[TR] Washington Pass - South Early Winters Spire - Direct East Buttress 8/8/2013

[mthorman]

Trip: Washington Pass - South Early Winters Spire - Direct East Buttress

 

Date: 8/8/2013

 

Trip Report:

Climbed the Direct East Buttress on SEWS with Chris (aka Ol' Toby on here). We met up the evening before to go over gear and finalize a route. Had a super fun day with beautiful weather on a terrific climb. Chris led the crux pitches in style while I pulled on a few draws wearing the pack. At the top we were greeted by a welcoming party of mountain goats. We descended the South Arete in approach shoes with no problems. Never bothered to pull the rope out for any raps. Most of it felt Class 3/4 with minimal exposure and just a few sparse Class 5 moves above large ledges. Round trip for us was 8 hours car to car. We used the new Super Topo "Washington Pass" guidebook. Found it to be accurate and helpful with the route description and topo.

 

The East Buttress looms above us with the early morning sun rays.

 

Looking down the East Buttress to hwy 20 far below from the top of pitch 4.

 

Me at a belay near the top of the buttress.

 

Chris surveying the valley far below.

 

Gear Notes:

70m rope - useful to link pitches

double set of cams to 4" - although that was a little overkill

14 alpine draws - used them all

 

Approach Notes:

Scrambled up from the hairpin.

[dougd]

Nice work Marlin and Chris.

 

Love the view!

 

d

[Ol' Toby]

Marlin was a superb partner and we had a truly fantastic day up there together. It was the perfect way to cap my summer in Washington, and I'll be back next year for more, for sure! Thanks to the bolt replacers, makes the crux pitches well protected and enjoyable.