Saturday, July 30, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Fall Turns
There's been some great skiing on the Muir Snowfield this fall so far. Between storms, and those 'tweens have been small, there have been some good snow conditions for skiing. I last went up to Camp Muir on Friday November 2nd. All those gargantuan suncups have been filled in. Ski penetration has been pretty nice at less than 5 cm in most places so skinning up was fast.
I've taken the webcam down for the season. Although we did get it working again, it's just too much to maintain in the winter, so we'll save it for next season.
Public shelter is open, but it may be snowed in when you get there. Expect to shovel out the entrance. Could take a long time and you may be exposed to the wind while you're digging (and tired and cold)...
A toilet is open near the public shellter, which may need to be dug out, too.
Remember a few things this winter:
-Get a forcast from the NWAC before you go.
-If overnighting, remember a permit, a pass and to park in the overnight area at Paradise.
-Pack for contingencies, such as getting stuck out for an unplanned overnight.
I've taken the webcam down for the season. Although we did get it working again, it's just too much to maintain in the winter, so we'll save it for next season.
Public shelter is open, but it may be snowed in when you get there. Expect to shovel out the entrance. Could take a long time and you may be exposed to the wind while you're digging (and tired and cold)...
A toilet is open near the public shellter, which may need to be dug out, too.
Remember a few things this winter:
-Get a forcast from the NWAC before you go.
-If overnighting, remember a permit, a pass and to park in the overnight area at Paradise.
-Pack for contingencies, such as getting stuck out for an unplanned overnight.
Green Giant Buttress Dreamer ..
Finally, our schedules and weather cooperated to let Steve and I climb together. Since it was early October, and the snow level was around 5000' most of the week, we decided alpine options would be a little cold and snowy (for rock climbing.) We made the decision Thursday night to make an attempt at Dreamer (5.9) on Green Giant Buttress.
Temps were hovering around freezing as we made the drive out to Darrington Saturday morning. The drive in is pretty straight forward. Although with a standard sedan, you may wish to stop earlier than Steve and I. (We bottomed the car on rocks a few times.) A high clearance 4WD could get even further than we did. Our driving progress stopped at a slight pullout on the left of the road just before a ditch.
We started hiking the road and after a 1/4 mile came to the point all vehicles would have to stop. Brush got thicker, but it was never that much of a bushwhack. Beta for the approach was accurate, and after some point in time we were near old mining debris and crossing the "braided stream." This is where is got slightly tricky. We approached the base of the "three tiered waterfall" as described in the approach. There was a very faint trail through serious vegetation right at the base of the falls. It did not look easily passable. So Steve and I hiked up a slippery slab at the first tier of the waterfall and found a more suitable looking path. We did a not so fun bushwhack up this path for about 10 minutes until it became a dead end. We hiked back down and found the correct bushwhack start from the falls. Which was at the base of the slab we climbed. It is currently marked by a log going up from the water into the bushes.
Once we found the correct drainage, things started going more smoothly. A bit of bushwhacking and we were back to homo erectus. Now on semi-wet slabs scrambling up the drainage. Near the top of the drainage we had a choice, go right up something that looked like the side of a moraine (Rock loosely embedded in dirt.) or go up a "path" to the left. We wrongly chose path. If we had looked at the beta, we would have correctly gone right and taken less time and danger to reach the base of the route, but instead this is what followed:
Photo by Steve Machuga.
We scrambled 3rd and 4th class slabs for a bit. (And possibly some 5th class moves.) We even got out the rope at one point. Then the rock eased a bit, and we were finally near the base, where another party had left a pack. We geared up and from what I can tell, scrambled some 4th or 5th class up to the base. (Actually we got the rope out again for the final bit to the base.) At this point it was close to five hours since we left the car.
I led out on the first pitch, and according to Nelson's topo, combined it with the second pitch. From where we started, we were just shy of a full rope length, so there was about 15' of simul-climbing that Steve and I had to do to reach the anchor. Because I am blind, I totally missed the three bolt anchor and slung a bush and brought Steve up.
