Vesper Peak via Weigelt

[Pencil_Pusher]

Was this my last trip of the summer? What with the dropping temps... maybe.

The hike was pleasant and we left the beer in the creek where the climber's path splits. The glacier made me glad to have crampons. It was close to glacier ice with a nice, fat crevasse waiting for us as we traversed to the route. Well, bring either Nelson or Beckey, not both. We were pretty confused for a while before we quit trying to decide and just started climbing. Turns out we were about 40 feet to the right of the Nelson route from the glacier. Up the buttress we went via running belays. While belaying Paul from our start, I got to chat with some unfortunate guys who didn't bring crampons and were debating as to their alternatives. At least they found the humor in my comment about having plenty of time to self-arrest before the crevasse swallowed them. They opted to go for the ledges instead of the glacier crossing.

Running belays brought us to the flat spot where Paul swapped leads with me. That lower climbing was fun and the stuff ahead was so darned fun, I wanted to lower back down and do it again via another way. Sure, it's run out, but you don't care. 30 feet till another pro opportunity but who really cares? Off to another crack and now 60 foot runout... who cares... it seems the rope runouts were on the average about 60-70 feet but you can lessen this if you want. Maybe if I drank the beer BEFORE climbing, I would've protected it more. But the climbing is so darned fun, you don't want to stop to place a piece. Too bad it had to end so quickly. I placed about ten pieces total on our running belay to the top.

We met the cramponless dudes on the ledge down below as we were climbing up. They must've brought a 20 foot rope or something. I mean, we dinked around on top, met a few guys bivying up there and belayed one of them down a rope length so he could climb up... and still those two cramponless dudes were down yonder. As we left, I yelled down like a smart-ass inquiring whether they had headlamps or not. They definitely would need them.

All in all, a kick ass trip to end the summer. The beer was nice and cold. Warning though, the rocks on that trail are slicker than snot.

I give this route a two thumbs and two big toes up... alot of fun.

[Pencil_Pusher]

I don't know nor remember for the times. Maybe 2-3hours till you reach the notch, I guess. There's plenty of running water along the way. We used a 60m but we pretty much running belayed it the whole way. I brought a picket thinking a different picture than what we encountered. The glacier wasn't going to take it anyway, things were pretty hardened up, so bring your crampons. Anyhow, there's a nice crevasse waiting for you if you slip... you'll see. We went to the end of the finger above that crevasse and there we were able to hop onto the rock. I suppose we could have ducked under the glacier and gotten onto the route proper, but I was happy just to be rid of that damn crevasse exposure.

For pro, we used pretty much all cams. Down low on the first pitches you could get away with passive gear, but from the 4th class ledge access to the route and above, it's pretty much all horizontal cracks for pro. #2, 1, .75, .5, and one smaller were the camalot sizes I used. You could bring the stoppers and hexes and clove hitch the two pieces together on the horizontal crack as a poor-man's way of placing pro. Or you could stick to the corner where you could probably plop in some stoppers or hexes and such, it seemed there was a nice 1-2 inch crack in the corner all the way to the top. Paul said there was quite a bit of moss on the north face route.

You should try and get there early so you can go up the top half a few times... it really was some fun climbing on a nice slab.

Just watch out for the rocks on the trail between the car and Headlee. Maybe someone coated them with Slick 50, they were unusually slick. When you lose the route due to some old avy crap and snow, follow the boot path for maybe 100 meters then the trail is off to the right. From the junction with the big stream, above Headlee Pass, the hikers cross it to hike, the climbers go right and up a shoulder, with the lake off to your right. From the notch you'll get your first glimpse of the route.

I think someone tossed the summit register because I found it with scattered shards of the pvc pipe it was in at the base of the upper slab. I put the register back at the top so maybe you could bring in a container for it?

Have fun.

Times, it took us a little over two hours on the rock and maybe two hours to get on down to the car.

 

[ 09-20-2002, 04:32 PM: Message edited by: Pencil Pusher ]

[klenke]

Thanks.

 

If I have time, I'll see about obtaining a replacement cannister this weekend.

