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[TR] Mt. Garfield - Infinite Bliss 3/24/2010


Captain panther

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Trip: Mt. Garfield - Infinite Bliss

 

Date: 3/24/2010

 

Trip Report:

Saturday Mar 20th my buddy Phil and I headed up to Infinite Bliss. I'd heard about this climb for quite some time but never really wanted to do it but Phil was stoked enough for the both of us and I love to climb so it wasnt too hard to convince me. we left puyallup at 7am and were at the base climbing by about 930am. Knowing this thing was huge we brought 32 draws four small cams( small tcu's and c3s, although i wouldve loved some link cams or bigger gear for the runout on 16/17) and two 70m ropes, to make rapping a bit easier. Being a bit early in the season there was still a bit of snow on the climb which equalled exciting wet bits :(. We simulclimbed the first 6 slab pitches without a hitch until the last one which was quite damp and horrifyingly runout for how wet it was. There is still alot of snow on the ledge at the top of pitch 6 but its avoidable. P3201702.JPGP3201700.JPG phil with all our draws

we hit the the gully pitch(8) making great time and enjoying some fun friction moves mixed with snow P3201711.JPG

Pitches 9 and 10 were quite fun and bolted well. following a short traverse on a ledge at the top of 10, Phil headed out to lead our first hard pitch, number 11, going at .10b. the crux was definitely getting past the snow while trying to keep your toes dry.P3201713.JPG

Pitches 11 through 15 were fun and fast with a little difficulty routefinding but we were still making good time.

P3201730.JPG

this is the 16th and 17th pitch with no bolts, a little confusing on the routefinding. I went way right of where I was supposed to and ended up finding some nice trees to belay phil up. Then after walking left on a little ramp we were right back on route on the 18th pitch, the crux i believe. Pitches 18 through 23 were great! alot of fun friction moves and a nasty wet chimney lead us to the summit at about 5pm. P3211749.JPGP3211752.JPGP3211753.JPG

heres the last pitch and some summit photos.

Heres where the fun REALLY begins on our climb. We knew if we could get below the unbolted 16 and 17th pitches before dark we'd have a sweet chance at actually making it down and not having to become much better friends on a ledge all night. Of course we didnt make it down past that until after dark and got lost rapping off the bush halfway down pitch 16 for about an hour. As luck would have it my partner Phil's headlamp died so we only had one working lamp, oh joy! And the icing on the cake, it started raining at about pitch 14ish, where we also had some trouble finding chains to rap. A few more wet dark raps and we were outta there. All in all quite the adventure and a fun climb, I cant wait to go back in summer when there's more light!

 

Gear Notes:

about 25 draws would do fine, two ropes, halfs would be the way to go, and some smaller gear but honestly on the runout parts i wouldve been thrilled to have gear up to an inch/inch and a half.

 

Approach Notes:

theres some good drawings and photos online, plus a cairn or two

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Looks like an awesome day, good to see people still getting out on that one. Last time I was out there (Early October 09) on the Middle Fork Road the Forest Service was rebuilding a bridge (Forget the Name) and had the road closed, and guarded by a WDFW officer. Were you guys able to cross it and drive pretty close to the base of the climb?

 

 

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The first time I climbed IB (successfully) it was in November. We got to the top just as the sun was setting, so the entire descent was in the dark. Between the time spent searching for anchors, untangling and unsticking ropes, we didn't get to the base until 2am. At least it was a beautiful clear night and not that cold.

Nice work guys!

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