Cotton clothes, big heavy stuff like sweat pants and hoodies. stuff from the standard route. I did however find a great down jacket in a bag lower on the face.
I remember stacks of 10's and 20's that kept falling over as we were counting them. Also a broken flash light, sox, swimming suit, and a "West Jefferson High School" hoody.
ExcitableBoy - Jan 30, 2012 9:39 pm - Hasn't voted
What
kind of rock is that? Limestone? Hard to tell from where I'm sitting.
Limestone for the most part. On the Dirty Traverse route page, I mentioned it was good rock for the Lost River Range but I'm afraid it doesn't hold a candle to your Cascade stuff.
ExcitableBoy - Jan 31, 2012 3:51 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: What
That's what I thought. Some friends did the NF last winter.
They mentioned it was 'spicy'. We have some really excellent rock and some pretty rotten rock as well. One technically strong Colorado climber came out to do a Ptarmigan Ridge on Rainier, took one look and turned around, complaining Rainier was a slag pile.
Looks like a fun climb. A couple of questions: How was the descent? and What was the time car-to-car? Good thing you're not wearing that toaster for a hat...
The decent was pretty un-fun and much of it was over steep talus balanced on rock bands. there was a lot of snow but not a lot of safe runout for glissades but it wasn't technical. I think it took about 12 hours truck to truck. Thanks for looking!
I'd been on the face earlier that month and knew that pro would consist of mostly small stuff. As it turned out, we only used one pin on pitch #1. This was my first climb with Kevin and I only placed it because I didn't know if he would appreciate my running it out. as it turned out, he has the same "thin" style, only he looks better while doing it. We left the pin in place for the same reason a dog will piss on your flowers. It was a thin lost arrow. (arrows were the only pins we took, angles wouldn't work well.) We only had one "hanging" belay and it was easily protected with a couple cams. We used the running belay so often because the face is lined with several wide ledges, most of them were wide enough to collect quite a bit of scree. Rapping off the face would be a tedious trick, although protection was plentiful there were many spots that would require several pieces for a good anchor and the face was pretty well decorated with rope snagging possibilities.
If not for the falling rock potential and the limited escape routes if the weather turned or someone got injured, this would be a truly great mountaineers route for nearly anyone's ability, the climbing was easy and enjoyable. The belays were super secure and the scenery is spectacular.
I agree. Skill wise, the route is very beginner friendly if you have the knowledge in building anchors and multi-pitch work. The hanging belay could have been avoided, but the clock was ticking. I can't speak for Wes but my "thin" style came from a lack of fall risk. I kept thinking "This is so fun, just 5.6 move after 5.6 move!" When things got serious, placements disapeared. I sang to keep it together. I did run it out quite a bit, but it wasn't by choice on the serious stuff.
Thanks! Every pitch had sections of up to 5.7-ish and the (short) crux probably went at 5.9 The crux wasn't overly steep, it was just rotten and run-out.
Cool trip report. Looks like a real adventure. I've always wondered what the alpine routes in Idaho are like. I guess they're a bit more chossy than the hit-or-miss N. Cascades. You're closer to the Tetons than me though.
Wes and I have some other goodies in our crosshairs. Next time I wont spend the previous week at sea level. Wes is a great partner. I'm glad he let me tag along. It was super cool to climb with two local legends.
Fred Spicker - Jan 29, 2012 8:22 am - Hasn't voted
Names Reversed?The caption for the photo with the routes depicted says that the red is the Direct and the blue is the Traverse -
skunk ape - Jan 31, 2012 11:20 am - Hasn't voted
Re: Names Reversed?Oops, Good catch guys, thanks!
Alex Wood - Jan 29, 2012 9:33 pm - Voted 10/10
Great Information!what was in the backpack? Looks like one hell of an adventure!
skunk ape - Jan 31, 2012 11:34 am - Hasn't voted
Re: Great Information!Cotton clothes, big heavy stuff like sweat pants and hoodies. stuff from the standard route. I did however find a great down jacket in a bag lower on the face.
kevinhansen - Feb 4, 2012 4:34 am - Voted 10/10
Re: Great Information!I remember stacks of 10's and 20's that kept falling over as we were counting them. Also a broken flash light, sox, swimming suit, and a "West Jefferson High School" hoody.
