[TR] Prusik Peak- West Ridge 9/10/2006

[scheissami]

Climb: Prusik Peak-West Ridge

 

Date of Climb: 9/10/2006

 

Trip Report:

I'd been looking forward to a trip to Prusik for quite a while; this was my first time in the Enchantments, and it certainly lived up to my expectations.

 

I only had Saturday and Sunday off, so LCM and I decided to do the trip car to car. I appreciate everyone's help with info....we chose to do the Snow Creek approach since the trail is supposedly more clearly marked and neither of us had been there before.

 

We left Portland around 3pm on Saturday and got to Leavenworth around 8pm. Had an excellent supper of knockwurst, leberkase, and kraut at the Keller (not recommended for overnight trips as you're likely to offend your tent-mates! ) before heading to the TH. Slept in the car till 5am, left the TH around 5:30. The moon was full, the weather was perfect, and the hike was, well, long.

 

Sunrise about two miles in...

 

Got to Lake Viviane around 11am....the view was not shabby

 

We weren't able to really follow the "faint climbers' trail" around the south side of the lake, but forged our way anyway. Got to Prusik Pass around noonish. We sacked out a bit for a nap and some snacks.

 

Got to the notch below the climb at 1:30.

 

 

The climbing was definitely fun, though the pitches as described in Beckey were short--we linked p1 and p2. The crack just to the north of the crest was probably my favorite section of the climb--fun, easy climbing with excellent protection.

 

LCM nearing the top of p2...

 

Next was the crux pitch...I was able to protect the start with a nut and slinging the manky old piton. I found the moves easy but a little heady--fairly exposed, I guess, though the fall would be pretty clean. I found the rope drag awful after heading around the right side of the horn, so I set up a belay there instead of getting all the way to the final summit wall.

 

We got to the base of the final pitch quickly after that. Looking up, I could spot the short jam and lieback flake that Beckey describes, and could see the chimney above. The climbing to reach the chimney was straightforward but probably some of the best on the climb. The chimney was sort of like kryptonite--it kicked my ass. Maybe I need to brush up on my offwidth skills, but I also would recommend against wearing a pack while trying to get up it...I had a not-so-pleasant five or ten minutes of grunting, sweating, and cursing before I was able to get up it. This was definitely the most difficult part of the climb for me.

 

LCM cruised the final pitch, and we enjoyed the views from the summit as well as some excellent candied peach rings We topped out around 5:30pm.

 

Shield Lake from the summit...

 

We got down fairly quickly, easily using the available rap anchors. Pulling the rope on the final rap, LCM got cracked in the left thigh by a golf-ball sized rock. Luckily, it didn't get her anywhere else and she didn't have any difficulty walking afterwards....definitely watch for loose rock both while rappelling and pulling the ropes. She got a pretty nasty bruise, but thankfully nothing else.

 

Got back to our packs around 8pm. We then began the relatively miserable ten mile slog out. We got back to the TH at 1:30am, slept in the car until 5:30, then headed back to Portland. Got home at 9:30, took a quick nap, then I headed off to work at 3pm. It made for a long but memorable day...

 

The route was stellar, although next time I'm going to explore the other options out right that Beckey describes on the final pitch--the chimney wasn't really all that fun for me, and there's an exceptional looking dihedral out to the right. I'm looking forward to spending more time in the Enchantments. I agree that car-to-car is doable, but if I were asked, I'd probably recommend against it. I'm certainly not super-fit, but the last couple of hours were just plain miserable. I think spending a few days up there and climbing other routes would be the way to go.

 

Thanks to everyone for their help (John, MountainGirlBC, Trevor)....great to finally get this done.

 

Gear Notes:

I brought a small selection of cams to #3, which I did actually use, though I think you could get by without it. The route had great protection, and ate up chocks.

 

Approach Notes:

Snow Creek Trail. Well marked, but a slog. I'll try Aasgard Pass next time for variety, but it seems there's no real consensus on which is better.

[Gary_Yngve]

That's Shield Lake you're looking at. Earle is beyond it and beyond that is Mesa. Lorelei Lakelets are uphill from Shield Lake toward Cannon (can access them by contouring from Prusik Pass).

 

For the final summit chimney, don't get into it. Climb it on the outside, facing south, with maybe a single butt-cheek inside it. There are some nice face holds.

 

I assume the two fixed cams are still there.

[scheissami]

Nope, no fixed cams. Is this the chimney directly above the start of the final pitch, or do you have to traverse right (south) to reach it?

 

And, oops, Shield Lake (thanks).

[matt_warfield]

The "proper" chimney is around the corner to the right from the start of the final pitch and is short and easy. It is not well described in Beckey.

[ericb]

The O/W-squeeze that can be seen from the bottom of the pitch is not the easy squeeze chimney finish - the easiest finish is around to the right....following the line of the lie-back flack. It's awkward, but only a couple minutes of grunting. If you can't fit more than a butt-cheek in this one, you should take up a different hobby I think the O/W visible from the base of the pitch is more like a 5.8.

 

Edited September 12, 2006 by ericb

[G-spotter]

holy beard of the prophet!

[Cobra_Commander]

by the beard of zeus that is a good TR

[ClimbingPanther]

It may be more difficult to pull this off car-to-car, but I imagine it could work...

I find it better when I have a harness with me to actually wear the harness while hiking, then hang stuff off of it (water bottle, small food sack, rock shoes, etc.) than to have an actual pack of any size. The rack & the rope backpack (if you're not familiar with this masterpiece of someone else's genius, let me know) may not be so comfortable for 20 miles, but who knows until you've tried it?!

Man, I love the enchantments. Nice TR!

[olyclimber]

It may be more difficult to pull this off car-to-car, but I imagine it could work...

I find it better when I have a harness with me to actually wear the harness while hiking, then hang stuff off of it (water bottle, small food sack, rock shoes, etc.) than to have an actual pack of any size. The rack & the rope backpack (if you're not familiar with this masterpiece of someone else's genius, let me know) may not be so comfortable for 20 miles, but who knows until you've tried it?!

Man, I love the enchantments. Nice TR!

[dan_forester]

It may be more difficult to pull this off car-to-car, but I imagine it could work...

I find it better when I have a harness with me to actually wear the harness while hiking, then hang stuff off of it (water bottle, small food sack, rock shoes, etc.) than to have an actual pack of any size. The rack & the rope backpack (if you're not familiar with this masterpiece of someone else's genius, let me know) may not be so comfortable for 20 miles, but who knows until you've tried it?!

 

hmm, yeah - I don't really find this strategy comfortable for 1 mile, but maybe you've got a higher tolerance for suffering than the rest of us...

 

nice pictures, by the way

[MountaingirlBC]

nice job Are you sure you were in the right chimney scheissami? There are two. The one on the right is harder. I did the easy one the first time and the hard one the second time. Thought I was just sucking till I got to the top and realized I'd been in the wrong chimney.

[ClimbingPanther]

Laugh, jerks, laugh.

Seriously though, we did the west ridge [edit: packless] last year from the mouth of Viviane, which is about 3 miles round trip. I would not blink an eye before doing it again [packless]. It was pure pleasure the whole way. Maybe 3 to ~20 is a bit of a jump, but I'd be curious to hear if anyone's done long distances [packless].

Packless rules.

Go eat sausage, haters

Edited September 13, 2006 by ClimbingPanther

[olyclimber]

I don't hate panther. I just find the image of seeing someone hiking up the trail with their harness on and and gear hanging off it sort of funny...like the mountie pictures with them hiking along the road with helmets and gators on. i'm also trying to imagine how that would be more comfortable than a small pack with the gear inside it, but i just can't seem to manage it.

 

hey, whatever works for you. the best climber is the one having the most fun

[ClimbingPanther]

I know you don't hate, oly, but my ego can't suffer you to scorn my ideas without a solid rebuttal, no matter how weak my position. It's kinda like when people criticize me for my decision to trash Iraq with only the shakiest threads of evidence.... OH CRAP!!! I just blew my cover! My SS thugs (that's Secret Service in case you were wondering) will be coming by your house with a little gift package of LEAD if you are reading this.

 

I was a little hasty. Yes, I admit it doesn't make sense car-to-car if you're going in and out the same way. Essentially we did bring a pack in most of the way, but left them at camp a mile and a half back, rather than the base of the climb. You're right, I'm wrong. Wait, that was out of character! Get lost, foo!

[olyclimber]

i'm already there

[slothrop]

I thought Beckey gives the right chimney 5.4 and the left one 5.8. All I know is the right one was 5.humorous when Ned_Flanders followed it with a pack on.

[ericb]

Sounds like my recollection as well. Typically squeeze chimneys don't get 5.humorous, but there's a gigantic ledge below it. If you are not in a hurry, set up a belay below the chimney like we did and then you can laugh at each other instead of just the leader getting all the laughs.

[G-spotter]

did you find my #6 Hex up there

oops I mean Neutrino. hexes aren't cool. even though my hex vanished down the summit chimney

[MountaingirlBC]

hmmmm mine says 5.3 "squeeze a narrow chimney to the summit." I'm pretty sure the one on the left was more narrow and I definitely found that one easier but maybe I'm just an idiot. I think I have an extremely unflattering pic of my ass in the right one but I don't think I'm brave enough to post it.

 

I thought Beckey gives the right chimney 5.4 and the left one 5.8. All I know is the right one was 5.humorous when Ned_Flanders followed it with a pack on.

[scheissami]

There was a party of two behind us on the route, one of whom contacted me and sent me some pics. It's hard to see, but in the picture you can see my ass grovelling in the chimney straight up from the start of the pitch. My understanding now is that the regular finish is around to the right (south).

 

[ericb]

Post it! The Mods can move the thread to spray if need be

[Alpinfox]

did you find my #6 Hex up there

oops I mean Neutrino. hexes aren't cool. even though my hex vanished down the summit chimney

 

I found a nuttool (the one I currently use) in the bottom of that chimney. I just saw a glint of something, so I clipped a couple slings together with my partner's nuttool on the end, blindly fished around for a while, and eventually hooked the biner it was on and hauled it back to daylight. I think that might have been my first piece of alpine booty ever.

[gary_hehn]

Soon after we moved to the Seattle area, twenty years ago, a friend showed me a picture of Prusik Peak that he had taken. I had wanted to try climbing it ever since, but the permit issues pretty much kept me doing other trips. Five of us went into the Enchantments in late October 2002 with Prusik in mind, but it was cold and ended up snowing. So, we scrambled up McClellan Peak instead - great scramble by the way.

 

Finally in August 2005 I got my opportunity to climb Prusik Peak. I went the whole trip in 5.10 guides, but now with a heel injury I realize that they are not good shoes for one's feet - too soft torsionally and bend in the arch (bad) vs. the forefoot (good) where the foot bends. What a beautiful day we had in a spectacular setting on a fabulous peak! Here is my TR: http://hehn.org/mountaineering/prusik/prusik.html

[kevbone]

Right on. I climbing the south face route this last summer. Wow.....what a long aproach. Cool climb. Did it in four pitches.

[gary_hehn]

Yes, one long day! You didn't climb the South Face, from the car and back, in a day did you? Now, I would like to try a South Face route. I had an opportunity with a team last fall, but my heel injury had me cragging only and on steroids.

Edited March 5, 2007 by gary_hehn