Jump to content

Liberty Ridge


glennm

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 30
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I agree with Dan, at least from what I have planned. I have wanted to do this for sometime, but my previous status as weekend warrior has made it difficult.

As far as downclimbing the route, that all depends on conditions. I would have to ask Mattp, would you try the descent in late July!?

I will possibly attempt this route this winter, but I want the conditions (snow and weather) to be as good as they can be.

Dan E.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well Matt the time we did it in late July we were lucky just to have lived getting on the route! It was us and another party, rock fall was almost continuous and there was only one place to get onto the ridge and that was steep volcanic choss! I am an experienced ice climber and I have to say you would have needed to use bollards down the entire upper face (??? # of pitches) since it was hard ice. Downclimbing this would have taken forever. We decided to try and beat the weather (a risky choice, but no regrets) you could bivy on the route, maybe at the shrund? I just wanted to make the point that retreat via the ascent route is not always the best option, but I do agree it can be an option.

Dan E.

PS - I agree about the carbon glacier, probably much easier in winter, we had to rap about 6-8 times into crevasses and climb the other side! We also has some fun cave like crevasses to make our way through, it was tough going for sure!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dan e -Yes, I would and in fact, I did. To give you some background, I should say that I do have a fair amount of alpine climbing experience, but I am not a great ice climber and I don't think I had been on ANY ice for a couple of years when I climbed the route. I do not mean to trivialize the climb -- indeed, my comments above were based in part on my belief that many of the accidents that happen on Liberty Ridge occur because those attempting the route don't take it serious enough. The Carbon glacier is probably one of the most serious glaciers in Washington for crevasse hazards, and the ridge itself is steep for the entire 6,000 feet from the glacier to liberty Cap. Rocks roll, pieces of ice fall down ...

In my opinion, climbers should not try Liberty Ridge unless they are both fit AND comfortable with the terrain. The more time you spend in harm's way, the more likely you are to get hit by something and if you are belaying because you aren't completely confident on 35 degree ice, it will take a long time to complete the climb. Also, if you have a full pack and are banking on "carrying over," you may be tempted to dig in and wait it out if the weather begins to deteriorate. In such an event, I'd rather retreat -- with a day pack it took me an hour and a half to descend from Liberty Cap to Thumb Rock, and that would be a much better place to wait out a storm than up at the top of the route – unless maybe you are planning on getting picked up by a helicopter.

Good luck with a winter climb. It would certainly be exciting and, in the right conditions, it might even prove easier than a summer ascent. Maybe you'll be be lucky enough to find the glacier filled in and styrofoam snow from bottom to top.-Matt

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




×
×
  • Create New...