unclimbed

[jordop]

Vulcan's thumb is not 9'000 and nor is it a hidden gem. Probably best left alone is more like it. Yes, the south face is about 3'000, but the entire thing is a big piece of mud and is easily visible from the Squamish river road. Maybe after a full Scottish storm it might be possible to get up a fair bit of it, but there are better things out there.

[Dru]

You will have to beat Fred Touche and Ivan Bandic to it. They warmed up with the FA of Perkins Pillar last summer.

[layton]

Gearing up at the base of the chief parking lot in Squamish, some dude comes up to me and immediately tells me of an unclimbed 9000' peak in SW B.C. Intrigued by this random beta he dug out the photo from his car. Vulcan's Thumb on Pyroclastic peak. He said it had been attemped by some folks who's name rang a bell (athough I forgot) but they didn't get to the top. He later identified himself as the first ascentionist of Exasperator (although I forgot his name). He said there's a photo of this up on the wall at MEC taken in winter by a parapelegic. Looks like a winter ascent would be manditory so bring your snowmachines. Here's a link to it:

 

Vulcan's Thumb

 

Sounds juicy, but quite the epic. Anyone want to let me borrow some $$ and a snowmachine?

[Cpt.Caveman]

The Coast Range is full of unclimbed routes and peaks.

 

My snowmobile can be picked up at Hitler's Junkyard. Ask Necro for directions. There is a suitcase of money at PO Box 1313 IhateHippies, WA

[fern]

 

 

[ 10-25-2002, 12:43 PM: Message edited by: fern ]

[fern]

quote:

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Originally posted by fern:

did he have big coke bottle glasses and a bushy mustache? Jim Sinclair

 

the Vulcan's Thumb is in the Fairley guide described as the only peak unclimbed due to difficulty (or something like that). An ascent of the similarily unclimbed Teacup Handle on the Table might make a good warmup. Good luck

---

[Don_Serl]

old beta: steve sutton and i tried VT in jan 1977. we climbed the LH ridge in the photo to the little double-topped summit, when we decided the day wasn't going too well. no technical difficultites to that point, just late, slow, and not energized. steve had a twisted back or something, but in truth, i think we were scared too. we downclimbed and rapped the partially sunlit gully falling left from the col left of those subsummits - very dangerous - nearly taken out by rockfall on the final rap. never been back...

the story was (and, i suppose, is) that a cpl parties (one incl paul starr) had reached the ridge at the point at which VT rises. VT is separated from the main ridge by a gap maybe 1/2 ropelength deep. there are no anchor points, so one theory was to bring a huge iron bar and pound it into the "rock", then build a cairn around it - leave the rope fixed to re-ascend when u come back. i suppose you cld also use a "deadman" plate sort of anchor.

ross wyborn has a spring-time photo of the thumb, and the whole ridge has enuf breadth to carry snow. don't count on any anchors except for "terrain".

there is another perspective in fairley p 84. seems like it would be OK to reach the gap from the NW side, from beneath pyroclastic.

jim sinclair (that's almost certainly who u were talking to) used to theorize that it wld be possible to climb the thumb in the rare conditions that arise from time to time in winter when everything gets plastered, then freezes solid. maybe. i'd reckon u cld climb the shadowed RH face in the photo in those conditions, but i doubt you'd get off that face onto the actual thumb.

certainly an intriguing challenge. good luck.

cheers, don

[layton]

Yeah it was Jim Sinclair. Funny guy, love those Squamish locals!!!

Thanks for the beta folks. I'll add that one in the backfiles. Jim had some interesting ideas about a winter ascent. As we all know it's damn hard enough to get up established easier climbs near the road around here in winter so I think I'll wait for that briefcase full of money and the snowmachine brigade.

 

Nice try on the ascent Don. New ice guide comin' out soon, eh? hehe.

 

As long as we are on the subject, what and where is the Heart of Darkness Coulior on Slesse?

 

-Mike (who's eyes are bigger than his stomach)

[salbrecher]

quote:

---

Originally posted by fern:

quote:

---

Originally posted by fern:

did he have big coke bottle glasses and a bushy mustache? Jim Sinclair

 

the Vulcan's Thumb is in the Fairley guide described as the only peak unclimbed due to difficulty (or something like that). An ascent of the similarily unclimbed Teacup Handle on the Table might make a good warmup. Good luck

---

---

Word has it you can climb them snow gullies most of the way up except for a little scramble at the top.

[Don_Serl]

michael,

heart of darkness is the couloir right of the NE buttress, between it and the lowe rib. it had 2 or 3 solid attempts by peder ourom, perry beckham, and that crew of guys back in the early '80s.

the lower third contains, if memory serves, a cpl WI3 section. this is separated from the similarly climbable upper two-thirds by an overhanging rock step. some aid was done, and the word was that bolts and/or bathooks wld be necessary.

and that takes time - probably a day for a pitch of funky aid in winter. sooooo: a bivy is gonna be necessary...

and THAT leads to the real problem: the couloir catches all of the effusion from the whole N face of the peak, and so is completely awash in spindrift in all except perfectly settled, calm weather, even when nearby routes like the N face or arctic wing (R if fraser ribber) are climbable.

photos on pgs 263 and 265 of alpine select will give u some idea (as does the cover), altho the lighting and perspectives are poor.

go have a look; it strikes me as a route on which the chances of success are mighty slim, but the consequences of failure are unlikely to be completely dire - so long as you can keep downclimbing and rappelling together in rivers of spindrift.

cheers, don

[Dru]

overhanging...bolts necessary.. sounds like M7

[layton]

Maybe I'll stick to Teacup peak.

[fern]

quote:

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Originally posted by salbrecher:

Word has it you can climb them snow gullies most of the way up except for a little scramble at the top.

---

well then you wouldn't be climbing the teacup handle (right skyline) would you? it's the aesthetics of the line !!!

[Dru]

Dont forget to climb with pinky extended on the Teacup. Proper etiquitte y'know.

[Colin]

So, is the Teacup Handle the West Ridge or the North Ridge of Table Mountain? I assume by the nature of the post and it's proximity to Baker, that it is volcanic choss?

[snoboy]

quote:

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Originally posted by Colin:

So, is the Teacup Handle the West Ridge or the North Ridge of Table Mountain? I assume by the nature of the post and it's proximity to Baker, that it is volcanic choss?

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W. ridge I think. Hey the Squamish Chief is closer to Baker, and it's not choss!