Steve started out on the next pitch, which looked too run-out for my taste. (Once again, we couldn't see bolts correctly and this pitch was somewhat off-route.) This pitch is supposed to go right and then up, but the bolts we could see were directly up and then far right. It wasn't until it was too late to turn around that we saw the bolt directly right of the belay, and the line of bolts leading up below the bolt we "aimed" for. Steve felt "our" variation was in the 5.10a land. This wouldn't surprise me, as the first bolt he clipped was on the Urban Bypass, which I believe goes at 10a. He made a scary run-out traverse over dirty rock to reach the next bolt. (No pics, as I was watching him closely.) I followed up behind, taking what may have been a slightly easier path.
We got to the next pitch where I led off on somewhat run-out knobby slab. The climbing was enjoyable and got the heart beating a bit. Steve led up the next pitch which had some awkward moves up what was called a 5.7 corner. The pitch was fun and ending in the most comfortable belay stance since the top of the first pitch. Steve led out on the next pitch which is the one Dreamer is known for. It starts in a shallow corner with easier climbing. It then goes to the top of a pillar, where a bolt is clipped. Then traverses right with no protection up to the bottom of a large flake. Then a 5.9 traverse back left and over the flake to enter "The Blue Crack." An awkward, 5.9 flake/crack that brings you up to the next hanging belay. Steve led it in fine style. I got cold at the belay as the sun went behind the ridge. I was getting tired and I think the cold I was getting all week finally was getting the upper hand. I followed behind, but felt really tired. (I also hadn't eaten a lunch yet.) I took a fall midway through the 5.9 traverse. Regained my composure, but had to struggle the rest of the way up the pitch. At the top, I asked Steve what time it was, and he said 4:30pm. I told him we had two hours of daylight, and it was in our best interest to descend.
This turned out to be a wise decision, as we had minor difficulties rapping with daylight. (One rap left Steve 15' shy of the anchor, and I had to lower him.) I had to make an intermediate stop to make sure I would reach the next anchor. On the last two raps, the other party reached us, and we shared their ropes for the final raps. I was a little slow packing up, and we lost them going into the bushwhack. We turned on our headlamps and headed downhill. Steve and I then proceeded to march around (through?) vine maples for what seemed an eternity before we regained the gully where we should have left it in the morning. The rest of the scramble/swhack/hike out was uneventful, but all by headlamp.
Overall, the climbing on Dreamer is a step up from what I am used to doing. I think my difficulties with the 5.9 pitch were more due to fatigue than my climbing ability, but I will most likely have to wait until next year to tackle that climb again.
Pics are located here.
(I included Steve's pics as well.)
Temps were hovering around freezing as we made the drive out to Darrington Saturday morning. The drive in is pretty straight forward. Although with a standard sedan, you may wish to stop earlier than Steve and I. (We bottomed the car on rocks a few times.) A high clearance 4WD could get even further than we did. Our driving progress stopped at a slight pullout on the left of the road just before a ditch.
We started hiking the road and after a 1/4 mile came to the point all vehicles would have to stop. Brush got thicker, but it was never that much of a bushwhack. Beta for the approach was accurate, and after some point in time we were near old mining debris and crossing the "braided stream." This is where is got slightly tricky. We approached the base of the "three tiered waterfall" as described in the approach. There was a very faint trail through serious vegetation right at the base of the falls. It did not look easily passable. So Steve and I hiked up a slippery slab at the first tier of the waterfall and found a more suitable looking path. We did a not so fun bushwhack up this path for about 10 minutes until it became a dead end. We hiked back down and found the correct bushwhack start from the falls. Which was at the base of the slab we climbed. It is currently marked by a log going up from the water into the bushes.
Once we found the correct drainage, things started going more smoothly. A bit of bushwhacking and we were back to homo erectus. Now on semi-wet slabs scrambling up the drainage. Near the top of the drainage we had a choice, go right up something that looked like the side of a moraine (Rock loosely embedded in dirt.) or go up a "path" to the left. We wrongly chose path. If we had looked at the beta, we would have correctly gone right and taken less time and danger to reach the base of the route, but instead this is what followed:
Photo by Steve Machuga.We scrambled 3rd and 4th class slabs for a bit. (And possibly some 5th class moves.) We even got out the rope at one point. Then the rock eased a bit, and we were finally near the base, where another party had left a pack. We geared up and from what I can tell, scrambled some 4th or 5th class up to the base. (Actually we got the rope out again for the final bit to the base.) At this point it was close to five hours since we left the car.
