Leavenworth - Givler's Dome - 11.03.10

Adam and I discussed an outing, but I had to be back in town in time for my class. So cragging was an obvious choice. I wanted to do something that involved placing gear and not just clipping bolts, so I convinced Adam to head to Leavenworth. Being that it is November we didn't get an early start, as it is usually a little too cold in the mornings to make climbing not fun. When we arrived in the Icicle, the temp was around 36° and clouds/fog were keeping us from direct sunlight.

November morning in the Icicle

Our plan was to hike up to Givler's Dome to climb Givler's Crack. This extra 45 minutes of hiking would give us more time for the day to warm up. Within ten minutes or so we were above the fog and receiving the warmth of the sun. We got off route a few times on the way up and had to scramble a bit to get back on track, but eventually made it to the base.

Since Adam was not up to leading the route, I would lead both pitches. And for whatever reason, the first pitch scares me. Perhaps because I flailed on it the first time I climbed the route. I've climbed it twice since then with no problems though. I placed a nut high and started up. I found the hands difficult as I had placed the piece where it interfered where I wanted to put them. I down climbed to the ground and restarted. After a few moves, I placed a second piece which then interfered with further hands. But I was able to move past it and continue. I finished the pitch feeling like it was the worst I had ever climbed it.

I brought Adam up and he had to hang on the rope to remove my stuck #4 from down low. He then climbed the second half of the pitch not using much crack technique for his hands. He arrived at the belay stating the first section wasn't as hard as I made it look.

Adam on the first pitch

We exchanged gear, and I was off leading the next pitch. I don't recall how I previously climbed it, but this time I wanted to try and keep my feet in the crack as much as possible. This proved a bit uncomfortable, but I persevered. Instead of going all the way to the top, I set up an intermediate belay once the angle eased, so I could see Adam climb. Unfortunately, the best spot for a comfortable belay did not offer a good view of the pitch, and I only got pics of him on the last portion of the pitch.

Adam on the second pitch

When Adam arrived at the belay, he kept going to the top finishing with the easy section to the boulder. We quickly hiked down to our packs. We took a lunch break and basked in the sun before heading to another destination, Rare Earth.

Adam finishing the route

For the second time this year, the Rare Earth crag has eluded me. Adam and I hiked around trying to find it, but wasted all of our time. Even consulting the newer guide book was unhelpful as it shows the crag to be down and right of Mastodon Roof. Turns out it is really down and left of it. After almost two hours of scrambling, hiking and bushwhacking, we found it but not with enough time to complete it and get back to Seattle. So we made note of where it was at, and hiked out.

It was great to be out on such a beautiful November day. It was a bummer that we only climbed one route. And even though we pitched it out to three pitches, it really is only two. I think we'll have a better idea of how to find Rare Earth the next time as well. I think this trip satisfied my urge to get out and rock climb, and perhaps my next trip this year will be to climb snow or ice.

Leavenworth - 06.12.10

The weather turned out too hot for snow climbing, and there was yet another Spring avalanche warning in addition. So Matt and I canceled our plans and I got one day of climbing in Leavenworth with Jay.

The intent was to climb at Pearly Gates, as it is shady (at least in the morning.) But after the five minute walk and one log crossing, Jay and I didn't like the second rotting log crossing. Since we hadn't committed too much time we decided to go elsewhere.

Our first destination was the bottom of Icicle Buttress. I started to lead The Arch, and backed off after my left foot got wet and I got sketched out. I down climbed pulling my gear. I offered it up for Jay and he got farther than I did. But after three falls, the last involving a pulled cam, Jay had had enough. He hung out in the corner a bit before removing gear as he down climbed the pitch. He said the crack up higher was wet and the foot holds were slippery. I'd have to take his word for it as I didn't get as far as he did.

Jay leading The Arch

It was now around Noon, and we decided to head elsewhere. Our new destination was Whutza Point. It is a small crag high on the hillside above Playground Point. After some driving of the road to locate the trail we were hiking toward Playground Point. We did well navigating our way to above Playground Point but couldn't readily see the crag. After some consulting of the book, we could identify the "Birthday Greetings" crag and then were able to identify our target. After some travel on goat trails, we were there hiding in the shade of a ponderosa eating lunch. We figure it is about a 40 minute walk or so.

