[TR] FORBIDDEN Fruit - East Ridge direct - West Ridge carryover 9/15/2012

[YocumRidge]

Trip: FORBIDDEN Fruit - East Ridge direct - West Ridge carryover

 

Date: 9/15/2012

 

Trip Report:

Now that the alpine rock season is almost over, OlegV and I decided that we should get some in the real mountains. Still being a limping cripple and in the recovery phase after my MCL injury, I am not allowed the knee twisting long approaches for 6 months, but apparently I am allowed to climb, according to PT. Still trying to figure out how that works though.

 

On our way back from the tormented Torment a couple weeks ago, Oleg was admiring Forbidden he never visited before, and that made for the obvious choice. East ridge direct – West ridge traverse carryover here it comes.

 

We left PDX on Fri after work and before we knew it, we had arrived at the Cascade Pass where we managed to get some decent sleep in the Oleg’s rig. Time always flies when you are anxious to get out of the city and still have energy to polemicize about the obese transgenic monkeys and Golgi gradients – another hobby for which we are getting paid to our surprise.

 

We started on Sat am and hauled our bivy gear up and over in anticipation to bivy somewhere on route.

 

 

Boston basin sucks. Why would anyone ever want to come here ?

 

Morning whisper in the North Cascades:

 

 

Heading up the couloir that is currently filled with the alpine ice was not easy in the aluminum crampons and I wasted a lot of time trying to pre-cut steps. After taking the yellow gully by the moat, we reached the saddle on the East ridge at 10 am.

 

Oleg in the couloir:

 

Oleg above the yellow gully:

 

Approaching the saddle on the East ridge:

 

 

 

After a break, we roped up and started up the ridge. Due to fresh snow on the north side of Forbidden, we stayed pretty much on the crest the entire time except for the bypass of the second gendarme. A lot of downclimbing ensued.

 

Getting up on the Tyrannosaur at the start of the East ridge:

 

Oleg going up and over the first gendarme:

 

On the first paper thin knife edge ridge traverse:

 

 

Somehow we ended up on the top of the flake which we had to downclimb to get back on the crest. In fact, the flake is not as intimidating as it looks. One could jam one leg in the vertical crack and slide down, pretty cool:

 

 

On the second knife edge ridge traverse:

 

 

The “5.6 bypass” of the second gendarme on the north side felt like cl. 3 with fresh snow thrown in and quickly brought us to the “U” notch between the second and the third gendarme - a very scenic spot for the bivy, but pricey – got to sleep in the harnesses all night.

 

Oleg is giving me that famous Putin’s steel stare to make me feel better:

 

 

Oh, and it was breezy that night. Very breezy, in fact. Bivving in an X-file style:

 

 

 

After warming up in the morning sun next day, we continued up the third gendarme. It felt harder than 5.8 for some reason – so much for being out of rock climbing shape:

 

Oleg leading the third gendarme:

 

On the final stretch to the summit:

 

At the summit:

 

The descent down the West ridge took longer than expected - thanks again to the new snow. We downclimbed/rapped the ridge while staying on the crest rather than using part of the easier north side of WR.

 

Fresh snow on the north side of WR:

 

The snow couloir below the bypass gullies is officially out for the season. Rapping down the east most bypass gully puts you in a better position for scrambling down to the last rap anchor. 70 m ropes are needed for getting over the moat to get back down on the glacier on the final rap.

 

Looking back at the Forbidden fruit's east-west traverse:

 

 

 

Gear Notes:

8 mm x 60 m rope, alpine rack to 2", a bunch of double slings

 

Approach Notes:

Boston basin

[Sol]

[Buckaroo]

YEEEEEEE HAAAAAAA!!!!!

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Nice! I'm not sure which part of that bivy is more daunting: the uncomfortable lying-on-a-rock over a cliff part, the cold, or the spooky, steely-eyed Putin stare down from above... ;-)

[OlegV]

Boston Basin is a Temple of Light

 

The world of Rock and Ice

 

Fire

 

Morning whisper

 

Jupiter sky

 

Forbidden Glacier

Edited September 19, 2012 by OlegV

[KaskadskyjKozak]

 

Gory dyestvitel'no kak khram. :-)

[JasonG]

Strong Work! You might want to keep the permitless camping on the DL. Kelly and Co. check the site often....I think you can self issue after hours for zones outside of BB?

