[TR] Davis Peak- NE Face Central Buttress 9/29/200

[layton]

Climb: Davis Peak-NE Face Central Buttress

 

Date of Climb: 9/29/2006

 

Trip Report:

 

The approach

 

The route:

 

 

The Climb

 

 

 

Lookin Down

 

 

Another ghost on the summit

 

The Rat

 

 

Only a 1/2 mile to go on the hike out!

[layton]

The Rat and I went clamberin' up the NE Face Central Buttress on Davis Peak the other day. It had been on my list for too long, plus it won the coin flip. The experience was full Cascades Immersion. Thankfully it hadn't rained in a few days so the moss and shrubs weren't totally soaking wet. If one found themselves ready to "hike" out in the rain, then one would be in for a real treat.

 

The trip was a bit surreal due to the start in the Diablo Dam town site, or Zombie Town as I like to call it. The town is a pure Hollywood zombie film movie set. Perfect pretty little house, nice yards, new cars in the driveways, but not a soul or sound. The silence was broken by an air raid siren just as we started hiking.

 

Opening scene: Perfect 1950's dream town juxtaposed by a piercing air raid siren. Intruder Alert! The zombies emerge from their homes desperately hungry for brains.

Flashback: Pop is on the porch smoking a pipe while Mom comes out with a tray of ice cold lemonade. Billy is flying an airplane on a string in the yard. Then BLAM! Nuclear bomb mushroom cloud. Fade out, and back in to the family twitching on the yard

as the radiation mutates their genes in to brain eating zombies. The airplane lays on the yard, its wings broken.

 

It's weird being so close to civilization, but being so cut off in the back alley of the glacier basin below Davis. Nothing but rock, snow, and zombies patrolling the lowlands.

Better get some pitches in while we hunker down and hope the situation changes.

 

From the river to the camp spot, it's only a mile. And 3500' of elevation gain. Put your trekking poles away for this approach. Rolf and I got some early bonus pitches in on the headwall guarding the peak. Junglegym Jones. Crossfit in the Amazon. Wear your goggles, bush snorkel, helmet, and spiky toed shoes. The Stetattle creek trail is the famous site of the big bloody battle between to native tribes (history lesson someone?).

 

The climb was interesting. We didn't use a guidebook for the climb (or approach/descent), and after reading it when I got home, it really wouldn't have helped. The go left, go right, go up instructions on a 2500' climb would have only confused and irritated. We wondered if we were doing the 2nd ascent. Actually, this climb was really not much different than doing a 1st ascent except that we knew that Doorish got up it and called it 5.10, so really, how hard could it be?

 

I'll spare the details of the actually route itself. I'll just say it's fun, there are some fun moves, it's totally gorgeous up there (especially the top!), and there are some sections of routine mank. I busted out my ice tool on one pitch for a M5ish moss mantle. The rock was covered in mucous when both feet became disconnected from the mountain and I had to do a grab your wrist one arm lock off and claw/grovel/dolphin-flop my way up. I also gave up a lead to Rolf cuz I was being a total pussy, which he of course hiked and said it was easy. BUT WHAT ABOUT MY FEELINGS?????????

 

One fun thing that happened was when a falling rock chopped the rope midway into the core at almost exactly half rope, and I didn’t notice it until Rolf was committed out of site on a particularly challenging section. It was equally fun following the pitch. “Take!”….SNAP!

It slowed us up doing short pitches on the headwall sections, but what sucked was 60’ raps on the “hike” out. We switched to my 6m which is also fun to rap on. No pesky friction on the belay device, and plenty of fun knot puzzles.

