spotly Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 Trip: Yellowjacket Tower - Date: 8/23/2008 Trip Report: Brian and I headed over to Leavenworth on Friday night. About the time we hit Reardon, Brian somehow realized he'd forgot to pack his helmet. We stopped at Wally World in Leavenworth where I picked out a nice pink Hello Kitty bike helmet for him. He rejected my assistance. We planned on finding a spot in one of the campgrounds up Icicle Canyon but they were all full so we threw the bivy bags out along the shoulder of the road and got a few hours of sleep. In the morning we got an early start and decided the head up R&D route on Icicle Buttress before hiking up to Yellowjacket tower. I forgot to bring the runners so we had to scrounge for extra webbing and cord and biners to make due with. We were the first on the route so we got it done in less than two hours instead of the 5 hours it took last time. We walked off climbers left and drove east a few seconds till we spotted the bridge crossing the creek. From the turnout near the bridge, we walked a few yards further east and spotted a trail that took us to a road just north of the bridge. I expected to see signs that pointed out private property along the sides of the road but the sign we saw indicated that the bridge was also private. We threw on our cloaking....cloaks and tip-toed across. Once on the south side we headed left and qucikly came to a 'Y' in the road. Taking the right branch a hundred feet or so delivered us to the trail, clearly visible on the right side of the road. Go right here for 100 feet to the trail The trail kicks back right away and we ground our way up it to the base of Yellowjacket's large gully - blocked by a large chockstone. The approach took about an hour. We opted to head right then up around the chckstone rather than tackling it head-on. We found a few sandy ledges and a 4th class corner that got us back into the main gully. From there, we wound our way up the loose crap, hopping over a large downed tree further up until we eventually spotted the chicken head studded wall to the right. First gulley with chockstone We headed directly towards that and came to a tree with rap slings. Looking up and left we found the "hidden" gully. Since it parallels the main wall, it would have been very difficult to spot without first reaching the wall. The gully looked blocky and easy so we we scrambled up, coming to one crappy section where a rope might have been nice - a bit of a grunt without much for hands or feet. At the top of the gully, we saw the first technical pitch; a right facing dihedral. I had a hard time spotting good gear placements in the fractured rock lower down but there were several horns and tunnels to sling and the pitch was fun and easy. A tree at the top contains rap slings and I used that for an anchor to bring up Brian. There was lots of pitch in that section and I was glad it didn't get all over my gear. From the tree, we opted to scramble through a small tunnel to the base of the summit block. Me enjoying the slinging Brian in the tunnel - top of the dihedral The last pitch starts out with an easy ramp with a crack for solid scrambling. At the top of the ramp I came to a horizontal crack that took a 1 inch cam. Not knowing if this would be my last placement, I stuck a 3/4 in with it and headed up. A few moves later I spotted a pocket which took a pink tricam perfectly. Much to Brians chagrin, I set it very well. The last section was supposed to be slabby but I found it quite positive with some stemming and a few small but sharp finger holds to the top. The top - jeesh...and old ring piton, several slings with rap rings, and a weird set of chains - double nuts, huge hangers, and a single lenght of chain between the two (no rings). I belayed up Brian and we enjoyed the views for a few minutes before rapping off. All total, we did 5 raps to get back to the base of the first gully - the summit block, the dihedral pitch, the hidden gully (rap straght down, not through the gully), base of the hidden gully to the main gully, then over the large chockstone. Me on the summit Belaying Brian to the summit Weird anchor setup The summit team After we got back to the car, we drove up past 8-Mile Campground and found a road to the creek where we pumped water and spotted a pretty cool crack. There was a team of three already on it but I wanna climb it next time we're up that way. Looked 5.8 or 5.9. Cool jambs to be had I think Gear Notes: We took way too much pro for Yellowjacket. Only used a medium nut, four slings, 3/4 and 1 inch cams and the not to be forgotten pink tricam. Approach Notes: Hot and steep. Turnout around 6 miles where a bridge crosses the creek. Take the bridge and go left on the other side. Then right at a 'Y' for a hundred feet to a well-trodden path on the right. Follow it up to the base of the tower. Loose and sandy but not too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pc313 Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 Nice head gear,look's like fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 (edited) Thanks for the TR. Sounds like a good time. After we got back to the car, we drove up past 8-Mile Campground and found a road to the creek where we pumped water and spotted a pretty cool crack. There was a team of three already on it but I wanna climb it next time we're up that way. Looked 5.8 or 5.9. Cool jambs to be had I think That's classic crack, 5.8"+". Edited August 24, 2008 by rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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