Your toughest climb

[AlpineK]

I had a fun time doing most of the leading on that climb Carolyn. Yos is a great place.

 

My toughest would probably be the Cassin Ridge. We did that in the mid 80's. It wasn't the most technical thing I ever did, but it was a big event that I'm quite proud of.

 

There is one bad bit. I've lost touch with my two partners Rick and Greg. The last I heard they were in Ca. It would be nice to talk to them again.

[kevbone]

oooohhh burn. hahaha and an old guy burn at that, bwaaahahaha!

 

Ok...you got me. I knew I had it coming.

[tvashtarkatena]

You got lost on the descent of Outer Space?

 

Kevbone, you are the perfect omega.

[JayB]

There's lots of car-to-car days that all kind of vie for first place. I don't think I've ever combined anything where both the climbing and the physical effort required to complete the round trip were super tough.

 

All things considered, I think that Frostbite C-to-C wrecked me the most. Somehow or another we managed to make a wrong turn on the trail back to Kennedy hot-springs, and hiked 3.5 miles in the wrong direction before realizing our mistake, thereby adding a very unwelcome 7 mile bonus to the round trip. By the time we turned around we'd all been up for something on the order of 40 hours straight, and had spent ~19 hours on the go, and the collective hallucinating began. Between us we spotted a giant-yellow school-bus and wondered aloud just what in the *fuck* a school bus was doing way the hell out there, transformed a small, lichen-clad cliff into a Hansel-and-Gretel style cottage "Hey - look, a cottage....," mentally-morphed downed trees into pipes that *must* lead to Kennedy hot springs, which meant that we *must* have been on the right track and getting closer, all stopped after rounding a corner and confronting a bear/stump, and I personally started seeing ent-like faces in the bark in about 1/4 of the trees that we passed along the trail. The fact that we knew that we were starting to see things, and that are judgement was impaired, didn't help us sort through things a whole lot more effectively than knowing that you are tanked would help you operate a vehicle safely. We made it back to the car about 24-hours after we set-off, and the beer I chugged back at the car acted like a general anesthetic after about 30 seconds.

 

From the time we left the summit I started fantasizing about chug-a-lugging a gut-full of ice-cold water, and soaking my feet in the stream. It was a great motivator on the way down, but as soon as I got one sock of and was about to dip the first toe in the water, I heard a rumbling about 10 feet away and saw six sets of eyes locking onto me from across the river - one mamma bear and two cubs. I left them to drink in peace, and in hindsight, reflected back on this moment as an omen of things to come.

[Cobra_Commander]

whatever hardest climb is listed in the above posts x1000

[kevbone]

You got lost on the descent of Outer Space?

 

Kevbone, you are the perfect omega.

 

 

Not so much lost as dehydrated and made some bad decisions. Which in turn seemed like getting lost. I know we could see the bottom, just could get to it without rapping down a 20 foot overhang. I know. Im lame.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tvashtarkatena]

Good thing I've never been lost or run out of water.

 

Ahem..er...let's just move on, shall we?

[G-spotter]

whatever hardest climb is listed in the above posts x1000

 

 

rooooar! freesoloing olympus mons alpine style with no oxygen....

 

I would have to say that just about any climb I did with a shoulder injury was pretty tough. I usually made my partners ropegun and then did a whole bunch of pulling on quickdraws and hanging. Also it took longer for my shoulder to heal. But at least I was climbing.

[pete_a]

toughest ever for me was a descent. forecast looked good when a buddy of mine and I left for a climb of Liberty Ridge...two days later, bivied at Thumb Rock the weather went to hell...got about 18" of snow overnight, next morning the visibility was awful, could hear avalanches all around us, wind was nasty, new snow balling up on crampons.

 

took nine hours to get from thumb rock back down to the carbon glacier...then another four hours or so of stumbling around following compass bearings and our altimeter to get back across the carbon and winthrop glaciers to glacier basin..we each fell in twice into different crevasses that were freshly bridged with snow in the process.

 

it sucked...yet somehow the following weekend we found ourselves climbing the kautz (and forunately had better weather).

