diepj Posted June 18, 2015 Posted June 18, 2015 Trip: Forbidden Peak - North Ridge Date: 6/14/2015 Trip Report: This was our first trip into Boston basin and on Forbidden. We got a taste of the area on Mt Buckner a few years ago and when the weekend was looking free enough the recent TR by jefetronic made us pull the trigger on short notice. The approach to Boston Basin wasn't too bad - a little brushy down low but direct. The weather was great and we made nice time heading up. Nearing the Stream Crossing in Lower Boston Basin We easily found the rap station at Shrkfin Col and rapped onto Boston Glacier. No issues with the Bergschrund there yet. From there navigation on the glacier was relatively straightforward with a few end runs here and there as we did a falling traverse below the big rock outcrop and then worked our way back up to the North Ridge. Rapping from Sharkfin Col Crossing the Boston Glacier We climbed the 5.6 corner onto the ridge proper before clearing a nearly melted-out bivy ledge. There were trickles of water melting off the snow but not enough to easily collect any so we melted snow for dinner. Evening at the Bivy Morning at the Bivy Bivy Pano We climbed some steep snow from the bivy before gaining the ridge top proper. (Thanks for the steps jefe!) Steep Snow We simuled a bunch of the ridge before pitching out the last few rope lengths before the summit. We got off the the west side at one point because it looked easier. It ended up being a little bit tricky and occasionally loose. once we got back on top of the ridge things were a lot better. Definitely recommend staying as true to the ridge as possible. The quality of the rock and the position is as good as it gets! Mid-Ridge Upper Ridge We made the summit and soaked in the views before heading down. Since we hadn't been on the W Ridge before we weren't sure what to expect, other than that the descent would be time consuming. It ended up taking a LOT longer than what we even thought would be a worst case. We tried to rap some sections where we came to realize would have been far easier to downclimb. Trying to rap the lower angle stuff meant we struggled with some stuck ropes, which were easily freed, but soaked up more time. We made a final rap and got established on the snow in the couloir and downclimbed. We made it to the glacier as light faded. Fortunately the traffic on the route left us a boot pack which was relatively easy to follow by headlamp and got us back to the upper basin camps. We found the trail and continued to the lower basin camps and arrived there around midnight. We realized that even if we continued we weren't going to get back to work in Portland by first thing Monday so we grabbed a bivy spot and made a second night of it. We cruised out the rest of the way in the morning and headed for cell service to report back the all-clear. In all a really enjoyable trip! Gear Notes: Pickets (for glacier, not used) Single cams .3-2, a #3 sized hex (used ) small-med nuts, lots of shoulder length slings and a few doubles for natural pro and liberal placement extensions. Approach Notes: Marblemount RS for a permit, then Boston Basin to Sharkfin col and don't look back. Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted June 18, 2015 Posted June 18, 2015 Nice work! Glad to hear my partner and I were not the only ones that took longer than expected to get to Boston Basin on the way out... seemed like we shouldn't have How easy was it to find the correct spot to gain the N ridge from the glacier? Do you have a pic of that? Quote
diepj Posted June 18, 2015 Author Posted June 18, 2015 How easy was it to find the correct spot to gain the N ridge from the glacier? Do you have a pic of that? We didn't have any trouble finding the right spot. After rapping through the col the rock spur you have to drop down and around is obvious. Once you navigate around that, and knowing that you need to gain the ridge around 7600', the spot to head for is again pretty obvious. The part of the glacier that approaches the ridge crest is pretty broad, and it doesn't really approach it anywhere else near that elevation. I don't have any photos looking forward on the glacier but I'll see what my partner has. There are bivys where the glacier meets the ridge, a few very small ones shortly after the corner pitch (this is where we stayed) and then it looked like there would be a few more further on once things melt a little bit more. Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted June 18, 2015 Posted June 18, 2015 How easy was it to find the correct spot to gain the N ridge from the glacier? Do you have a pic of that? We didn't have any trouble finding the right spot. After rapping through the col the rock spur you have to drop down and around is obvious. Once you navigate around that, and knowing that you need to gain the ridge around 7600', the spot to head for is again pretty obvious. The part of the glacier that approaches the ridge crest is pretty broad, and it doesn't really approach it anywhere else near that elevation. I don't have any photos looking forward on the glacier but I'll see what my partner has. There are bivys where the glacier meets the ridge, a few very small ones shortly after the corner pitch (this is where we stayed) and then it looked like there would be a few more further on once things melt a little bit more. Thanks! I've heard of some folks missing the correct spot to get on the ridge and that's why I asked. I'd love to get back to Forbidden and climb the N ridge some time. Quote
JasonG Posted June 18, 2015 Posted June 18, 2015 Getting to the start of the NR isn't the problem, it is finding the crossing to the Moraine Lake side that is much trickier. The NR notch is the most obvious and easiest looking place to access where the glacier comes close to the ridge. Such a good route! Now you are ready for the NW arete..... Quote
ilias Posted June 18, 2015 Posted June 18, 2015 Out of curiosity, how plausible would the North Ridge be as a descent route? Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted June 18, 2015 Posted June 18, 2015 Getting to the start of the NR isn't the problem, it is finding the crossing to the Moraine Lake side that is much trickier. The NR notch is the most obvious and easiest looking place to access where the glacier comes close to the ridge. Such a good route! Now you are ready for the NW arete..... Ahh, I may have been thinking of that Jason! Thanks! Yes, now that the albatross of a successful summit of Forbidden has been lifted from my shoulders, I am ready for other routes! :-) Quote
diepj Posted June 18, 2015 Author Posted June 18, 2015 Now you are ready for the NW arete..... NW Arete of?? (Mt Sir Donald? It looks similar...) Quote
diepj Posted June 18, 2015 Author Posted June 18, 2015 Out of curiosity, how plausible would the North Ridge be as a descent route? Out of curiosity, how plausible would the North Ridge be as a descent route? IMO a descent of the N ridge is not implausible, but it depends on what you objective is. If you need to do it to link something up it would be doable. It isn't plausible as an alternative to for getting back to Boston basin. It would require a lot of downclimbing. There are no established stations for rapping, but there aren't a lot of places where it would be efficient to rap. It would be a long day I think to ascend the W ridge from the top of the couloir and downclimb the entire N ridge to the bivy spots. Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted June 18, 2015 Posted June 18, 2015 Out of curiosity, how plausible would the North Ridge be as a descent route? Out of curiosity, how plausible would the North Ridge be as a descent route? IMO a descent of the N ridge is not implausible, but it depends on what you objective is. If you need to do it to link something up it would be doable. It isn't plausible as an alternative to for getting back to Boston basin. It would require a lot of downclimbing. There are no established stations for rapping, but there aren't a lot of places where it would be efficient to rap. It would be a long day I think to ascend the W ridge from the top of the couloir and downclimb the entire N ridge to the bivy spots. Ilia, why would you want to do that? If you find the W ridge too slow, there is the E ledges descent route... Quote
jefetronic Posted June 23, 2015 Posted June 23, 2015 Glad the TR and steps helped you guys out! What an awesome climb. Nice work! Quote
JasonG Posted June 23, 2015 Posted June 23, 2015 Now you are ready for the NW arete..... NW Arete of?? (Mt Sir Donald? It looks similar...) Well, maybe I should have said the NW face of Forbidden . An overlooked classic on the peak. Not easy to get to though! Quote
diepj Posted June 24, 2015 Author Posted June 24, 2015 That looks awesome! We saw a rap station at the notch where we got on the NR. I was curious where people would be headed from there. I'll definitely add it to "the list". I am really loving these long moderate carry over routes. They've got a lot of variety and you really get to use all your skills. Quote
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