[TR] Triumph - North Face 8/5/2009

[Dannible]

Trip: Triumph - North Face

 

Date: 8/5/2009

 

Trip Report:

Yesterday Aaron Scott (aka AJScott) and I climbed the NF Central Rib of Triumph. There doesn’t seem to be much info on this out there, so I’m bringing it out into the open. Basically we decided to climb this because from a distance the north face is one of the coolest looking features around. Good from far, but far from good as they say.

 

The best approach for this was a mystery. Triumph pass seemed like it would require a lot of sadness and pain, and a past TR said that down from the NE ridge notch didn’t look so good either. Our solution was to climb the NE ridge, bivy and leave our stuff on the summit, downclimb the NW ridge to Triumph pass and approach the NF from there. At least this would allow us to climb one known fun route.

 

After a painfully long stop in Marblemount where we got the landowner’s permission to use their mountain provided we followed their list of rules on how we should poop, sleep, eat and walk, we hit the trail around 10am. We bumbled around and got lost some on the walk between the lakes, but raced up the NE ridge (fun!) and were on the summit a couple of hours before sunset. Downclimbing the NW was easy enough, and we rapped 3 times down low. From the pass it is about an hour and a half down to the small lake, around the corner, and up the slabs to the route. Aaron forgot his approach shoes and did the whole walk in skate shoes. The soles were starting to come off pretty early on, but it worked out.

 

The first four pitches go up to the left of a big obvious chimney (which would make a sweet winter line btw). I lead the first 5.10 pitch which had sold rock and fun climbing but very little pro. We knew that we were on route because of an ancient fixed nut stuck in an overhanging crack. At some point I got scared and brought Aaron up on the first of many piton belays. Aaron lead what I thought was the technical crux right above the belay (5.10 mantle), and about 40 feet up found himself in big trouble. He yelled down that couldn’t find any gear, and couldn’t down climb. After a lot of digging through moss and choss he made a decent anchor. When I got to the belay I could see the terror in his face. He had not been able to find a single gear placement, and had to downclimb some sketchy, dirty shit off to the left. What looked like jugs from below were usually very down sloping, and everything was loose.

 

I took over, first trying to go straight up on solid rock, but the climbing was too hard for me to feel good about when a fall would have been right onto the belay. In the Beckey guide this pitch is labeled 5.10+ and there is no mention of danger. Either we were off route, or 5.10+ is what they called 5.10X in the 80s. I eventually committed to going up and left. I spent about an hour on the first 30 feet because I was digging through so much moss for holds and gear. After getting a couple of pieces in I pulled through the steep crux of the pitch to easier, better rock. I moved faster, but there was still no pro.

 

As I got higher the rock got worse and the climbing steeper until I found myself below a roof of precariously stacked rocks. Everything around me was loose to the point that I didn’t want to put all of my weight on any single hold. I went left, right, up, down, but there was nothing. No gear to bail or to rest on. Sometimes you climb as an escape from your life, sometimes only because you want to keep on living. At times I could feel the fear setting in, but I knew that this was no place to lose it. Aaron later said that that wasn’t climbing, it was survival. Eventually I found a small crack in what seemed to be solid rock. From an incredibly awkward and scary stance I hammered in a piton. The pin sang the right song and the crack didn’t expand. I pulled on it and tiptoed right to where I could reach more solid rock on an arête. Ten feet higher I was at a ledge in the chimney. The pitch took over two hours and I only placed three pieces in 50 meters.

 

From there a pitch of 5.8 lead up to where you move to the right of the chimney towards the rib and then angle kicks back for a while. Two ridiculously long simul blocks from low 5th to 5.9, followed by an off route 5.9ish chimney which we both thought was the best pitch that we had climbed all day got us to the top of the NW ridge and a bit of scrambling had us back on top around 6.

 

“We should take our time on this descent,” Aaron said as we neared the top, “I feel like we’ve both cheated death today.” Many rappels and miles of moonlit walking/shwackin/stumbling had us at the car a few hours after the deprivation induced hallucinations had started, and about 24 hours after we had woken up.

 

Overall I’d say that while this was a good adventure thing that I will like to look back on someday, I can’t really recommend the route. The rock quality and pro got a lot better as we got higher, and maybe we were just off route on the loose stuff, but there is no getting around that this is a big, shitty face.

 

Not many pictures because I was busy and the smoke made everything all hazy anyway.

 

 

Aaron on top.

 

 

Sunrise on Baker.

 

 

One of two pictures that I took on the route: Aaron on the 4th pitch.

 

 

Descent

 

 

Our last look at Triumph in the moonlight.

 

Gear Notes:

Cams to 2 inches, doubles in the small end, some nuts. A few knife blades and a baby angle. We used pins on every belay and there is one fixed in the heart of the gnar.

 

Approach Notes:

Walk up and down for a long time, climb up, then down, then walk down and up over easy snow and your there.

[wayne]

Wow, great Dan and Aaron! This one has been on the list for a while. I figured it would be a bit gripping too.

[Off_White]

Damn that's a gripping report, glad you made it down. Some climbs you're just glad when they're over (and usually one vows to try to avoid that sort of thing in the future.

 

I wonder if you were off route? A few years back we had a party of three share that sweet bivy ledge just above the NE Ridge notch. In the morning they went down to the notch and around to the N Face, we dawdled and went up the NE Ridge for a fun outing. They caught up to us on the descent just about back at the bivy, a super fast and competent crew. They reported the approach was fine, and the route to be mediocre but not bad, I think they did the two followers at once through the 5.10 lower and then two simuled and the third soloed the rest. They may have mentioned sparse pro, and I'm pretty sure they didn't bring pins. I'm beginning to suspect they may have severely understated the magnitude of their day. Someone who posts here, Dan Aylward maybe, knew those folks.

