Alpine_Dreamer Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I'm lining up a go at the Bertulis/Davis route this weekend and was hoping the McClane - Alpine Select guide I ordered would arrive in time... I gather it has a bit more route beta than Beckey's CAG. Unfortunately I just found out the McClane guide is on backorder so I won't see it til we're done w/ the climb. If anyone's got Alpine Select and is willing to send me a scan of the route Beta I'd be super grateful. I'm not trying to dog McClane out of a sale (I've already pd for the guide, and besides I'm a climbing guide ho!). I just need any beta I can get! e-mail: mvonhagel at nffc dot com Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dberdinka Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 Having done the route and owning the guidebook I don't think it will neccesarily be all that helpful. Here is all the beta you might need. The start is obvious. A 50' tall clean 5.8 corner crack on great rock. Climb 3 long pitches 5.8/5.8/5.7 occasionaly runout until beneath a steep yellow wall. Another pitch leads up and left 5.7? to easier terrain. Follow the easy ridgeline 4th and low-5th for a long time until you reach the steep upper buttress. At this point the description in the Beckey guide is impossible to decipher. Off to your right you can see some easier looking terrain. So drop down 10 or 20' then scramble over to a long blocky corner eventually moving right across a slab (5.7?) then up onto an easier slab below the crux pitch. The crux pitch is a long straight up crack system of stiff 5.9. Look for a photo of it on one of several different TRs on this site. One more pitch of 5.7 leads to the final ridgeline. Then 4th class to the summit. Descent: Do not drop down the major gully directly below the summit. Instead look around for a rats nest of webbing on the far side of this gulley. Downclimb to it and start rappelling the regular route. Many rappels later you'll get to the snow gulley. Down climb or rappel that. If you head to the rock wall directly below the gulley you should be able to find some well used rappel stations that will dump you directly onto the relatively flat glacier, presuming you can get across the potentially enormous bergshrund. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpine_Dreamer Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share Posted July 20, 2009 Awesome - thanks Darrin! There's a great shot of the crux pitch in the Layton/Ivan TR from a while back...but knowing where to expect it helps a lot. 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.