[TR] Gemse and Reh (Anderson R Range) - Up S Ridge, Down E Ridge, Up SE Ridge 6/27/2010

[G-spotter]

Trip: Gemse and Reh (Anderson R Range) - Up S Ridge, Down E Ridge, Up SE Ridge

 

Date: 6/27/2010

 

Trip Report:

Doug, Denis and I climbed these two summits in the Anderson River Range on Saturday.

 

Access was good (2wd, all gates open) as far as the Branch 600 fork. There is some active logging about 1 km up North Main past the North 600 turnoff.

 

Branch 600 rapidly deteriorates after Branch 610. My Xtrail made it about 1 km past Br. 610 before I parked. Then we got a ride in the back of a pickup truck with 3" of lift from another group of climbers. The lifted truck was able to make it all the way to the end of the road SE of Gense and N of Serna, about 6 km from where I parked.

 

The other climbers went off for Gamuza and we climbed the south ridge of Gemse, descended the East Ridge of Gemse and then walked to the summit of Reh. On return we descended to the Reh-Gemse col and then down through the forest to the truck, and walked 6 km back to my truck as the other guys were not back yet.

 

The south ridge of Gemse is a fun scramble. There is one crux that involves fighting through tree branches up a short steep wall out of a cave feature where we hauled packs and the other two guys used the haul line as a handline too. Rock is pretty good.

 

The east ridge of Gemse was an interesting descent - the rock is much more crumbly than on the south ridge, and it's basically either granola or trees most of the way. We used a 30m chunk of 7mm as a handline and took out the rope 4 times on the descent, either handlining down or batmanning down to get around short walls and gravelly slabs. I tried one Dulfersitz to see if it really worked and got a rope burn on my neck as a result.

 

Reh is a pleasant walk with some AWESOME trundling to enliven it.

 

The Steinbok-Ibex group is still pretty snowy. You will need an ice axe to get up or down Springboks at the moment.

 

 

Heading up S ridge

 

Descending East Ridge

 

Heading to summit of Reh.

 

Conditions pics:

Steinbok

 

Ibex

 

Gamuza. Where is your route Darin? On the left?

 

Roads to approach Springboks. Take the Z.

 

Springbok Arete, Les Cornes and Chamois.

 

Gear Notes:

30m of 7mm handline or equivalent.

 

Approach Notes:

High clearance 4wd with 3" lift good for approaching. Otherwise walk for an hour to an hour and a half from Br 600/610 fork.

 

Roads on East of Gemse much less aldered than roads on W and thus useful for approaching Gamuza and Serna too.

[JoshK]

Wow, looks like some incredibly solid scrambling. Gorgeous pics, but too bad about the logging scars.

[dberdinka]

Up the wide, slabby buttress that sits left of the summit (topping out halfway up the skyline). I remember 7ish pitches of fun easy climbing on small incut holds. It received an embarassing-ly long route description in the new CAG. Though anywhere else I'm sure it would be quite popular.....

[mountainsloth]

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