cheamclimber Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Trip: Blanshard Needle Attempt - Standard Route Date: 3/8/2008 Trip Report: I met up with some BCMC'ers in Golden Ears Park for an attempt on Blanshard Needle today (March 8, 2008) and took the Evans Creek/Fly gulley approach. While we walked through the basin on the way to Fly's Gulley avalanches contantly roared off of Edge Peak, another slide came off the North side of Blanshard. The snow was wet and isothermal and we postholed to our knees and deeper in places. In these conditions Fly Gulley was basically a never ending gulley from hell and was a total burlfest to get to the top of, by the time we were out of the gulley and hit the notch at the start of the climb we were really short on time and I got as far as the end of the crux pitch before we decided to bail, it was probably a good idea as we would have likely been locked in the park had we continued. Even though we didn't make the summit I still had a good time leading the first pitch and getting a feel for mixed climbing (its surprisingly difficult...mostly because the holds aren't really tangible, all you can feel is the handle of your ice tool!) Some Pics: At the col at the top of the gulley. The peak starts to appear as we approach the notch. Blanshard Needle Looking up to Edge Peak on the hike out. Approach Notes: Flys gulley is not in great shape Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TREETOAD Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Good going!! Glad someone is getting out there!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peas Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Nice work. Not so surprising about the conditions. I'd love to get on that one soon. Maybe self propelled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheamclimber Posted March 9, 2008 Author Share Posted March 9, 2008 i heard about the self propelled thing... I dont really want to bike from agassiz to tgolden ears and back again though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peas Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I think that a friend of mine, Alex, went with you on Blanshard. Small world. re: Self propelled: Definitely a shift in thinking, but you'd be surprised at what you can do. Baker has been done a couple of times, the Chehalis Traverse with Grainger, Mt. Judge Howay, Alpha in the Tantalus Range. All by bike from Vancouver. So Agassiz isn't that far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpineyeti Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Coasting on your bike is aid... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheamclimber Posted March 10, 2008 Author Share Posted March 10, 2008 Im doing the N face of cheam self propelled this spring... that should be fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peas Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Only if the wind is at your back. If you're braking it's o.k. re: Cheam self propelled, you should send the trip report to spoc@resist.ca A friend of mine likes to keep track of self propelled trips on the SPOC page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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