[TR] GOODE - NE Butt via Park Creek carryover 7/27/2014

[YocumRidge]

Trip: GOODE - NE Butt via Park Creek carryover

 

Date: 7/27/2014

 

Trip Report:

On July 27th my friend Simon and I climbed NE Butt on Goode and carried over via Park Creek over 3 long days. The cops in Darrington are mean and for some reason gave me a ticket for the dead headlight.

 

It has been raining when we got to the Bridge Creek TH and crashing on the cement in the p-lot was not the best thing in the world but it worked. The restrooms at Bridge Creek TH are high end and can be certainly a much better choice of the bivvy material (Ivan?).

 

The first 10 mile approach on PCT was swift and it took us 3.5 hrs to reach the North Fork junction.

 

Still full of energy:

 

 

Second barefoot crossing of the Grizzly creek:

 

 

North Fork Bridge creek crossing was less fortunate for me, as I did manage to fall into that freaking creek:

 

 

Simon approaching the slabs:

 

 

As we were getting tired of the shwack and heat at this point, we forgot the beta to traverse climbers right and pretty much stayed close to the left waterfall. Not a good idea. The class 3 quickly transformed into a serious cl. 5 for which we got the rope out. Clean and smooth rock and way more solid than anything we climbed on the butt the next day. Still, how many people rope up on this approach – more like a “0”, but whatever – 9 hours after leaving the car we had arrived at the highest bivvy sites at 5400’.

 

If you think Goode is a remote peak, think again – we had two teams of 4 next to us that weekend.

 

At the bivvy sites:

 

 

Megalodon ridge at sunset. My friends climbed it two weeks prior and rave about it. It would certainly be a mega-classic like TFT if not for the sucky approach (which is less sucky than that for NEB anyway). Still, it seems to be trendy these days and I am secretly hoping it is more solid than NEB too.

 

 

 

We did not see any bears, but this dude chewed a hole in the Simon’s water bladder at night:

 

 

Next morning we had to sacrifice some time to fix the bladder and then crossed the Goode gl on the left side through the icefall:

 

Short vertical alpine ice steps in the approach shoes and Alu crampons plus an ice tool in hand. The other team went on the right side of the icefall and their way seemed to be more straightforward then ours.

 

 

 

Simon in the moat at the base of the NEB (left side):

 

 

Hiking the lower NEB:

 

 

Simuling the upper NEB along with other 8 people (hello Forbidden west ridge):

 

Plenty of snow on route:

 

 

Obviously, everyone wants to bivvy on the summit but the summit does not take 10 people (6 at most), so we chose to bivvy below the Black Tooth:

 

 

 

On the summit next morning:

 

 

Descending SW couloir was pleasant and way more solid than I expected. Bedayan couloir, on the other side, another descent option, leaves much to be desired. I almost threw up when I looked down that thing from the summit.

 

 

Looking back on the south side of Goode:

 

 

The crux of the descent was finding the “trail” on the “timbered ridge” to get down to Park Creek trail.

 

Don’t try to cross-country here – that sucked a big time. We got lucky and picked up the faint trail again in the meadow to the skiers right of the downfall.

 

400 mg of caffeine and 20 mile back to the car followed.

 

Still alive at the South Fork. Bridge creek is civilized here and has a bridge for a change:

 

My Gooded out feet at the car next morning:

 

 

Gear Notes:

Light alpine rack to #2 and a 60 m half rope

 

Approach Notes:

35 miles total

[JoshK]

North Fork Bridge creek crossing was less fortunate for me, as I did manage to fall into that freaking creek:

 

Ask Ivan about my experience (totally self-inflicted) with NF Bridge Creek. It can get much worse (and expensive) than falling in...

 

If you think Goode is a remote peak, think again – we had two teams of 4 next to us that weekend.

 

Simuling the upper NEB along with other 8 people (hello Forbidden west ridge):

 

Yes, the joys of the internet era. Hence the reason I have given up going anywhere popular on the weekend, or writing TRs. (Climbing nothing of interest to anybody helps too. ) It has its positives too though, so I digress.

 

Nice job on the climb, this is one of my favorites: fun and such beauty in that area!

[dougd]

Well Nastia you should be rounding into fine climbing shape by now... The feet toughening up as well.

 

Enjoyed this TR, looking forward to more.

 

d

[ivan]

devuska, cops pull you over all the time because you have truly criminal feet

[YocumRidge]

I bet. Now I have one criminal hand too

[ivan]

shit, so long as yer showing snuff porn for yer feet in this t.r., might as well throw that one in for the hand as well

[YocumRidge]

I thought you took the best ones last week, no?