[MATT_B]

W face of leaning tower in a day, with a hangover, three quarts of water for two of us, in Auguast. Bad idea. The only reason we didn't bail is because it is so damn steep.

[still_climbin]

Worst for me was an attempt on Liberty Ridge a number of years ago. Crevass conditions chaneled us to the east side of the Carbon to gain entry onto the ridge. The three of us ascended a long coulior up toward the ridge crest just below Thumb Rock. About 100 feet from the crest (and several hundred feet from the planned bivy) we got caught in rockfall. The third on the rope was hit in the arm and ribs by a watermelon-sized rock that knocked him uncouncience.

 

We move him to a rock outcropping and wrapped his arm to his chest with amn Ace bandage. After feeding him some pain killers we lowered him down the couloir several thousnad feet to the Carbon. As we stepped out onto the glacier a huge rock slide scoured the couloir, unnerving to say the least. We spent the rest of the day and much of the night slowly walking to a safe bivy site off the glacier.

 

The next morning we exited the alpine by decending through a jungle of snow and brush to the Carbon River and a trail. Then we hitchhiked home. That was a tough weekend.

[joblo7]

alpamayo french direct.left at 4am with a swede i met in hz. led first 2-3 pitches, then swedo goes ahead and puts us too far right, in the next gully. after spending 16hrs in vertical sugar with no pro, we finally get to summit. unfortunately the ridge to go back to the ferrari for roped descent is impassable, contrary to guided reports.climbed down 100ft into a ice cave. beat each other up until next morning.had my watch on alarm every 20min for food/water/exercise. quite cold. 6 raps later were finally on glacier.30 hrs roundtrip,all intense.not the hardest but when things go wrong......

[pink]

a winter go at Z.M.. two days in a storm, topped out on christmas morning at 6am. got sprayed by a skunk at the base and climbed the route anyway. we spent nine days on the route and had no epics or falls.

[pink]

South Seas to Pacific Ocean Wall

 

June 2006, 10 days on the wall, 27 pitches

 

most technically challanging and psyochologically and physically demanding

 

couldn't have done it without my partner Brook Alongi form Everet.

 

is brook a teacher

 

 

 

[forrest_m]

oh, definately the time i met W to go to index at 7 am the day after another buddy's bachelor party. i had about the worst hangover EVER, and was operating on about 2 hours of sleep, but a true climber never lets his partner down. only sheer iron willpower got me through that day, it was a testament to the human spirit, i tell you.

[sk]

gosh must be going on 6 years ago Mustang Sally, Texplor, JK, Thing1 and Thing2, and i went to find this un-named climbing spot out hwy 58. we found it and Tex put up the route where he coined the phrase, "I really wish i would have brought my nuts"

 

i tried to climb that seam for hours and fell and fell and fell. I haven't ever been back so i still haven't finished that route.

[Lambone]

is brook a teacher

 

Pink, Brook is/was head of Everet Search and Rescue. So in effect, yes he is a teacher. But currently he is a student.

 

Definately taught me some stuff on that climb.

 

[ken4ord]

Mine would have to be in Maine, after 3 years of slogging (15 mile ski) up to the cabin at Chimney Pond, we got a break in weather and snow conditions to do a Barber ice climb on Mt. Katahdin. It was a 16 hour day complete with postholing to our arm pits at times, 1500 of ice, spindrift avalanches, 50-60 mph winds during the day, -10 degree temps, swimming and tunneling up a 100 foot 70 degree snow section that took over an hour to climb, follow by vertical discontinous parasols (very cool and unusual climbing standing on a parsol swinging upside down into the on above for a undercling type placements, then swinging into the topside, mantel and repeat), hitting the ridge at dusk seeing a storm in the horizon that hit us on the descent with 100 mph gust that knocked us over several time and more post holing to the cabin.

 

Plenty of weed, wiskey and Indian food was our reward from the guys who were watching our progress from the warm cabin, that is when they could see us inbetween spindrift avalanches.

