denalidevo Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 (edited) Trip: Snow Creek Wall - Remorse / Outer Space Date: 9/13/2010 Trip Report: From original TR on my blog: http://climb.denalidevo.net/2010/09/rock-climb-remorse-outer-space-sep-13.html Salvaged aborted plans to climb Dragontail Peak (partner bailed) by climbing Outer Space on Snow Creek Wall with Chad Monday. Met in Monroe at 6 am, left Icicle Canyon at 7:52 am and were at the base of SCW in 1 hr, 10 min. It was looking busy for a weekday - there were already three parties on route above. At 9:25 am we began ascending via an alternate start, Remorse (3 pitches, 5.8) - the same combo I'd climbed with my buddy Dave in October of '06, so I switched it up by leading all the pitches I'd followed the first time around. CHAD AT THE BASE OF SNOW CREEK WALL Chad led pitch one: a short, grassy 5.6. I led the sketchy 5.8 friction traverse, all the while wishing I hadn't left several small cams at the car. Didn't help discovering that the trigger wire on my single .3 Camalot was also broken! CHAD FOLLOWING PITCH TWO OF REMORSE Chad led pitch three via some slabby face and a blocky chimney up to Two Tree Ledge where we joined the queue waiting to climb Outer Space. It was around 11:30 am. CHAD, PITCH THREE OF REMORSE After a 45 minute wait I began the crux lead: an airy 5.9 finger crack hand-traverse above rotten hollow flakes for feet that I swore were gonna' detach without notice and send me flying into space. The protection was good though and I pushed through the grip and gained the belay without mishap. CHAD FINISHING THE CRUX PITCH OF OUTER SPACE Chad led next: an adventurous 5.7 pitch through a sea of gigantic knobs to the top of a pedestal. Above us on the 300-foot headwall were two pitches of some of the sweetest crack climbing on the planet. Unfortunately we had to wait again. It was approximately 2 pm. IS IT THE WEEKEND? WAITING AT THE BASE OF PITCH FIVE Somewhere's around 3 O'clock we were moving again. A few delicate 5.8 face moves protected by a thin crack led to a splitter hand crack amidst a plethora of chicken heads - heaven itself may not contain such a delectable combination of granitic perfection! With well over a hundred feet of 2-3" crack to go before Library Ledge I was conservative with my gear, often placing a cam above me, climbing past it, then "bumping" it higher while standing on bomber knobs. Overall I placed one red #1, two gold #2's and two blue #3 Camalots in the hand crack. CHAD CLIMBING THROUGH A SEA OF KNOBS ON PITCH FIVE OF OUTER SPACE At Library Ledge we met the two gentlemen who'd been gumming up the works for everyone all day. They'd just let the party ahead of us pass and were getting ready to climb the final pitch. It was obvious they were a bit over their heads on this climb but you had to give them credit for going for it. All-in-all we waited another hour while they climbed the final pitch - ugh. At least we had some fun conversation with a pair river guides from Utah while we hung out. Finally, Chad took the sharp end and did a splendid job negotiating the short-yet-tenuous 5.9 finger crack directly above the belay; the rest was more sublime hand crack and knobby dreaminess. 35 minutes after he began his lead I joined him and quickly dispatched the short unprotected "oh-my-god-how-big-could-these-chicken-heads-get" 5.0 pitch to the summit of Snow Creek Wall. It was now about 5:40 pm. After slurping some water, downing a quick snack and saying "hi" to the furry horned locals, we began our descent. OBLIGATORY MOUNTAIN GOAT SHOT 1 hr, 10 min later (just after 7 pm) we were at the car enjoying some Kona Pipeline Porter and reminiscing over a rather fine climb, well except for all the waiting of course. More pictures: Remorse / Outer Space photo set on Flickr » Short video: [video:youtube] Gear Notes: Nuts: 4-11 (used many times) Cams: Camalot C3 - red & yellow (wished I'd brought the purple and green) Camalot C4 - single #.3 (broken trigger) and .4, doubles .5 through #3 (adequate - one more #1 and #2 might be worth the weight) 10 draws - 4 quicks, 6 alpine (adequate - a few more might have been useful, but I like draws) 1 double runner 1 cordelette, 1 rabbit runner 1 nut tool Approach Notes: Car to base: 1 hr, 10 min Estimated time climbing: 5.5 hrs Approximate time waiting: 3.75 hrs Summit to car: 1 hr, 10 min (incl. short break for food, packing) Carrying our (small) packs with us and NOT having to return to the base was definitely the way to go. Wearing helmets and harnesses on the descent recommended: lots of loose choss and one rappel on the descent that I'd forgotten about. Edited September 16, 2010 by denalidevo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denalidave Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 Trip: Snow Creek Wall - Remorse / Outer Space Date: 9/13/2010 Trip Report: A few delicate 5.8 face moves protected by a thin crack led to a splitter hand crack amidst a plethora of chicken heads - heaven itself may not contain such a delectable combination of granitic perfection! Well said! Sounds like the chicken head pitch on Orbit, but with a delectable crack and heavenly position to boot. I gotta get on that one. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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