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What Are Your Favorite and/or Best Climbs?


Buckaroo

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When I wrote that one down I thought I might regret it. It is the most fun and interesting ice climb I have ever done, but it was in easy WI5 condition and I didn't lead it.

 

Why I'll never climb Torre Egger isn't about the grade. Jim Donini called it either the most difficult summit in South America or the most difficult in the Americas, I can't remember, and it's got to have the lowest success rate of the Torres. Plus light and fast technical alpine climbing freaks the hell out of me.

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) Name 3 to 5 climbs that you have climbed.

 

Mt. Shuksan, Price Glacier

Colchuck Peak, NE Buttress

Mt. Stuart, Ice Cliff Arete

Mt. Hunter, SW Buttress

J'Berg, NE Buttress in winter (to the snow arête)

 

2) Name 3 to 5 climbs that you could potentially climb but have not yet done so.

 

Mooses Tooth, Ham and Eggs (got stormed off)

Mt Huntington, West Face Couloir (Nettle-Quirk)

Ptarmigan Traverse (the whole enchilada)

Alpamayo, Ferrari Route

Mt Rainier, Curtis Ridge (got stormed off)

 

3) Name 3 to 5 climbs that you admire but will probably never climb for whatever reason.

 

Everything farther than a one day drive from Seattle

 

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J'Berg, NE Buttress in winter (to the snow arête)

 

Wait, you descended from the snow arete in the winter? Yikes. You should write that TR up!

I wrote it up in bombastic style in a post titled 'Sport Climbing for the New Millenium'. That was in the winter of 2000. We got to the snow arête and bivied. My partner brought the stove, which was a butane canister model. It was about 8 degrees out and the stove did not work all that well. Realizing we had two more long days ahead of us without a functioning stove we bailed the next morning, down climbing and rappelling with a single 60 meter rope. Afterwards, I told Colin what a great route it was and he and Mark Bunker sent the whole rig the next winter during the worst possible weather window.

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3) Name 3 to 5 climbs that you admire but will probably never climb for whatever reason.

 

Everything farther than a one day drive from Seattle

 

 

3.

Spray ice

 

 

 

You guys aren't doing this right, name CLIMBS in the 3rd category. Not grades, types, or descriptions of climbs. For some hard to fathom reason the 3rd category personally seems the most interesting. And also for some reason it seems the one category that many people aren't answering specifically.

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This is too much fun so will go again:

 

 

Yeah, maybe should have made it 10 in each category.

 

Okay, will go again also, after reading all these it tripped some memories.

 

1)Have climbed

Whitney, East Buttress

El Cap, East Buttress

Serenity Crack--Sons of Yesterday

Weeping Wall, Rt side

Edith Cavell, E Ridge solo

Shuksan, N Face winter solo (epic bivy)

Drury Falls

Outer Space, Orbit link up

Orbit, free solo.

Snow Creek Wall ice climb

 

2)Want to Climb

N Pickets Traverse

Mongo Ridge

Temple Crag, Dark Star

Liberty Ridge, Rainier

Steck Salathe, Sentinel

East Ridge, Temple

S Howser, Becky-Chounaird

NE Buttress of Slesse in winter

Eve Dearborn, N Peak Index

 

3)Will never climb

Lhotse, South Face

K2, The Polish Line

Nanga Parbat, Rupal Face, Anderson/House (4100m--13,450ft)

Cerro Torre Traverse

El Cap, Salathe, all free

 

 

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Almost seems like we need a fourth category for best(worst?) suffer fest and/or climbs that we have failed at(is it possible for one of your favorite climbs to be one that you didn't complete?). This is getting complicated! I like!

 

Excellent addition! "50 Most Unclimbed Climbs of North America"

 

 

 

I'll go

 

4)Climbs you have epic'd, failed on one or more times, and/or don't recommend.

 

Sunset Ridge on Rainier in Winter (4x DNS), longest approach on Rainier and rarely in condition

Japanese Route, Alberta. (4x DNS)(choss fest, bad weather) Even Colin says it's bad.

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Yup. I descended the Japanese route after climbing the NE ridge. Both routes were bad but the Japanese route was horrendous.

 

ne ridge is a classic for the rockies. your risk tolerance was on the wane.

 

the japanese route might actually be safer in winter.

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Why is Sunset ridge on Rainier in condition less often than most other routes on the mountain? That surprises me.

Maybe not more than other routes, but worse in winter as opposed to summer. Three out of four times the snow was not consolidated and the one time it was there were ice chunks coming down the face before the ridge. The one time I did get pretty high there was a 60mph wind at the ridge and what looked like 100mph at the summit.

 

 

Orbit, free solo.

Nice, how did that go?

Years ago I accidentally free soloed Orbit, onsite. Shook me up pretty good!

The crux for me was the chimmney, didn't feel secure and couldn't really figure it out to do it smoothly, ended up just scruffing up it. After that the rest was positive and a mind game more than physical, but had done it about a month before with the intent to eventually solo. No way I could have onsited it, especially "accidently", that's burly.

 

 

the japanese route might actually be safer in winter.

Mt Alberta didn't get a winter ascent (by any route) until 2003 and that was by the easiest route (The Japanese). Probably because the snow rarely consolidates, or gets to non-avi conditions. You almost have to live up there to wait it out and be ready to climb on a moments notice. Sort of like Eve Dearborn here.

 

That said the late winter (just out of calender winter?) ascents of N Twin and N face of Alberta are sort of visionary, making it a mixed climb with no rockfall cuz it's frozen.

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Climbs I loved (in no particular order)

1. French Ridge of Huntington (FWA)

2. NE Face of Mt Dickey (FA)

3. NW Face of Mt Burkett (FA)

4. West Ridge of Burkett Needle (FA)

5. NE Face of Three Fingers (FA)

 

Climbs I’d love to do (in no particular order)

1. More stuff in Alaska

2. Anything in the Yosemite (never been)

3. Anything in the Needles (never been)

4. Anything in Chamonix (never been)

5. Anything in Patagonia (never been)

6. Verdon Gorge with my kids when they are older

 

Climbs that impress the hell out of me (in no particular order)

1. I-TO :rawk:

2. Torre Traverse

3. Fitz Roy Traverse

4. Siguniang Southwest Ridge

5. North Face Mt Johnson

6. Blood from the Stone

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"there is a simple reason why the same climbs show up on many lists on this thread. A person writing their list after reading the previous posts are affected by those previous posts. Those climbs get "remembered" while the slew of other great climbs are neglected."

 

I think there might be a little of that going with the constant repetition of the Beckey-Chouinard but I know I would have listed it anyways...

 

Most likely.

 

However in regards to the the Beckey-Chouinard; it really is quite the fantastic climb. I'll always remember that one and am not surprised that it's mentioned as often as it has been.

 

Question for the masses; I've seen LFT and the Cirque on a few "Will not climb" lists. Just wondering why? It's not technically that difficult of a route; just long and remote. Is it just the logistics? I'm interested as I'm heading up there this summer.

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Lotus Flower Tower is the only reasonably easy route in the area. There are basically 3 or 4 routes, with LFT being accessible for the masses. It's friggin expensive to spend 2-3 weeks and probably 4-5K to climb one multi- pitch 5.10. I was told by a very well accomplished alpinist that if you dug all the moss and dirt out of crack systems, the area would be a mecca, like the Bugs. But you would have to spend years on excavation. So in short- it's expensive to get there, the weather can suck and there is for most folks only one route to do, so during a good weather window it can get extremely crowded (have heard 5 parties on route in one day).

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