[TR] Colchuck Balanced Rock - West Face (5.11 C1) 8/7/2012

[OlympicMtnBoy]

Trip: Colchuck Balanced Rock - West Face (5.11 C1)

 

Date: 8/7/2012

 

Trip Report:

Plenty of beta out there on this climb so I’ll try to keep it short and give some pics. It was over ten years ago on my first trip up to Colchuck Lake to climb the North Buttress Couloir that I looked up at Colchuck Balanced Rock and thought: “Wow that’s cool but it looks like a long way to haul an aid rack”. After two trips up there to clean and climb The Scoop a couple years ago I figured it was about time to finally take care of the West Face and see if I didn’t need the aid rack after all.

 

Jon and I had talked about getting on this after we had such a great time on Acid Baby a few weeks ago so when he told me he could get a day off work and kids I was all over it. I knew the approach was a butt kicker so I wanted to bivy at the base. Jon was kind enough to stand in line on Monday morning to get us a permit so we could approach after work but I was a little less excited after a raucous wedding party Sunday night. Between his drinking beer and my hangover we left the Stuart/Colchuck TH at 6:40 PM, not a lot of daylight to get up there.

 

Fortunately we had some beta on the better approach (to me anyways) which is faster than the old way around the lake. -redacted material- (hint, go left around the lake and follow your nose) We made it to the bivy with only a tiny bit of headlamp cairn spotting about 2 hrs and 50 mins from the parking lot. This is probably a good hour or 90 mins shorter than the old approach all the way around the lake and up past Jabberwocky.

 

 

 

Nasty mosquitoes got us up early but we still didn’t leave till 7:30. Jon led and approach pitch, I took the short 5.10 crack and combined it with the 5.7 to the top of the pillar. Jon led the really fun 5.9 step across and corner to some uglier dirt. I headed up the “easy” pitch to the base of the 5.11 corner but may have been too far right and had some thin mossy stuff. Jon drew the stellar corner pitch and styled it while I took a hang at the wet spot when I blew a grass jam (I blame the pack with a gallon of water still in it). Somehow I cut my finger on a crystal when I fell which dripped blood over our gear as I dug my tape out underneath the roof but I gathered myself and fired the awkward roof traverse clean next and avoided falling on Jon’s head at the start.

 

 

 

 

 

After this we were both feeling a little fried so we gave up any dreams of freeing the 5.12 bit and pulled on gear for the short crux. Jon did pretty well for his first aid climbing and didn’t regret leaving his fancy aiders at home in lieu of improvising with slings. I hauled us up the 5.9+ series of offwidths and chimneys which would have been more fun if I weren’t tired and we celebrated the summit by toproping the balanced rock (something I didn’t do the first time up there). We scrambled down the surprisingly fast and easy descent (Jon wore his climbing shoes down but I carried my approach shoes up). We had some food and drink at the packs and then wandered back down the trail to be home in time for dinner. Great day out!

 

 

 

 

 

Gear Notes:

Double rack from blue alien to #2 camalot, plus one #3 (I think). A couple extra runners to stand in if you don't climb 5.12 (or aren't in good enough shape to do those several burly pitches in a row).

 

Approach Notes:

Go left at the lake instead of right.

Edited August 22, 2012 by OlympicMtnBoy

[OlympicMtnBoy]

I reduced the approach beta at Sol's request due to perceived access issues lest the rangers try to obfuscate the new approach somehow. Please just use your route finding instincts and don't blaze trees, prune bushes, or build giant cairns. I think the new approach is safer and causes less erosion and rock fall than the old one so just PM me if you want help.

[stevetimetravlr]

Nice one Stewart!!!

[mountainmatt]

 

Fun one eh Stewart? Nice work on the roof traverse, I always felt like it was a boulder problem more than anything (just 500+ feet up). Was there still a pile of tat above the belay leading to the roof?

 

 

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[OlympicMtnBoy]

Yeah, the crux of the roof for me was getting from the finger crack above the belay into the horizontal hand jam. My left hand was not cooperating and I kept missing the jam with my feet skittering around over Jon's head. Eventually it worked out.

 

There was surprisingly little tat on the route which was nice. At the stance under the roof there were two fixed nuts and two fixed pins but not much tat. There was one fixed nut at the top of the crack right under the roof too. Nothing fixed through the crux roof anymore (and no need for it).