 

Someone probably wanted to watch something manmade bound/slide down the slab. The register was probably all they were willing to part with. Just a bunch of littering vandals.

 

I guess we'll take all our cams (his and mine).

[klenke]

Pencil Pusher,

 

Two of us will be heading there on Monday to do the Wiegelt route or some close variation thereof. Was wondering if you could give some estimates as per approach time, rock climb time, and return time.

 

Did you use a 50m rope or a 60m rope or other?

[mtngrrrl]

Sweet! Thanks for the post. I've oogled this climb in the guidebooks. Hopefully next season!

[klenke]

Did the Weigelt Route of the North Face today with Sergio. Good stuff though I wish it had gone on longer. All in all, quite a leisurely day.

 

Note about Beckey's CAG sketch of Vesper's North Face: the ledge that leads from the notch over to the various routes IS NOT 100 feet below the notch but RIGHT AT the elevation of the notch. The ledge begins at class 2, then is class 3, then goes to class 4 to where it joins the Weigelt Route. We took this ledge and thus avoided the crevasse Pencil Pusher mentioned. In fact, if you take the ledge at this time of year, there is no need to take any ice gear (including ice-axe). Save the weight!

 

On the way up the slab, I found the pencil for the register along with a few other loose entries. I brought along a metal pipe and PVC end caps. These now comprise the new summit register cannister.

[sverdina]

Short approach, fun rock & great tanning weather. Very enjoyable. Ditto to what PP said regarding the slick rocks down low. Beware the log crossing.

[sverdina]

Short approach, fun rock & great tanning weather. Ditto to what PP said regarding the slick rocks down low. For the log crossing impared...beware!

[plexus]

The rocks through the meadowy stuff below Wirtz Basin are slicker than grandfather snot!!

 

Thanks for installing a new summit sex toy on top. Without a doubt my entry is somewhere down below (hopefully on that cool benchland to the east of the glacier and west of Sperry). Guess I'll ave to climb it again.

 

I found the climbing near the dihederal to be slimy and wet a couple pitches up and downright scary (5.8ish) without a decent place for pro. I've known others that have reconfirmed my discovery. Is it better near the middle of the wall?

[klenke]

Perplexus:

 

Snot rocks in Wirtz Basin. You got that right. Dew...Mountain Dew to be exact.

 

About the register, there was one of those green cover rolled up registers in a few ziplock bags at the summit. It was a new register placed there on August 17, I believe. I was amazed just how many entries there already were in the thing (greater than one party per day). All I did was replace the register's cannister.

 

About 3/4 of the way up the dihedral there was water seeping out from under the crack. This section (intermittent over 40 feet or so) was not as aesthetic because of the wetness (you had to concentrate on where you COULDN'T step), but the layback climbing was not compromised. I wouldn't say it was as hard as 5.8 though; maybe 5.5. It all depends on how confident you are with laybacks.

 

For me, the scariest part was an unroped class 4 move before we even got to the slab. Of course, I didn't lead out on the mostly running belayed slab. Sergio would have to comment on that. Run outs were longer than usual, but it's a slab after all.

[headmasterjon_dup1]

Went to the N. Face of Vesper to climb the Weigelt Route. Simply decended waaaay to far down on the glacier and started way the fuck off route. We climbed in the 'largest depression' of the face as I think stated in Nelson. Anyway, it was good (in a way i guess) to get the shittiest 8-pitches of climbing I've ever experience out of the way. Our hideous route draged us over wet, thin slabs, into loose gullies for 8 pitches until we reached the N. Ridge and began 5-class heather climbing for 2 pitches after which we elevated above the horizon to bask in the glory of der alpenglow. 3 pitches of quality crack climbing finished the route up a gendarme and a traverse to the summit pyramid. We enjoyed the sunset and chated with a few nice fellows sleeping on top, waited for the full moon to rise 10 min. after the sun set, and descended the trail with no troubles. A 15 hour outing, ralaxing in many ways, scary, then pleasant again at the end. Next time I'll either bring just Beckey and not that crackpot Nelson, or visa-versa.