[TR] Mt Index- North Face Attempt 2/11/2006

[David Trippett]

Climb: Mt Index-North Face Attempt

 

Date of Climb: 2/11/2006

 

Trip Report:

After a week of watching the weather report get better and better and knowing it would be a full moon....my Aussie mate Logan and I set our sights on a one day ascent of the North Face of Mt. Index. After a uneventful drive down from Vancouver friday night we pulled into Index and sorted gear and left the trailhead at 2am Saturday morning. The approach was pretty amazing with the peaks and forest bathed in moonlight. The wind was pretty strong near the start of the climbing....but we found a calm bit below a wind lip and dug a bench and threw down the ridgerest and waited for the sun. This was our first time on the mountain so neither of us knew what to expect.

 

Around 6am or so we soloed up the first few pitches until we arrived at the beginning of the "slabby traverse to hidden ledge" and we pulled the rope out. I led across this ledge then up and to the left to a belay in some trees. Logan then led out of the trees to a belay at the top of a snow slope...at this point the summer route continues right to some mid 5th class below the North face bowl....I opted to stick to the blunt ridge to the left of this and found a fine traverse that led to a point near the top of the North Face Bowl. Before the traverse, Logan led what will heretofor be known as "The Lead". From an adequate belay just before the traverse Logan led up two meters so that we could get a better look at the traverse. Then he brought me up.

After "The Lead" I traversed into the Noth Face Bowl and brought Logan over. We figured we had quite a bit of climbing remaining and since we only brought a simgle 8mm x 60m we decided it was time to go down.

 

It was pretty hard decision, particularly in such nice weather. But we had slowed down a bit and had now been awake for almost 36 hours.

 

We preceded to rap off trees until we came to point above a face where the rope wouldn't make it all the way to the next snow field. I rapped first and had to do some tricky tensioning to the left across an icy corner to access a rappel stattion consisting of a 20 year old blade that was tied off to something that was hidden under the snice. I finally found a placement and backed up the blade with a tied off bugaboo and down I went. Logan said it was fun to watch the old blade rock about as I started the free hanging portion of the rap. We made it down to the initial snow field and put in a bollard, made another rappel and finished with some spicy down climbing and yet another rap off a questionable pin.

 

On the way down to the car around 7pm we ran into a couple guys just below Lake Serene on their way up. Their names were Wayne and Zach. If anyone knows them I think they might have lost some gear....contact Ade or Stuart.

 

It was a fun, challenging route. Now that I know the route and descent I'd like to go back and finish it. Next time we'll take another rope.

 

P.S. My marked line of ascent is a bit off....sue me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gear Notes:

3 blades

2 angles

mudium nuts

lots of slings

1 60m rope

2 stubby screws

3 medium cams

 

 

The Rock was rather compact in spots. Most of pro we found was slinging trees and such.

 

Approach Notes:

Approach was fine, mostly dry until around 2500ft....icy in spots.

[Alpinfox]

Thanks!

 

I thought this picture deserved to be viewed full size:

[olyclimber]

With a second rope and little more sleep you'll get it.

[Dechristo]

Nice.

 

I was gripped while reading about "The Lead".

 

AF, thanks for enlarging the photo.

[goatboy]

Please post a photo showing "the Lead," as well as any beta pertinent to this amazing accomplishment.

 

Long live the Lead!!!!

 

Thanks for the photos and entertaining trip report. Nice work, even if you're both male.

[David Trippett]

Anybody else been on this route in the winter? Is it normal to Bivy? From Ade's report from the west face I saw that they bivied twice....but that was a new route.

[DPS]

Jim Nelson's guide book recommends 2 days.

[Ade]

The kicker is that the descent is pretty complex and doing it in the dark is going to suck. It would be way easy to get seriously stuck.

 

We started rapping in the dark and realized it wasn't going to happen. Stu had to work on Sunday and I had a 30deg bag to sleep in so it's not like we fancied another bivi or anything - although we did get really cool views on Index at night and a beautiful dawn.

[Bronco]

Anybody else been on this route in the winter? Is it normal to Bivy? From Ade's report from the west face I saw that they bivied twice....but that was a new route.

 

It's pretty common for parties to bivi in the summer. It's a long route.

[DirtyHarry]

Ade - did you guys bring a tent, bivies, tarp, just bags, or what??

 

I have to comment that Index seems to be unique in that there are not many peaks in the Cascades that require bivies, even in winter. And climbing with bivy gear is great training for routes in the bigger ranges - like Das Toof.

[Ade]

We took bivies. A tent would have meant a lot more digging.

[eric8]

thank you

 

I know of at least two other parties who made one day attempts in winter and failed

[mattp]

I don't keep track and I'm sure people have done so, but I have not heard of anybody doing it in a day. Not in the winter.

 

Some friends of a friend bivouaced in the North Face bowl, to return from their summit climb to find their snowcave had avalanched away and taken all their camping equipment once.

[pms]

I know the route has been climbed in winter in one long day at least once, probably more. I almost made it in a day with smiling white knuckles one time. We didn't see any ski tracks.... stay away from our climbs ski dudes

[TeleRoss]

we're going to ski all of your lines

[skykilo]

Yeah we'd have 'em all skied out this year if we could get a piton sponsorship.

 

Rapping with skis: the future.

 

PS: Cool TR avitripp, way to get after it.

[eggplant]

does anybody have a picture with the full topo for a winter accent??

[George Sharrett]

I know the route has been climbed in winter in one long day at least once, probably more. I almost made it in a day with smiling white knuckles one time. We didn't see any ski tracks.... stay away from our climbs ski dudes

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PMS,

Who did this ascent and when? That would realy be quite an accomplishment. It took me three tries to summit in the winter and we bivied near the top of the upper snow field. This was in December. Got to see an amazing display of the northern lights that night, great memories...