G-spotter Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 (edited) Trip: Fraser Valley - Tailwind (complete) Date: 1/15/2007 Trip Report: So if you look at West Coast Ice there is this route called "Tailwind" that Don Serl and partners tried back on New Years Day in 1979. The 2nd edition just says "WI3 incomplete" whereas if you have the old first edition it says something about hangovers and the difficulty of the route not being what stopped them. I wiill let Don add to this part of the story. Anyways Tailwind seems to form fairly often but not always fat, and it gets a lot of sun cause it faces SE. At this time of day it goes into the shade around noon. I had been wanting to check out this line ever since moving to the Fraser Valley. In 01 or 02 I actually went out to try and solo it. It wasn't really in at the bottom and I ended up aid climbing half a pitch of mossy rock till it started raining then bailing off a slung shrub. So the other day we drove by and checked it out and it looked pretty good. I mentioned to Shaun that it was still listed as "incomplete" in the guidebook and Shaun perked up and said that we had to complete it. Monday. I'll skip work, he'll finish a test at 9:30 AM and we can be climbing ice by 10:30. For sure. And that's pretty much what happened. Shaun was here by quarter to ten and we were on ice by 10:30 AM. In the sun. The ice was wet and plastic and pretty good. So I don't really know where Don and company turned around, I will describe the whole route in order, and Don can indicate his highpoint. P1: Solo 40m of easy WI2 to a protected tree belay on the right. P2: Climb some WI2+ to a roof. Rock gear protects the roof (crack takes camalots #0.75 to 3), move right under roof on thin ice and up a steep step above to a ledge, nuts in a crack for belay or stubbies could be used. 55m WI3 and minor mixed P3: Simulclimb 80m-90m of mostly low angle WI1+ walking (prickle bushes) with short steps of WI2 for flava. P4: 20m of WI2 to 20m of thin and wet, steep with good rests WI3 past a small roof, 20m more of low angle ice to belay. P5: Simulclimb 50m of low angle ice WI1+ to 30m of excellent featured WI2 steps. P6: A steep step (10m of 80 degrees) WI3+ to more rambling ice getting thinner and thinner and finishing with unfrozen moss to trees. 30m WI3+. I actually fell off the 6th pitch while seconding when a big chandelier dinner plated with me attached. My tools were pretty much blunt when I started the climb and are essentially as sharp as river rocks now. Total route length in pitches is about 360m but elevation gain is probably less than 300m. PHOTO ASSAULT! First two pitches overview as seen from the road, with the roof on p2 obvious Shaun climbing p2, before and above the roof Me on p4 Shaun leading the WI2 part of the big simul on p5 Shaun on the WI3+ crux of p6 Route overview from the highway. To descend - walk off to climbers left (west), stay high at first, and descend through cliff bandsand ledges to easier terrain and simple bushwacking. 30-40 minutes back to the highway near the gravel pit east of Rockface Trailer Park. You will see a beautiful, splitter hand crack near the top of the descent. We did not have enough time or energy to link it up with this route... Gear Notes: Gear: 6 stubbies, 4 17cm, camalots 0.75 through 3, small-med. wired nuts optional. Approach Notes: Park at obvious pullout and bushwack down, across, and up 100m to base of route. Edited January 16, 2007 by G-spotter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dechristo Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 looks fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmace Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 why dont you just go to work and stop makin monday any more miserable you ****** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted January 16, 2007 Author Share Posted January 16, 2007 i'll go to work tomorrow when it snows... how was mexico j? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordop Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Sobriety is aid you godamnned holodecker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted January 16, 2007 Author Share Posted January 16, 2007 But I'm not sober now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_Serl Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 So if you look at West Coast Ice there is this route called "Tailwind" that Don Serl and partners tried back on New Years Day in 1979. The 2nd edition just says "WI3 incomplete" whereas if you have the old first edition it says something about hangovers and the difficulty of the route not being what stopped them. I wiill let Don add to this part of the story. my recollection from 3 decades ago is understandably not very clear (even excluding the hangover effect), but we came nowhere near getting up the whole route. fact is, it probably would have been more accurate to leave the climb out of the guide entirely, but we DID climb something, and the formation is superb and seemed deserving of drawing attention to, so in it went. i have a vague recollection of a roof above us at our high point, so i think we bailed from a pitch and a half up, at the prominent roof in Drew's photos. altho i also have a recollection of pulling thru some steepish terrain into a lower-angled groove, so we mighta gotten a cpl pitches up. doesn't matter much now anyway... good going finally snagging the FA, Drew and Shaun. cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weekend_Climberz Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Good Jorb Guys My driveway was WI1+ this morning. Should have taken some pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TREETOAD Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 Far out, man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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