Triple Couloirs

[erik]

let me rephrase my original comment....

would the route not be more desireable if it were to have less snow or maybe even more consolidated or even better something with lotsa ice???

i personally believe so, as that to me is the desireable portion or conditions of the climb that i seek for....

good work guys on the early ascents.......

[layton]

Yeah, it would be more desirable with more ice. I totally agree with that. Not many people are going to go all that way to be like, "geeze doesn't have enough ice let's go home". Or at that critical decision at the top of the 2nd coulior, "hmmmm, the 2nd coulior is supposed to be harded so I should do that. But wait, it's pretty snowy so maybe I'll head onto the north face cuz it may be more technical. Shit, if I do that I won't have climbed the tripple couliour route!" Sound stupid? Well that's what half of you are fucking saying. If someone goes and does a WI6, M9 30 meter variation, then you've got something to argue. Not, "well I was going up Baker and I walked to the left of the footstep trail so I didn't really do the coleman-demming".

Dru, aleady did the sit-start on Stuart...it's V1 bro, not V2 (unless it's wet then its V3).

[Colin]

Actually, I must disagree with those who have argued that doing the bypass is doing Triple Couloirs. That route is better described as "Wickwire-Stanley with Third Couloir finish," than as "Triple Couloirs with North Face bypass."

I'm not trying to insult anyone's ascent, as the bypass is often harder than the direct. However, it simply is misinformation to call the Wickwire-Stanley "Triple Couloirs."

Perhaps it is somewhat comparable to saying that you climbed the Beckey-Davis on the S Face of Prusik, when in fact you finished on the Burgner-Stanley on the S Face of Prusik. They both have the same grade, but you would simply be misleading people to say that you "climbed the Beckey-Davis."

[TimL]

Who cares what variation whoever did whenever? I don't. A climb is a climb. Motivation is personal. Routes are conditional. All I say is thanks for reporting conditions Michael and good job on your climb.

[Juan]

I'm counting on footsteps this weekend up the TC, since it's going to be a fucking blizzard up there. It never fails: Juan gets a hall pass from the wife, the weather sucks. Juan is doing yard work, it's sunny.

Cheers anyway,

Mr. Goodtime aka Mr. Blister aka Juan aka JuanTwoPunch

Of course, if one could keep a name when one switches computers, which act defies a computer-impaired guy like me, then it would still be Mr. Goodtime. Sorry for the confusion.

[Necronomicon]

Managed to quickly stretch this out to three pages...

"The Truth Revealed."

We didn't actually set out to climb the Triple Colouirs route on Dragintail Peak, we set out to descend the Southeast Face of Dragontail Peak, and link that with a descent of the Asgard Pass Colouir. Thankfully, the route went.

We had to fix a piton on the second pitch of the second approach gully (we soloed to that point). It rang quite brightly, but give it a few wails for old-times sake. The pendulum, for the second, from the belay at the slabs into the third approach gully was quite thrilling.

We timed our approach to allow for complete and utter blackness at the beginning of our descent from the "summit". We started down at 10:30.

The descent of the first part of our route, easy AI1 snow walking. I got a lot of practice holding my icetool and stepping into the snow. The USGS map mistakenly labels the start of the Asgard Pass descent Colouir as Colchuck Pass, but we trusted our instincts and headed down anyways. We were committed. We were failing downwards.

I got freaked out on the way down because I thought we had somehow descended southwest from the top of the Colchuck Glacier and were headed towards Ingalls Creek. Luckily, trillions of interstellar equilateral triangles pointed the way back to Colchuck Lake.

We reached our gear at the base of our descent by 1:00.

Seeking the elusive "Bellingham to Bellingham" descent, we each downed some spice Melange and folded timespace for the stagger back to the truck. The hallucinations were coital. I saw an Angel, the Sasquatch, and a guy in a suit standing next to a tree. Mike saw the face of Father Callahan looking down on him, pressing down on him, on the floor of the rectory, in back, next to the piano.

Five minutes into our four hour descent from the base of the descent, we reached the halfway point. Some water, then five more minutes, and we reached the trailhead where we had dumped some gear (overnight gear which would have forced us into a 2+ day affair).

After more of the spice melange, we began the deafening ten minute, three mile snowshoe back to the car in an hour. Mike had left his interior light on for twenty four hours, yet his truck, clad in, and, perhaps, inspired by Brittany Spears decals, fought to life, despite the stray oil fill cap floating about amongst vital engine subsystems.

I changed my socks and shoes. So did Mike.

We both bought chips at the gas station. Mike drove, I think, while I nodded off like a junkie. I'd start awake, make sure Mike was still driving, and nod off again. It was impossible to stay warm.

I was in bed by 9:15am, for a 28h 15m day.

[rayborbon]

Colin,I did climb the Beckey Davis and did not finish on the Stanley Burgner.

Now that I am not tough enough for all of you kooks I must go free solo the North Face of the Eiger this summer

[allthumbs]

What out for Eastwood. I hear he vacations and climbs regularily there now.

