is still accessible, and it's only 2 miles to the base of the spur road at base of W ridge from there. My notes from that time say "go past Acme, cross river, right on Mosquito Lake Rd. Go 9.4 miles to gravel pit, go through the pit and turn right immediately past the pit. Go 7.7 miles, then right at small turn-off. Camp spot after about 100 yds, dead end after another 200 ft. This puts you at the NE corner of Dailey Prairie. Walk from here about 2 miles to the spur road on up the the W ridge of the N Twin.

[Blake]

I thought that my hands/fingers were really smooth after climbing on that rock. it sands them down. i could climb 5.11 slabs no problem on that stuff!

[ashw_justin]

You guys used your hands?

[johozomeen]

Too much like my first West Ridge outing! Thanks fer that.

[Coastal_Climber]

After a day on the N Twin. Mine on the left, Luwayo's on the right.

[Blake]

Too bad there aren't more solid 5th class lines on that stuff.

[bcollins]

Ahhhhh yes............ski in around march/april, climb W. ridge (watch the mantles with skis on!) ski down north face, then go home.