[TR] Index Peaks - East Route of Index Main Peak 9/27/2007

[Buckaroo]

Trip: Index Peaks - East Route of Index Main Peak

 

Date: 9/27/2007

 

Trip Report:

TR Main Peak of Index, East Route, 9-27-2007

 

Short version

 

Postponed W face of N Peak to traverse linkup, not enough good weather days. Postponed N Face N Peak Index peaks traverse due to wet rock. Settled for the East Route on Main Peak, need to know this better anyway for the descent off the traverse.

 

Car camped at the trailhead, left car 6:30am, got to Lake Serene, lots of wet rock on N peak, decided to do Main instead. Nice mostly sunny day, but bushwack to ridge above Lake Serene, brush very wet. Boots got soaked. No climbable snow in East face gully, did a 25' 5.6 rock pitch and some other 5.2 sections. Summit by 3:00pm, back to car by 9:30pm, car to car 15 hrs. 25 pound pack, 26 GU packs (used 17), 2 qts of water but lots of water all along the way. No cramps, lite axe (never used), Sportiva Trango S. 60M 5mil Maxim rap cord (never used).

 

L o n g Version

 

Well the Japanese route is out for the season due to fresh snow in the Rockies, and tiring of beating the head against that wall, needing something else to focus the climbing addiction on. This of course is after a couple of years with very little climbing, so pretty psyched getting back to it and bagging some hard summits. Ahh the Index Peaks, the Chamonix of Highway 2. Relatively short approach, a serious challenge even with all it's brushy goodness. This kind of rock requires full concentration and focus to avoid getting the chop, especially when soloing.

 

So do a couple of recons on the West face of North Peak, this is also to prepare for the Eve Dearborn. But it's wet both times so don't make much progress there. Not enough to feel like committing to that route with only one day of good weather. So I'll try the traverse, considering I've already done the North Face of North Peak and the East Face of Main descent. It shouldn't be too bad if it's dry. But this is the NW, and dry is not that frequent of an option.

 

Also in preparation solo a bunch of 5.6 and 5.7 crag routes in the Trango S. The GNS is sort of limited so get the Exit 38 guidebook and solo every 5.6/5.7 in there, most of them twice. Should have done them all with a 25 pound pack but, oh well, at least did a couple that way. So the designated full moon week approaches, it all hinges on the weather. The forecast calls for only one so-so partly cloudy day, Wednesday, and rain on the days before and after. So the West Face is definitely out and the traverse looks unlikely.

 

The drive up Hwy 2 is uneventful except for the drunken pedestrian trying to lurch across the road in Startup. Arrive at the trailhead, what do you know it's abandoned, nobody else is crazy enough to even check out Lake Serene with this weather. Leave the car with a 25 pound pack, with no breakfast. Going to do the GU fast on this one.

 

GEAR LIST

Go-lite Gust pack (14oz)(with added waist belt)

Goretex jacket and pants

polypro top(2) and bottom

hooded puff jacket

ultralite bivy sack

ski gloves

knit touc

HB carbonfiber helmet

Grivel MontBlanc axe

alpine 3/4" webbing harness

DMM Bug rap device

60M 5mil Maxim tech cord rap line (3.5#)

15' of 9/16" webbing

camera, cell, altimeter/compass

26 GU packs, 16 to last the projected 12hrs. 10 extra

2 qts water, dumb, plenty on route.

 

Doing the new trail to the lake, very nice after the 2 swacking recons on the West face. Past the gurgling streams, ancient trees, and Zen filled waterfalls. Get to the lake and it's very serene, can't think of a better name, so beautiful and peaceful. Scramble around to where you go up to the North face and stash the ski sticks. It looks wet, climb half way up the talus toward the start. It's no good, too wet. It's scary enough when bone dry. The North bowl when snow free is comprised of a bunch of really small steps all rounded and polished. Becky states "can be marginal when wet". It's not happening, so on to the just conceived plan C, East route of Main.

