Blake Posted November 5, 2009 Posted November 5, 2009 Trip: Dragontail Pk. - Dragons of Eden - III+ Date: 7/26/2009 Trip Report: November seems like a pretty dreary month around the northwest, so why not post a 4-month-delayed trip report from a sunny summer climb? Sol and Jens posted their (understandably) enthusiastic reviews of the route last summer, but Wayne and partner really did find an inspiring line and I'm glad it's been re-sprayed/re-discovered. In July Pete H and I got lured to the Enchantments with stories about amazing climbing above Colchuck Lake. A milkshake stop at the 59er Diner yielded one awesome hand-drawn topo from Sol (or "climbing map" as his co-workers described it) featuring the newly-free-climbed 'Dragons of Eden'. The route follows amazing features up the West face of the lower NE buttress, joining that route to the summit. Pete had previously climbed the NE buttress via a nearby route. When offered a dinner of BBQ in Leavenworth, we planned to follow DOE to the NE buttress and descend from there to a greasy feast. The climb is easy to find, even without the excellent climbing map. Head up the trail from Colchuck lake, aiming for the waterfall (bottom left corner of photo) at the base of Dragontail Peak. The approach to this route is probably the shortest in the Stuart Range. On climber's right, there is an amorphous dark buttress of granite, which is the lowest "cliffy" section on Dragontail, and was climbed by the Wallace/McGown 1988 ascent. It's visible in the very bottom of the photo. However, it's possible to walk/scramble all the way around this buttress from either side and across the top, so its value as part of the route is up for interpretation. I don't think these initial three pitches have been climbed since 1988. Overall, we found the climb fun and physical, though still grainier than the perfectly-cleaned granite on some nearby peaks. It is steep from the get-go, and would be pretty easy to haul bags on most pitches. Additionally, there are continuous cracks the whole way. Good gear can be found throughout, and it's worth the climb even if scruffy alpine 5.11 or 5.12 isn't your thing. From the base of the waterfall, scramble up and right on decomposing 4th-class terrain, for the equivalent of one pitch. Shortly right of a small pine tree, find the obvious crack below a white overhang. P1 - 5.10a Hand and fist crack, through black rock, aiming for a large roof. Belay has one bolt. P2 - Maybe the best of the route. One of the best in the range. A 5.10 slab move leads left into splitter ringlocks and thin-hands crack, 5.11b. Eventually this crack becomes hand-sized and leads through an immaculate corner. Belay on the first obvious ledge. P3 - Original DOE goes directly up the yellow tips corner, above. We found a soft-man variation, avoiding rumors of 5.12R. However, a bomber green alien can protect the 5.12 crux move, so future climbers need not be scared off. Our pitch 3 was a short traverse rightward, ending below an obvious chimney, just right of the crux corner. 5.8 Here's Pete below the 5.12 corner, heading off to easier climbing. P4 - The variation. Pete said it was maybe his favorite pitch of the climb. Follow finger cracks, stemming, and the fingers lieback up to the long ledge shared with the Dragonfly Route. 5.10d From here, a 60m headwall leads to the NE Buttress. It overhangs the whole way. This ledge has no fewer than 6 splitter crack and corner systems running off it. They are all grainy, but might clean up well. Dragonfly goes off the far right, and DOE follows the second-to-the-left. P5 - Hand and finger cracks up the right-facing corner to a slot below the roof. 5.9 Almost done with pitch 5: P6 - Turn the roof at a big flake, and follow splitters to a piton. Belay here. Looking down and right from this belay, you can see a couple OLD and RUSTY fixed pieces. Some ancient aid ascent stayed in the corner until this point, and moved left around the roof here. P7 - Face and crack climbing leads to the topout on a flat expanse of the NE buttress. This pitch feels like sport climbing, with a roof, and continuous steepness. There is still a lot of good jamming though. From here, one 60m rappel got us back to the top of pitch4. We rappelled ~3 more times, generally down and skier's left (climber's right of the ascent), following Dragonfly. All raps were off good, pre-existing anchors, and we returned to backpacks and mosquito swarms in no time. We AOed through many of the harder bits, and still had a good time. Maybe with traffic the graininess will diminish, but either way, it's definitely a fun route! Gear Notes: Nuts and Cams, we took triples in .5, .75, 1, 2 and doubles for everything else. Approach Notes: Just past Colchuck Lake. Quote
pink Posted November 5, 2009 Posted November 5, 2009 love your TR's dude, how is the sponsorship working out? Quote
telemarker Posted November 5, 2009 Posted November 5, 2009 Nice job guys. With Pete's custom made man-pris, how could they not send? Quote
toproper Posted November 5, 2009 Posted November 5, 2009 Nice TR, great pics! From the pics the route reminds me of parts of the Serpentine crack route on liberty bell. And congrats on your feature in the latest issue of Climbing. Nice to see Washington climbers getting some well deserved props. Quote
Blake Posted November 6, 2009 Author Posted November 6, 2009 Nice job guys. With Pete's custom made man-pris, how could they not send? Pete was rocking not only the custom man-pris, but also a mosquito-proof authentic neon 80s jacket, and an old-school Joe Brown helmet borrowed from a local buddy. All that plus Sol's 'climbing map' and success was inevitable. It takes a village... After Backbone and Serpentine saw winter climbs, maybe DOE is all yours this season John. Quote
