elliottwill Posted July 23, 2011 Posted July 23, 2011 I searched and searched on here but didn't find much info. A friend and I have 2 weeks off at the end of August and wanted to hike in and climb something from Wonder Lake. Silverthrone's west face looks/sounds cool but I've heard that the crevasses are horrible getting up there, and I expect they'd be even worse late in the season. Has anyone been up there in the fall, or on the west face of Silverthrone at any time, or wants to recommend something better in the area? Quote
denalidave Posted July 23, 2011 Posted July 23, 2011 I was on Silverthrown in 1998, it took us 16 days round trip from Wonder Lake but we never summited due to weather. We camped at the notch around 10k if I remember correctly. Then we were pinned down for 3 days and just spent time digging the tent out. Of course, as soon as we got back down the weather cleared for a few more days. Awesome spot though. Lots of crevasses on the Muldrow and Treilika(?) but manageable. Not sure what conditions are like these days though. I've got some old pics but not with me. PM me if you want more details. Not sure what conditions would be like in late August as we did it in early May. Quote
denalidave Posted July 24, 2011 Posted July 24, 2011 Have a great trip! A few Silverthrown Pics Quote
W Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 I searched and searched on here but didn't find much info. A friend and I have 2 weeks off at the end of August and wanted to hike in and climb something from Wonder Lake. Silverthrone's west face looks/sounds cool but I've heard that the crevasses are horrible getting up there, and I expect they'd be even worse late in the season. Has anyone been up there in the fall, or on the west face of Silverthrone at any time, or wants to recommend something better in the area? Hey there, The only crevasse problems we had were in the final, side glacier leading up to the foot of the west face. The main Traleika Glacier is a cruise, especially if you stay near the medial moraine. Virtually no crevasse hazard, so little in fact that we took the rope off for the way down. Getting from McGonagall Pass across the Muldrow, to get on the Traleika, is probably going to be the biggest hassle. It seems to be easier if you head up the Muldrow towards Mount Tatum, then cross the glacier, head back down until you can work your way out into the center of the Traleika. Bear in mind, this was what we did in 1997, but I don't think it changes much. The final side glacier to the base of the route had a lot of spooky crevasses and Joe took a serious fall into one of them (while second on the rope) as we headed to the route. However, this was also at the end of March, and I'm going to imagine that in late August there will be little to no snow cover on that glacier. I had a good look at the face from the top of Denali this past June, and the entire bottom third of the couloir was completely melted out. It's not very steep in there, but not sure what you might find- probably a lot of choss and dirt, but should be climbable. The descent gully we used might be a bit more interesting, also. As far as I know, this route has never been repeated. If you feel like risking the icefall danger- which when we were in there was substantial- the "direct" couloir way to the right and which shoots straight to the summit would be a worthy objective, better line than the one we climbed. We tried it on our first attempt but got stormed off; we watched as ice avalanches from both sides ran across our approach tracks. It ripped again after we descended, and again the next day. So when we tried again, we decided to stay in the far left couloir instead. Good luck. It is a REALLY scenic area, very remote, and a loooong walk! Mark Quote
elliottwill Posted July 25, 2011 Author Posted July 25, 2011 Great info! I'm more optimistic. Other thing we've been wondering is tools. I've heard two ice tools, and I've heard a tool and a mountain axe. I'm inclined toward the former, especially late in the season. Any reason to favor the less technical combo? Quote
W Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 You'd be fine with either ice tools or one tool and an axe, but I'd probably bring two tools. In the early spring there were some sections of that 60 degree calf pumping stuff higher up on the route, regular tools will be easier on that terrain. The descent involved a lot of face-in downclimbing, which might be a lot icier late summer. Do you know of any repeat ascents of the west face? I haven't heard of any but also I would imagine no one has been on it since we did it, since that sort of adventure routing with long approaches went out of vogue a long time ago. Quote
