[TR] Le Petit Cheval - Spontaneity Arete 7/12/2010

[mkporwit]

Trip: Le Petit Cheval - Spontaneity Arete

 

Date: 7/12/2010

 

Trip Report:

My original plans for the West Ridge of Forbidden this past weekend were kibboshed by work obligations, and so I found myself looking around for a one-day alpine rock climb. Washington Pass was calling, but I wanted to get off the beaten path yet still have it be easy, so the Liberty Bell massif was out. Instead I decided to climb the Spontaneity Arete.

 

I had first climbed this route three years ago, and having fond memories of it decided to go back and give it another go. Four of us left Seattle at 5:30, getting to the turnout at MP165 at 9. We were moving by 9:30. The trail is much better defined than it was three years ago. Many cairns mark the way, and the hand lines are in better shape. The North Cascades Mountain Guides folks likely had something to do with this, since IIRC they occasionally guide on this route The tree that the first handline is attached to is splitting, however. The handline could benefit from being moved to another tree.

 

We were at the base of the route at 11:30, having taken a break along the way. The topo done by NC Mountain Guides is pretty accurate, with the ratings right on to a little soft. After the first pitch we scrambled for a while, before getting to the money pitches of 5.7. The wind had picked up and the clouds came in, which was initially a welcome respite from the typical Eastern WA heat. The route was wide enough in most places to accommodate two rope teams side by side, so we made reasonable time. We topped out around 5:30 or 6.

 

After a quick snack we contemplated the descent. The options are to downclimb the route, rappelling some sections, or to rap into the gully and descend that. We started out with the latter, but the gully is steep and chossy with a good measure of ball bearings thrown in. This made for slow going and a few tumbles. Midway down the gully we encountered firm snow, and since none of us brought crampons or ice axes we traversed over to the arete and scrambled down that. Our initial plan was to rap off the roof above pitch one -- there is a station there consisting of two pins -- but we chose to rap back into the gully. We were now below the snow, and were rewarded with cold, fresh water, which felt great as all of us had run out by now.

 

We found our stashed packs around 9:30. From there it was another 1:15 back to the car. We managed to stay on the trail almost the entire time, which made finding the crossing over Early Winter creek easy. After the warm day, the creek was running high and fast, and fording it would not have been a good idea, at least in the spot we were at. Back at the car at 10:45, in Seattle a little after 2am. Lots of deer along Hwy 20 on the drive back, but fortunately none of them were feeling suicidal.

 

Pics to come once I get them from my partners

 

Gear Notes:

0.4-2", #3 came in handy once.

 

Approach Notes:

Follow the track and the cairns.

Edited July 12, 2010 by mkporwit