We decided we would each lead a 5.7 for warm up, and then each lead a 5.8 as well. I was first up and climbed Zerberts. The route started with face climbing and in cut holds and then ended with a 5.7 thin hands crack. The route was enjoyable, and marked the first time I had used my new(er) rock shoes to jam in a crack. We rapped off the ledge and Jay started leading the next route, the namesake pitch of the crag. He got a little off route early, but this was due to wanting more protection. He got back on route and finished up. This route was longer, and we decided to to the walk off from there. Once back around we took a water break, and I headed up the next route.

Jay climbing the crack on Zerberts

"Off Route Rajan" leading Whutza Point

The route, Wedgie, started with an easy fun crack before reaching some easy slabs before the crux. There was some balance moves to get through two bolts in the crux area before some small cracks appeared the the going got easier. I brought Jay up, and we walked off again. (I'd recommend bringing approach shoes for the slippery walk off.) We were both feeling hot and tired, and Jay said he wasn't sure he was up to the last lead. After a brief look at it, he went for it. Again with some slightly off route moves, he finished the pitch and traversed on the ledge to the rap anchor. After bringing me up, we rapped off and headed back to the car.

Just below the crux on Wet Willie

The hike out was a little more tricky than the hike in. It wasn't as easy to find the trail we had come up on, and we had to navigate a few cliffs to get back to a spot we recognized. This time instead of coming right through the middle of Playground Point crags, we bypassed them to skier's right. We arrived at the car tired and hot.

This was a fun trip and a nice new crag. The routes we did are all listed as one star, but they may deserve more. We didn't do the two that had no stars, but one would have made a nice warm up as it is "5.easy." The other route we did not do is a 5.9, but both of us were too hot and tired and we both wanted to get home. I'd recommend this crag, but you may wish to combine it with some Playground Point climbs as it is not a whole day worth of climbing. It was worth the hike though, as we had the place all to ourselves. Although that may have had something to do with the 85° temps and bright sun.

Icicle River Gorge Trail - 05.24.10

Jennifer and I finally got away for a little camping/hiking trip. We drove out to Leavenworth to camp with Matt and his brother Sunday night, and it turned out they had a similar plan for Monday. As Matt put it, "Drive to the end of the road and start walking." I was not aware that Icicle Road was still not fixed, so we headed onward. About five miles from Eight Mile Campground we were met with the road closure.

The road now a river

There was a newer road cut away from the river, but the forest service is not allowing public access by motorized vehicles at this time, so we parked and started walking. The new road is not yet ready for heavy vehicle access and is even susceptable to some flooding early on, where a small bit of rocks and mud is the only thing keeping the river out. It also showed plenty of signs of beavers, which might interfere with the road as well. We hiked on this a bit before it rejoined Icicle Road above the washout. We investigated the upriver side of the washout before proceeding up the road.

The work of beavers

After a while we came to the Chatter Creek trail head. After checking out the board there, (A trail conditions report from August '08 was on it.) we parted ways. Matt and his brother were heading back to Seattle via Washington Pass and Jennifer and I forged on ahead. Just around the corner we found the Chatter Creek Ranger Station. It looked like it was in a state of disrepair, but not too bad considering it has not been used in two years. Just across the road was the start of the Icicle River Gorge Trail. We decided to take it.

Unfortunately, the most dramatic point on the trail is the start where you cross the footbridge over the creek.

View from the bridge

There was some serious whitewater and interesting eroded rock in the constriction under the bridge. We watched a bit before heading up the trail. The trail climbs a short bit to a lookout area above the creek before dropping back down into an area that is more like a Western Washington forest. The ponderosa pines were replaced by western red cedars and the ground cover changed. We started seeing plenty of blooming (and past bloom) trilliums. We hiked on crossing several small bridges and hiking for what seemed like a while. The trail has not been maintained in a few years, but did not have too many logs across it.

Largest trillium I have ever seen

We had started this trip sans packs, and started thinking about getting back as this was a little more than we were thinking about when we left the car. But the trail was nice and we were having a good time. Despite dark clouds in places, we did not get any precipitation while we were out either.

