[TR] Dragontail Peak - Serpentine Arete 7/15/2013

[Dave7]

Trip: Dragontail Peak - Serpentine Arete

 

Date: 7/15/2013

 

Trip Report:

It has taken me a bit to write up this trip report, as societal duties (i.e. job/responsibilities) have kept me rather busy lately. It is important for me to capture the time I spend in the mountains. They serve as a welcome relief from the world and I have referred to climbing as my zen (most of my non-climbing friends think I am a junky, masochist, and fearless for climbing; they may partially be right although I frequently find myself in a mental battle while leading). While I frequently move, the mountains always feel like 'home'.

 

This summer I was fortunate enough to spend two weeks in Washington. I flew out from New York (I live in the boondocks of upstate NY) and spent a day or two in Seattle waiting for my climbing partner Chris to arrive. We spent a few days on Rainier, enjoying the splitter weather and refreshing ourselves with the PNW. This was Chris' first time on the mountain and we were able to summit. We enjoyed a day Seattle; Chris required a 'tourist' visit to the original Starbucks. We soon found ourselves headed to Leavenworth. We camped at one of the local campgrounds off of route 2 and spent a few days climbing several routes in the area. Unfortunately, before we knew it, it was time for Chris to leave; I drove him back to Seattle to catch his flight.

 

Luckily, I was able to link up with one of my climbing mentors from NY who happened to be in WA for the month and we quickly devised a plan to climb something. After discussing Forbidden, Baker, Stuart, or Dragontail, we decided to get after the Serpentine Ridge on Dragontail. This would be my first alpine climb of this magnitude and I was glad my mentor would be there to pass on some knowledge.

 

We opted for a leisurely two-day itinerary which would mean a trip the Leavenworth station for the lottery. Fortunately, we beat out most of the hikers (who really didn't have solid plans) for the only Colchuck Lake permit. We were off to one of the most beautiful alpine areas to climb!

 

The approach was uneventful, taking our time to cover the 4-5 miles (I honestly forget how long it was) to Colchuck Lake. The trail is well marked and soon we we were settling at our campsite on the talus field at the lake. The weather was splitter and we strongly debated just going for the climb right then (it was only noon or so!). We opted (wisely) to hang out, get some pictures of mountain goats, and scope out the line we planned on climbing.

 

The following morning we got off to a 4am start and started up the talus/scree towards the base of the Serpentine. After about 45 minutes of trudging up firm snow in approach shoes, we were happy to be at the base of the climb. My mentor turned out to be quite the rope gun blasting up the route. Our goal was to climb as efficiently as possible, since he is the stronger climber he ended up leading most of the pitches in 30m blocks (while I got to feel the sharp end for a couple small steps). Before we knew it we were at the base of the crux 5.8 pitch.

 

My mentor started up the central crack but wisely moved to the right hand crack. He usually says, if it supposed to be fairly solid climbing at a particular grade and it feels desperate, you are probably off route. Sage advice from the old (older) mentor. We made it past the crux, which has great chickenhead holds towards the top. The rest of the route is ridge climbing, climbing small vertical blocks. The biggest challenge is route-finding.

 

5.5 / 6 hours later we were at the summit; my first alpine climb. What an experience! It has provided me with ample motivation to continue to develop myself as a climber so I can experience these climbs; more importantly share experiences with great climbers!

 

The descent is a walk-off. The backside has a pretty distinct trail that puts you at a col. We headed down the steep glacier with minimal gear (I had a trekking pole) down to aasgard pass. The pass has several rock cairns to guide you down. We packed up camp and headed into town for victory beers.

 

A great adventure had by all!!! Until we meet again PNW.

 

 

Panorama just below the summit

 

Looking back at Colchuck Lake

 

Hanging out at a belay

 

 

Gear Notes:

60m rope, Alpine rack to 2", Slings, lwt harness. For the route I carried a small pack (18L) with a shell, puffy, climbing shoes, water, and snacks. I climbed the entire route in approach shoes. If leading the crux a change into rock shoes could be helpful. We carried a 60m 6mm rap line just in case we had to bail, but did not need to use it. Though I will say bailing with just a 60m rope would take some time.

 

Approach Notes:

Follow the trail, the maps at the Leavenworth Ranger Station are helpful for people new to the area.

 

Ascend the scree/ glacier to the base of the climb. There are several guidebooks that have topos. There are several options to start the climb.

Edited November 11, 2013 by Dave7