 

The other lines on the face look so/so. After looking at them and down them from the top, I'm glad with our choice. Burdo/Cairn's route looks the best since the upper rib it ascends looks pretty and clean, but the lower part looks way shittier and you'd only get about 4-5 pitches of climbing out of the deal. Since the face is a one route per lifetime kinda job (unless you have emotional problems....Pete?) might as well choose the most aesthetic line. Autumn gardens and Seraphin prow don't look like they are worth the effort. And of course the NE face couloir looks fun in winter (nice one guys), and there are other opportunities for winter lines too. Speaking of other routes, the NE face of "Jay Peak" aka "The Roost" is almost a carbon copy of Davis, albiet shorter. It's probably 1500' vs 2500' (the beckey guide is wrong). So someone should go do the NE butt on that guy. The approach looks very reasonable if you go up goodell creek and camp on top of the peak. The other way up Jay creek or Stetattle creek is according to the Beckey Guide, "only for those who have a guilt complex and wish to punish themselves".

 

Looking down from the summit (we continued on to the actual summit adding a bonus pitch) is crazy. 6000 drop right down to the river in a bit over a mile! I'll give you a dollar if you base jump it. The summit register was visited by the ghost of Roger Jung. I keep running into him in the mountains. Spooky. The alpine meadows and rock walls all over Davis and surrounding areas is very pretty. Millions of ponds and camp spots. Also all the leaves and plants were turning, so the colors were great. Perfect sunny crisp fall day. Go get your girlfriend's hikin' boots outta storage and drag her up there. You'll have a very scenic pretty location for her to break up with you. Also, this is an excelling choice of routes for a cascades newbie, or those from Colorado on a road trip on their way to boulder in Squamish.

 

The hike down was uneventful, and we had a blast hopping down the glacier with one strap-on crampon each.

 

Gear: the usual up to 3.5”, pin aren’t useful, but a small ice tool is. RP’s or HB’s are usefull so you see pretty dangly things clipped to the rope when you stare down.

[lunger]

right on Mike and Ratdog, looks like fun. been wanting to check that route out. please rate approach suckiness and rock quality.

 

edit: posted before I saw the verbiage (your 2nd post). questions answered, thx.

Edited September 29, 2006 by lunger

[layton]

5 stars! Kinda like Middle Cathedral

[lunger]

smart ass!

[still_climbin]

Nice climb! How much time did the whole thing take? What kind of rock is it?

[layton]

Took 6 hours to the base from the car, 9 hours up, 3 down to the base, 5 back to the car. Skagit Gneiss.

[jordop]

I heard that thing was likened in quality by one ascentionist to the Beckey-Chouinard in the Bugaboos

[skyclimb]

Hell Yeah guys! That is a down right classy looking line, and a classy TR to accompany it. Sounds like a fun day in da Hillz. Keep rippin'

[ClimbingPanther]

Yeah, sweet pics & TR

[G-spotter]

Took 6 hours to the base from the car, 9 hours up, 3 down to the base, 5 back to the car. Skagit Gneiss.

ordinary parties would have to take a week

 

Must be a Grade V or VI then cause you guys are so fast

[wayne]

How could you do battle in a cascade creekbed?that would be grade- something

 

The whole climb sounds fun, good job guys!

[TeleRoss]

sweet climb and tr...that whole thing just looks like a fine chossy line.

[rat]

marginally better than it looks.

 

definitely worth the look if you are a b.a.s.e. jumper.

 

next time the camera gets tossed.

[TeleRoss]

what's the story with that wall behind Rolf on the 6th pic?

looks like something outa the Black Canyon or something?

Rock is probably about as good too maybe?

[layton]

It's a photograhpy trick, the wall isn't that long...maybe 4 pitches

[layton]

It's a photograhpy trick, the wall isn't that long...maybe 4 pitches. Thanks for the 1 star rating on the TR, I'm crying my eyes out.

[Mos_Chillin]

Thanks for the 1 star rating on the TR, I'm crying my eyes out.

 

 

Good job Guys. Rolf looks happier than usual!

[Blake]

It's a photograhpy trick, the wall isn't that long...maybe 4 pitches

 

 

I heard it was already climbed by an anonymous party and went at 5.4

 

should be in the next AAJ