We decided to continue up trail as we expected to be reaching the bridge back across the creek soon. It took longer than we expected, and once we got to a bridge we still appeared to be heading upstream. I quickly ran ahead to make sure we were going the correct way and I was able to see the vehicle bridge at the Rock Island Campground. We were going the correct way. At the campground I checked to see if the water fountains were working, but of course they were not. Since Jennifer and I had not packs, we did not carry any essentials with us including water.

We got back on the trail and headed back toward the car. The trail went quicker on this side of the creek and once again we were in a cedar forest.

Needle carpeted trail

The rest of the hike out was uneventful except for us missing the new road back before locating it. This was a fun hike, and surprisingly populated for a Monday. (We saw two other parties.) Considering the road is closed, it takes a bit of hiking just to get back in there. You could take a mountain bike on the road, but they are not allowed on the trails due to it being a wilderness area. I'd like to explore this area further in the future. It was also nice to get out without a pack on and just go for a walk. Of course, it would have been nice to have some food and water with us, but we survived.

The Forest Service page on the washout

Yard Art/Lawn Darts - 05.19.10

After sadly not going out on Sunday due to the forecast rain and not seeing any rain in Seattle, I convinced Adam to do a one day trip to Leavenworth. I was hoping to get a lot of climbing in, but the forecast was against us. (40% chance of rain after 2pm) So we drove into the Icicle and headed straight for Peek-a-Boo Tower to do the three star route Yard Art, but finish with the four star Lawn Darts.

Adam starting the first pitch

It was partly sunny as we hiked up, but we quickly donned jackets for the climb, and I ended up in my shell before leaving the ground. Adam led the first pitch which was varied 5.7 climbing and mostly gear. (I found the crux of the pitch to be a chimney like feature about half way up.) I came up to the belay and got confused by the guide's description of the second pitch. "Scary moves off the belay" was not exactly true, as the first moves off the belay were not scary. Once you clip a bolt, there were some delicate moves (crux of the pitch) left before making a few moves upward where you are able to grab a large crack and the difficulties ease off for the rest of the pitch. I led up this pitch and brought Adam up.

Adam coming up the second pitch

Adam said he'd give the next pitch a go, but balked a bit a few moves from the third clip. He started to down climb a move and I didn't like what I saw and locked him off just before he slipped and fell. He shook himself off without any injury and got back on. He started to do the same moves again but admitted his head wasn't in it after the fall. He backed off and gave the lead to me. I cruised up the spot where he peeled, and made the few delicate maneuvers to reach the next bolt and continue to the top. When I got to the anchor, instead of proceeding to the base of Lawn Darts, I stopped and belayed Adam up. There was a wet patch on Lawn Darts, and I wasn't sure it was possible to do, so I wanted to look at it while I belayed Adam.

Adam cruised the pitch on top rope, and we briefly assessed Lawn Darts from the belay. We agreed the water did not appear to affect the route, and I belayed Adam over to the base of the climb, where he brought me up.

We put the trad rack in our pack, and I counted enough draws to make it to the top. Then I proceeded up. This long pitch starts easily and then reaches a small overlap where I slipped after clipping the bolt. (I did not fall.) That shook me up as I was just standing there, and I think it really messed with my head. I hung for a bit before getting back on. The rock near my feet had a high quartz content, and was quite slippery. I had to work for good foot placements before stepping up onto the overlap, where traction got better. A few moves higher up and there were larger features and eventually some cracks/holes that made the climbing much easier through that section. Around this point, it started to rain slightly. Not enough to make the rock wet yet but enough to make me notice.

Adam at the base of Lawn Darts

The crux of the route comes surmounting a roof. It is easy to get halfway up and clip a bolt above the roof, but I found the next move right to be difficult. In my head I just wanted off the climb, and with the slight rain, I just couldn't motivate to figure out the correct sequence and eventually grabbed the draw to move over. Once in my new position I used some "bigger holds" to gain upward movement and continue to the top. I didn't find the upper section that difficult, but my mind was pretty fried and that always makes climbing feel difficult. At the top I set up a belay and brought Adam up. He hung to rest his calves, and then fell twice at the move right above the roof. Fortunately the rain waited to come down harder until he was at my side. Then we started our rappels.

