[TR] Ruth Gorge, Alaska Central Range - Wake Up, Mt. Wake 4/25/2014

[Rastle]

Trip: Ruth Gorge, Alaska Central Range - Wake Up, Mt. Wake

 

Date: 4/25/2014

 

Trip Report:

 

Trip Report: 4/24/14 - 4/26/14

Route: Wake Up on Mt. Wake

Ruth Gorge

Central Alaskan Range

 

Brad Farra and I flew out of Portland 7:50pm Thursday, April 24 arriving in Anchorage with time to catch a few hours sleep before driving to Talkeetna the next morning. We arrived at the door of Talkeetna Air Taxi by 8 am, but were disappointed to hear clouds were hanging low in the gorge and we'd have to wait til later in the day to fly in.

 

Paul Roderick of Talkeetna Air Taxi was understanding of our tight weekend schedule and therefore was determined to help us in. By 1:30pm we'd snagged the site of a team leaving the Mt. Dickie Camp and saved ourselves the work of digging a platform. They had been able to climb The Japanese Couloir on Mt. Barille, but reported unconsolidated snow and some small slide action as the day warmed. We threw on our skis and were headed down the Gorge to check out our primary objective.

 

Less than an hour later our brows were furrowed as we moved around Bradley trying to link up a route we ultimately decided wouldn't go this trip. After skiing a full 6 miles down the gorge and not seeing ice, we were disheartened and dismayed until 2 gents told us good neve and possibly some hidden ice could be found on north facing slopes. The climb that interested us and had the most potential to go was Wake Up on Mt. Wake.

Mt. Wake

 

Wake Up is the central gully in this photo

 

We set out at 5 am, later than desired, but sleep seemed a necessity after our late ski-tour return. Travel south went quickly and we left our skis and roped up to cross the edges of the Ruth and move deeper west between Bradley and Wake. Objective hazard #1, the large hanging ice fall, did give us a show as we approached. We saw its wave barely hit the base of the route and judged it to be a small release. Our step quickened.

 

We made the base of the route, with Brad punching through a crevasse only briefly. I stayed high and we traversed in snow on a south facing slope that alternated between firm and knee deep.

 

 

What a relief to find thin alpine ice covering granite slabs at the start of pitch one. Firm-looking snow filled in some corners and rock pro would be the most likely used if any. Brad offered me the lead and handed over gear. This proved to be an expert move on his part as we didn't place a piece of pro on route that day, but he no longer had to carry it. I'll remember that move in the future...

 

The first pitch proved to be the crux demanding some thoughtful moves on thin ice through an open book feature to a series of short icy steps up around the corner and right.

 

Above that we found 2000' plus of moderate snow slopes with variable firmness, but that didn't waste much energy.

A second ice step followed by firm snow offered an entertaining break in the climbing and then the real fun began.

 

 

Trenching. Sorry, no pics. I lost my go-pro in a crevasse later. The footage was surely entertaining. These conditions dramatically slowed our progress for over 1000'.

 

As the corniced summit ridge of Wake drew closer, we continued a rising traverse towards what looked to be the best route through.

 

With such slop leading right up to the firm cornice, I did a truly stylin' belly-flop to maneuver onto the summit ridge.

 

The sun was warm on the west side and we were soaked from our snow swim. We chose to make a brew stop, assessed our descent, and plotted a course to stay high to avoid as much crevasse danger as possible; the conditions were warm and the crevasse field looked gnarly.

 

 

We headed towards the summit for a short time longer until we agreed it was time to start the descent. About an hour into our descent Brad punched through a snow bridge and shouted back specific instructions on how to move around it. Despite his careful instructions and my cautious maneuvering, I took a step forward and heard/felt a rumble and a whoosh and was suddenly free-falling like Alice through the rabbit hole—no idea up from down.

 

Brad told me later that he been pulled violently 8 feet uphill before able to sink his tools into the soft snow and hold the fall. My eyes opened to see a 60' wide hole and my rope cut deep into an overhanging lip about 30+feet overhead. We could hear each other's shouts, but not words. There was work to do, and so I did it. Within an hour, I'd freed myself and my pack. I knew I had a mild concussion most likely due to whiplash and direct blows of falling snow and ice to the head. We knew we had a few more hours of daylight and that the likelihood of another crevasse fall was great. So we got moving.