[OlegV]

Strong Work! You might want to keep the permitless camping on the DL. Kelly and Co. check the site often....I think you can self issue after hours for zones outside of BB?

 

We are now getting into the habbit building bivy sites on route. I don't think rangers check these areas often:

 

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Strong Work! You might want to keep the permitless camping on the DL. Kelly and Co. check the site often....I think you can self issue after hours for zones outside of BB?

 

We are now getting into the habbit building bivy sites on route. I don't think rangers check these areas often:

 

 

When I was in BB a few weeks ago we actually met a nice ranger lady, who climbed the E ridge of Forbidden the next day. She was checking permits in BB... not sure about en route on Forbidden however.

[counterfeitfake]

One nice thing about bivying up there is that you're in the Forbidden zone, for which permits are not in high-demand. I think it's not a good idea to go up there intending to bivy without a permit, and a worse idea to proudly put it on the internet.

 

 

Did you spend a lot of time at your bivy site waiting for nightfall?

[KaskadskyjKozak]

One nice thing about bivying up there is that you're in the Forbidden zone, for which permits are not in high-demand. I think it's not a good idea to go up there intending to bivy without a permit, and a worse idea to proudly put it on the internet.

 

I'm not sure all the rangers are on the same page on that. When I last inquired I was told the ridge is in the BB zone. Which makes no sense, IMO.

[YocumRidge]

Did you spend a lot of time at your bivy site waiting for nightfall?

 

Is that a determining factor as to whether we qualify for the permit and for which zone?

[OlegV]

One nice thing about bivying up there is that you're in the Forbidden zone, for which permits are not in high-demand. I think it's not a good idea to go up there intending to bivy without a permit, and a worse idea to proudly put it on the internet.

 

 

Did you spend a lot of time at your bivy site waiting for nightfall?

 

 

We don't need to know your oppinion

[counterfeitfake]

We don't need to know your oppinion

You know it now, you can't un-know it!

 

Is that a determining factor as to whether we qualify for the permit and for which zone?

Nope, I was just trying to understand your timeline.

 

I'm not sure all the rangers are on the same page on that. When I last inquired I was told the ridge is in the BB zone. Which makes no sense, IMO.

Oh shit, there it is, another opinion!

 

Talking to non-climbing rangers about climbing stuff just doesn't work very well. But when I went up there a couple months ago, I was told by the non-climbing ranger that anything north of the ridge was Forbidden zone, which in my OPINION (watch out Oleg!) HAS to be the truth. There is no other dividing line.

[denalidave]

Nice work!

 

I had to look this one up "polemicize".

 

Now I can try to use it in a sentence....

 

Oleg & CFF found themsleve's polemicising online about the ethics of bivying with, or without, a permit.

 

How'd I do?

[KaskadskyjKozak]

 

Talking to non-climbing rangers about climbing stuff just doesn't work very well. But when I went up there a couple months ago, I was told by the non-climbing ranger that anything north of the ridge was Forbidden zone, which in my OPINION (watch out Oleg!) HAS to be the truth. There is no other dividing line.

 

I called Marblemount and the non-climbing ranger said "hold on" and got a climbing ranger on the phone. Later when I picked up the permit, the person at the desk pulled over the climbing ranger to ask which zones were correct for the TFT. Then when I was actually in BB, the climbing ranger there had a different story regarding which permits count on the ridge.

 

[tvashtarkatena]

Oleg, you do kinda have that Putin eye thing going on.

 

Looks like a hell of a nice trip - complete with creative bivvy architecture.

 

 

[YocumRidge]

Oleg, you do kinda have that Putin eye thing going on.

 

Yeah, Pat, you've got to be gentle with Oleg - I know you are - or else he is losing it .

[tvashtarkatena]

I hear those who have pissed off Putin haven't fared well. Boots or rock shoes on the ridge line?

[YocumRidge]

Boots or rock shoes on the ridge line?

Alternating between - depending on the mood