[Bug]

Just so we can keep it straight out there, how many different ways can you do the west face of DragonTail by mixing routes? No fair counting unidentified pitches.

My guess is there are about 100 separate pitches on the face. Maybe 1/8 of them actually cross another route which makes it 12.5 potential crossovers or 156 different routes. Now let's name them correctly...........................

[rayborbon]

Bug you can start counting them. We'll call all the variations Triple Direct Bypass Surgery Ridge Fin Wall Mixed M7,V420,AI2,WI9,A3,Atree VII+++ rating.

[Bug]

Too technical Ray. How about "Math for the Clinically Insane"?

Nice pic. I missed one.

[JasonG]

Just wondering about the approach to Colchuck. Has anyone been up there recently and know how close you can drive to the trailhead. Thanks.

[erik]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Heinrich:

Just wondering about the approach to Colchuck. Has anyone been up there recently and know how close you can drive to the trailhead. Thanks.

---

you will not be able to drive to the trail head until the road has no snow on it and it is dry.....

 

there is slope stability issues with that road....

 

you have to hike in from the icicle.....

[JasonG]

thanks, I was afraid of that

[Blight]

"harder" treated kit like shit. "heller" died on asgaard.

[goatboy]

Please share the story, if you don't mind.

 

Who was heller and how did he die on aasgard?

 

I had a close call myself on aasgard once, glissading foolishly into a moat . . . just curious about the history of other incidents.

 

Thanks,

 

Steve

[rayborbon]

Be careful of hard ice and high winds there.. I dont know who died. Sux to die there though...

[Blight]

Don was an avid climber. He was glissading down Asgaard, hit ice, and lost control. He ruptured his spleen. Jim McCarthy was there and I think Skip Edmunds (doc) was too? They spent the night at their Colchuck camp, but Don didn't make it. The climbing community was much smaller back then too. I've thought about that everytime I've descended Asgaard in the snow.

[TimL]

I think in the old Index guidebook at the end there is a reference to Index climbers who have died. I believe there is a reference to a fall down Asgard Pass. Maybe worth checking out.

[Fat_Kid]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Heinrich:

Just wondering about the approach to Colchuck. Has anyone been up there recently and know how close you can drive to the trailhead. Thanks.

---

The road opened thursday the 25th

good luck

[Cpt.Caveman]

All right no excuses now. Get up there hordes

 

Run Run Run the weather will be good east

[Fairweather]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Necronomicon:

Managed to quickly stretch this out to three pages...

 

"The Truth Revealed."

 

We didn't actually set out to climb the Triple Colouirs route on Dragintail Peak, we set out to descend the Southeast Face of Dragontail Peak, and link that with a descent of the Asgard Pass Colouir. Thankfully, the route went.

 

We had to fix a piton on the second pitch of the second approach gully (we soloed to that point). It rang quite brightly, but give it a few wails for old-times sake. The pendulum, for the second, from the belay at the slabs into the third approach gully was quite thrilling.

 

We timed our approach to allow for complete and utter blackness at the beginning of our descent from the "summit". We started down at 10:30.

 

The descent of the first part of our route, easy AI1 snow walking. I got a lot of practice holding my icetool and stepping into the snow. The USGS map mistakenly labels the start of the Asgard Pass descent Colouir as Colchuck Pass, but we trusted our instincts and headed down anyways. We were committed. We were failing downwards.

 

I got freaked out on the way down because I thought we had somehow descended southwest from the top of the Colchuck Glacier and were headed towards Ingalls Creek. Luckily, trillions of interstellar equilateral triangles pointed the way back to Colchuck Lake.

 

We reached our gear at the base of our descent by 1:00.

 

Seeking the elusive "Bellingham to Bellingham" descent, we each downed some spice Melange and folded timespace for the stagger back to the truck. The hallucinations were coital. I saw an Angel, the Sasquatch, and a guy in a suit standing next to a tree. Mike saw the face of Father Callahan looking down on him, pressing down on him, on the floor of the rectory, in back, next to the piano.

 

Five minutes into our four hour descent from the base of the descent, we reached the halfway point. Some water, then five more minutes, and we reached the trailhead where we had dumped some gear (overnight gear which would have forced us into a 2+ day affair).

 

After more of the spice melange, we began the deafening ten minute, three mile snowshoe back to the car in an hour. Mike had left his interior light on for twenty four hours, yet his truck, clad in, and, perhaps, inspired by Brittany Spears decals, fought to life, despite the stray oil fill cap floating about amongst vital engine subsystems.

 

I changed my socks and shoes. So did Mike.

 

We both bought chips at the gas station. Mike drove, I think, while I nodded off like a junkie. I'd start awake, make sure Mike was still driving, and nod off again. It was impossible to stay warm.

 

I was in bed by 9:15am, for a 28h 15m day.

---

You weren't reading any Frank Herbert during this climb, were you?