Pete_H Posted November 6, 2009 Posted November 6, 2009 I am a wuss, but I look good in my vintage early 90's (sorry Blake - not 80's) Columbia windshirt, so hopefully the sponsorship money should start rolling in ... right about now. Quote
olyclimber Posted November 6, 2009 Posted November 6, 2009 Did you guys take any pictures of the lake? Quote
telemarker Posted November 6, 2009 Posted November 6, 2009 Did you guys take any pictures of the lake? This question was inevitable... Quote
NoahT Posted November 6, 2009 Posted November 6, 2009 Just so I understand the progression (not a grade debate): Was the original Dragons of Edens grade V rating taking into account getting to the summit? Or was DOE considered just the steep pitches to get to the NE ridge? Looking over there from across the way, I'm really struck by how much ground you have left to cover after the steepness (if one intends to summit.) Props to those that do! Noah Quote
Off_White Posted November 6, 2009 Posted November 6, 2009 Did you guys take any pictures of the lake? Its not often that something here makes me laugh out loud. I'd imagine the original grade V takes into account both the distance all the way to the summit (well, NE Towers summit anyway) as well as the aid involved. Interesting that this ascent approached it as a cragging route and rapped after the steep part, I've been idly thinking the NE buttress could use a rap route. Quote
JensHolsten Posted November 7, 2009 Posted November 7, 2009 Just a thought here...I personally believe Dragons is a solid grade V. I am comparing this to the many, many grade V and VI climbs I have done over the years. Once you top out the "technical" section, the upper part of the route still holds A LOT of climbing. In fact, the upper NEB is known for its never ending nature. Just my 2 cents. Quote
Off_White Posted November 7, 2009 Posted November 7, 2009 Oh, I'd agree if you go to the summit. The much easier NE Buttress route I did was solid grade IV and that was with nothing harder than 5.8. I think the III+ probably refers to just the portion Blake & Pete did, then rapped down Dragonfly. Quote
Dane Posted November 7, 2009 Posted November 7, 2009 I've been idly thinking the NE buttress could use a rap route. I mentioned that last year...to much distain and may be well deserved distain at that But gonna happen at some point in the near future anyway I suspect. Been looking at the topography of that section of the mtn and there seems no real easy answer where to put it that the rap line would get the traffic the effort to establish a good set of anchors all the way down would require. It is a big complex face. Quote
Blake Posted November 7, 2009 Author Posted November 7, 2009 Oh, I'd agree if you go to the summit. The much easier NE Buttress route I did was solid grade IV and that was with nothing harder than 5.8. I think the III+ probably refers to just the portion Blake & Pete did, then rapped down Dragonfly. Exactly, I used grade III+ to refer to just the amount of time it took Pete and I to make it up to the big NE Buttress ledge, where DOE joins the buttress. We easily rapped back to our packs from there, and I have never done the rest of the NEB. If Jens thinks the whole route is a grade V, I take his word for it. I think it was about 7 hours or something for the 7 pitches we did. It would be doable in 4 pitches though. The 58m overhanging headwall in one pitch would be something to see. Contrary to some, I agree with Jens that the commitment grades in the Cascades are actually comparatively stout. For a couple of examples: The Kor-Ingalls on Castleton Tower is a 3 or 4 pitch route with 5.7 and 5.8 climbing, and a bit of 5.9 on one pitch. There are no route-finding issues, and all belays are bolted. It is given a grade III, but I can't imagine it taking people "most of a day" and it would have probably taken us about 1/3 as long to climb as DOE did. The Scenic Cruise in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison is another example. It's called a grade V (meaning most parties will bivy) but nobody bivies. The second ascent was done in 2 or 3 hours, free-solo. I don't think a bivy was EVER standard, and a friend and I recently climbed it faster than I've done several Cascade IV routes. And I'm only referencing the climbing, not the approach or descent. Anyway, the whole NCIS/commitment grade is a bit subjective, as it is based on the speed of an "average party". And since "average" has not been defined and varies from route to route, it's a bit like basing a rating on the speed at which the Easter Bunny would accomplish a given climb. Quote
Bug Posted November 7, 2009 Posted November 7, 2009 Face it. NW climbers are hard core. Mold and moss are not considered sleeping pads in most of the free world. Quote
Pete_H Posted November 7, 2009 Posted November 7, 2009 Eric W and I climbed the rest of the the way to the summit a few years ago after we put up a line that was next to, but a lot easier than DOE. We primarily found easy but chossy simulclimbing, but we definitly were taking the path of least resistance. Quote
goatboy Posted November 7, 2009 Posted November 7, 2009 That is a great photo not only of that NE side of the peak, but nicely shows Triple Couloirs in a unique and useful (though foreshortened and kind of odd) way. I assume this photo was taken from Colchuck Balanced Rock or thereabouts? Quote
Bug Posted November 7, 2009 Posted November 7, 2009 It would be cool if there were a peak that high in that location. Quote
therunningdog Posted November 8, 2009 Posted November 8, 2009 Cool trip guys! Blake, I like how you saved this for a few months before posting it. A great read on a ridiculously rainy day like today! Thanks! Quote
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.