[TR] Safe Sex on Green Giant Buttress 5/8/2007

[tvashtarkatena]

Trip: Green Giant Buttress, Darrington - Safe Sex

 

Date: 5/8/2007

 

Trip Report:

On Tues, James (jhamaker) and I spent an enjoyable day climbing Safe Sex (5.9, 8 pitches) on Darrington’s Green Giant Buttress. The first six pitches run just to the right of Dreamer before intersecting with that route. Every move on this climb is wonderful, especially if you love chicken heads (excepting the uppermost pitch to the ridge top, which is pretty nondescript).

 

 

Waterfall on the approach

 

 

 

 

The route from the base

 

 

 

 

Nearing the top of the first pitch

 

 

 

 

Midway up the long third pitch

 

 

Salish Peak

 

 

 

 

Rapping the route

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gear Notes:

Gear to 3 ½. 8 quick draws, 2 rabbits, 2 long slings, 3 slings. Take a handful of extra biners for pitch 3. Larger nuts and tricams not very useful.

 

 

 

Approach Notes:

The approach involves a bit of brush and a rotting snow fan, which can be refreeze during the evening hours. Six point aluminum crampons would be a nice for this section. There is also a stream ford (we just splashed across). Walking sticks or ski poles for these two sections are recommended.

 

The road is washed out in several places about a mile from road’s end and barely passable with an Outback.

 

Edited May 10, 2007 by tvashtarkatena

[crazy_t]

That looks awesome. Did Dreamer a long time ago, but haven't been back since. Thanks for the tr!

[mountainmatt]

Looks like a great route! How did Exfoliation Dome look?

[catbirdseat]

Good job, Tvash. That's a route I'd like to do some time this summer.

[tvashtarkatena]

Looks like a great route! How did Exfoliation Dome look?

 

Only saw it from a distance, of course, but the Granite Sidewalk is snow free and "looked" relatively dry. Again, that's from a considerable distance.

 

The Dome itself is impressive, as always.

[Weekend_Climberz]

You unemployed bastard, nice TR dude :tup:

[tvashtarkatena]

You unemployed bastard, nice TR dude :tup:

 

That would be 2 unemployed bastards. No pics of our trip planner James, unfortunately; he had the camera.

[mattp]

I heard through the grapevine that there was still snow on the Blueberry Terrace as recently as last weekend, and if so the last pitch of the West Butt, Dark Rhythm, Rainman, and Jacob's Ladder will be slimy (the last pitches below that terrace, that is). Of these, Jacob's Ladder takes the most straight-forward line for a descent so it might make the better "crag climb" right now, but Rainman makes an OK rap and if you switch from Dark Rhythm over to the West Butt at the "flange" pitch, that one is OK.

 

W.Butt routes

 

Jacob's Ladder

 

The West Buttress route is a combination of slabs and lieback flakes, Dark Rhythm is mostly slab, Rainman includes some crimpy edge climbing and even a true crack, and Jacob's Ladder is a bit steeper with some crimpy edges and odd dike features for four of the eight pitches.

[jhamaker]

Yes Matt, we did see some snow at the base of Bluberry Hill. There was also snow guarding the base of the Kone and 3 O'clock rock. Give it a couple wks.

 

Questions. Did you clean one of the Big Tree rts last yr?

 

I saw a chain anchor to climbers left of the anchor atop the "Blue Flake". Do these chains lead to a cleaner rap rt than rapping Safe Sex, Botany 101, or The Dreamer?

 

 

[tvashtarkatena]

There is still snow on Blueberry Terrace.

[mattp]

I'm not sure about any rappel route to the climbers left of Dreamer.

 

Because Dreamer often has other parties on it and because of rope eaters on the Blue Crack pitch and on that pitch where Giants Tears joins lower down, I generally rappel Safe Sex instead of Dreamer. SS has one rap right over a cedar, but I have not yet had any real problem with the offending bush.

 

There is said to be a better descent that involves perhaps as few as two rappels down a completely different line north of The Fast Lane. I'd be game to check this out some day.

 

The "walk off" is not recommended.

[mattp]

Nobody has cleaned up Big Tree to my knowledge.

[shapp]

I cleaned out about 5 nut/TCU placements on Big Tree 1 last year, and probably scrubbed 20 holds on my way up

All you need to due is bring up your small brush and nut tool when you climb it, the route will be perpetually mungy unless it sees about 10 times more traffic yearly. Incidently, why do you think "someone" put bolts on the second pitch of Big Tree 1 (left hand rib/slab) a few years ago? O.K. lets say miraculously one could justify adding the bolts, the second question would be why do you think they placed the first bolt out of reach from the first hard move where you actually have a chance of slipping on mungy slab and taking a nasty scrapper down the broken ledges at the top of the first pitch. Why did they add the second bolts when two moves gets you to hand jams? Just wondering.

Shapp

[curtveld]

Any guesses as to whether Westward Ho (slab right of W. Buttress) is likely to be dry?

[mattp]

Most of the easier climbs at Darrington have bolts in funny places if you ask me, Shapp, and some of the harder ones too. Was they guy thinking about the runout, on a 5.4 "hands free" slab? Or did he hang on some funky sky hook when he drilled? Did the route setters disagree about where they were going? Etc. I guess that is true elsewhere, too, as I often wonder about the bolt placements on climbs at just about any climbing area.

 

Though maybe not perfect, I thought that rib starting the second pitch of Big Tree was an improvement over the bushy corner to the left and I never found cause for discomfort there although I suppose it could have taken another bolt at the start. (Beyond horror, there is no bolted belay anchor there either.) I guess you could still stay "trad" and climb the bushy corner if you would prefer.

 

I think Big Tree (the left hand one we are talking about) and the first pitch of Cornucopia are fairly good beginner leads with pro easy to find but a rack is needed. Some people get confused about where to go higher on the Big Tree route, though - generally where the route heads right onto an upper slab that is out of view. If I remember correctly, there is an old bolt and grassy seam straight up at that point - maybe the bolt oughtta go.

[shapp]

It's not a matter of staying trad, I was just wonder who recently put in the couple new bolts in the last few years that weren't there before and why? These are shiny bolts not placed byManuel Gonzalez Don Williamson when they put that route up several decades ago. There wasn't any bolts there when I first climbed it about 6 years ago.

[roboboy]

maybe it was someone who likes to use passive pro only (and no TCUs)