[TR] 3 Fingers N. Peak- West Route (standard) 6/27

[Mark_L]

Climb: 3 Fingers N. Peak-West Route (standard)

 

Date of Climb: 6/27/2006

 

Trip Report:

On Tuesday, June 27, Chuck S. and I drove the Tupso Pass road, having gotten a rather late start due to various familial obligations. We arrived at the trailhead at 10AM. The hike in was pleasant but long, we lost a little time where the trail disappeared into the snow, but soon we were back on track and arrived shortly at Goat Flats.

 

 

It was very hot and I was feeling the effects of the heat as I arrived at Tin Can Gap with Chuck zoning out on his mp3 player muttering "Here's a quarter, go put it in a washing machine."

 

We descended to the glacier and as we were traversing to the coulior between the North and Central peaks, I heard a rumble and looked up to see a bunch of snow blocks being released directly above us. I ordered Chuck to reverse and he promptly complied, nearly pulling me over because I had gotten the rope wrapped around my ankles. We ran out of the path of the slide and watched a large block slide down and hit another large block like a billiard ball and send it sliding, in slow motion across our path that we were headed on.

 

 

After a little hemming and hawing, Chuck finally managed to bully me into continuing on, so we took a deep breath and raced across the path of the slide. We were in the path of the slide for all of about 3 minutes. After this little bit of excitement, we slogged up the coulior and exited onto the lower slabs of the North Peak.

 

The route looked rather steep and exposed for a 4th class route, so we carried the rope and a few nuts. It turned out that the climbing really was quite pleasant and easy, with incut holds everywhere, especially on the steep parts.

 

 

We climbed an easy chimney for a few hundred feet and when it got more difficult, Chuck attacked it head on while I looked for an easier way. I moved across a ledge and found another chimney which was easy and solid too. We rejoined on the final knife edge ridge, where we did some thrilling ridge straddling before we reached a broad green ridge that took us to the summit.

 

Here is a view of the fire lookout from the summit.

 

 

We downclimbed back to the edge of the snow, grabbed our axes and roped for the glacier and headed back down. The slide path that had given us pause remained silent, but as we headed into the lower basin, another chunk of hanging snowpatch cut loose and sent a few small chunks across our path that we were headed to.

 

We put our heads down and finished off the slog back up to Tin Can Gap, where we relaxed a bit and admired the views before the long slog back to the car.

 

We managed to make it to Saddle Lake by dusk, and we relaxed, thinking that the rest of the trail would be a no-brainer in the dark, but one more avalanche blowdown gave us a little more trouble as we fumbled around in the dark trying to find where the trail went. I finally came up with the brilliant idea of getting out my headlamp and immediately spotted the big wad of TP that someone had draped across a tree branch to mark the trail.

 

We arrived back at the car a little after 11PM. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day capped off by the ice cold brews that Chuck had brought along and left in the back of the truck.

 

 

Gear Notes:

ice axe, crampons (later in the season), rope for glacier. Rock gear not necessary if you don't mind climbing 4th class unroped. The holds are all incut and the rock is generally solid, although there is a lot of gravel.

Bring a headlamp if you get a late start.

 

Approach Notes:

Tupso Pass road is open to the trail. We did have to clear a rotten log at one point. Lots of potholes in the beginning. Snow on the trail past Saddle Lake.

[Otto]

Wowie Zowie you guys, way to go! That looks great. Why didn't you bully chucK into going on?! Was he complaining about "Mental Cruelty" over and over...?

[Mark_L]

No,

 

I think he reloaded his mp3 player. He was using "Mental Cruelty" to ward off the bears when we were hiking up Bridge Creek.