[TR] Johannesburg in da rain - Dan's Direct & East Face 7/5/2014

[YocumRidge]

Trip: Johannesburg in da rain - Dan's Direct & East Face

 

Date: 7/5/2014

 

Trip Report:

To get an easier onsight of the holiday traffic, I left Portland a day earlier and rolled into the Cascade Pass p-lot at a decent hour of midnight on Thu.

 

Next morning I woke up to steady rain and this reassuring view:

 

 

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Canadian Rockies - the land of intimidating 5000’ north faces! If only you can see them on the 4th of July weekend. I have peculiar tastes I guess.

My desolation angel in the morning:

 

 

While waiting for Dan (DPS) to arrive from Seattle, I was desperately trying to come up with backup rain plans - like hiking Magic mountain in the rain, for example. Or Buckner. Or Cascade pass trail.

 

This was my first time climbing with Dan and wow, what a treat it was. Buy him food, gas, or bribe him with whatever so he would go climbing with you…First of all, he brought a better weather to Cascade pass. The rain had stopped, the clouds somewhat lifted and after 5 min of sport climbing approach, we were putting the crampons on at the base of the couloir – our backup option #3.

 

These wet, bear-like dudes residing on J-burg don’t give shit about weather, so why should we?

 

 

Dan’s Direct we took to the col:

 

 

Dan soloing the couloir:

 

 

“The constriction” was about 3’ wide and would not last for long it seems so future visitors are encouraged to take a cl. 3 rock bypass 50’ to the left.

 

In the moat higher up:

 

 

TFT Resplendent – as seen from another moat in the couloir. I climbed it last year and now it is looking back at me:

 

 

Happy arrival to the best view in the cascades and more clouds and rain above:

 

 

TFT in the limbo:

 

We pitched in the tent to precariously hang at the lip of the col – the flattest spot we could find:

 

The rain persists. The snow got “lumpy” under the Dan’s insulate pad at night and he was apparently sliding somewhere, to the base of Formidable or into another moat, not sure. Neoair are great however – one can use it as a swimming mattress too but I still got my hair wet. I slept for about an hour that night. The rain has finally stopped and Dan was up at 4 a.m. ready to go. I am on the other hand is a lazy sport climber and my alpine starts begin at 8 a.m. these days. I blabbed something like the white staircase needs time to dry out and went back to sleep. Finally I woke up with the sun shining, crawled out of the tent and to the base of the staircase. The staircase is wet and we solo it. Not bad really, if you don’t make hasty moves.

 

 

Dan on the white staircase is carrying my new “no-women” dyneema Cilo pack, just because he needs to be trendy. I carry nothing – I am trendy like that too, I suppose.

 

 

At the top of the staircase we put the crampons on and solo some steep snow trying to shoot for the grey tower on the summit ridge. Despite the adventurous routefinding, we did not dead end once and always were able to find connecting ramps between gendarmes and rock ribs.

 

More steep snow we soloed:

 

Somewhere half way up the face, I fell through the hidden moat. Not wanting to become an asphyxiation victim of the underground terrain on J-burg, I reluctantly suggested we should probably rope up at this point and start simul-climbing. Dan is easy and agrees to everything. It’s amazing.

 

Here is the only piece we placed on the face - while trying to get through another spooky moat:

 

 

Dan is approaching the summit ridge:

 

 

After our boots begun getting soaked, we moved to the rock section just to the left of grey tower. It was wet, smooth and felt harder than the white staircase. I already decided in my mind that I am not going to downclimb “this” on the way down.

 

 

Finally we reached the summit ridge. What a great spot: vertical gendarme to the left and skinny cornice to the right. I kicked the cornice with my foot and luckily it did not give away.

