[TR] Colchuck Peak - North Buttress Couloir/NW Fac

[SmilingWhiteKnuckles]

Trip: Colchuck Peak - North Buttress Couloir/NW Face

 

Date: 6/7/2008

 

Trip Report:

It's never too late for winter in the Cascades...or in Seattle for that matter. Junuary I've heard it called recently. Anyhow, a questionable forecast meets two fathers with a bad jones for the alpine--the only solution is a trip to the east side.

 

I figured that with the cold nightime temps this route would go even in a gale. And well, it was windy up and high and pretty dang bitter wintery in the shade, but we were treated to mostly sun and we had a blast climbing this route.

I love this route and it provided, especially with the sun, a sweet introduction to roped alpine climbing to my friend, Jeremy, who's a rad skier and great athlete, but had never used an axe or crampons before. I'm pretty sure the fire is lit!

The couloir itself was more melted out than the previous times I've done this route and I cavalierly threw asked Jeremy if he'd prefer the rock or snow at the step. Well rock it was. I rationalized that this was safer cause nothing would come down that way, but realistically not much was falling down even in the morning sun...

 

The lead up the rock part took me a long time as I hemmed and hawed about this way or that and the manky rock--really helped bring my present skill/strength check back to earth. And hell, I got through it which made me feel good the rest of the day and still feels good.

 

So up and up we went in kind of step kicking snow that changed a lot. Sometimes it was kind of crusty and up top it seemed like wind blown slab, but it was great really.

 

At the notch, the wind was howling and despite having stopped just below the gale to gather our thoughts, still the sweat froze for awhile despite the sun. Maybe that's it, that's what I love, that you follow the sun on this one. This was certainly my most favorite time on the NW face. My recollections of it are somewhat thin from previous times. It was more filled in and I trucked up it. But now there was a lot of rock and so many ways to go. And the snow was mostly this hard neve dotted with rime feathers. Very cool.

JD on alpine turbo metal

Also worth noting is that there were a lot of people up there, mostly doing Colchuck via the glacier or Dragontail via the Colchuck Glacier or Aasgard, and we met some cool folks. One couple told us there were up there the weekend prior and some dude basejumped the Sandpiper. They were stoked about it. Jeremy and I just thought WTF?! friggin deathwish. We would have liked to have seen it though. Also met (by voice) fellow CC'er DPS who was sleeping in front of our car--nice to meet you (tales?).

 

 

Gear Notes:

crampons, axe, 40m rope, light rack (we brought one picket and used it...cause we had it)

 

Approach Notes:

No snow until the boulder field

Edited June 10, 2008 by SmilingWhiteKnuckles

[DPS]

Hello,

 

It was nice meeting you as well. We hiked in to do N Ridge Sherpa but were met by wet, icy, snowy rock. We managed a couple of pitches but we were moving very slowly. I smelled an epic in the making so we bailed before we got too committed. It was a great day in the hills none the less.

 

Dan

[kevino]

Hello,

 

It was nice meeting you as well. We hiked in to do N Ridge Sherpa but were met by wet, icy, snowy rock. We managed a couple of pitches but we were moving very slowly. I smelled an epic in the making so we bailed before we got too committed. It was a great day in the hills none the less.

 

Dan

 

were you the guys that got there late saturday night? If not, there was another group planning on climbing sherpa as well.

[DPS]

We rolled in around 9:00 PM Saturday night. We saw no one else on Sherpa. I wandered over and talked with a group of 3 (or 4) who were planning on doing Ice Cliff Glacier. Was that you?

[kevino]

Yes, that was us. Really good weekend for being in the mountains. I wonder if the group doing a route on dragontail is on here as well?

[moronbros]

We saw all the steps going up dragontail on Sunday. The whole area was getting gang-banged due to the fact that the forecast shifted into great weather somehow.

 

Daniel - that group heading toward ice cliff might have been my buddies. Where did you see them?

[DPS]

We saw all the steps going up dragontail on Sunday. The whole area was getting gang-banged due to the fact that the forecast shifted into great weather somehow.

 

Daniel - that group heading toward ice cliff might have been my buddies. Where did you see them?

Parking lot.

[Z-Man]

What is the Sandpiper?

[JoshK]

Does this route couloir route on colchuck make for a good solo? it's been a few years since i've looked up that peak from the colchuck lake side.

 

thanks,

-josh

[ivan]

soloed it back in the winter - the coulior is easy, the face is very exposed but probably a lot easier when not covered in light snow and ice

[SmilingWhiteKnuckles]

What is the Sandpiper?

 

The Sandpiper:

[SmilingWhiteKnuckles]

Does this route couloir route on colchuck make for a good solo? it's been a few years since i've looked up that peak from the colchuck lake side.

 

thanks,

-josh

 

It makes a great solo! Provided the conditions are "good" (it is a snow route afterall) and you're comfortable with exposure on steep snow. I've soloed it twice, but the couloir was quite a bit more filled in than it is currently.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

soloed it back in the winter - the coulior is easy, the face is very exposed but probably a lot easier when not covered in light snow and ice

 

I couldn't see the whole route from the col up to the summit, but what I saw looks pretty melted out now.

[DDG]

Sorry. At the request of the jumper, I've removed the video.

Edited July 2, 2008 by DDG

[telemarker]

That's nuts! I spoke with those guys before and after their jump. Looking at Sandpiper, personally I'd want a lot more vertical drop. Geeze!

[geisthaus]

Great photos.

Looks like you did it in one day. How long was the round trip from the parking lot?