Rapping in the rain

While we rapped quickly, the rain started coming down harder. By the time we were on our final rap, the rock was wet, and we were getting a little more wet too. We packed up and the rain subsided, only to return again harder about the time we reached the car. Our hopes for other climbs faded, and we headed home to Seattle where it was raining heavily on the west side of the Cascades.

A few interesting items of note. One is that I have been noticing the weather forecasts to be spot on lately. The forecast for Seattle the other day said showers until 11am, and I think they may have lasted until 10:30 before tapering off. Today on route, the rain arrived around 2pm just as forecast. This is interesting, but I have made a new policy of going out to Leavenworth as long as the forecast calls for less than 50% chance of rain. Not sure if I'd apply that same rule to the west side or mountains yet. The other item of note is that Lawn Darts is completely within my capability and I did not climb it that well. I started off with a good head for the climb, but the impending weather and generally lackluster day wore me down. As well as my unexpected slip. I'm not sure there is anything I can do about climbing in weather, but I'll try to be more conscious of my deteriorating head space in the future.

Leavenworth Trip - 04.30-05.2.10

Adam and I did a three day weekend in the Leavenworth area finishing with helping out Matt with field trip on Sunday.

We took a midday ride out on Friday for some cragging at Clem's Holler. Arrived around Noon and headed up the steep trail. We had lofty goals of climbing some nice sport climbs, but decided to warm up on the first two pitches of Playin' Possum. Doing only the first two pitches keeps it at a reasonable 5.8 instead of the .10a rating it has for continuing onto the third pitch. I led the first pitch, and Adam led the second. While the climbing was not particularly difficult, my head wasn't totally in the lead, and I had to hang a bit at one point (mostly to rest my feet) before continuing upward. After completing the climb, I was not exactly ready to tackle the harder projects, so Adam and I went searching for Arselips and Elbows (5.8) a 14" wide top rope crack.

According to the book, Arselips is "up and left" of The Hatchet. We found it to be generally left, and that dropping down into a meadow was a more sane way of reaching said climb. We first attempted with some exposed moves on grassy ledges before dropping to the meadow and coming back up. I'm pretty sure we were mostly following goat trails. The terrain was sometimes steep, and had a thick coating of ponderosa needles on it adding to the slippery factor. Plenty of sticker bushes in the area too. You have to persevere to get to this climb. Once there, we had an easy hike up to the bolts to set up a top rope. Then it was time for the groveling to begin.

Looking up from the base

The opening moves were on the face while stepping on boulders to gain the crack. Once at the top foothold on the outside, it was time to move in. I found the chicken wing very secure, but it took a fair amount of trial and error to get some sort of secure leg into the crack. The left side of the crack is also a loose corner, with a small finger crack, but I did not feel too comfortable grabbing on it as I was afraid to pull it off. Inside the crack it was narrow, and a deep breath could mostly keep my in my place. I realized after some struggling that I had to exhale to make moving up easier. In my first attempt, I managed to gain the crack and move a few centimeters off the outside rock before needing my left foot to do something. I took a rest while Adam gave it a shot.

About to leave the outside world

Adam gave the crack a try and made no further progress than I did. He tried it first in his trail runners figuring that would give him an advantage. After his attempt, he decided his next attempt would be with rock shoes. I gave it a second go with a result of getting about six inches higher than my previous attempt. I was able to successfully use my left arm and leg in the attempt, but found the upward progress too much of a struggle to continue further. Adam gave it one last try and it looked something like this:

He's in there

After getting to roughly the same height I did, Adam melted out of the crack and I lowered him to the ground. We both agreed that that was the most effort we have ever put forth to move two inches! I thought I could get up any 5.8 in Leavenworth on top rope. Apparently, this climb proved me wrong. After our struggles, we called it a day and headed back to the car. Our sport climbing objectives at Clem's Holler could wait for another day.

We awoke late (8am) on Saturday, and had breakfast in camp. By the time we packed up camp, it was about to rain and when we arrived at parking for our intended destination for the day (Peek-a-Boo Tower) there was a light rain. Looking west made us concerned so we drove to the mouth of the canyon hoping for better weather. We stopped in the Snow Creek parking lot and by the time we rolled out of there, it was raining as well. So we headed to Peshastin again.

