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[TR] Le Petit Cheval- Spontaneity Arête 8/6/2006


sjwages

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Climb: Le Petit Cheval-Spontaneity Arête

 

Date of Climb: 8/6/2006

 

Trip Report:

Last summer Trogdor and I climbed the descent gulley in its entirety not knowing where to start the climb. This time I went with Astrov and Jeseeca, beginning the ridge climb immediately upon entering the gulley--much better.

Good rock, off the beaten path, lots of moderate climbing (up to 7P but we probably ran a couple together).

Rapping the upper ridge took longer than descending the gulley.

 

Approaching Petit Cheval

9133IMG_6309-med.JPG

 

The ridge as seen from the gulley

9133IMG_6315-med.JPG

 

Mantling on fairly clean, solid rock

9133IMG_6316-med.JPG

 

Slinging an opportune tree

9133IMG_6333-med.JPG

 

There are plenty of cracks, flakes, horns...

9133IMG_6357-med.JPG

 

Rewarding views and exposure

9133IMGP1073-med.JPG

 

And the summit

9133IMGP1079-med.JPG

 

Gear Notes:

up to 3.5", shoulda had shoes for the descent

 

Approach Notes:

The fixed ropes are getting flat, first one has an exposed core 10 feet up.

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How exactly do you find the start of this route?

Not a lot of info out there for this one.

HWY 20, MP 164-3/4

The trail starts where the woods are closest to the highway, winds down to the creek, and crosses the creek via debris and a large tree fall.

 

From there it leads up, breaks into the open and crosses a 20 ft wide wash leftward. The rest of the trail/cairns are pretty easy to spot. When an apparent dead end is reached, ascend a 15 ft wall with big holds and a cairn at the top. The footpath will then lead to a series of fixed ropes and the base of a gulley.

 

We ascended about 30 feet of 4th class loose stuff to the right of the overhang and cruised the ridge to the 5th class section.

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I did it last October, and thought it was pretty good. I don't agree with the ratings it's been given though. Felt more like 5.5 or 5.6. The reason we did it was weather - the forecast was pretty dodgy, and its location far east makes it a good alternative. Also, because of the descent gully, you can bail off the arete with a single rap at any point and walk off if the weather moves in....hence why we did it. Put it in the books as a good moderate poor weather alternative.

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A friend, escolar, and I did this route last Friday and it pretty much sucks. period. We were climbing and wondering when we were actually going to get to the good part the whole way, the instructions made it sound better. The pitches were short, the rock, for Wa pass, was relatively dirty and there wasn't those long fun cracks so you never get into it. All in all it is a pretty dumb climb with redemption being the most amazing scenic scape and very pleasant weather.

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does this remind anyone else of the Whitney-Gilman Ridge on Canon Cliff in New Hampshire? Not the climbing, per se, but the feature itself (big granite ridge, similar color rock ...)

 

Huh.

 

Or perhaps it reminds people of the ice cave we all slept in on the backside of Looking Glass Rock, NC after the freak July blizzard? Not the route, per se, but the obscure reference itself....

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  • 10 months later...

Climbed it on Sat. My $.02.

 

This route is fun, but it isn't classic. The upper pitches are good on a cool formation with nice views and pretty solid rock. But the climbing is easy and broken with lots of ledges. The money pitch is the last one with the 5.9 boulder problem into the 5.7 crack. If you climb undeneath the overhanging roof on the second pitch, which is like 5.7 maybe, the 2nd and 3rd class ledges last for more like 500-600 feet until you get to the upper pitches. Kind of a drag, but walking up the ridge top is way better than being in the gully.

 

The raps looked low angle with lots of bushes and trees, so we descended the gully. Shitty but manageable. Not any worse than lots of descents in the range.

 

The route is worth doing once and proved to be a nice moderate for an anniversary climb the day after a long drive up from Portland. If you do it, control your expectations and enjoy being outside, and you'll have a good time. Here's a couple more photos of the route.

 

Start_of_Upper_Pitches_small.jpg

 

Looking up at the start of the upper pitches

 

 

 

Kristin_Climbing_Spontanaety_Arete_small.jpg

 

Somewhere in the middle of the route

 

 

 

Pitch_5_of_Spontanaety_Arete_small.jpg

 

Left Facing Corner on Pitch 5

 

 

 

Pitch_7_v2_small.jpg

 

5.7 Crack on Pitch 7

 

 

Edited by Winter
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