ExcitableBoy - Jan 30, 2012 9:39 pm - Hasn't voted
Whatkind of rock is that? Limestone? Hard to tell from where I'm sitting.
skunk ape - Jan 31, 2012 3:16 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: WhatLimestone for the most part. On the Dirty Traverse route page, I mentioned it was good rock for the Lost River Range but I'm afraid it doesn't hold a candle to your Cascade stuff.
ExcitableBoy - Jan 31, 2012 3:51 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: WhatThat's what I thought. Some friends did the NF last winter.
They mentioned it was 'spicy'. We have some really excellent rock and some pretty rotten rock as well. One technically strong Colorado climber came out to do a Ptarmigan Ridge on Rainier, took one look and turned around, complaining Rainier was a slag pile.
Deltaoperator17 - Jan 30, 2012 11:07 pm - Hasn't voted
Way to goGreat trip Wes, Kev an Bob!
alpine345 - Jan 31, 2012 1:28 am - Hasn't voted
good climbLooks like a fun climb. A couple of questions: How was the descent? and What was the time car-to-car? Good thing you're not wearing that toaster for a hat...
skunk ape - Jan 31, 2012 3:00 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: good climbThe decent was pretty un-fun and much of it was over steep talus balanced on rock bands. there was a lot of snow but not a lot of safe runout for glissades but it wasn't technical. I think it took about 12 hours truck to truck. Thanks for looking!
alpine345 - Jan 31, 2012 6:46 pm - Hasn't voted
Pin-up?Did you use many of the pins? And did you pull them or fix them? Just for belays or running also? Just in case for raps? More info please...
skunk ape - Feb 1, 2012 3:05 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Pin-up?I'd been on the face earlier that month and knew that pro would consist of mostly small stuff. As it turned out, we only used one pin on pitch #1. This was my first climb with Kevin and I only placed it because I didn't know if he would appreciate my running it out. as it turned out, he has the same "thin" style, only he looks better while doing it. We left the pin in place for the same reason a dog will piss on your flowers. It was a thin lost arrow. (arrows were the only pins we took, angles wouldn't work well.) We only had one "hanging" belay and it was easily protected with a couple cams. We used the running belay so often because the face is lined with several wide ledges, most of them were wide enough to collect quite a bit of scree. Rapping off the face would be a tedious trick, although protection was plentiful there were many spots that would require several pieces for a good anchor and the face was pretty well decorated with rope snagging possibilities.
If not for the falling rock potential and the limited escape routes if the weather turned or someone got injured, this would be a truly great mountaineers route for nearly anyone's ability, the climbing was easy and enjoyable. The belays were super secure and the scenery is spectacular.
kevinhansen - Feb 4, 2012 4:30 am - Voted 10/10
Re: Pin-up?I agree. Skill wise, the route is very beginner friendly if you have the knowledge in building anchors and multi-pitch work. The hanging belay could have been avoided, but the clock was ticking. I can't speak for Wes but my "thin" style came from a lack of fall risk. I kept thinking "This is so fun, just 5.6 move after 5.6 move!" When things got serious, placements disapeared. I sang to keep it together. I did run it out quite a bit, but it wasn't by choice on the serious stuff.
Scott - Feb 1, 2012 2:19 pm - Voted 10/10
AwesomeGreat TR. What is the difficulty rating of the climb?
skunk ape - Feb 1, 2012 2:32 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: AwesomeThanks! Every pitch had sections of up to 5.7-ish and the (short) crux probably went at 5.9 The crux wasn't overly steep, it was just rotten and run-out.
mountainsandsound - Feb 1, 2012 7:14 pm - Hasn't voted
good stuffCool trip report. Looks like a real adventure. I've always wondered what the alpine routes in Idaho are like. I guess they're a bit more chossy than the hit-or-miss N. Cascades. You're closer to the Tetons than me though.
ExcitableBoy - Feb 1, 2012 9:13 pm - Hasn't voted
Way to...under sell the first ascent! I didn't realize this was a new route until I read it on CascadeClimbers.com. Proud work!
kevinhansen - Feb 4, 2012 4:41 am - Voted 10/10
More to comeWes and I have some other goodies in our crosshairs. Next time I wont spend the previous week at sea level. Wes is a great partner. I'm glad he let me tag along. It was super cool to climb with two local legends.
skunk ape - Feb 9, 2012 6:52 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: More to comeI have a few "things" on our list too. We're gonna go big! I'll send you a new LRR ridge traverse photo I just got. Looks pretty Woolly!