jordop Posted February 27, 2006 Posted February 27, 2006 Climb: -Royal Flush 100m WI4 Date of Climb: 2/25/2006 Trip Report: Stemalot and I climbed the beginnings of a large local ice route on Saturday. Not expecting to encounter anything of consequence, we took only one 50m 9mil and 4 screws. Shoulda taken doubles and more screws. Tis usually the reverse . . . There was a storm scheduled to hit in the evening, but it ended up slamming down about noon. We got nailed and were nearly "flushed" out of the area by incessant and increasingly strong spindrift avalanches. Looking up to P1: note beginnings of the flush, too giddy to think of the incoming shitstorm . . . I offered to take P1. Had trouble commiting to vertical snice, then got hammered with my hood down. Soaking, retreated to belay. Stemalot took it. One screw and one shitty (perhaps the shittiest I have seen) tricam. He pulled the crux move by laybacking the hollow sheet with his right arm while moving up with the left tool Note shitticane getting bad . . . P2 was wicked 70 degree ice with some WI3. Steve seconding: Then the shitnado touched down. We couldn't move up, never mind look up. Steve gettin clubbed Rapped off a mutilated picket into a now badly loaded snowfield. Traversed left into incognito, hoping to hit a ridge we could rap. Two rope lengths of steep icing sugar flutings (!) with no pro above a cliff band (!!) got us to a point where two raps got us to the base of the wall. As Steve began moving off the pocket snowfield the whole thing cracked but did not release Getting over to the ridge as it gets a bit dark: This climb is ridiculously close to Vancouver. Steve wants to go back and finish it before relinquishing details, but the intrepid thinkers may have figured out the rough locale via a few hints. There are a few other very large and hard lines in the area. We had to keep reminding ourselves that the area is less than 20 miles from office buildings. Pretty impressive place and seemingly vastly overlooked. Gear Notes: more screws needed Quote
Ponzini Posted February 27, 2006 Posted February 27, 2006 Cool! When you're gettin' hit with shitballs, you gotta get a shitbat... Quote
Stefan Posted February 27, 2006 Posted February 27, 2006 think of the positive--you did not get rained on. great TR! Quote
Dru Posted February 27, 2006 Posted February 27, 2006 I'm so glad I had to work on Saturday instead of climbing this route. Quote
jmace Posted February 27, 2006 Posted February 27, 2006 Nice Effort, started to get worried about the chores I elected to do saturday. Next time Quote
willstrickland Posted February 27, 2006 Posted February 27, 2006 Just curious why Steve has a biner around his left axe in the 4th pic? Can't say I've seen that before. Quote
jordop Posted February 27, 2006 Author Posted February 27, 2006 It's the keeper loop on his leash I think Quote
Stemalot Posted February 27, 2006 Posted February 27, 2006 Didn't I tell you to photoshop the trees in the background to make it looks like we are doing some hard sh!t in the rockies or alaska? that loop is part of my lousy inefficient leash love the photos! Quote
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