[TR] Forbidden - NW Face 7/27/2013

[jbarrett]

Trip: Forbidden - NW Face

 

Date: 7/27/2013

 

Trip Report:

"An exceptional climb of purity." So says Beckey. "Its mixed character requires some genuine climbing and flexible alpine skills," he continues. A casual reader of the CAG will read this as if the route is a hidden gem, something that should have made it into a Nelson guide. But parse the language carefully and there is something more there that suggests at why the route may not be all that popular.

 

Saturday morning, my partner and I left camp in Boston Basin at 5AM. The few other trip reports I was able to find suggested that the time to summit would be somewhere in the 10-12 hour range.

 

We were able to reach the bypass right of Sharkfin Col in an hour. The finger of snow leading to it was still very good, and only minor loose scrambling led to the rap. A 30 meter rappel deposited us on the Boston Glacier where, to my chagrin, the plastic attachment point on my crampons tore. (Let that be a lesson to remember that time, in this case ten years, degrades these things as well as slings and cordage.) I was able to drill a second hole and make a workable situation. I doubt that Beckey had degraded plastic in mind when he wrote of "flexible alpine skills", but I employed some in the style of MacGyver none the less. The traverse to the North Ridge took about an hour.

 

Torn Plastic Binding

 

Looking Across Boston Basin To North Ridge

 

The Higher Of Two Notches On North Ridge

 

Only minor route finding across the glacier was necessary as the route was relatively clear and straightforward.

The next question was where to cross. Being adventure seeking fellows that we were, we had left all route descriptions in the car, and chose instead to navigate by memory and intuition to allow in the spirit of adventure. Ultimately we chose the higher of the two ridge crossings. Beckey calls this the "less advisable" of the two choices and the reason was clear. The rap station was a large, detached block slung and wedged; it garnered a grade of C+ by my partner. Good enough, but not the kind of thing your mother wants to hear about. A 30 meter rappel put us at the bottom of a dirty slot and the flank of the Forbidden Glacier.

 

From this vantage point it was clear that the base of the ridge was severely cracked up and passage on to the rib seemed to be in doubt. We knew that we needed to access it from the western edge and through the process of exploration were were able to swing around several large crevasses and down-climb some steep and fairly hard snow. In retrospect, if we had taken the lower North Ridge crossing, we would have been able to traverse the Forbidden Glacier lower and avoid some of these shenanigans.

 

Looking Up the West Face Route: we accessed the rib off the glacier even with the small snow patch on the ridge

 

Looking up at the face below the West Ridge, it was fairly evident to me why Beckey calls that means of approach "possible, but less advisable". This was essentially what we said to a few lads the day we hiked out who also planned on doing the NW Face. "Yeah, you could get down that way, but I certainly wouldn't suggest it."

Access on to the ridge was by means of down-climbing into the moat (a boot ax belay here to further demonstrate those flexible alpine skills; it looked like a previous party had rapped off a bollard), over a four foot block of snow (which likely won't be there much longer) and onto the rib.

 

Looking Down At The Access Snow Block

 

Getting On The Rib

 

Finally on the rib. It was 10AM when we started simul-climbing, and immediately I saw a significant short coming to the route. The rib faces NW, obviously, rising at about a 60 degree angle. Where is the sun at ten in the morning? To the SE at nearly the same aspect. For much of the route it was almost impossible to look up the line. In my mind, this was a significant detraction from the route.

 

Starting Up The Route On 4th Class Terrain.

 

A single long simul-climb took us through 3rd/4th class, loose and poorly protected ledges and to the minor horn about 1/4 of the way up. From there we found the "genuine climbing" Beckey talks about. It was mostly low 5th with short sections of 5.6 terrain. We passed the crux chimney to the left via ledges. About two-thirds the way up, we started to pitch things out. There was some clean slab with sparse protection that I found to be unadvisable to simul-climb. Three or four more pitches put us on top three hours and change after starting up.

 

Looking Down The NW Face From The West Ridge.

 

Was the rock good? It was better towards the top, akin to the West Ridge in that there were a lot of flakes that seemed like they might be detached but aren't. There was some loose junk but not a ton. Was the line aesthetic? It sweeps straight downward from summit to base. Beckey says, "there are many minor variations" which is true and this detracts from the sense that you are climbing a true line. What about that word "genuine"? If you take his statement to mean "real", then yes the climbing is more than just 4th class. And fairly sustained in the top two-thirds.

 

A note about the descent. Due to large numbers of people coming up and going down the West Ridge, it took nearly three hours to return to the West Ridge notch. For regulars, this may not surprise you, but for those unfamiliar with the route, keep in mind that this short descent will take far longer than you think. As well, the snow gulley is melted out, and we used the rap stations to its left.