 

The navigation north along the ridge to the Wake-Bradley Col was relatively straightforward and uneventful. Down-climbing a steep, deep snow slope brought us to fresh-looking tat and we rapped into the couloir in between Mt. Bradley and Mt. Wake. By the time the light was dying, we'd reached the top of the bergschrund that was gaping on either side. We appeared to be near the center and at a lip that prohibited us from seeing what lay beyond. The snow was firmer in this zone of compression, so we dug a bollard and Brad offered to rap over and see whether we could cross. This was rather gentlemanly of him, seeing as I had already earned my merit badge for crevasse self-extraction that day.

 

He was able to perform some circus act with a rapid rappel and a mighty push off of the upper lip of the bergschrund, landing just short of the down-hill side but able to climb out. My rappel was assisted by a fireman's belay and a pull towards the down-slope edge of the bergschrund, with no climbing out needed. We were back on the move quickly. We were aware of the considerable crevasse negotiating that remained ahead of us from gazing at up at the descent route that morning.

Looking up towards the Wake-Bradley Col earlier that AM.

 

Major props to Brad's nerves of steel. It's not easy to navigate a huge crevasse field in the dark with the short-sighted sweep of a headlamp, but he did it flawlessly. I certainly breathed easier when we re-joined our bootpath from the the morning.

 

Soon, but not soon enough, we were back to skis. With a stiff wind blowing south, down the Ruth in our faces--freezing breath to eyelashes--we geared up and headed back to camp and a few hours of rest. When the alarm rang at 9 am to call Talkeetna, there were already climbers waiting on the runway. Uh-oh. Better pack quick!

 

Many thanks to Paul Roderick and the team at Talkeetna Air Taxi that thoughtfully sent the Otter Sunday morning anticipating we'd be ready to go. Thanks to Katie and Todd, our PDX buddies that arrived Saturday and who helped dig out drifted-over gear and haul randomly packed bags to the runway as Paul touched-down.

Paul Roderick from Talkeetna Air Taxi

 

45 hours on the Ruth, about half of that climbing, ~5-6 hours skiing and a few remaining hours preparing and sleeping. Touch down 1:30pm Friday and take-off ~10:30am Sunday morning. A red-eye home to Portland had me to work Monday morning. What a trip.

 

This dream-like reality was only possible thanks to mentor and friend John Frieh. Over the past year, he's provided invaluable insight and support. His coaching and encouragement have broken down self-imposed boundaries and helped set me up for success for what seemed, at the time, to be utterly audacious goals. Thanks John. I'll certainly be back.

 

Brad, Paul, Rebecca.

Paul dropped off a team at Dan Beard prior to Dickie. They took this shot.

[Bigtree]

Sweet! Thanks for that. Great way to start my morning.

[BriceBurtonImag]

Awesome TR! Thanks for sharing. Hope everyone reading realizes this is the proper way to conduct a TR and uses this as an example when writing their next.

[Alex]

super cool

[tanstaafl]

kick ass. thanks for posting that.

[wfinley]

Nice job Rebecca! Glad the weather window worked out. Big route for a first AK trip!

 

Next time stay awhile. Smash and Grab is fun but settling in on the Ruth for weeks is really really fun.

[John Frieh]

Nice work team. Super proud. Excited to see where you take it next

[genepires]

Awesome TR! Thanks for sharing. Hope everyone reading realizes this is the proper way to conduct a TR and uses this as an example when writing their next.

 

what he said. awesome TR! sweet looking trip.

 

[Rastle]

Thanks for the compliments folks Such accolades make for a warm welcome to posting here. Cheers.

 

Bill: Thanks so much! I feel we were really fortunate to get on Wake during the few days between snow showers and too much sun. It WAS a bit heartbreaking to leave the Ruth so quickly. All the more reason to hurry back!