[TR] Guye Peak (Alpental) - Improbable Choss Pile With A Nice Traverse 10/13/2010

[gavastik]

Trip: Guye Peak (Alpental) - Improbable Choss Pile With A Nice Traverse

 

Date: 10/13/2010

 

Trip Report:

"So, you like this kind of stuff?", I ask Ed after the second pitch, a ginger tiptoe job over waterfall-covered loose rock with enormous rope-drag. (I likely went off-route, but it looked like the line of least choss.)

Yeah, he says, it has this alpine feel.

"So, you came back for this?", I keep probing after we get our money's worth on the "approach pitches" by belaying in unusual spots, and me failing to commit to the line suggested by an improbable-looking piton.

Ed laughs and leads us to the Lunch Ledge. He's climbed that thing three times. He's crazy!

And then he leads in style (tall-person variation) and I follow with a singing heart (no loose rock! fun moves! I'm glad I didn't have to trust my life to the second, moving piton!) the famous traverse, which is frankly the most probable thing on this entire mountain.

I lead the fourth-class ramp by levitating over the scree and cutting steps in the pine needles. And finally we pitch out the improbable third class moves between walkable ledges, and yes, clip that piton that some young'uns were complaining about on this here forum earlier.

 

The beginning of the descent is of course also quite technical, and apparently involves a rappel that's not mentioned in the Nelson & Potterfield book.

 

All in all a fabulous, death-defying day on the most improbable choss pile I've ever climbed. The traverse is nice, though. I would not recommend Guye Peak to a friend.

 

I have pictures, but they're on a disposable analog camera (long story), so I need to have them developed first. Anyone still doing that?

 

Gear Notes:

Second piton on the traverse moves in place.

 

Approach Notes:

Steep, loose boulder/scree field.

[summitchaserCJB]

Couldn't title it better

[OlympicMtnBoy]

Hehe, nice TR, although we didn't have to rap on the descent, just drop lower down to access the gulley, still a good scramble down though.

 

I'd still recommend it to friends, just not beginners.

[mountainmatt]

Nice job, I felt the exact same way. Crappy pitches take you to a fun traverse to crappy pitches. Glad I did it, but I won't repeat it.

 

 

.

[rocketparrotlet]

It is a fun route. Repeat? I don't know. But it was worth it. There is definitely no rappel necessary; you can just scramble around from the summit and it's class 3 or below from there. The second summit is another very short class 3 (which one is higher?)

 

Then again, I was probably one of the young'uns you were referencing...that upper piton was pretty funny to me since there's an easy class 4 ledge right there.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Until I read this TR I was considering climbing this route sometime... :-(

 

[klenke]

Improbable choss pile?

 

Sheesh. This is the Cascades. You want solid, go climb in a freakin' gym.

[kukuzka1]

no shit, quit whinning

[kukuzka1]

no shit, quit whinning

[scottgg]

Don't listen to the haters, this thing is actually really fun! There is a great lieback crack below and to the right of lunch ledge which avoids some of the loose rock to the left.

 

No rap required to traverse to the main summit, just some 3rd class scrambling.

 

Name another multipitch peak with a 15 minute approach that rises 2000' above the car!

[gavastik]

I can't help it if some people read my witty and honest assessment as whining, of course. ;-P I come from a place of love.

 

But suggesting that I look for solid rock at the gym is pretty lame. There's wonderful, solid rock in the following places in the Cascades, klenke and kukuzka: Ingalls Peak, the Tooth, anything in Leavenworth, the granite domes of Darrington... And those are just the places I've personally climbed either in the three weeks I spent here 4 years ago, or in the 3 months I've been living here. Of course, if you prefer choss or the gym, that's your choice.

 

Or maybe you put up this route, and I hurt your feelings? I'm sorry. FWIW, I loved the actual traverse pitch. And it's not your fault.

 

And scottgg, you're right. I can't name another peak that fits the parameters. With this trip, I have discovered that sometimes I'd rather hike a bit further. We don't all have to love the same things. At least I won't be adding to any crowds knocking rocks on your head on this particular three-star destination.

[summitchaserCJB]

Maybe they are assuming that if you want to climb solid rock- go climb it. Don't complain when you get to a well-known chossy climb. They are out there.

[gavastik]

Fair enough. But I didn't mean to complain. I said things like "nice traverse" and "fabulous day" in the OP. And I mean, it's not like I think anyone on this forum is in charge of the choss, so I'm lodging my complaint.

 

Maybe think of it this way: my report supports the established opinion that it's a well-known chossy climb. For the next clueless not-yet-local who comes through.

 

Cheers!

[kukuzka1]

ya I had had a few drinks when i wrote that post,so all is good gavastik. also that route was put up before i was born which is a long time ago

[klenke]

Damn you, givashit, sorry gavastik. Yeah, you totally hurt my feelings real bad. So bad I think I'll give up climbing now. That's it! I'm selling all my gear to a Mountie tomorrow.

 

All these years of climbing Cascade choss has made me soft.

 

[pms]

I liked this TR. Calling it choss is totally reasonable, and descriptive. Those first few pitches totally scare the crap out of me.

Edited October 19, 2010 by pms

[David Yount]

When I got to Lunch Ledge and was eyeballing the Improbable Traverse pitch.... my partner was eyeballing the vertical hand crack that went straight up.

 

He's like, "Hey, what's that go at?"

 

and I'm like, "Just a sec, I'll look it up."

 

When I told him the hand crack was a published variation and it went at 5.8 he's like, "Gimme that rack! We're going UP!"

 

And it was good.