I led out on the first pitch, and according to Nelson's topo, combined it with the second pitch. From where we started, we were just shy of a full rope length, so there was about 15' of simul-climbing that Steve and I had to do to reach the anchor. Because I am blind, I totally missed the three bolt anchor and slung a bush and brought Steve up.
Steve started out on the next pitch, which looked too run-out for my taste. (Once again, we couldn't see bolts correctly and this pitch was somewhat off-route.) This pitch is supposed to go right and then up, but the bolts we could see were directly up and then far right. It wasn't until it was too late to turn around that we saw the bolt directly right of the belay, and the line of bolts leading up below the bolt we "aimed" for. Steve felt "our" variation was in the 5.10a land. This wouldn't surprise me, as the first bolt he clipped was on the Urban Bypass, which I believe goes at 10a. He made a scary run-out traverse over dirty rock to reach the next bolt. (No pics, as I was watching him closely.) I followed up behind, taking what may have been a slightly easier path.
We got to the next pitch where I led off on somewhat run-out knobby slab. The climbing was enjoyable and got the heart beating a bit. Steve led up the next pitch which had some awkward moves up what was called a 5.7 corner. The pitch was fun and ending in the most comfortable belay stance since the top of the first pitch. Steve led out on the next pitch which is the one Dreamer is known for. It starts in a shallow corner with easier climbing. It then goes to the top of a pillar, where a bolt is clipped. Then traverses right with no protection up to the bottom of a large flake. Then a 5.9 traverse back left and over the flake to enter "The Blue Crack." An awkward, 5.9 flake/crack that brings you up to the next hanging belay. Steve led it in fine style. I got cold at the belay as the sun went behind the ridge. I was getting tired and I think the cold I was getting all week finally was getting the upper hand. I followed behind, but felt really tired. (I also hadn't eaten a lunch yet.) I took a fall midway through the 5.9 traverse. Regained my composure, but had to struggle the rest of the way up the pitch. At the top, I asked Steve what time it was, and he said 4:30pm. I told him we had two hours of daylight, and it was in our best interest to descend.
This turned out to be a wise decision, as we had minor difficulties rapping with daylight. (One rap left Steve 15' shy of the anchor, and I had to lower him.) I had to make an intermediate stop to make sure I would reach the next anchor. On the last two raps, the other party reached us, and we shared their ropes for the final raps. I was a little slow packing up, and we lost them going into the bushwhack. We turned on our headlamps and headed downhill. Steve and I then proceeded to march around (through?) vine maples for what seemed an eternity before we regained the gully where we should have left it in the morning. The rest of the scramble/swhack/hike out was uneventful, but all by headlamp.
Overall, the climbing on Dreamer is a step up from what I am used to doing. I think my difficulties with the 5.9 pitch were more due to fatigue than my climbing ability, but I will most likely have to wait until next year to tackle that climb again.
Pics are located here.
(I included Steve's pics as well.)
Monday, July 25, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Mushroom Rock State Park
Sunday, May 8th - - I passed Mushroom Rock State Park on my way to Kanopolis yesterday and decided to stop on my way out to the main highway.
The park is small, only about five acres, and contains some unusual rock formations, accessed by short trails. This brochure, published by Kansas State Parks describes the formations in detail.
The main attractions of the park.
Erosion will one day weaken the base and the upper rock will come tumbling down.
Graffiti engraved on the lower, softer portion covers the entire base of the rock.
This formation is on the other side of the gravel road that runs through the park.
The park is small, only about five acres, and contains some unusual rock formations, accessed by short trails. This brochure, published by Kansas State Parks describes the formations in detail.
The main attractions of the park.
Erosion will one day weaken the base and the upper rock will come tumbling down.
Graffiti engraved on the lower, softer portion covers the entire base of the rock.
This formation is on the other side of the gravel road that runs through the park.
