Hayley Sierra Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Trip: Colchuck Peak - North Buttress Couloir Date: 2/7/2009 Trip Report: You can’t say no to a weather window like the one we had last Saturday, right? Nick, Valerie, Aaron and myself opted for a “day trip” on Saturday to climb Colchuck Peak via the North Buttress Couloir. We estimated that it would take us approximately 16-20 hours car-to-car, hoping to get out before the weather came in on Sunday. We departed from Bridge Creek campground at 3 am Sat and got to the base of the route by around 10:30 am. After gearing up and planning our route, we set off. We found the climbing on snow very enjoyable although it was not as consolidated as we would have liked (more of a sugary powder), and aside from a couple rock steps that had to be negotiated early on, we made good time up the couloir. I was glad for the opportunity to use my Quarks! The only other obstacle was an 8 ft bergschrund near the top of the couloir which Nick thankfully agreed to lead. Another party on the route opted to traverse to the left below this feature, which put them on a different path to the top. I’m not sure which would be best in the conditions we found it. Approaching the North Buttress Couloir Geared up and ready to go! Midway up the couloir Nick negotiates the schrund Valerie follows We were surprised by the lack of snow coverage on the route, but it wasn’t really an issue until we reached the saddle at the top of the couloir and had a look at the NW face, which was intended to be our route to the summit. Instead of straightforward snow slopes, we were faced with an expanse of mixed snow and loose rock. We traversed right, hoping to find easier terrain, and instead ended up climbing 10-12 pitches of 4th to mid-5th class rock. Needless to say, this took quite a bit longer. We kept moving as darkness fell, at this point just taking our time to avoid any mistakes that would lead to injury, which would leave us stuck out there overnight with no bivy gear. We reached the summit at 3 am, happy that everyone was okay and that we were on our way down. We headed to Colchuck col and then down the glacier, and were greeted by a foggy sunrise at the lake. The hike back to the car was more of a continuous stumble, with several short naps along the way, and we finally made it back at noon (33 hours later…does this still count as a day trip?). Regardless of the epicness of our journey, we were pleased that we were able to keep control of the situation and make good decisions. We got some amazing views of the Enchantments bathed in moonlight, and I personally am glad to know that I can survive an unplanned winter night at above 8000 feet. That being said, we were lucky that we were able to find our way up this unknown route, and that the weather cooperated—clear skies and virtually no wind for most of the climb. “Team Scarpa” group photo Gear Notes: 60m rope (2), 4 pickets per team, 3 cams(0.5, 0.75, 1), set of nuts, ice tools (in one case an alpine ax and second tool also seemed appropriate), crampons, warm clothes, and a headlamp! Approach Notes: Snow covered all but a couple hundred feet of 8 mile road, although snowshoes were not needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevino Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Yeah about that NW face... Congrats on the persistance to keep moving for 33 hours! Do you have any pictures of the NE Buttress couloir? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 33 hours!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 33 hours, indeed. Nice understated account of what must've felt epic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaskadskyjKozak Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 33 hours!!! No shit. I thought 20 hours on the W ridge of Stuart last August was a long day. Nice effort! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshenj Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 You guys must have been the ones we saw up the couloir that night, we were camped at the base of the route. Glad to hear your alright we were kind of wondering what people were up there so late. Great conditions on Sunday too though, a bit foggy at the lake in the morning, we simu-soloed the couloir then did a running belay to the top. Approach notes, bring beer to bribe the snomobilers to give you a ride, we got lucky enough to have a guy give us a ride part way up, saved us an hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goatboy Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Wow -- long day! Amazing persistence and understatement as well. Was the schrund really more of a cornice? It's hard to tell from the photo. 33 hours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jiri Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 The schrund was really a schrund. I was in a party ahead of these guys. It took us about 19 hours round trip. We opted to take an alternative route to bypass the schrund. This route takes a couloir going left about 100ft below the schrund. It takes you to a notch still on the E side of the buttress. From there we had to do a snow traverse to yet another couloir that finally led us to the top of the buttress. From there is was about 45 minutes of enjoyable climbing to the summit. Here's a picture of the route: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.