mtep Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Trip: Enchantments - Triple Couliors, Der Sportsman, Solid Gold Date: 5/14/2012 Trip Report: I'm sitting on the train headed south down the I5 corridor after six spectacular (and exausting!) days climbing around Washington. Two weeks ago, on a whim, I emailed a friend in Mt. Vernon about his availability and it turned out he had four days. Perfect! I'd find my way north and we'd go do whatever inspired us most that matched current conditions. Thursday: We left Mt. Vernon around four thirty with more gear in the back of his Subaru than we honestly knew what to do with, planning to climb TC on Dragontail Peak the next day. We'd heard rumors that it was in and Thursday night was forecasted to be the last night it would freeze for a while. With that in mind, we found ourselves booting up Mountaineer Creek at 01:00 after three-ish hours of 'sleep'. Friday: Things went well and after enjoying absolutely perfect conditions in the Couliors, runnels, etc., we were basking in the morning sun at the top of the face admiring the sun-drenched and dry South face of Prusik. Up to here, our plan had been to see how things went on Dragontail and go from there. Turned out they were going pretty darn well, so we psyched up for sunny rock in the warming days to come and started the long walk down to the car. Upon our arrival around one, we promptly ate and slept and ate and slept. Saturday: After sleeping in to a leisurely 08:00, we gradually re-packed for rock mode and started booting up the Snow Creek trail. Surprisingly firm snow saw us lounging on a dry slab of granite watching a team of three finish up the south face in the late afternoon sun. Sunday: Finally giving our calves and quads a break, we were racking up at the base of Sportsman after a mellow stroll from camp. The route went smoothly enough after a brief hang on the first pitch. This route had been on my radar for a while after reading and being inspired by various trip reports here. It more than lived up to its reputation, offering pitch after pitch of sustained, steep splitters linked by airy, committing sequences. I neglected to reread the TRs and was using the info in the new Leavenworth Guide. It did an excellent job of preserving the adventurous nature of the route and consistently left me wondering where the heck I was supposed to go. Also, the 5.10 stemming pitch before the headwall is super short. In retrospect, I'd skip the bolted anchor in lieu of a gear anchor higher up to limit the rope drag on the last pitch. Sunday: Another warm morning saw us racking up at the base of Solid Gold, which we took to its junction with the West Ridge, and rapped from there in hopes of finding firmer snow earlier in the day on the hike out. This route is also really good and the info in the guide doesn't always make it clear exactly where is best to stop and belay. That being said, many of these pitches could be linked (I'd nominate three and four) as they're all pretty short. Hiking out we were surprised (and psyched) to find little to no post holing and stable enough slopes for us to sneak back to the car by around 4:30. Photos to be posted in due time. Tuesday and Wednesday: Cragging at Index. Icing on the cake. Gear Notes: TC: screws, pins, stoppers, cams, pickets. Used it all. DS: thin cams and rps for P1 and fingers to thin hands for P6. SG: Double rack w/ RPs for the last pitch. Approach Notes: No flotation! Ran into the ranger hiking down the mountaineer creek road and he indicated that the primary concern was water running on and eroding the road surface. Sounds like it might still be closed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
counterfeitfake Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 That is a helluva weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainmatt Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Wow! Awesome linkup! . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JensHolsten Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Living the dream!! Nice work guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BootsandPants Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Holy crap, that's awesome!! Looks like you guys really made the most of the weather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtep Posted May 17, 2012 Author Share Posted May 17, 2012 The face taken on the way out. The approach was in great shape and we made faster than expected time. The runnels were also in great shape. Psyched! Thanks Eric for the awesome perspectives! Turns out it's really, really slabby... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sol Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Right on you guys, looks like a blast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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