Friday, July 22, 2011
After the Heat Wave
With July's heat wave becoming a memory, we look forward to cooler temps on the upper mountain. Freezing levels have dropped back down to ~12,000 feet. Check out the Route Conditions on your intended climb for updated reports.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Custer State Park :: Nature's Bounty
Friday, August 26th - - I took my time driving through the park as I was leaving, making a big loop north and another one toward the south.
The Cathedral Spires are in the northwest side of the park, along Needles Highway, and were magnificent in the early morning light.
The Iron Mountain Road takes you along the north east side of the park and was considered an engineering marvel when it was first built. It is still rather impressive with the sharp curves, hairpin turns, wooden bridges, and tunnels that were bored through the granite rock – the three tunnels on this route perfectly frame the Presidents on Mount Rushmore that are seen in the distance. I took no pictures on that route – there was too much traffic and the parking areas near the tunnels were filled to capacity when I passed by that way yesterday.
I only drove a short portion of the Wildlife Loop Road as I was leaving the park - it went back north and I was headed south. Buffalo were grazing in the meadow when I turned onto the road.
A hungry calf.
Upon exiting the road on my return, the Bison were taking a break in the meadow. The park maintains a herd of about 1,300 bison, of which these were but a small part.
These antelope were seen a little ways south of Custer State Park but before getting to Wind Cave National Park. I stopped at Wind Cave visitor center but did not take a tour into the cave – too many steps down and I've toured several other large caves.
The Cathedral Spires are in the northwest side of the park, along Needles Highway, and were magnificent in the early morning light.
The Iron Mountain Road takes you along the north east side of the park and was considered an engineering marvel when it was first built. It is still rather impressive with the sharp curves, hairpin turns, wooden bridges, and tunnels that were bored through the granite rock – the three tunnels on this route perfectly frame the Presidents on Mount Rushmore that are seen in the distance. I took no pictures on that route – there was too much traffic and the parking areas near the tunnels were filled to capacity when I passed by that way yesterday.
I only drove a short portion of the Wildlife Loop Road as I was leaving the park - it went back north and I was headed south. Buffalo were grazing in the meadow when I turned onto the road.
A hungry calf.
Upon exiting the road on my return, the Bison were taking a break in the meadow. The park maintains a herd of about 1,300 bison, of which these were but a small part.
These antelope were seen a little ways south of Custer State Park but before getting to Wind Cave National Park. I stopped at Wind Cave visitor center but did not take a tour into the cave – too many steps down and I've toured several other large caves.
"Evil Wears No Pants" 8a+ (30) Project
Such a lot of hard moves all stacked on top of each other.73 shots got me to the point of linking all the moves from the hang start to the top.Now the hard work of getting off the ground begins.My money is on 150 shots.Sunday, July 17, 2011
Dutch Bike: Impressions After an Absence
I own a 15 year old Gazelle A-Touren that is pretty much the prototypical Dutch bike. It was my main city bike for a while, until I put it in storage last November. Yesterday I retrieved the Gazelle (
My first impression of the Gazelle upon our reunion had to do with the riding position. I forgot that it was even possible to be sitting that upright on a bicycle! I consider my other 3-speed and my mixte to be upright bikes as well, but they are certainly not compared to the Gazelle. The rider's position on this bike is akin to sitting in a chair: back straight, shoulders relaxed, hands holding the bars in much the same manner as one would hold an open newspaper or a tray.
The handlebars are dramatically swept back and very close to the body. There is no feeling of reaching at all - my hands just basically rest on the bars naturally if I simply plop them down, bent at the elbows. This also means that there is very little weight being placed on the handlebars, or on the front end of the bike at all for that matter.
The unweighted front end was a sensation that took getting used to after an absence. However, it was really just a matter of training my body to adjust to it. After circling the block a few times and picking up speed, the handling already began to feel intuitive again. With the handlebars way behind the font hub, this is not a super-responsive bicycle. There is almost a feeling of passivity or detachment in riding it, like being in the back seat of a vehicle instead of the driver's seat.
These factors combined are what's responsible for the "regal" feeling associated with riding a Dutch bike. The effortlessness, the perfect posture, the ability to observe one's surroundings in a way that cannot be done on other bikes - it all encourages a relaxed and confident attitude. The wide 28" tires create a plush ride quality that further contributes to the luxurious feel. The nuisance of potholes and rough road surfaces need not trouble the rider. As I rode the Gazelle around the neighborhood, it felt as if I were sailing aboard a luxury liner more than riding a bike. I had completely forgotten that sensation.