 

Putting on my crampons after the rappels, the plastic tore again and I was forced to jury rig a repair because the strap was no longer long enough to reach. Argh.

 

'Biner Fix

 

And of course, the hike out was the counterpoints of flowers blooming and ice crashing down the northern faces of J-Berg.

Was the route "exceptional" as Beckey puts it? What does that even mean? I guess I am willing to admit that I haven't climbed enough in the Cascades to say whether the route was exceptional relative to other such lines available. Compare it to the North Ridge of Stuart, and I would not even say they are in the same league. What about the "purity". Sure, it is a direct line to the summit from the glacier. In another sense, the route was pure because we saw no evidence of other climbers on route. No rap slings, pins, fixed gear, or even any trash. So I guess in that sense it was pure.

 

(I did note a fixed, knotted, and very weather-bleached rope hanging further east of the route by about 30 meters midway up the face. I would be interested to hear that story if someone knows it.)

 

A special note to some friends who helped us out in Boston Basin. Due to a miscommunication we left our stove in town (brought a canister and pot though. Doh!). These fine people allowed us to brew up enough hot water to cook dinner for both nights. Thanks for saving our bacon on that one! (Is it an "alpine skill" to mooch off of others bivied nearby?)

 

Frolicking Home

 

Gear Notes:

Busted crampons, no stove, and finicky water filter all necessary for success.

 

Small rack of nuts and singles to 2 inches with doubles in the finger size. A dozen slings.

 

Sunglasses 'cause you'll nuke your eyes looking uproute otherwise.

 

Patience for getting down the West Ridge.

 

Approach Notes:

Use the access col to the right of Sharkfin Col

The higher of the notches crossing the North Ridge was ok, but not great.

Make sure you go all the way around to the west side before you decide you can't get on the ridge.

[ivan]

good definition of "exceptional" would be "i'd be eager to do it again" - don't sound like this'un meets such a description for you?

[chris]

Is there a possible rap descent from the West Ridge notch, allowing for a faster access than traversing across the Boston Glacier?

[Val Zephyr]

Is there a possible rap descent from the West Ridge notch, allowing for a faster access than traversing across the Boston Glacier?

 

We rappelled from the west ridge notch. With a single 60m rope, it took 5 rappels off rock, 2 off of bollards, and some more down climbing. It was some solid type two fun. For what it's worth, I enjoyed the route, but probably more for its dramatic location on a ridge surrounded by glaciers than the actual climbing. Great TR! Beckey always needs to be interpreted with caution.

[Lowell_Skoog]

It's interesting how people experience routes differently.

 

I've climbed the NW Face of Forbidden three times and have enjoyed it every time. Once with my older brother, once with my younger brother, once with my wife. All our climbs were done early enough in July that we had good seasonal snow on the glacier to access the rock.

 

I've always liked the aesthetics of this line. I suppose you could say it looks better from a distance than up close, but it's not too bad up close, for the North Cascades.

 

I've approached by rappelling from the West Ridge notch (bring pins). But the Boston Glacier approach is more classic.

[Dannible]

I'd say that's one of the best routes I've done in the North Cascades in terms of rock quality and position. From the west ridge notch I think it was 2 60m raps to the snow, a traverse along the upper edge of the snow, and one 60m rap (pins in place) over the skiers right side of the shrund. I posted more detailed info on that with photos on my old TR here if people want beta.

[JasonG]

I also find your impression of the route interesting; it helps illustrate how subjective the climbing game is. I'm with Lowell and Dan in that I think it is one of the better/more enjoyable routes I've done. Not so much for the rock quality, but the entire package: the approach, setting, and line all make for a memorable outing.

[scott schmidt]

There was a rope hanging there in 1984 when I climbed the route. A story for sure.

[jbarrett]

Wow. I feel like I just trashed everyone's secret crush. All these folks going to bat for her. I have been reflecting on the experience and considering folks responses; maybe my tone was too harsh. I guess it comes down to what you go to the mountains for. Setting: fabulous. Line: I think the photo from summit says it all-very aesthetic. Approach: interesting. Maybe it was the actual rock climbing though that I felt was lacking. No sweet corners. No memorable hand-cracks. I was thinking about what a topo would look like for the route, if one were drawn. It would be hard to do, as there were no real defining features. Perhaps this is what I was suggesting. Sort of like the NE Buttress of Goode.

[JasonG]

Good points, expectations often color our impressions of climbs. I guess I was never thinking that it was going to be something with super memorable pitches like the NR of Stuart or the NE ridge of Bugaboo spire. I can certainly understand your disappointment if you were!