[TR] The Tooth - South Face 5/24/2010

[olymand]

Trip: The Tooth - South Face

 

Date: 5/24/2010

 

Trip Report:

Looking for something we could do with a late start that wasn't Leavenworth or Mailbox, Shannon suggested a quick run up The Tooth. We left the car at 815 and were back a little after 5. Snow was soft and still deep from the upper Alpental lot on. A bit of postholing in the Talus field in Great Scott Basin, but pretty solid snow and someone had recently put in steps and a glissade track. I had been concerned about loose snow slides. A trip up Commonwealth basin recently proved that there was still some consolidation needed to make for save travel, particularly in warm weather. However, my were unfounded. This was a big improvement. some small sloughs from the cliffs, but the clouds kept things relatively solid through the afternoon. There was the start of crust in the Basin, showing that there had been some overnight freezing. Overall, the route was in great shape and it appears that even with the recent snow, there has been lots of consolidation. 11 am found us at the base of the climb with blue skies and sunshine enough to suck us into the first pitch. Clouded up pretty fast after that and we had overcast skies and a smattering of rain on the return. Plenty of snow on the route. Enough to make it a tad hard to keep the boot soles dry. Still, easy climbing, mild weather, and we were down quickly. Had the hill to ourselves. Well, couple of camp robbers kept us company. A bit sticky on the way down, we did manage a couple of nice butt lides, and a terrific single run from the top of the couloir down to the creek. Seems like i am always pleasantly surprised by this climb. Expectations are low, and the rewards were much. Spectacular setting, fun easy climbing, and good company.

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/dangreenfield3/20100524?authkey=Gv1sRgCJj82pGw38G7LA&feat=directlink

[kukuzka1]

the mighty tooth! always good fun. and nice picture quality.