[TR] Cutthroat - South Buttress 6/28/2008

[Alex]

Trip: Cutthroat - South Buttress

 

Date: 6/28/2008

 

Trip Report:

Drove up to the pass "the expensive way" (300$ speeding ticket) Friday night and bivied at Rainy Pass. We were already a bit surprised to find the picnic area unplowed and snow still on the pavement, so in the morning, realizing that there was way too much snow for the ambitous plans we had, we scaled back and settled on the S Buttress of Cutthroat, which neither of us had ever done.

 

Of course we discovered we had forgotten the camera!

 

The approach right now is one of the few that is snow free. The approach is also in the sun all day, so yeah it was hot and we got fried. We climbed up to the base of the approach gully, which still has snow, and made our way to the notch. There was another party on route, which had left their car some hours earlier, but they were cool and didn't send down any death from above.

 

The first pitch proper starts about 30m up from the notch, and is a short slabby traversy thing at about 5.6. Rock shoes really help on this one, though. Next come several pitches of 3rd and 4th up very easy terrain. All this is simulable, though rope drag will be severe in spots. Eventually you get to the crux pitch, which is steep but blocky 5.8 climbing for a 30m pitch, leadable in boots. More easy climbing leads up to a low angled area between the two "humps". Here we caught up with the first party.

 

From here you downclimb 10 feet into a prominent notch, and have to do a boulder move up the other side. This is the "unprotectable 5.8" covered by all the guidebooks. 100 feet later you have to repeat this whole procedure, downclimbing into a second notch and leading first a 5.6 slab (leadable in boots) to a 5.6 offwidth (one move wonder, leadable in boots) with adequate protection. For the offwidth, although it will protect with a #4 camalot or whatever the guidebooks say, you can pretty much leave the boat-anchors at home. It's one move off a ledge, and trivial once you find the key hold inside the crack.

 

From there the summit is a 50 foot scramble away.

 

The decent is a series of very well established raps back down the way you came. They go fast, and have easy pulls. Everything is set up for 30m raps. Once back at the notch, you do another 30m rap down into the approach gully, then hike down to the lowest spot possible, skiers left, and rap from a huge anchor off a tree over the moat to the snow.

 

The ramble back down to the car was uneventful, and we finally got back into the shade created by the sun going behind Whistler as the evening came. The stream crossings at the end were non-trivial because of the raging torrent created by all the melt.

 

Gear Notes:

We used a very light rack of 6 cams to climb this route (#2, #1, #.75 camalot, red, yellow, green alien). Take lots of long slings. We used a single strand of 60m 8mm rope, which was fine for both up and raps. My partner climbed the entire route in boots, I used shoes for a few pitches.

 

Approach Notes:

Mostly snow free. Pretty area, lots of lillies!

[mvs]

Nice! The view up there is really worthwhile. Here is one from early October: