Black Peak - NW Face - beta?

[obsydian]

Anyone done the NW Face of Black Peak or have any beta on the route? Becky says 5.5 and not much else. Rock sound? Good route or stay away?

 

Also, looks like a few have climbed the NE Ridge route since Nelson published, can't tell from descriptions if the climb is all running belays or fixed pitches, any beta on # of pitches and actual ratings?

 

Thanks!

[scot'teryx]

NE Ridge www.sverdina.com and www.ericsbasecamp.net

[Sabertooth]

NE Ridge is either 5.2 if you stay off the crest, or 5.5 for a move or two directly on the crest. It's a good route to simulclimb.

[RideT61]

Climbed the reoute last year. Lots of loose rock, some of the worst I've seen in Wa. The climbing is easy though. Cracks are parallel so nuts don't work so well. Bring long runners, tricams and some hexes. If you want to go fast take a few wxtra pices and you can simul the entire ridge in two piches.

[Sabertooth]

1. The central section that is knifedged is not loose at all, and has good easy climbing, with nice exposure.

2. We placed almost all nuts, you should have looked harder.

3. Based upon Topozone, the NE Ridge is approximately 1,500 feet long. So how much does a 750 foot rope weigh?

[dberdinka]

The NW Face is a Skoog route I'm thinking? It appears to be an awesome looking north face thats remote, hidden and on a big mountain. I wouldn't expect great rock quality but in the right conditions it might make an exciting alpine climb. Do it when the highway opens a write us a TR!

[Gary_Yngve]

NW Face in late November a few years ago from the summit (we did S Ridge)

 

[dbb]

Yep, that view down the NW face caught my attn when I was on the NE ridge. I remember that there were some gullies and ribs on the upper face above the glacier that looked interesting. Probably not the best rock, but it'll all be covered in 5 ft of water ice, right?

[Lowell_Skoog]

My brothers Gordy and Carl climbed the NW face of Black Peak in August 1978. I think the rock was mediocre at best, but not very hard. A friend and I were climbing the west peak at the same time and we observed Gordy and Carl climbing steadily without problems. (Mostly simul-climbing.) I recall Gordy saying the rock "wasn't too bad."

 

On May 20, 1979, Gary Brill and I made the second ascent of the NW face, in spring conditions. Here is a picture taken in 1992 showing what the face looks like. There was a little more snowcover on the face when we did it. I think spring is the best time to do this route.

 

 

To reach the face, we descended from the lowest col on the NE ridge (at left in the picture) by downclimbing snow gullies. Later in the season a rappel or two may be required. Our route started almost directly below the summit and climbed mixed snow and ice up and right to the sunlit, elongated snowfield in the center of the face. We climbed this snowfield to the larger sunlit snowfield above and angled left up it to the notch just left of the true summit. Gordy and Carl's route started farther right, near the toe of the face, and followed the slight prow on the face that angles up and left toward the summit.

 

Here is a picture of Gary just above the crux of our May climb, a short mixed pitch (M3-4?).

 

 

And here's a picture of Gary leading the final snow slope to the ridge just east of the summit.

 

[obsydian]

On May 20, 1979, Gary Brill and I made the second ascent of the NW face, in spring conditions. Here is a picture taken in 1992 showing what the face looks like. There was a little more snowcover on the face when we did it. I think spring is the best time to do this route

 

Hey Lowell, thanks for the beta on your climb 25 years ago, which is the second ascent described in Becky's guide. Doesn't sound like many folks have followed, the NE Route is the most popular technical route. I'll have to go up there and check it out this summer. Again thanks.

[Lowell_Skoog]

Hey Lowell, thanks for the beta on your climb 25 years ago, which is the second ascent described in Becky's guide. Doesn't sound like many folks have followed, the NE Route is the most popular technical route.

 

I haven't heard of any other ascents.

 

I'm starting to understand how old-timers get that way. Twenty-five years slip by and you suddenly think, "Dang! How did that happen?"

[JoshK]

Hey Lowell, thanks for the beta on your climb 25 years ago, which is the second ascent described in Becky's guide. Doesn't sound like many folks have followed, the NE Route is the most popular technical route.

 

 

I haven't heard of any other ascents.

 

I'm starting to understand how old-timers get that way. Twenty-five years slip by and you suddenly think, "Dang! How did that happen?"

 

Then there is the opposite side, us "young punks" who think we know experience or what-have-you, when the reality is people were climbing way cool routes before we were even alive.

[charlesclaassen]

[dberdinka]

Beautiful Photos! A route that looks worthy of repeats. On the right edge of the photo you can see a sliver of the 3000' N buttress of the NW summit. Another huge line that will one day be climbed.