Of course another thing I'd forgotten was the weight of the bike. At just under 50lb, the Gazelle is an armful to drag up and down even a small set of stairs on a regular basis. Having now gotten used to my "heavy" city bikes being a good 15-20lb lighter, I admit I did not welcome the extra weight.
The bike's weight however, does not pose a problem when the Gazelle is in motion. It accelerates easily and retains momentum extremely well. On flats I can fairly quickly get it to 17mph+ in the high gear, which is about as fast as I'd want to go in the city anyhow.
Uphill is of course a different story, though it's not quite as bad as you might think just by looking at the bike. Uphill the Gazelle is slow, but responsive to hard pedaling effort. Unlike some other heavy city bikes, it does not attempt to pull me back, but is willing to advance slowly forward and upward as long as I am willing to push.
Having had the bike out of sight for so long, it was also nice to see its lovely little details again. Being of mid-90s production, the bike is not exactly "vintage," but still the details were more nuanced on these older models than they are today. Examining all the intricate, albeit now rusty, little embellishments on it is a pleasure. The bike was well used before I got my hands on it, and spent a great portion of its life outdoors as I understand it. In light of that history, the extent to which its functionality and aesthetics have been preserved is impressive.
While I love and respect the Gazelle, for my current transportation needs I've come to prefer a more active ride and a slightly more aggressive posture. Still, the positive qualities of this bicycle are hard to beat.
The Dutch bike is an excellent choice for a cyclist who wants to be as upright and relaxed as possible, enjoys a plush ride, prefers to do little to no maintenance on their bicycle even in winter, lives in a fairly flat environment, and is undaunted by weight. It will also appeal to those who love vintage elegance: The basic design of the Dutch bike has gone largely unchanged over the past century and remains an icon of transportation cycling.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Watermelon
We waited and watched and watered and waited and finally we had watermelon. It sure was good.
But the kitten couldn't figure out why we wanted to eat such a thing.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
South Early Winter Spire SW Rib ..
Elevation Gain: 2600'
5 miles RT
Left car: 11:15 am
Summit: 7:30 pm
Back at car: 10:00 pm
11 hours car to car
Steve and I planned a big climbing weekend. We didn't finalize our objectives until a few days before the weekend. The first leg would be an attempt on the Southwest Rib of South Early Winter Spire. Our plan was to climb South Early on Saturday, and then head to Cascade Pass to climb Forbidden on Sunday/Monday.
We had a casual start from Seattle on Saturday and arrived at the Blue Lake trail head in the late morning. Temps were cool, and it was a bit cloudy. We made awesome time to the base where we ate lunch and started to gear up. (And Steve took a "bathroom break".) There was a party on route ahead of us and they were a few pitches up. We hung our remaining gear in the tree, and headed up the direct start. [Using the description from Weekend Rock.]
Steve led off on the first pitch which was a loose and not easily protected corner. He went a little off route at one point (he called it the 5.10 variation) and was finally at the belay. I followed and found the pitch a struggle, and mostly unenjoyable. The off route variation took me some time to complete as I couldn't manage the moves Steve did and did an even different variation. This off route issue on the first pitch burned a lot of time for us, (Steve thought over and hour) but we weren't too concerned.
I led off on the next pitch which was short and if we didn't go off route on the first pitch, probably could have been combined with it. This short pitch was a moderate crack that brought you up to the next belay just below a major flake that is the following pitch. We changed over leads and Steve was on his way.
This crack is wider and has an interesting design to it with a large edge as its left side. The crack was fairly steep, and Steve headed up it straddling the flake with one leg on the face and one in the crack. There was much grunting. (Not as much as from the woman who was ahead of us-I think she was actually crying at one point.) Steve made his way up and commented about the amount of blood on the rock. He combined the pitch with the following pitch and started to bring me up. I climbed the crack with both feet in for the initial part, and then about 1/3 of the way up I used the flake for feet as my feet were killing me from jamming them in the crack. The last third of the pitch you come out and lie back the final portion. Exciting to go from the relative security of the crack out on to the face. The second pitch of this link up was a wide crack in a slab.
