[TR] Bald Mountain, locals call it Haystack. - In Walker Valley Area. 7/26/2010

[DanO]

Trip: Bald Mountain, locals call it Haystack. - In Walker Valley Area.

 

Date: 7/26/2010

 

Trip Report:

Off of Lake Cavanaugh road, there is a little round mountain called Bald Mountain, it has a 1000 foot wall on one side. Decided to make a attempt to climb it last Sat. On Lake Cavanaugh road as your going south, the first road left after Bear Creek. You can pull in and find a gate, the gate can be locked or unlocked, locals go in all the time by car, but you may get locked in. Then Bike in or hike in, on the roads, bikes are better. You also can drive in if the gate is unlocked, but close it behind you. Go straight and the first road fork you go left, toward bald mountain you can see it in the distance. Keep going and I think take the next fork left, this is at a clearing where they have something like a clear cut and some old rusty big pipes on the right-at the clear cut. Then at next road to the right, you go right here and It is obvious as you can see the mountain face on the right of your position. When close to the mountain face at a creek you can go right along the face of the mountain moving left to right or you can go left on a road up, off to the left side of the mountain face. This road switch backs up the left side of the mountain. Up high you can see a old road to the right and there you can find a trail that goes up the back side of

the mountain and at a high point there is a register. Not a bad

day trip.

If you go right on the road along the bottom face of the

mountain you will come to a opening that has a Talus field that

goes to the foot of a rock wall that looks to be about 500 feet. This is a rock face step up a first part of the mountain, this was our objective then to wander up to the top and down the back side then the road eventually to bikes, that was the plan.

 

Here, my Girlfriend and I made our attempt on this last Sat. It was really hot, I suppose around a 90 to 100 degrees on the wall. I had thought it would be 4th class or so, but when I got to the first pitch it was 5th class. Hard to gauge the rating as it was covered up with moss, lichen and small plants will billions of little thorns. I thought to go for it thinking it will let off in a pitch or two. We had two lightweight glacier ropes, 30 meters each that I use as double ropes. This made my pitches short and in retrospect I should have had longer ropes. I had to dig in to find most every protection placement and for anchors, for foot holds. It was a struggle all the way to climb and to place gear and the fauna was chewing me up for every foot up, a rain of dirt and fauna on my partner I as dug my up as much climbed. More than once I had crappy pro and crappy anchors for belay. Ran out of water on pitch three and luckily, there is a bunch of trees on the right in a gully we escaped after pitch four and went down the gully to the bikes. I was beat, need more water and to be in better shape. The climbing would be fairly easy on clean rock and easy to find pro, as it was fairly scary and hard.

 

I would call that climb as "Dirty Surprise" , but did not complete it. I figure we made it up the whole face a little over a 1/3rd of the way and over half of the way on the that first rock face "step".

 

If any attempt it, let me know how it went. I think I may go

back and go up the most easy way through the trees in the gully

on the right and see what is higher up. Our route was about 1/3rd

LEFT of the way over on the rock section (1/3rd left of the junction between rock face and tree gully on the right). And we went about 1/2 way up first rock step and escaped to the right.

 

First photo is rock face, Second photo is us at the end of fourth pitch, third photo is some of our battle wounds.

 

Dan and Machelle.

Edited July 26, 2010 by DanO

[Dallas kloke]

In the late 1960's, I ascended the south face via the easiest route

possible to check it out. There are several walls with cracks and

chimneys but not really worth all the time to clean the rock. I have this rock in my old guide: BOULDERS and CLIFFS. SPLIT ROCK,

located to the north and higher is a neat climbing crag. I haven't

been there for almost 40 years. Approach is the problem. The

WALKER VALLEY BOULDERS (The Devil's Rock Pile) has a couple huge boulders: Blockhouse and The Wedge. One can hike past the Boy Scout

camp to the area. The best climbing in the Cultus Mtn./Iron Mtn. areas is the CUMBERLAND CREEK CRAGS.

[shapp]

Calendar Butte is about another 20 minute walk and has several established routes that have fallen back to moss.

[DanO]

In the right area this face would be a wonderful crag to develop,

it would take effort from several people to do all the cleaning.

I will go back time to time as I live about 20 min drive now

from the parking spot that I go to.

 

Dan

Edited July 27, 2010 by DanO