It appeared that others had the same idea when it started to rain in Leavenworth, and many small parties of climbers dashed out of the parking lot to get to climbs quickly. We were in no rush and decided to climb Windward which we figured no one was running to. When we got there, I was not too enthused about leading it and we decided to walk around to see if we could get on something else. When we arrived at Dinosaur, and saw no one on Potholes, we jumped on it. Adam had me lead the first (5.8) pitch and he said he would decide at the belay about leading the second (5.7) pitch. I personally have always found the second pitch harder, but that may just be me. No real surprised on Potholes except for me having more difficulty this year with the crux of the first pitch. And Adam getting a good chuckle from watching me struggle with the final moves to the anchor. We rapped off and headed to Grand Central Tower to climb the West Face.

Adam past the first bulge on Potholes second pitch

It was nice to finally lead the West Face and not have any trouble on it. Well, no trouble climbing it. There was a party that was off route on Nirvana Ridge that kept raining sand down onto us. It does not make for a comforting lead. Adam followed, and even got hit by a slightly bigger rock on the way up. We rapped off to find the wind had died off and it was downright warm out. We decided the clouds cleared enough to the west to try the Icicle again.

We drove back and watched the outside temp drop from 68°F to around 60°F by the mouth of the Icicle. We stopped there to head to Surf City to climb a few moderate cracks. We started on Paydirt, a nice 5.7 finger crack that I would revisit. I was a bit too tentative on the lead on this one, and I am not sure why. (Must have been the theme for the weekend.) I had a minor slip and even opted not to place gear at one point. Hopefully I can revisit that one with a better head.

Stepping into the finger crack

Adam then led Blunt Instruments which was one of those cracks that does not really require crack climbing technique. It was a bit dirty at the top and also finished with a slab like Paydirt did. (Although the Paydirt slab was a bit more runout.)

After that I attempted to lead another route there called Undertoe. I couldn't get a decent first piece in and so we called it a day. This time we were at The Mountaineers group campsite and had a feast. Ben Evans showed up and cooked a huge pan of bacon chorizo paella.

Sunday I was pretty spent from the weekend (and sleeping on a Z-Rest) that I had the student I was with lead all pitches on Midway. I did not climb well, and even used a piton as a foot hold before attaining Jello Tower. It was nice to sleep in a bed last night.

Leavenworth/Peshastin - 04.07.10

Adam and I had planned to head out to Leavenworth to check out some new routes in the book. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperating, and they had snow in Leavenworth last Thursday. We figured we would give it time to melt and planned to head out Wednesday, which had a forecast of 56° and mostly cloudy. We arrived in Leavenworth to our main objective Aquarius around 9 am. It had rained most of our way down Tumwater Canyon, and when we got out of the car it was cold and damp. We decided to see if the weather was better at Peshastin Pinnacles.

While I doubt the weather was any better at the pinnacles, it felt better. We made our objective Martian Diagonal and hiked up the brief bit. There were a pair of men there as well, and one of them looked familiar and I am sure he is a locally famous guy, but I didn't ask him his name. Once at the base I told Adam I was interested in doing the Diagonal Direct start and then we could finish with the rest of Diagonal.

While easy climbing, the first pitch of Diagonal Direct had hard to place gear. After attempting some cam placements in some solution pockets, I gave up and ran it out to the first bolt some 15'+ up. More easy climbing followed and then I got a placement of a blue alien in a pocket (which later removed itself.) I continued up to another bolt and then onto the anchor. Once there I brought Adam up and he prepared for the second pitch.

The first ten to fifteen feet of the second pitch are probably the crux of the route. There are some steeper moves to regain the slanting ramp which defines the route. Adam placed a few cams before clipping a bolt and making some precarious moves while muttering "This is more heady than I thought it would be." Once back on the ramp he raced up it placing gear where he found an opportunity. I then followed.

We swapped the rack at the belay and I was off on the final pitch. I was able to place a large cam before clipping a shoddy rappel anchor and stepping out into the exposure of the ridge. I went up and over a bump, and slung a deteriorating boulder before walking up the final ridge bit. There I placed a nut on a hangerless bolt and made the short down climb to the anchor. I brought Adam up and he was appalled by the terrible anchor. (A 1" bolt with a homemade aluminum hanger.) I spotted him for the down climb and we rapped gingerly off the anchor. Before walking down to the packs, I showed him a few lines on Dinosaur Slab.