Top of the fourth pitch (photo by Steve Machuga)
It was my turn to lead the next pitch which was a slab pitch. It starts out by going around a corner and then up a nice slab with some exposure. The book description said somewhat runout, but it was oddly only runout for the crux, which in the book was stated as being "an exciting step to the right." It was a fun pitch and I set a gear belay at the base of the bear hug cracks and brought Steve up.
Rounding the corner to gain the slab (photo by Steve Machuga)
Since I had told Steve at the base that I wanted to lead the bear hug cracks, he let me lead this next pitch as well. This was a super enjoyable pitch where you head up a short crack that brings you to a small ledge at the bottom of wide double cracks. They took a touch of effort to get on, but once on them, I found the climbing easy. What was not particularly easy was protecting them. We had brought a #5 Camalot just for this pitch (although we used it on 2-3 other pitches as well.) The bear hug cracks were too wide for the #4 and so I had to move the #5 up with me at least once. Just above the cracks I was able to get in a #4 and then proceeded up a ramp to the next belay, where I brought Steve up.
Bear Hug Cracks (Photo by Steve Machuga)
Steve led out on the next bit and then we started simul-climbing. (This was roughly pitches seven and eight.) He belayed me up to just below the bunny ears, and then I led a short bit to the rap anchor at the bunny ears. We rapped off the scary (freestanding block) anchor into the notch. Then Steve led the final pitch up to the summit area. It was a fun little crack that brought you up to near the summit. Since it was late in the day and clouds seemed to be rolling in, we bypassed the summit block and started our way down the South Arete.
Bottom of pitch 7 (photo by Steve Machuga)
We scrambled most of the the descent until we got to one of the chimneys. We opted to rappel at the rap station there and that is where we were joined by another party who had just topped out on an east face route. One of the guys, Blake, scrambled down to me and set up the next rappel at the next chimney and rapped down. They allowed us to use their rope and I rapped it to find Blake scrambling down to the base. One of his partners came down and said "its only 5.0 right?" and started scrambling the final bit as well. His other partner showed up with another rope and we rappelled to the base. The one partner who started scrambling got a bit sketched and rapped the last bit before Steve could finally rap down.
Once on the ground, we returned to our packs at the base, turned on our headlamps and hiked out.
Overall this was a great climb. Although it was 5.6, the first pitch was no doubt the crux for us. (Were we off route the entire time?) It was loose, not well protected, and strenuous. There were three really enjoyable (dare I say great?) pitches on the route and some other good pitches as well. While clouds threatened all day, they mostly stuck to bothering the nearby peaks like Silver Star and Cutthroat. It was windy and cool on route, but we did have brief moments of sun.
My pics are here.
5 miles RT
Left car: 11:15 am
Summit: 7:30 pm
Back at car: 10:00 pm
11 hours car to car
Steve and I planned a big climbing weekend. We didn't finalize our objectives until a few days before the weekend. The first leg would be an attempt on the Southwest Rib of South Early Winter Spire. Our plan was to climb South Early on Saturday, and then head to Cascade Pass to climb Forbidden on Sunday/Monday.
We had a casual start from Seattle on Saturday and arrived at the Blue Lake trail head in the late morning. Temps were cool, and it was a bit cloudy. We made awesome time to the base where we ate lunch and started to gear up. (And Steve took a "bathroom break".) There was a party on route ahead of us and they were a few pitches up. We hung our remaining gear in the tree, and headed up the direct start. [Using the description from Weekend Rock.]
Steve led off on the first pitch which was a loose and not easily protected corner. He went a little off route at one point (he called it the 5.10 variation) and was finally at the belay. I followed and found the pitch a struggle, and mostly unenjoyable. The off route variation took me some time to complete as I couldn't manage the moves Steve did and did an even different variation. This off route issue on the first pitch burned a lot of time for us, (Steve thought over and hour) but we weren't too concerned.
I led off on the next pitch which was short and if we didn't go off route on the first pitch, probably could have been combined with it. This short pitch was a moderate crack that brought you up to the next belay just below a major flake that is the following pitch. We changed over leads and Steve was on his way.