elliottwill Posted July 26, 2011 Author Posted July 26, 2011 No, I don't know much about it at all. I grew up on the other side of the Susitna north of Talkeetna and was always more interested in walking in than flying. I think we'll take 4 tools, 4 screws, and 2 pickets, then. From your description, it sounds like we'll have pretty good going across the glacier up to the cirque, then 1K+' of dirt, 4K' of snow & ice, up to 60 degrees, then a ridge walk to the summit (assuming we get that far). Then cautious downclimbing or rappelling off v-threads to the dirt? Sounds fun— even if the climb is a bust, at least we get some good tundra hiking, scenery and peace and quiet. Quote
W Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 Yeah that rack sounds good. I can't imagine anything in the lower section requiring rock pro. More than likely there should be some new snow by late August, the face starts at about 7,500'. The summit ridge is easy, and I would imagine has a beautiful view. Unfortunately we got engulfed in a whiteout right after we topped out the face and finished the last section to the summit in very low visibility. We weren't even sure where the summit was until we passed it and began descending the south ridge and could see the dropoff into the Ruth Glacier. Hard to say whether it would be easier to descend the way we did or back down the route. Our way was about 3,500' feet of 35-50 degree terrain. The route itself is longer than that, and steeper, and if the dirt section is a PITA going up it might be better to go our way. Hopefully it will be cold enough to prevent rockfall, also- keep that potential issue in mind. It was very cold while we were in there and everything was cemented together but if warm it would be another story. You got the right attitude- adventure! Here's a shot as we skied away for Kantishna, the day after climbing the route. The route we climbed is the thin looking (it's not that narrow, actually) couloir immediately left of the first serac gully. The initial attempt took a narrow runnel right of the right most serac gully, and which heads more or less directly to the summit. As I mentioned icefall threatens the approach to this line from the seracs on the face, but also from the icefall to the right. But the line itself is totally safe from icefall, if you can get there! Quote
W Posted July 27, 2011 Posted July 27, 2011 Also- the descent route we used is the left most couloir system in the photo, starting down from the extreme upper left margin of the photo. Getting from the summit ridge to there, you descend towards Silverthrone Col (northwards) but then branch west onto the spur ridge, you'll downclimb/walk down some low angled ice and eventually this couloir/face will open below you. I'll be curious to hear as to how much this area has melted out over the past 14 years. Quote
ZimZam Posted July 27, 2011 Posted July 27, 2011 Sounds like quite the adventure Elliot! Can't wait to read the TR. Best of luck, man. And kudos to Mark for the excellent beta. Quote
elliottwill Posted July 27, 2011 Author Posted July 27, 2011 Yes! Thanks so much. I feel a lot better about wandering in there out of season, now that we have some good info. Now just have to dry a lot of salmon and bake a lot of cookies. Will let you know how it goes. Again, really appreciate the advice. Quote
elliottwill Posted September 11, 2011 Author Posted September 11, 2011 Success. Thanks again for the info. NPS didn't want to let us in because "the climbing season ended in July." Just posted a TR. Quote
denalidave Posted September 11, 2011 Posted September 11, 2011 Awesome! Pics, pics, we want pics... How were the crevasses? on the Muldrow & Traleika? Quote
elliottwill Posted December 7, 2012 Author Posted December 7, 2012 Hi DD, Thanks! The TR has details; 179 photos and videos here: https://plus.google.com/photos/114863960044082131321/albums/5650773394179867921 [img:right]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-afsouMCd-wk/TmuXxPVNUzI/AAAAAAAABS4/LXG8yRsbgV8/s1207/IMG_0283.JPG[/img] No crack problems on the Muldrow, but lots of up and down on huge moraine hills. Spent some time dumping stepping stones into glacial sloughs. Traleika was a flat, compacted highway of shale. This highway has big, like 10' tall berms, like rings on a tree, from rockfall. Some are found miles from the head of the valley, so I'm guessing they occurred hundreds of years ago? As you get to the head of the valley, they are only a few yards apart. Geological time made visible. Every so often, the big face will dump a pile of rock and then it travels down this highway to the Muldrow. Never seen anything like it. Anyway, glacier going up to Silverthrone was crack free-ish almost to the descent gully, after which it was a terrible everywhere but along the west (right) side. That side is great going but is littered with serac debris. This was in September; during the normal season you could go up the middle. Quote
denalidave Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 Here's a couple from my trip in 1998, back in the olden days when it was an uphill approach and decent in 3 feet of snow... Quote
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