ajpederson Posted July 6, 2011 Posted July 6, 2011 Trip: South Early Winters Spire - South Arete Date: 7/2/2011 Trip Report: 5 of us headed up SEWS to start off the long weekend. It was a day of firsts for a few in the group. First multi-pitch lead and simul-climbing for Alicia, first multi-pitch for Kevin, and first trad leads and simul-climbing for Meredith. The parking lot wasn't plowed yet and we had to park across the road. There was snow from the parking lot so we followed the boot pack straight up rather than up the trail. This made for a quicker approach, but I don't know how much longer it will be before too much of the snow melts. Hiking in. There was only a couple little patches of snow on the route, one of them being in the gully you have to cross right before you get to the top. It can easily be avoiding by staying up on the ridge. Meredith on her first ever trad lead. Alicia leading the fin at the top. Kevin following on it. View from the top. Eric riding it down. Some down-climbing and 3 rappels later we were back to the start of the route and some goats. Goats. Some nice glissades and boot glissades later we were back at the car. A lot of the lower snow had melted out during the day. Added a little bit of cragging at Mazama on Sunday to make a nice weekend of climbing. Gear Notes: Small rack. Approach Notes: Parking lot wasn't plowed. Snow from there to the top, but melting out fast. Quote
McStupid Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 I'm glad you had a good trip. Did you notice if there was still much snow in the Southwest Couloir? Quote
ajpederson Posted July 7, 2011 Author Posted July 7, 2011 There was a group that had gone up it that morning, but they said the route wasn't really in any more. They said it had some good steep snow in parts, but there were melted out parts they had to deal with too. Quote
xhen Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 I talked to a party that did the SW Couloir on Friday. Said it was pretty sketch and spotty as far as snow was concerned, making it a little exciting. Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 Good fun! Thanks for the route conditions update (what a crazy snowpack)! Quote
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