[TR] Black Peak - NE Ridge 8/12/2009

[ckouba]

Trip: Black Peak - NE Ridge

 

Date: 8/12/2009

 

Trip Report:

Good times with great friends. Thought we'd have a super-mellow, incredibly aesthetic run up a fun route (I'd done it once already and really enjoyed it).

 

 

Wx forecast was mediocre but we went in anyway. Left camp the next morning looking up at small but enticingly blue sucker holes.

 

 

Gained the ridge and saw clouds on the other side. Despite this, we gave it a go anyway.

 

 

Those sucker holes filled right in once we started up the ridge proper. Not wanting to downclimb wet, slippy lichen we went with the fail forward option.

 

 

In my mind, I wanted to rename it the postal route- we got rain, snow, sleet and hail. And fog and wind.

 

 

If you're wondering, that is apparently what NOAA means when they indicate a 20% chance of precipitation.

 

 

Thankfully, whatever wx we were having would alternate with 10 or 15 minutes of clear (relatively speaking) skies and it never POURED on us, and it was never ridiculously windy. This is what "clear" skies looked like that day:

 

 

BTW, wet lichen is EXTREMELY slick.

 

Summit pic during a moment of clarity:

 

Followed cairns down the South Ridge to below the cloud deck. Caught the view to Goode and the back side of NOCA's southern unit. Nobody was getting blue skies that day.

 

 

It took us a long time due to being a party of 3 and we pitched things out when we couldn't see each other or got slick or steep. Descent was cruiser, stayed out of each other's way to avoid trundleage in the gully system; off the rim back to camp was straightforward and vis was greatly improved.

 

Where's Waldo(s)?:

 

It was a long day so we stayed at Wing Lake for the night and headed out the next morning- to Leavenworth, and dry, sunny rock.

 

 

Great times and a trip none of us will soon forget!

 

Gear Notes:

Small rack - stoppers and nut for little cracks; indulged myself with 3 small cams as well. Bunch o'slings. Placements were either cracks or slung features.

 

Approach Notes:

The usual- Heather Pass (I think that's the name). It's worthy to note that there is a trail at the bottom of the talus field that, while you drop and gain a lot of altitude to stay on it, the going on the trail is much nicer than picking your way across the rocks.

 

Wet lichen is slippery.

[ken4ord]

Looks awesome, I sometime love climbing on crap days.

[LostCamKenny]

Wet lichen is slippery.

 

heeheehee... so is wet granite with vibram soles