[TR] Dragontail Peak - Cotter-Bebie Variation 4/3/2015

[scottgg]

Trip: Dragontail Peak - Cotter-Bebie Variation

 

Date: 4/3/2015

 

Trip Report:

 

Mark Bunker and I climbed a variation of this stellar route last Friday in about 19 hours car to car. We took a chance on an iffy forecast and experienced beautiful weather and darn-good conditions. The USFS opened the road from Icicle Road to within a mile of the Stuart Lake Trailhead, which shaved 6 miles off the standard winter round-trip hike.

 

The trail to Colchuck Lake is icy in several places, and the lake is still nicely frozen which allowed quick travel. We were able to break though the ice for water at the northern end, and stashed out poles here for the hike out.

 

Start of the Cotter-Bebie

 

Mark following first pitch.

 

Scott low on the route

 

Mark climbing though snow and spindrift sluffs

 

Scott following tricky chimney/slab

 

 

Scott just left of Fin

 

 

 

The route with in good shape with several interesting sections. It reminded me of some of the funnest parts of the Gerber Sink, stacked on top of each other. We bypassed the final corner of the route by traversing left under the Fin (not as simple as we hoped) and into a fun gully which took us to the 3rd Couloir. I was pretty toasted at this point, though Mark strapped on his alpine rocket boots and blasted up the 3rd Couloir and took us to the summit. Beautiful hike out under a full moon!

 

 

 

 

Gear Notes:

New Petzl superlight screws rock! Should have brought more than 3 though:)

[JensHolsten]

Right on guys! That's a really fun route...I've always wanted to climb the variation that blasts up the right side of the Fin, but never found it there. I've climbed another gully (crux of the route for sure!) just right of the "right side of the Fin" and twice finished on the upper Serpentine, which is also really fun mixed climbing. The north face of Dtail is loaded with options!

[Marko]

Yep, there ain't much better climbing in the Cascades than Dragontail north side in April!

 

When we got to the amphitheatre below the Fin, it was storming pretty good and spindrift was pouring down the normal C-B finish and down that goulotte right of the Fin. We therefore opted for the somewhat calmer left-side finish. That goulotte looked in though.

[Tom_Sjolseth]

Awesome. Perusing this forum today has rekindled the stoke meter.

[lazzara]

So is the goulotte the actual C-B finish up the right side of the Fin (?) or is it the line more to the right that hooks up with the Serp?

[Marko]

I think the C-B finish is the connection to the Serp, not the goulotte. Jens may know more precisely I think.

[JP Peters]

I've been in AK since the 31st of March and have not been following the weather down here. Does anyone know if the North Side of D'tail is holding up? Looks like freeze-thaw this week and I might be able to sneak in and would like to back-to-back this and the Gerber Sink.