[TR] Silverton Sickle?, Hall Peak 12.13.2009

[Valhallas]

Trip: Silverton Sickle, Hall Peak

 

Date:12.13.2009

 

Trip Report

 

Today my friend Jim and I drove out to Silverton to give the Sickle on Hall Peak a look. We found it in what seemed to be absolutely perfect conditions. The hike in is super easy, and took about 1 hour of casual walking. The trail can be hard to find. On your way in on the road crossing the bridge, look to your right for two smashed up old camper trailers. The trail starts just to the left of them. Follow the orange tape up easy switchbacks along the Silver Gulch.

 

We had to stop to gape numerous times. We counted no less than 11 amazing lines that may well have never been climbed. It was pretty unbelievable. 6 of them at least could be reached easily, as the trail approaches within 50 yards of their base across a dry creek bed. We estimated they were probably all in the WI 3-4 range. Two of them were enormously wide and thick looking. Farther up the valley we saw another 5 or 6 lines on a wall at the head of the cirque below Hall Peak. We were very tempted to try some of these, but decided to save them as a backup plan if we couldn't find the Sickle. We were also a bit leery about climbing unknown terrain with our meager rack (we had 7 screws, and are pretty new to WI climbing, so felt we would want more for longer, harder pitches). All of this is now covered in about 6 inches of fresh snow, but it is still there for the picking.

 

This line kept going up

 

Me on the approach

 

Close up of the two lines from previous picture. Big and fat.

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, we found easy walking up hard crust (following some older, and some more recent, maybe 1 day old boot track) to the base of what we believe to be the Sickle. Jim lead off with a nice 50 meter pitch of WI3 that tops out on a large flat and very frozen pool. P2 starts with about 25 feet of WI 3+/4 up a fat bulge (I'm not sure about the grades. It felt a lot harder than anything we climbed on Bridal Veil falls yesterday) to some long, continuously 60-65 degree ice ramps. We only had 6 screws for the leader (we hoped to find some rock pro - got one nut and one hex all day), so I ran it out big time on the upper, very easy portions. Stopped on a nice level spot for an excellent belay.

 

Me on Start of P2. This felt much harder than Bridal Veil.

 

Jim on P3

 

P2 was more of the ramps broken up by short vertical sections, which Jim lead. Above that we found some WI1ish stuff that we soloed, and then the ice ran out in some small rock steps. I decided to get out of the little gully and we simuled up the snow to the side. We ended up doing this for maybe 400 or 500 feet until we came to another steep section.

 

The start of the snow-simuling

 

It was now around 1:30 and the snow was getting very heavy. Jim started up some WI2 but it didn't really look like it went anywhere, so we decided to head down. We ended up rapping off one tree and 2 v-threads, but if you wanted to it looks like you could hug the far north side of the big gully and walk down continuous snow. We opted not to because we couldn't tell if there was ice underneath all the fresh snow.

 

Unfortunately I forgot my camera again, and we managed to usually give the camera to the wrong person to get good photos. I don't think we have any of P1, which was really stunning looking.

 

We had an amazing time, but are a little confused about what we climbed and how it matches up with the route info in Washington Ice. We feel quite certain we were in the right place on the topo (both the drawing in the book and the actual topographic map). That says the Sickle starts with some WI2, then goes to class 4 scrambling, with the crux pitch being the last one before gaining the notch on Hall's ridge. We certainly didn't get to the notch, and we couldn't actually see it once we started climbing, but we found all the best, most difficult climbing right at the start. We speculate that perhaps these pitches were not in when the climb was FAd? Anyone know otherwise?

 

 

Edited December 14, 2009 by Valhallas

[alps]

Awesome! Looks like you found a new playground!

[Zee]

Those were our prints from Saturday. We climbed the same line as well. The first two pitches were definitely not WI 4 but more like WI 3. From the top of the second WI3 pitch it was super cruiser WI2 through a very wet runnel and finally a cool move(s) through a boulder and ice to a long snow ramp to the final and very short WI2 section. We stopped here and walked down and climber's right of the Sickle to a separate, cool looking ice line. It was a 55 m pitch starting at WI 3+ then WI 3 and finally WI 2. I believe it was a FA. After today it's gone with the warm temps and avy conditions. Will post some photos when I get them from my partner.

[waterboy]

Good Job and thanks for getting the word out. Zee and I climbed Silverton Sickle on Saturday. Zee is an ice-climbing animal! Zee, I propose naming that new climb that you led D. Zaster!

 

I went back up there again on Sunday with another partner and got another one of the lines in the cirque higher up from SS. It's all WI3. We saw your tracks in the fresh snow on the way out. How did you like the trail on the way out?

Edited December 14, 2009 by waterboy

[Valhallas]

I actually enjoyed walking in the fresh powder, although it was admittedly a bit treacherous. Jim and I each slipped a few times and I snapped a pole. It wanted to be replaced anyway. nice job on the FAs.