marc_leclerc Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 Trip: Old Settler - West Buttess Date: 9/13/2009 Trip Report: When I saw the weather forecast calling for sunny skies on the weekend I immediately began thinking of hard climbs do go and do, then it dawned on me that my girlfriend, Tamara, had only made one foray into the alpine this year and it had ended six pitches up when our rope was chopped by a falling rock. I figured I should take here on a nice alpine trip before the weather started to turn for the worse. I had climbed the west buttress of Old Settler previously and knew it was well worth repeating. It is about 10-12 pitches in length but never exceeding easy 5th class (perfect for scrambling), has a short approach and phenomenal rock! I called up my friend Matt and he liked the idea so at 7:00 on Saturday morning he picked us up in Agassiz and off we went. Some time was wasted searching for my helmet (which was never found) but we reached the start of the approach at about 8:45 and were off by 9:00. An hour and a half of overgrown road walking and some bushwacking brought us to Daiphy lake below the Settler. After some chilling att he lake we hiked up to the base of the buttress. WE switched to rock shoes and started climbing. The rock is awesome and the climbing is exposed and fun! After an hour and a half of simul soloingwe reached the summit (south summit) and chilled for a while. The descent is traighforward and easy with some 4th class down climbing and lots of easy talus hiking back tot he lake. Tamara's boots self destructed on the descent and the soles came right off making the hike out a bit painful for her feet but she is a trooper and managed just fine. The hike down was uneventful other than a nose bledd (stopped with a sock) and some angry wasps (no one got stung) and were back at he car 8 hours after starting. This climb always keeps a smile on your face! Highly reccommended! Gear Notes: Rock Shoes. Approach Notes: Drive up Talc Creek from Harrison East FSR. Easy approach, take the right side of the bowl to the lake. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cascadesdj Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 East 5th? Exposed? Casual descent? Sounds like my kind of alpine climbing! Is there a book onthe location, or could we get a little more detail on the approach? Thanks for the TR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc_leclerc Posted September 13, 2009 Author Share Posted September 13, 2009 The 'casual descent' has a short section of stiff 4th class (or a short rappel) but is mostly very easy. Alpine Select by Kevin Mclane or Hiking & Climbing in Southwestern B.C should cover it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Kidd Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Outstanding route as Marc said. Rock was great, situation was great, and weather was ideal. Fun to get out with keen young people. Thanks for the trip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_Serl Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 East 5th? Exposed? Casual descent? Sounds like my kind of alpine climbing! ever done the west ridge of the north twin sister? same rock - think about the steep sections of that route, then stand those up continuous for 1200 ft. frigging awesome... is this the best moderate alpine rock route in SWBC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc_leclerc Posted September 18, 2009 Author Share Posted September 18, 2009 . frigging awesome... is this the best moderate alpine rock route in SWBC? Pretty much..... it's amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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