This crack is wider and has an interesting design to it with a large edge as its left side. The crack was fairly steep, and Steve headed up it straddling the flake with one leg on the face and one in the crack. There was much grunting. (Not as much as from the woman who was ahead of us-I think she was actually crying at one point.) Steve made his way up and commented about the amount of blood on the rock. He combined the pitch with the following pitch and started to bring me up. I climbed the crack with both feet in for the initial part, and then about 1/3 of the way up I used the flake for feet as my feet were killing me from jamming them in the crack. The last third of the pitch you come out and lie back the final portion. Exciting to go from the relative security of the crack out on to the face. The second pitch of this link up was a wide crack in a slab.
Top of the fourth pitch (photo by Steve Machuga)It was my turn to lead the next pitch which was a slab pitch. It starts out by going around a corner and then up a nice slab with some exposure. The book description said somewhat runout, but it was oddly only runout for the crux, which in the book was stated as being "an exciting step to the right." It was a fun pitch and I set a gear belay at the base of the bear hug cracks and brought Steve up.
Rounding the corner to gain the slab (photo by Steve Machuga)Since I had told Steve at the base that I wanted to lead the bear hug cracks, he let me lead this next pitch as well. This was a super enjoyable pitch where you head up a short crack that brings you to a small ledge at the bottom of wide double cracks. They took a touch of effort to get on, but once on them, I found the climbing easy. What was not particularly easy was protecting them. We had brought a #5 Camalot just for this pitch (although we used it on 2-3 other pitches as well.) The bear hug cracks were too wide for the #4 and so I had to move the #5 up with me at least once. Just above the cracks I was able to get in a #4 and then proceeded up a ramp to the next belay, where I brought Steve up.
Bear Hug Cracks (Photo by Steve Machuga)Steve led out on the next bit and then we started simul-climbing. (This was roughly pitches seven and eight.) He belayed me up to just below the bunny ears, and then I led a short bit to the rap anchor at the bunny ears. We rapped off the scary (freestanding block) anchor into the notch. Then Steve led the final pitch up to the summit area. It was a fun little crack that brought you up to near the summit. Since it was late in the day and clouds seemed to be rolling in, we bypassed the summit block and started our way down the South Arete.
Bottom of pitch 7 (photo by Steve Machuga)We scrambled most of the the descent until we got to one of the chimneys. We opted to rappel at the rap station there and that is where we were joined by another party who had just topped out on an east face route. One of the guys, Blake, scrambled down to me and set up the next rappel at the next chimney and rapped down. They allowed us to use their rope and I rapped it to find Blake scrambling down to the base. One of his partners came down and said "its only 5.0 right?" and started scrambling the final bit as well. His other partner showed up with another rope and we rappelled to the base. The one partner who started scrambling got a bit sketched and rapped the last bit before Steve could finally rap down.
Once on the ground, we returned to our packs at the base, turned on our headlamps and hiked out.
Overall this was a great climb. Although it was 5.6, the first pitch was no doubt the crux for us. (Were we off route the entire time?) It was loose, not well protected, and strenuous. There were three really enjoyable (dare I say great?) pitches on the route and some other good pitches as well. While clouds threatened all day, they mostly stuck to bothering the nearby peaks like Silver Star and Cutthroat. It was windy and cool on route, but we did have brief moments of sun.
My pics are here.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
A Superior View
Well, the fall colors are taking their dear sweet time showing up this year. That doesn't mean, however, that you shouldn't get out and enjoy nature! There are still beautiful views to be enjoyed even without the colors of autumn. The view shown here is along the Middle Falls Trail in Grand Portage State Park. The trail crosses over a ridge and this is one of two magnificent views that are available from the top of the ridge. This view overlooks Lake Superior and the Susie Islands and is always beautiful no matter what time of year it is. Over the past year, CCM (Conservation Corps Minnesota) crews have been hard at work making improvements to the trail. Stairs have been constructed on the steepest portions of the trail and benches have been constructed in strategic locations where visitors can rest and appreciate the spectacular views of the Minnesota north woods. Although the fall colors are slow to appear this year, the leaves are changing and before long this view will be even more magnificent as the greens change to yellows and oranges!
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