Getting on to the cornice:

 

 

Dan is escaping the cornice and downclimbing to the summit ridge:

 

 

Looking back at the cornice:

 

 

At this point we already see the false and true summits along the ridge and drop all our gear once we realize there is no more snow ahead to deal with. Once you are on the “trail”, the going is actually pretty good since most of the choss has been already cleaned out by the previous visitors. We did get off the “trail” a couple of times, and downclimbed too far down on the south side. That was not a class 2. Yocum Ridge here it comes: if you don’t like a hold, take it out and build a new one. Do yourself a favor and try to avoid the Yocum Ridge variation – if you want to live for a little bit longer.

 

 

On the summit:

 

 

 

5000’ down to the p-lot:

 

 

Bad weather behind us:

 

 

The show is over, the clouds closed in and the rain/suck is about to begin:

 

 

We reverse the path to get to our gear, put the crampons on and start downclimbing. I quickly realize that the snow/rain is not compatible with my boots. Thank you La Sportiva for making such a great product. I would certainly buy it again. If anyone ever been wondering about screaming barfies in summer, get these boots – LS Trango S Evo GTX.

 

We are getting soaked. A combination of belayed downclimbing, simulclimbing, soloing and rapping followed as the rain hit harder. I choose to rappel more than Dan (who downclimbs the snow next to me in sync) as my feet were getting hypothermic and alternating between rock and wet snow kind of helped not to loose them completely.

 

It worked. We are back at the col. Weather is seriously unhappy:

 

The post-descent recovery for the emotionally traumatized individuals:

 

 

Are we taking Doug’s Direct back to the car? You bet. It must be fun in a whiteout and rain. Plus I am lazy and hate extra hiking when there is no need.

 

Dan is “easy”, so I can do whatever. Call it my unhealthy inclination, but we will obviously downclimb the couloir. All our gear is soaked, and at least twice as heavy as before. Although everyone soloes the couloir these days, right then I was not particularly looking forward to carry a dead wet cow in my albeit trendy pack. So I sheepishly asked Dan if he would be OK to have the rope out granted I will climb first, kick in steps and promise not to fall. Again, no problem.

 

A barrage of chickens off the Cascade peak flew by suspiciously close to us reminding to hurry up so that we can go home unharmed. As expected, I get another bout of screaming barfies in my feet and almost get rid off the freaking soaked through boots right down into the moat. Boots or a lack thereof, there is not much difference really except extra weight - might as well continue in my socks. But the car is near, so I suck it up.

 

A good 4th of July weekend on a true Cascadian testpiece. Thanks, Dan!

 

 

Gear Notes:

One picket, C4 #0.75;

1 nut, 1 KB and tat - for raps

Wet boots

 

Approach Notes:

0

[DPS]

It was a treat climbing with Anastasia whose obvious love of the mountains is infectious. It is hard to feel down about poor weather when climbing with someone like her. She too, is easy. One piece alpine anchors? Not a problem. Rapping off a single nut or Bugaboo piton (after the fat guy carrying the pack raps first with an unweighted backup)? Sure thing.

 

One of the best parts of the trip was reading the summit register. Every name in it was familiar to me. If I did not know that climber personally, then I knew their partner for that trip. I felt that inscribing my name was like joining a secret fraternity of Cascade hard men and women.

 

The East Face variation felt like a 'classy' alternative to the true East Ridge. Very alpine feeling. A great climb with a great partner. Thanks for the good times.

[JasonG]

Nice work! JBerg is an accomplishment for sure, by any route. I agree that the register is a fun read. Did you like all of Dallas's entries?

[dougd]

Nice work Nastia and Dan.

 

d

[Alex]

I am surprised your name can even fit in a summit register, I propose that from now on you just sign your name "Anastasia Bla" !

[YocumRidge]

Stay classy, Alex. I know you can .

[ivan]

silly goose, when it's eternal winter in the northwest, you're supposed to climb in california!

[YocumRidge]

Possibly, but I hear someone was getting fairly soaked 6 pitches up on the Half Dome at that exact moment?

[ivan]

a few days earlier i assure you - didn't interrupt garbage-service in curry village though

[kukuzka1]

nice

[stevetimetravlr]

That's what I'm talking!