[TR] Mt. Stuart- Complete North Ridge 7/2/2006

[fheimerd]

Climb: Mt. Stuart-Complete North Ridge

 

Date of Climb: 7/2/2006

 

Trip Report:

 

 

Gear Notes:

medium rack, two 8mm ropes, tennis shoes, light ice axe

[DirtyHarry]

Awesome. Succinctness is underrated.

[chucK]

Yes very succint. But what's the point exactly? Is this an attempt at conceptual art, a joke, merely a chestbeat, all of the above? I guess I don't really need to know.

 

However, I am curious about how you handled the crux of the climb, the logistics. One day or more? Approach/descent choices?

 

Ready to suck up that beta!!!

[fheimerd]

I actually originally posted this on accident and then went back and edited with details but the details somehow didn;t show up. SO here is the beta.

 

Dan M and myself approached via mountaineers creek. On the way in we found a cairn path through boulder fields above the creek on the west side of the slope. On the way out we found a easy trail along the creek. Next time I'm following the creek in. The trail picks up about 1/4-1/2 of a mile after the stream crossing.

 

We started the climb at 3:30am and were back at camp in the basin at 8:30pm. The route starts on the east side of the lowest point of the north ridge. Look for a hand size crack in a corner. I figured I was on route because I bootied a green alien. Then just go up the ridge finding easy climbing wereever possible. The crux/Gendarme has a layback crack and a off width. Both reasonably rate at 5.9. WE hauled up our day back.

 

The decent was down Sherpa Glacier. Kicking steps in soft snow with tennies and self belaying with an ax. It was tiresome work. We eventually switched to rappeling the final bit to the glacier. There is a sizeable bergshrund that is still easily passable via a snowbridge. In a couple of weeks it will be a pain.

 

Once we got to camp we packed up and hikes out. 12:00 at the car. A 20 hour day, not including the 5 hour drive back to p-town.

 

There's what beta i got. The only thing really useful that I didn't find anywhere else was about the approach trail and conditions of sherpa.

 

All around awesome climb.

[chucK]

right on Nice job!

[olyclimber]

nice job! a little 20 hour jaunt, eh?

[IceScrewed]

I understand that there is a fixed piece in the off width crux so you need not bring a large cam for the Gardarme...is that true?

[fheimerd]

it all depends on how long you want to run it out. I think it would be doable without a large piece but we used one.

[goatboy]

I wouldn't rely on the fixed piece alone -- it's quite a ways up there (perhaps 2/3 of the way up the pitch?) and you'd be looking at a big fall back on or near your belay before you get to the fixed piece.

 

Also, there was no sling on the fixed piece when I climbed it, so you'd have to essentially girth hitch it like a chockstone or something weird like that ... is that still the case?

[IceScrewed]

Hmmm...sounds like the big cam stays on the rack. Thanks for setting me straight (something many have tried to do for a long time).

[DanP]

Selected Climbs Volume 1 says a #11 hex works in the gendarme offwidth too. I like hexes, so I looked this up:

 

The #11 hex is 2.5 oz lighter than a new BD-C4 #4 cam and 3.75 oz. (almost 1/4 lb) lighter than the old #3.5 (the 3.5 size was basically replaced by the new #4). A carabiner weighs about 1.5 oz.

 

Is that enough of a weight savings to justify the loss in versatility of a hex?

[slothrop]

You only need a big piece for one pitch, so maybe it is worth the savings.

[Gary_Yngve]

DMM 4CU #4 : 2.7"-3.4" 190gm

BD C4 #4 : 2.7"-3.6" 278gm

[Rad]

You can walk the cam up with you as you climb.

Try that with a hex!

[chucK]

BD #11 wired Hexcentric 206 g

[underworld]

 

269 g

[Gary_Yngve]

 

621 g

[Jerm]

We brought a #4 WC Friend and a #4 BD Camalot, and felt the BD wasn't really needed. The fixed cam was clippable, I think there is a sling on it, and I believe you can get smaller gear in horizontals near the base of the crack.

[Gary_Yngve]

You can walk a #4 Friend up the crack and climb it on top rope. By the time you get tired of doing that, the fixed Costalot is only a few feet ahead. You can get a 2/3-expanded #3.5 Friend in a constriction too. And you can protect the horizontal crack traverse with smaller cams. After the fixed piece (currently slung with turquoise perlon), the difficulties are pretty much over, and you can protect with smaller pieces. The fist/offwidth section can't be much longer than 20 feet. We really didn't understand why it gets the hype that it does.