Start of Reid Headwall Route?

[jport]

I'm not sure if this is the start to the standard Reid Headwall Route... perhaps it's a variation?

Can anyone confirm which line most climbers take from where this photo was taken? At this point, we were traversing the upper Reid Glacier (approximately half way between Illumination Saddle and Leuthold Couloir). We opted for the route indicated by the green line.

[danhelmstadter]

nice jsport, wish I got high this weekend, work and other unfortunate business kept me down. looks like the weather couldn't have been better.

[Ptown_Climber1]

The green line IS Leutholds......someone else will need to clarify Reid Headwall on there....I know I was wondering about that myself. Great picture though!

[jport]

I'm not convinced that the green line is Leuthold Couloir. Compare with these photos from summitpost.com:

 

http://www.summitpost.org/image/175215/156300/entering-leuthold-couloir.html

http://www.summitpost.org/image/274835/156300/lower-leuthold-couloir-2-mount-hood-2-2-07.html

 

We passed through several "hourglasses"... all of which were more narrow than anything I've seen of Leuthold:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4569/2224/1600/in%20the%20hourglass.jpg

Additionally, doesn't Leuthold only have one "hourglass"?

 

[Joe_Poulton]

I know that Leuthold has 3 base couloirs. The middle chute leading to a cliff that the outer chutes merge above and then higher up the couloir splits into two couloirs. The left leading to the top of Yokum and all Sandy headwall routes and the right...well haven't climb that but I would think to goes to the top of the castle crags. As for the photo, if indeed it was taken from the reid glacier...well. When I climbed Leuthold in 99 I traversed along the Castle Crags until the first break and went up. I stayed to the left at all forks and ended on top of Yokum and then the summit ridge. During the whole climb I could see Yokum. Those chutes in the photo look too narrow to be Leuthold.

 

How difficult did the Green route become and how narrow?

Edited March 10, 2008 by Joe_Poulton

[jport]

There was a dominant couloir that we could see (from Illumination Saddle) at the base of Yokum Ridge. I suspected that it was probably Leuthold.

Our original plan was to hit Leuthold. Although that soon changed as we traversed below the Reid Headwall routes... conditions seemed ideal for climbing that face. Both of us quickly agreed on a route and went for it! I only had limited knowledge about the "route"... which gully?, steepness?, top-out location? I knew there were lots of options, though. Weather was excellent and the snow was in good shape (with the exception of some short sections of knee-deep powder.

Our route began climbing the face before the largest rock outcropping at the top of the Reid Glacier. My understanding is that in order to reach Leuthold, you have to traverse below that outcropping... is that right?

We also topped-out along the ridge of West Crater Rim. We followed that ridge upward, approximately fifty yards to the point that Yokum Ridge intersects.

 

Regarding the "Green Route", it was sustained steep snow (up to +/- 50 degrees) and ice (up to vertical). There were two steps of ice that we had to negotiate. Each step came at distinctive "hourglasses". The first was a 10-foot section of +/- 70 degrees bare, dense ice. The second was a 15-foot section of vertical, nasty rime. That second chute was about 4-5 feet wide, so stemming solved the problem. In all, we climbed through three "hourglasses".

Keep in mind, the majority of the route is exposed to ice and/or rock fall. Even with cold temperatures, there was a constant shower on us... nothing bigger than maybe baseball size.

This route is definitely a "no fall zone"... especially if you're climbing solo, like us. Run-outs are long and usually lead to drop-offs. If there is any doubt or lack of confidence, those slopes should be protected by pickets or screws. Otherwise, it's pretty exhilarating climbing... lots of fun!

 

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11863105@N04/sets/72157604080114354/detail/

 

[Couloir]

The green line is the main Reid Headwall route. What is it like #14 in Oregon High? Above it there are a couple of variations still. Leuthold's is definitely to the left more and in fact has only one hourglass.

[Ptown_Climber1]

OK, yeah you're right......it's tough because so many of those gullies look alike over there! Typically I reference Leuthold with Yokum Ridge, but you can't quite see it in that picture.

 

Those pictures are awesome.....I'm climbing Wy East in a couple weeks, but man, those make me want to get over on Reid Headwall!!!

 

Good job.

[Joe_Poulton]

Yeah...I climbed Leuthold in May 99 so those couloirs you climbed. I could say would have been rock gullies. Therefore, they were not in my mind at the time to climb...this year's snowfall has made a lot possible!

[jport]

Thanks for the confirmation.

I'll have to scrounge up a copy of Oregon High.

[rbw1966]

Thats definitely not leutholds. To get to leutholds you essentially traverse the reid to yocum and turn right.

 

You can get a copy of Oregon High at OMC.

[ptownclimber]

There we have it. Nice work Jport. Thanks for the photos and a great climb.

 

:-)

[sean_beanntan]

The green line is part of the reid Headwall but still not the Reid headwall DIRECT climb since the green line heads east and exits on the West Crater rim. So to complete the headwall, take the smaller gully at the start to the left of the green line and go straight and then slightly left to finish either on the summit pinnicle or above the queens chair.

 

Hope this helps

[sean_beanntan]

........ok so I found a post that i wrote a while back about Reid versus Luetholds, maybe it can help. In short, the bergshrund on the Luetholds slope is lower elevation than on the Reid which is what you can see from the Illum gap. To access the Luethols slope you have to go around or over the Reid Cleaver which can look like part of Yocum from the gap. If in doubt, keep heading west until you have to turn North, it should not be that difficult to find

 

 

.......the big mistake that people make is in low vis. There is a cleaver on the reid that in a white out looks like its part of Yokum....I know hard to believe in clear skies. When climbes reach it, they immediately turn right and head up onto the reid. You need to drop around the toe or climb through the ramp in the middle. I will post a pic if someone needs one...sometime

[jport]

The bottom line is: There are numerous variations on that face of the mountain. Lot of opportunity for moderately-steep snow routes! Get it now while it's good!

[KingsMM]

sweet! I checked out the pics. Looked sick!