[StreetBoss]

alpamayo french direct.left at 4am with a swede i met in hz. led first 2-3 pitches, then swedo goes ahead and puts us too far right, in the next gully. after spending 16hrs in vertical sugar with no pro, we finally get to summit. unfortunately the ridge to go back to the ferrari for roped descent is impassable, contrary to guided reports.climbed down 100ft into a ice cave. beat each other up until next morning.had my watch on alarm every 20min for food/water/exercise. quite cold. 6 raps later were finally on glacier.30 hrs roundtrip,all intense.not the hardest but when things go wrong......

 

That is an awesome story! We did the same route, the first try I was up about 20' with no pro when a snow chunck comes down and plasters me in the face. I was dangling by my tools, my partner was standing there just looking. I came to, blood streaming down my face, we retreated. The next day we headed back over and sent the mother with no problems. Incredible climb and fantastic area.

[pink]

is brook a teacher

 

Pink, Brook is/was head of Everet Search and Rescue. So in effect, yes he is a teacher. But currently he is a student.

 

Definately taught me some stuff on that climb.

 

 

the guy i was thinking about name is blair, bad ass photo out there on the big stone.

[W]

oh, definately the time i met W to go to index at 7 am the day after another buddy's bachelor party. i had about the worst hangover EVER, and was operating on about 2 hours of sleep, but a true climber never lets his partner down. only sheer iron willpower got me through that day, it was a testament to the human spirit, i tell you.

 

Ha! I could smell the alcohol on you from half a pitch away. 'A' for effort, anyway.

 

My top 5 on this list would probably, Forrest, include sitting on our backpack for 5 hours on top of the Andromeda Strain waiting for daybreak so we could find the descent; after 18 hours of climbing, we enjoyed temps in the high teens, light snowfall, and with a refreshing 10-15 mph wind adding to the ambiance. I slept for 17 consecutive hours after getting down that morning, probably a personal best.

 

However, what I am sure remains my most physically demanding day in the mountains is my first time up Liberty Ridge in May of 1994. At the time, it was easily the biggest and steepest route either Joe or I had ever attempted. We started from Carbon River/Ipsut since it was early season, and everything above 4000' was solidly snowed in. After hiking into treeline friday night followed by an arduous day reaching Thumb Rock, Joe and I got up at 3 AM and left camp at 4. Passing the short step just above the camp constituted the first time I had ever swung an ice tool and I placed my first ice screw to go with that. This was followed by 12 hours of horrendous trailbreaking in up to 3 feet of unconsolidated snow, in places overlaying bulletproof ice. For much of the section passing the Black Pyramid, which we chose to do far out to the left with heavy exposure to Willis Wall/Thermogenesis, we were essentially digging a trench uphill. The descent down the Winthrop took us into the fog and endless wandering around trying to find Moraine Park. Reached the car at Ipsut Creek trailhead at 4 AM, hour 24. Reached Seattle at 6 AM, after some strange hallucinations enroute. Arrived at work at 7:15 AM. Slept at desk until 4 PM.

 

In a display of how route conditions, fitness, and experience, can affect a climb, when I ascended the route again two years later, the section from Thumb Rock to Liberty Cap went in 4 1/2 hours, an almost casual day in the mountains.

 

[still_climbin]

His face says it all. :

 

 

[DirtyHarry]

OK, I'll play too. Southwest Ridge of Mt. Hunter. Our first route in Alaska and we left Kahiltna camp with light and fast supplies. Skied 9 miles down to the route in splitter weather and climbed the thing in two long days. Weather came in on the descent and we barely made it off the route in time. But there we were in a blinding whiteout, mentally and physically exhausted, with two lightweight sponge-like bags and a leaky bibler I-tent between the three of us.

 

Eventually we gave into the inevitable and holed up in the tent for three extremely uncomfortable days and nights until the storm broke and we could head home. When we got closer to Kahiltna basecamp I could smell someone cooking bacon from about a mile away.

[Dr_Flush_Amazing]

 

Jesus. You guys with your Alaskan big mountain stories are making me feel pretty weaksauce.

 

"This one time?.... On Mt. Si?.....It was really tough!"

 

 

[DirtyHarry]

27th switchback has some burly moves.