dberdinka Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Trip: Twin Sisters - Obscurities Date: 6/13/2008 Trip Report: Being decidely optomistic Dave and I ignored both the forecast and the drizzle and did the long approach into the basin between the Twin Sisters. After four long hours of biking and hiking in light rain we were rewarding with a sudden change in the weather as we entered the basin. Block and Arrowhead Towers are two nice looking spires just to climbers right of the col at the head of the basin. We climbed a fun route up the west facing wall highlighted by a very fine 5.7 dihedral ending on the ridge crest right in the middle between the two towers. The summit of block tower is reached by a wonderful 40' 5.8 hand crack called "Toe Jam". Good stuff, small rack to #2 Camalot with short pitches. With no time to waste we wandered across the Sisters Glacier aiming for the mysterious and steep east face of the North Twin Sister. While there are several distinct buttresses the rock is layered such that there are no obvious lines and many vertical to overhanging blank bulges. We climbed it anyway by wandering around on 4th and low-5th class rock split by many ledges and one nice 5.7 dihedral. The route ended near the high point of the southeast ridge. II 5.7 We were rewarded for our efforts with the stunning finale of the southeast ridge, a superb stretch of climbing over a series of dramatic needles. Something tells me the complete southeast ridge could be a very good climb indeed. One rappel and some scrambling got us to the summit of the North Twin. Pizza nad beer at the North Fork await! Good times. All of this only 25 miles from town. Damn are we lucky! The miserable Approach Parting clouds on the South Face of the North Twin The Glorious Basin The fine dihedral on the West Face of Block Tower Block Tower Dave can't jam his toes, Toe Jam 5.8 Wandering across the Sisters Glacier The nice dihedral on the E Buttress of the North Twin Dave doesn't like my route finding A more striking pose One last look Gear Notes: Small rack to #2 Camalot Approach Notes: Mountain Bike ~ 4 miles and 2000' Walk old logging roads ~2 miles and 600' Easy XC into Basin ~1 mile and 2000' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
layton Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Heck yeah Darin! Such a shame access is a total pain in the butt for such a close range to Bellingham. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyclimber Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Amazing pics! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sol Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriznitch Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 pretty cool pics! Once I spent a night locked behind one of those access gates...but there is something special about that risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Choada_Boy Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Sweetness!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 I was just thinking about heading up there. Those fucking gates, though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishstick Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Nice TR and images. I've been wondering about that East side of North Twin Sister for a bunch of years, but have tended to lack the ambition to poke my nose around the corner after doing other lines. Do you think it might be fun after an initial fall/early winter storm or two? Cheers, GB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dberdinka Posted June 19, 2008 Author Share Posted June 19, 2008 The east side of North Twin was somewhat forgettable. While the rock was good the structure of it did not lend itself to obvious lines (horizontal vs vertical weaknesses). Considering the long approach I think one would have a better time scrapping around on the NW side of either peak. That west face of block and arrowhead also has a number of nice looking, easier blocky corner systems that could be good partialy snowed/iced up. Of course that isn't exactly a casual approach either. Again, I'm very intrigued by the complete SE ridge of the North Twin. The stretch we climbed was stellar. A carefully reading of Red Fred reveals this one sentence.... "The Southeast Ridge is one alternative and offers pleasant climbing on superb rock" Hmmmm.....sounds ok to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishstick Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Thanks for the information and sharing your thoughts on the east face, SE ridge and block tower area; it's all very much appreciated. I agree the approach is a bit long, but it's just a case of walking (or riding) rather than battling bush, bugs and rivers. That said, the winter approach via the same has a pretty high suck factor. Cheers, GB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodchips Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Anyone ever done the East Buttress on Cinderella? Beckey makes it sound enticing; 10 pitches of 5.6 on solid rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_Simpkins Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Very nice Darin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtveld Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 All this in a day, Darin? Doing foolish things with enthusiasm indeed! Woodchips: Good question! I haven't done it but have contact info for the FA team. PM me if interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waydough Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 (edited) Reply to Woodchips regarding the east ridge of Cinderella: I climbed halfway up the ridge for several hours and bailed down the gulley to the south of the ridge that runs half the total vertical distance of the ridge (easy and obvious bail point). I did not find the description in the Becky guide to be very accurate regarding the number of pitches. It's much longer if pitched out the entire distance. We did it with a 60 meter rope and pitched out each length at about 35-50m due to rope drag (ridge climbing on the T.S. rock results in tons of drag). Our team was not really capable of doing running belays. I would love to go back and climb with a faster climbing buddy and do mostly running belays with about 30m rope between us. The walk off from the summit to the west and then south to the lake is easy (I did it the day before on the approach day). We camped at that lake named...I forget. Have fun and go do it! the rock is pretty good overall but not quite as good as the west ridge of the N. Twin. But, you'll have it to yourself even on the busiest weekend of the year. Edited February 8, 2009 by Waydough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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