 

 

So skirt the lake beneath the forbidden peaks and foreboding buttresses, and up the mossy talus to the pass SW of the lake. It's turning into a nice day, just a few wispy clouds and the sun is easing down the side of the rock faces above. It's dry at least or so you would think. But the mandatory swacking getting up to the pass says different. It didn't rain here last night but must have rained hard the day before. All the brush is wet, the blueberry bushes are the worse, somehow capturing large droplets of water on their leaves. Didn't even think about raingear, after all there's blue sky above. Just push the wet stuff to the side, it's okay. It's not okay, every bush is a small rain, by the time it's noticed everything is too wet to matter.

 

Gain the pass and start up the ridge, there's supposed to be a faint climber's track but it doesn't make itself apparent at first and more soaked swacking is the result. Up to the base of the brushy cliffs, still no trail. Up a dihedral with wet moss, 1/2 way back down and traverse. Finally find the trail. Looking off the ridge to the south and see why this ridge is the only way to go. A mile long 200 foot high cliff with all down pointing fractures. To North side skirting the lake is also sheer rock cliffs. The swacking eases up and the vertical bush/tree pulling commences. It's not that bad especially if you climbed trees during most of your childhood. It's steep but never that hard, maybe about 5.2 or so. The angle eases up and the trail meanders along the crest, more resembling a goat track than anything else.

 

 

A majestic hawk cries out, Kreeeee Kreeee, he soars effortless in a wide arc, scoffing at the pitiful human tied to the ground. A small bird rustles in the bush and flushes out. With the previous grizzly encounter any sudden noise causes a jolt of adrenaline. Because it was the noise that initiated that severe encounter.

 

Finally reach the saddle on the ridge, it opens up and broadens here to a large talus field . Stop and try to dry off a little, change the shirt and socks. Wring about 1/2 cup of water out of each sock and actually pour out the boots. This is a key point in the route so take a alti reading with the new altimeter/compass.

 

Finally finally FINALLY someone has done this right. The Highgear Altitech. Being a crack lover, can't stand anything on the wrist. In the past trying to adapt a wristwatch configuration to a lanyard, but it's always a funky patch job. It's got a pivoting beener built in, a lite weight plastic body, easy battery access, large digits, and really intuitive controls. Plus it seems to be more accurate than previous instruments I've owned. Sorry for the detour but just a long time gear freak.

 

So heading out from the saddle, a southerly rising traverse across talus and below cliffs, steepening towards a band of small evergreens and brush. Just below vertical cliffs above. Ascend above the greenery to avoid further wetness. Cross and ascend a wet slabby gully with some moss and talus and ascend above another band of trees into the main gully of the route. It's a wide talus gully with cliffs on both sides that narrow down to the chimney/gully crux of the route. Some large chunks of snow still left but nothing really climbable. There's a fixed rope coming down the huge chockstone/cave but you can't see it's condition above.

 

 

It's pretty wet with lots of moss but on the right side it's got a dry section which unfortunately doesn't look continuous. Climb a narrow 5.6 chimney with one mandatory chockstone hold with nothing else to really pull on. This is when soloing becomes real serious. Usually you like to have the weight as distributed as possible. Like pulling up on two separate handholds. If one goes the other will save you. Even when you have two good feet you keep both hands on something. But of course there's places where it's too blank, when you commit to just one hold, this is when it gets very "interesting". Ease upward without force, become like a feather or a bird, breath, calm, focus.

 

So up to a rest spot and look higher, it's worse, the holds are thinner and there's mossy wetness. Make a couple of wet moves up, standing on two mariginal footholds and looking for higher hands. One small positive but wet edge, it's crankable but looks even blanker above. There's a thin seam maybe some dry tooling will work. Back down to a stance and get the axe off the pack. Back up and try the seam, it's a marginal pick cam, crank up, the feet are pretty blank and so are any reachable holds above. DAMMIT, didn't come this far to be spit off by some 5.6. But this feels like 5.9. Breath calm, downclimb to the rest stance, look around, there's a small slab on the left, looked blank at first glance, make a move up to it to look closer, ah ha, a hidden rising traverse finger crack. The feet are blank smearing which isn't the Trango S's forte but the finger locks are bomber, several moves ending in a mantle brings easier ground and a traverse to above the huge chockstone.

