Alpine_Tom Posted July 10, 2006 Posted July 10, 2006 (edited) Climb: Vesper Peak-North Face Date of Climb: 7/9/2006 Trip Report: Alex Mineev and I climbed the North Face on Sunday. Beautiful weather. I was surprised to see so much snow still up there -- the tarn was almost completely frozen. The approach took longer than I'd anticipated from the basin to the base of the route; the Vesper Glacier traverse was kind of slow. We had crampons, and it would have been pretty difficult without them. view of Vesper and the upper N. Face Partial view of the N. Face from the saddle. We did the "full face" starting from below, and did about three pitches before getting up to the slabs. The rock is really unpredictable -- what looks like class 4 turns out to have a couple of surprising 5.7 moves stuck in there, but there's almost no opportunties for pro. I avoided crying on all but the scariest moves. Alex getting ready to start up the first pitch Alex enjoying very secure handholds. Up on the slab (we did the 'low angle slab' that Nelson recommends) it was a LOT of fun, once you get past the issue of virually no pro opportunites at all. There are plenty of good belay spots, but you can't tie yourself in. The climbing isn't difficult or hazardous, I'd guess no more than 5.0, but I'm used to over-protecting everything, just in case, and it's a bit disconcerting to be sitting there on a nice wide bench belaying your partner up a not-very-difficult pitch, knowing that the only thing holding you to the wall is a little wedge, or a not-very-well slung rock. We did find one old rusty 1/4" bolt and rusty hanger, bent and broken through, but we slung it, since it was the best pro we had all day. We spent a good four hours on the climb, more than I expected, going kind of slow and excavating cracks in a mostly futile effort to find one deep enough to stick something that would stay put. Alex on the upper slab If I did it again, I'd probably do the slab unroped; all a rope does is slow you down, and you probably wouldn't be able to hold a fall. Gorgeous day in the Cascades. We both want to do it again. There's always time for a relaxing bath after a stimulating climb! Gear Notes: Crampons, a few cams, rope. Lots of bugs -- bugspray is essential. Approach Notes: Trail was in good condition. Lots of snow in the basin, iffy snow at the top of the gap. Edited July 10, 2006 by Alpine_Tom Quote
Rad Posted July 10, 2006 Posted July 10, 2006 Excellent photos! I did it a few years ago and remember the lower/steeper part had enough protectable cracks and slingable horns and shrubs (at least the way we went - there are lots of ways to go). I seem to remember the upper part had some horizontal cracks up high but otherwise very little pro. However, there are nice ledges at the belays, and in that case YOU are the most secure part of the anchor. In this case you could hold a fall of a follower but not the leader. Also, it seems the slab angle is low enough that you could almost 'self-arrest' by lying flat on it. I almost dunked in the lake too, but not on purpose: I was walking near the edge and a huge piece of hard snow broke off (but remained intact), fell into the water, and rolled over with me on it. I did the log roller dance and jumped off fast without taking the plunge! I'd echo the suggestion to take crampons. We didn't have any and it made the glacier crossing the spiciest part of the day. Good job all around Quote
ericb Posted July 10, 2006 Posted July 10, 2006 Rad/Alpine_Tom.....is the ascent gully(ies) that either of you used visible on Alpine_Tom's second photo below the slab? Quote
Alpine_Tom Posted July 10, 2006 Author Posted July 10, 2006 No, ours was to the left, hidden by the arete (?) in the foreground. I didn't get a decent photo of it. Quote
Alex_Mineev Posted July 10, 2006 Posted July 10, 2006 View from the lower wall Tom is climbing the lower face towards the bench somewhere on the low-angle slab somewhere on the low-angle slab upper part, aka the "fun climbing" Quote
OlegV Posted July 10, 2006 Posted July 10, 2006 Very cool pictures, sounds like a fun trip! Congratulations! Quote
Rad Posted July 11, 2006 Posted July 11, 2006 I thought the gullies looked steep and ugly so I steered us up the buttress. Our route: Looking down the buttress: Upper slab: Quote
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