spotly Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 Trip: Liberty Bell - Beckey Route Date: 7/18/2009 Trip Report: I was up in this area a few years ago and only had time to grab Blue Lake Peak, SEWS and NEWS. The rock quality seemed ok but the texture felt kind of "soapy" to me. So I wasn't too motivated to extend the day even further. I've wanted to go back and climb Liberty Bell ever since though. Toby and I left Spokane after work on Friday and made it to the Blue Lake trailhead way before dark. I went to sleep and Toby wandered around - I'm old and Toby is young. I tried out some of those wax ear plugs and they worked very nice. Toby tried them too but said he could still hear me snoring. Liberty Bell Group from the hairpin at Washington Pass Anyhoo, the next morning, we were up by 5:30 and on the trail by 6:00ish. There was a group of 6 at that were up and getting ready as well. If Liberty Bell was their destination, we hoped to be up the nasty gully before they arrived at its bottom. We made really good time up with virtually no navigation errors. Before long we were at the top of gully and getting our gear ready. Avi debris Toby in the loose gully More loose gully fun to be had After some water and a snack, we searched out the beginning of the route. I expected a large shelf heading climbers left but a small one looked like it headed in the correct direction. I checked it out and rounding I corner I saw that I could start up an arête with plenty of pro or drop down into a shallow gully and climb up a chimney with a tunnel in it. The tunnel looked neat so I took it and found it to be some enjoyable 5th class to a tree near the bottom of a slipperier looking chimney. The "ledge" to the first pitch Top of first pitch Toby had climbed the route before and was happy to let me take all the leads so I brought him up then headed out up the next pitch. The second pitch chimney had a few awkward moves but I looked closely and found the holds where needed. One smear skidded off slightly but mostly, the rock felt good. The exit from the chimney was easier than expected once I stretch my reach as far as possible to get hold of a bomber edge at the top. I stretch the rope out to just below a chockstone with a piton then set up a gear belay and brought up Toby. There's a better stance about 30 feet lower where a more comfy belay on a sandy flat spot would have been nice. The third pitch was the most fun. From the belay, there are two pitons to the right. I clipped first one then was surprised to see the second a few feet above it - just right of the traverse. Figuring rope drag would suck, I unclipped from the lower piton then took the little finger crack left. There were no foot holds but the smearing seemed ok…other than one spot at the end where I slipped slightly. I continued upwards and to the right, finding a nice belay at a bush, well short of the 15 foot slab on the last pitch. Rope drag was really bad at. I brought up Toby and we coiled the ropes and stashed the gear then scrambled the last pitch to the top. The little slab was fun then there was some blocky sections to the summit. Toby contemplating the short slab on the last pitch scramble We ate lunch and posed for our hero shots then climbed back down to the top of pitch three to gather our gear. A little more downclimbing and we found the bolted rap station back to the gully. Two raps and we were off. Toby moving around too much for a real hero shot My hero shot We took care heading back down to the trail but still managed to launch a few short-range missiles. The hike back to the car was quick and the drive back to Spokane was tiring. My wife hade home-made pizza waiting for me Heading back down Gear Notes: Medium rack to #3. Approach Notes: Gully is dry and loose. Trail through avi debris easy to follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shitzngiggles Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 Dang, All that way and you didn't bother with the North Face of Concord?? Thanks for the TR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spotly Posted July 19, 2009 Author Share Posted July 19, 2009 We thought about it but in the end, getting back to town at a reasonable hour to spend time with the kids won out. Good reason to get back up there again anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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