[TR] Primus Peak - N. Ridge 9/16/2007

[RideT61]

Trip: Primus Peak - N. Ridge

 

Date: 9/16/2007

 

Trip Report:

This is my first TR. I usually don't post TR's because I'm a poser and nobody want to read my account of "Das Toof" or Ingalls Peak for the 100th time. For a change I got out and did a real honest to goodness climb (if you call 5.6 climbing) that is, I hope, worthy of a TR.

 

Inspired by John Scurlock's image of the N. Face of Primus: http://www.pbase.com/nolock/image/46937949

I decided to get off my fat ass and head for the hills.

 

Leaving the car at 8 pm on Wednesday we hiked 6 miles in the dark to Mcallister Camp and crashed for the night. Early Thursday morning we started our way up Mcallister Ridge. There is a faint climbers trail marked occasionally with survey tape, taking the time to find it made the approch less miserable but still much harder than Aasgard. Then again, maybe I'm just too fat.

 

We made camp Thursday evening at the newly born Borealis Lake (signs of recent glacier retreat were everywhere) and started scoping out our route.

 

Friday morning we headed around the west side of the lake and made our way up to the base of the N. Ridge. The climbing was mostly low 5th with a little 4th and an occasional steeper section climbing to 5.6. We simuled the 1000ft ridge in 4 pitches. The views from the summit are some of best in the range, Baker, Shuksan, the Pickets, Glacier, Forbidden and the Eldorado Icecap.

 

After lounging on the summit for a half hour we began the descent to Lucky Pass between Primus and Tricouni. We contemplated traversing below the N Face but decided that the icy slopes (now in the shade) were a little steep to cross without pickets so we headed down the Borealis towards the icefall. Once on the rock we managed to downclimb a few hundred feet of 3rd class terrain to the climbers right edge of the icefall. From here we made 2 long raps (the 70 meter rope was just enough to reach good ledges) into the moat at the headwall above the Lower Borealis. My patner Steve made a bold lead up 20+ feet (but with the bottom of the moat 40 feet below) up and out of the moat. He was not happy to hear that I was able to pull the screws out after only 4 turns. I on the other hand was was more than happy to be on TR for my trip out of the moat.

 

Being fairly late we quickly made our way across the lower glacier and around the lake back to camp.

 

All in all this is a great trip with a typically hard Cascade approach, a glacier crossing, and fun exposed climbing (knife edge in places) on good rock. The Green Becky has the 1st ascent of this route in 1986. The remote location in combination with the lack of any signs of previous parties makes me wonder how many times this route has been done since. It deserves more in my opinion.

 

And now for the mountain porn:

 

Ascent in faint blue-descent in faint red

 

 

Steve en route to the N. Ridge

 

Climbing on the ridge

 

Forbidden

 

Borealis Lake

 

 

Rapping into the moat

 

Gear Notes:

Gear to 2", Gu, 70m rope

 

Approach Notes:

6 easy miles to Mcallister Camp, 3 hard ones to Borealis Lake

Edited September 17, 2007 by RideT61

[Bug]

Nice TR.

Thanks for posting it.

I had not ever looked at that peak before.

[RideT61]

Not surprising, the Cascades are full of hidden gems. Hard to believe a mountain that is 8508 ft. can be overlooked. Most of us, myself included, just spend too much time hitting the "classics" in the guidbooks. The lack of any good beta certainly made this more of an adventure. Without a decent description deciding what gear to bring, how to decend, and even how to get there are certainly more challenging.

[RideT61]

So I asked this before the trip but am still wondering if anyone has an answer. What is the easiest way to cross Austera Ridge? I'm interested in traversing the Icecap nect spring from south to north but this looked to be a mojor obstical from the summit of Primus. You could go around it to the east but that loses a lot of elevation and the glacier is pretty broken up.

Maybe someone like Mr Skoog would know.

[Skeezix]

Go around it to the east. On skis.

[dberdinka]

Cool Trip. Can you post more photos of the climb?

[goatboy]

I love this TR and the vision you guys had to go explore. Nice.

[goatboy]

Question: Rock quality -- similar to Forbidden (Skagit Gneiss type of stuff)???

[RideT61]

Yep, Sgagit Gneiss. Most of it was good, though there was plenty of lichen because it is not well traveled. It would not surprise me if we were the 2nd or 3rd ascent of the ridge. The best rock was, as is typical, on the ridgetop. The worst spots were where the ridge intersected the giant chimneys/coulours on the N Face. THis route was definitely better than some of the routes in Nelson's CLassics. THe NE Ridge of Black Peak for example, other than the longer approach this route is MUCH better. Better rock, scenery, climbing, etc.

 

Here is a photo of me on the ridge.

Edited September 19, 2007 by RideT61