jja Posted December 15, 2002 Share Posted December 15, 2002 In the past two years I've twice hiked up to the tooth with the intention of soloing it and chickened out both times ... well last saturday I went up and did it. Absolutely fantastic weather for dec 7. Started out early at the lower parking lot and came up the right side of the valley. Crossing the bowl just above source lake was a hoot with slippery snow and ice covered boulders, heading up the gully to the great scott bowl below the tooth was even more hoots with steep frozen mud, and more ice covered boulders. For sure the approach was more difficult and probably more dangerous than the actual climb. Just below the tooth the lead guy of a party of three that had been just behind me the whole way caught up. We had a chat, and he asked me if I was doing it alone. This was good, as it kept me from bailing yet again. I said yes and we did the rest of the approach together. The south facing conditions were fantastic, no ice, no snow, warm rock, and sunny - remarkably different than the conditions in the mostly shaded approach. After changing into approach shoes, I tied my rope to my back and headed past him as he waited for his two partners to catch up. At first having never soloed anything before I was scared shitless, but the peer pressure of having someone watch you does wonders, as does the realization that it's only at best 5.4 and I've done this route twice before. After the first couple of moves (if you can call them that) I was feeling better and just cruised to the top in no time. It's amazing how quickly you can climb when there is no rope management, no belays, no protection, and no anchors. I got to the top and relaxed in the sun, it was probably about 50 degrees at around 11am or so. My plan was to chill out on top and wait for that party of three to get up top, then rap off. Well I waited and waited, almost fell asleep in the sun. And finally like an hour later a party crests the top - and it's somone else! Apparantly this new party of two climbed past the three because they were going so slow. So I decided to rap off then - and were they going slow! I'm no rope gun but this guy (who mentioned he was with the mountaineers <insert joke here>) was leading the last pitch crack like he was freeing El Capitan at 5.13 or something. Man was he scetchy. The day I was there there was a solid deck of fog in the valley at about 4500' or so. With the top of the tooth at 5600' it was casting a huge shadow onto this solid deck of clouds and a round halo like glory formed around the shadow cast into the fog. It was truly spectacular, the photo I took only hints at how magnificent it was. Probably because I used a cheap $5 disposable camera. ... all in all, it wasn't a bad day - whether it's worth a tr is another thing altogether, but hey it's shitty rainy out today and I've got nothing better to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoker Posted December 15, 2002 Share Posted December 15, 2002 Admitting the Tooth was climbed is the first step, it's the only way to work past denial! Good style throwin' in the solo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Caveman Posted December 15, 2002 Share Posted December 15, 2002 I was bold enuff to send da toof once. The winter I will seige it with fixed lines and ice tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jja Posted December 15, 2002 Author Share Posted December 15, 2002 "seige it with fixed lines and ice tools." - hey just remember to leave the O2 at home, ya gotta take the mountain using fair means, or it don't mean nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slothrop Posted December 15, 2002 Share Posted December 15, 2002 Nice TR! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toast Posted December 15, 2002 Share Posted December 15, 2002 Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelawgoddess Posted December 15, 2002 Share Posted December 15, 2002 nice - congrats on the solo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texplorer Posted December 15, 2002 Share Posted December 15, 2002 .. . .Thus was the beginning of a series of solos for jj which would propel him to the forefront of the climbing world. Perhaps the greatest 5.4 solo'er of our time. Just kidding dude, Nice job, there is nothing more thrilling for me than a nice easy solo in the mountains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North_by_Northwest Posted December 16, 2002 Share Posted December 16, 2002 I'd like to hit up the Tooth from the chairlift in spring. I think it'd be nice to climb something easy and then take a sweet run through the backcountry down to the car. Anybody done it like that before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottP Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 I'd like to hit up the Tooth from the chairlift in spring. I think it'd be nice to climb something easy and then take a sweet run through the backcountry down to the car. Anybody done it like that before? I didn't use the chair, but I skinned up the Alpental slopes to the bottom of Upper International and then traversed over to the Tooth. I left my skiis at the bottom of the coulior that takes you over the Denny/Tooth ridge. It's a good way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_b Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 good job for sticking with your goal. You know you can also downclimb (scamble) the north ridge. next time do it in mtn boots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattp Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 I climbed the Tooth with the aid of the chairlift because my buddies thought it would be cool to go Euro-style, but on balance I don't think it was worth it. We had to wait for the lifts to start running and they didn't have a one-way ticket, so the fare was a half-day lift pass (not cheap on a weekend). It is not a long ski up to the Tooth -- had we simply put on our skins and started hiking rather than waiting for the lift, we would have been up there just as fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jja Posted December 18, 2002 Author Share Posted December 18, 2002 The other two times I've done it I stayed in boots, but I was tied in then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North_by_Northwest Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 Matt and Scott, thanks for the info. I've been thinking about doing the Tooth this way just because it would be a novelty, like riding a gondola for approaches in Europe. Of course I'd take brandy, nutella, brotchen and all the other essentials to make it a true Euro experience. Will post TR when complete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slothrop Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 Do not forget to chain smoke on the way up and wear garish colors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North_by_Northwest Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 Und talk in a sehr nonchalante accent about plans on sie Eiger in Schpring, or some other nonsense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pencil_Pusher Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 Yeah, good TR. I don't have the balls to solo that, not even in rock shoes in the summer. I know it's all mental, but the price is not what I'm willing to pay. Still, that was an excellent TR of a route I've never done in the day or at night. I still wonder who those two dudes were in 2001 on Liberty Bell that soloed past us in jeans with parachutes on their backs to BASE jump on the Liberty Crack side. A big muscle dude and a scrawny english dude, if I remember correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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