 

Above here the gully eases a bit but plenty of loose blocks everywhere. There's about 3 upward branching gullies at this point but the main one (left) is tried first, further up there's another huge chockstone, the left side while wet looks the best, again several moves up it gets blanker and blanker. Downclimb and look further left, it's worse, look right, maybe that will go. Some 5.2 scrambling up loose mossy wet rock leads to a treed bench with a nice overhang bivy spot. File that away for future rainstorms.

 

So going right out of the main gully leads to the furthest rightward gully which is just a scramble, albeit one with many loose boulders of all sizes, many of them teetering. Just waiting for the careless climber to send them riding gravity down to their brothers in the talus. Don't forget you have to go down the same way, and rockfall can knock other rocks closer to the teetering point. The gully top is gained, the GU powered energy level is still high.

 

Looking about 100 yards South you can see the bottom of the pass with a long tarn in it's center, and the top of the main gully coming up to meet it. The summit ridge area is classic alpine gardens picturesque. Glacial scoured slabs with some talus and small scrub evergreens and heather. The top of the gulley is still about 300 yards south from the summit. There's 2 subsidiary peaks before you get to the summit, it's easiest to traverse below them on the West side.

 

 

Crossing the heather trying to step from rock to rock to avoid trashing the plants which already have such a hard time with the short growth season and all. Some fun scrambling sections close to technical depending on the route you choose.

 

Bypassing the summit to go down as far as practical to the finish of the traverse, maybe to get some beta. It gets real steep real quick. It's also pretty loose in spots and hella exposed. It's pretty far down to the middle/main notch, a lot further than it looks like from below. The turnaround time has gone from 1 pm to 2 pm and now to 3 pm. There hasn't been anything really difficult below the crux that couldn't really be descended in the dark if necessary. Get some nice pics of the traverse, Norwegian Buttresses, and the Serene lake.

 

 

 

As I'm perched there above the awesome exposure, soaking in the benefit of all the effort to get to this brief point, I'm further rewarded with some displays of aerial prowess by several species of the feathered persuasion. First as I'm climbing the last bit it's some swallows taking a high speed diving run right at me and veering off at the last second. Then it's a crow, cawing an acknowledgement of the interloper and gliding the thermals around the summit. Then something I haven't seen before. What looked like wild pigeons doing aerial circuits of main peak. A pack of about 20 in formation, about 500ft below the summit. Hugging close to the cliffs at high speed, two to three abreast, making about 2 complete circuits that I saw. Winding in and out of gulleys and around ridges, disappearing around a ridge and reappearing as they bomb through the pass.

 

Way too soon it's time to go back. Spending some time at the top of the gulleys looking at compass and altimeter readings, want to do a more thorough beta of the descent for anyone that wants something more enlightening than the very brief Becky description. Back down the gully being even more careful of loose boulders because you're immediately going below them with nowhere to run or hide. Back to the crux, downclimbing because it's faster and more of a challenge. Back down the talus gulley, past the trees and cliffs and talus field. Back to the saddle at the top of the ridge.

 

 

 

Stop to put on the rain gear, want to stay dry this time, and down the treed ridge. The trail is a little more distinct for some reason going down, down past rap runners on the treed cliffs, again it's faster to downclimb especially through the rope hanging trees. Get to the pass above the lake and somehow find a less brushy path below the oldgrowth. The moss covered talus below seems more slippery on the descent, slowed a little and make it to the stashed ski sticks as darkness descends on the day.

 

Happy with the time so far, it's quicker than the previous ascent of Main even though it's 4 years further over the hill. Probably the GU but who knows. The circuit around the lake is maybe taken a little slower just to try and soak in some of the lake's serene stillness into the sometimes stressed out psyche, one more time, before grudgingly heading back to "civilization".

 

Having had a previous harrowing experience near the start of the trail, huge rockfall only avoided by a chance time delay due to stopping to eat, sort of apprehensive about going through here again after dark. But it passes without event and down down, full moon and GU fast fueled. In the dark only lit by the triple A's diode beam. Nursing the old knee with the ski sticks, down down past the ancient trees, babbling brooks and Zen falls. Back through the dark forest, down the old mining roads, mind and body racing back, back against the true preference, to the mundane of this everyday life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kevbone]

 

Great pics and TR....some really good friends of mine live almost at the base of Index peak.....they have this view from there porch.....