[TR] Cutthroat | Wine Spires - South Buttress | Paisano/Burgundy 6/7/2016

[aleday]

Trip: Cutthroat | Wine Spires - South Buttress | Paisano/Burgundy

 

Date: 6/7/2016

 

Trip Report:

With temps so high last weekend, we decided to swap ski gear for approach and climbing shoes and give Washington Pass a go. In the spirit of sharing the information to better facilitate planning of other parties in the near future, I offer the facts of the case:

 

0. Decision fatigue on Friday debating all possible options for a weekend with valley temps exceeding 90F

1. Depart Seattle 0900 Saturday laden with all tools for backcountry shenanigans

2. Summit Cutthroat via South Buttress

3. Bound down soft snow to car by 2000 | Tasty treats consumed at Old Schoolhouse

4. Depart vehicle at 0900 Sunday for Wine Spires

5. Base of Paisano Pinnacle West Ridge at 1200

6. Summit Burgundy via North Face at 1730

7. Back to car by 2100

 

Observations:

0. Those routes are uber fun and the rock is stellar everywhere it needs to be. The Paisano-Burgundy linkup is fantastic.

1. Snow line is receding with the extra warm temps this weekend and was staying soft all day. No crampons or axe were used either day, but that may have been a result of how warm it was. With cooler temps in the forecast, a more robust setup may be warranted

2. Snow line is at bench camp under the wine spires as of Sunday evening.

2.5. We took the far right corner variation described in SuperTopo - as advertised, very fun, after some funky movement traversing under the giant ledge boulder whilst staying dry

3. We were able to do all routes and rappels with a single 70m with no sketchy business.

4. Summit of Burgundy could use a webbing refresh, along with a couple other stations. Not sure what the going ethic is on actually putting bolts in strategic places to eliminate the cobwebs of webbing adorning the face, but would welcome some feedback for future outings up thither. Given how great the climbing is on that route and other aspects of Burgundy, having a standard, safe, solid rap route for a 70m rope seems like a good addition to the area.

 

Cutthroat:

 

Wine Spires:

Edited June 8, 2016 by aleday

[Alisse]

Awesome!! Thanks for the conditions updates!