 

There's two lower variations, aren't there? The original line and a Burdo line?

[marcus]

Thanks for posting the TR Aaron & Dan...I've always wondered about that face.

 

[mountainsloth]

well shit... sounds like that just fell off my list... either way, way to get at it guys, glad you survived!

[John Frieh]

Thanks for the TR! I know someone who did that route a few summers ago... he had this to say:

 

I believe that we did Triumph in July or August that year (02’) we freed the Doorish route, which starts on the left side of the wall. There are a couple of bolts high up on the 2nd pitch. 3 pitches of 5.10 that lend itself to a little gardening and o.k. pro that you have to look for. The rest of the route is a fabulous slab of much better rock, occasional gear and the occasional 5.9 move. After the 1st 5 pitches, I untied from Blair and Tom, and soloed the upper 2,000ft to save on time. The crux was getting down from the NE Ridge notch down to the pocket glacier. Beautiful position on a gorgeous wall with great climbing.

 

Take aluminum crampons and a light ice axe, and singles on a rack up to a #2 Camelot.

 

Maybe off route? Did you see any bolts?

[Lisa_D]

scary!! But I liked your narration of the thoughts and experiences that you had. Way to get through it!

[rob]

Sometimes you climb as an escape from your life, sometimes only because you want to keep on living.

 

Fuck yeah. Great TR guys, fucking A

[Dannible]

We did see that nut on the first pitch, and the climbing up to there was actually fun but runout 5.10 face climbing. We must have gotten off route somehow after that. We didn't see any bolts. The rock was more solid going straight up from where Aaron was belaying, but like I said I was worried about falling onto the belay anchor because I couldn't find any pro. A solid 5.10+ climber (which I am not) probably could have pulled through that with no issues, so maybe that was it.

 

I think the Burdo variation might be the way to go. Way more direct, and the topo shows bolts. The original route starts way far left of the rib and doesn't meet up with the crest until about half way up, where we knew we were on route because of an old fixed pin.

[Dannible]

Thanks for the TR! I know someone who did that route a few summers ago... he had this to say:

 

I believe that we did Triumph in July or August that year (02’) we freed the Doorish route, which starts on the left side of the wall. There are a couple of bolts high up on the 2nd pitch. 3 pitches of 5.10 that lend itself to a little gardening and o.k. pro that you have to look for. The rest of the route is a fabulous slab of much better rock, occasional gear and the occasional 5.9 move. After the 1st 5 pitches, I untied from Blair and Tom, and soloed the upper 2,000ft to save on time. The crux was getting down from the NE Ridge notch down to the pocket glacier. Beautiful position on a gorgeous wall with great climbing.

 

 

I'd agree that the upper route is pretty good, we went fast over all of that but were still testing almost every hold because that scary pitch made us distrustful of the whole thing. While it is a remote and amazing place, we agreed that the line lacked the aesthetics of similar routes like the NEB of Slesse since you spend so much time far from the crest.

[John Frieh]

Great info... I think I still want to try it sometime

 

And nice job on climbing and posting an "unselected" climb of the cascades! I love reading about the adventure stuff!

 

You guys should do DNB on Bear and let me know how you think this one compares to it.

[Dannible]

Yeah, go get it. When I said I don't recommend the route I really mean caveat emptor. It's a fine, off the beaten path adventure if that is what you're looking for.

 

And yeah, I wanna do Bear one of these days.

[John Frieh]

The blueberries on the approach to Bear should be ripe right about now! Go get it!

[Le Piston]

Way to hold it together and come back alive. You obviously have cool heads and definitely earned some hardman points. Great TR and pictures...a riveting adventure.

 

 

[AJScott]

I cant believe that last picture, it was totally dark out when you took that! I thought overall this was a really good experience. Dan has an amazing ability keeping his composer in shitty climbing. We were talking about Bear while we were up there Dan, how bads the approach from the states??

[AJScott]

also dan is downplaying that pitch he lead...it was 50meters to his last piece of pro when he pounded that piton in. And the stance from where he pounded it in was so sketch!! seriously survival climbing!!!

[cbcbd]

Good work dudes!! That one has been on my list since I saw a pic of the NF. Awesome job and great read!

[layton]

Sweet! I've been waiting for someone else to do this route so I could take it off my list for a while now

 

John, why do you ask how it compares to DNB on bear? That route is fun and quality.

[Blake]

Way to hold it together guys. At least no #2s were smashed in the making of this climb. Dan, you are always styling these 5.10X pitches!

[j_b]

I did the right-hand start a long while ago and I don't recall it as particularly runout or difficult so it is probably quite a bit easier than the left side you guys did but I acknowledge that my recollection of it is quite hazy. For example, I recall the buttress above the crux as a continuous slabby, around mid-class 5, runup that offered several possibilities without wandering too much. Downclimbing the grassy North Ridge seemed like the psychological crux of the trip at the time.

 

Although, it is a super-classic line up the mountain (like for the OP it is what motivated to do the climb), the DNB on Bear is way better climbing if anyone is wondering.

[Sol]

Looks like a great adventure you guys.

 

You should be all warmed up for the Disappearing Floor route on Mt. Hardy.

[Alex]

Nice report, I too have always wondered about this face but never committed the time to just go do it. Nice to see someone try it out..

[Milosh Antonopov]

one shal know that to descent from ne noch is not so easy for many. it is more dificult also withuot good snowpack for to downclimb and rap from.