The sun was shining a bit, and we ate lunch before driving back to Leavenworth to attempt Aquarius.

It was not as sunny at the base of February Buttress, but we were going to go for it. Since we had no plans of carrying the book on the climb, we opted to leave it in the car after rereading the description a few times. Aquarius is a new route from last year that made it into the new guidebook. It runs parallel to Ground Hog's Day and is supposed to be of similar difficulty and length. When we arrived at the base we noted that it is closer than the 40' away the guidebook states. (More like 15'.) It cannot be missed, and so I got the first lead.

The climbing is easy going passing two bolts before a steep corner is encountered. The corner appears slightly intimidating from below, but it is conquered with easy moves and is well protected. Above there I could see the chains ending the pitch and I cruised easy ground without any gear to get there. I brought Adam up and we agreed that the pitch did not feel 5.7 to us.

While belaying Adam up I tried to decipher where the second pitch went. When he arrived at the belay, I told him I thought the more interesting climbing was up a shallow corner on the right. It was dirty and mossy, but the path to the left looked too easy to be the route. There is supposed to be a bolt near a corner on this pitch, but we never saw it. It started to rain slightly as Adam led the pitch eventually finding his way to a tree anchor. I followed his path until his last piece of gear and then traversed left to see if that seemed to be the route. I decided it probably was, as I could also see the anchor for the top of the pitch in line with the left route and about ten feet or so above our tree anchor.

Adam and I debated about who should lead the last pitch, but since there was a light rain falling he defaulted to me for speed. I led up and right to the anchor, although I am pretty sure I should have stayed left of the tree. Once there, I clipped it for my first piece. I remembered the book said to move right of a small roof, but going right around the roof did not look protectable. So I took the path left around the roof. There was some fun climbing but the rock had a lot of lichen on it. I was able to protect it well at first, but then when the angle eased off I had to run it out a bit. Eventually I merged left with Ground Hog's Day and finished at that anchor.

On rappel, we tried to check out more of the route. But since there was light rain, we didn't try too hard and headed back to the car.

On the drive home we discussed this new route. We both felt it was easier than 5.7, but were we on any of the second or third pitch? Hard to say. If the route saw a little more traffic and therefore was cleaner, it might be a pretty fun route. As it is now, it is a little run out and difficult to follow. Neither Adam nor I were interested in going at this route again in the near future. But I also would not recommend it to new leaders as the route finding is somewhat difficult and perhaps a bit contrived. Hopefully more traffic will make things more obvious.

My pics are here.

Leavenworth - 03.17.10

Adam and I went out to practice crack climbing in Leavenworth. The original idea was to climb Givler's Crack and do laps on the first part of the second pitch. However, we decided not to do the longer walk and split our time between Gibson's Crack and Dogleg Crack. We got a late start and poked around the canyon a bit before starting as we wanted the sun to warm things up a bit.

I had climbed Gibson's a few years ago, but followed Ian. This time around I wanted to lead it. But I started at the lower start and had placed two pieces in the upper section before I was half way up. Since the crack is fairly uniform in width, I got concerned that I wouldn't have gear to place higher up and bailed off. We set up a top rope and did a few laps each with the obvious crux at the top of the route. My first time through the crux was not pretty and the second time was just fine. I lamented to Adam how this sure gave me a lot of trouble being only a 5.5. I told him I have no problems on the 5.7 Givler's. Which I guess means it was good that we came out and did this as I would rather work on climbs that are giving me difficulty.

Gibson's Crack

After a short break for lunch, we drove over to Dogleg Crack. We hiked around and set up a top rope. I had tried to lead this route last season, but backed off when I found the gear to be almost as difficult as the climbing. I went first, and sort of remembered the moves through the crux, but couldn't seem to sequence them. I lowered off without getting passed it because I was tiring and hanging in the Bod harness was not so comfortable.

Adam gave it a go and was able to struggle his way through the crux before going into an awkward lieback before the climb eases a bit. He hit his high point moments later on the thinner finger crack section and I lowered him because he was pumped. I got back on and struggled and hung through the crux before completing the rest of the pitch with a little fall at the dog leg.

Adam on Dogleg Crack

We were both pretty tired but decided to climb Hind Quarters next to Dogleg. At the crux, our top rope was pulling us too far away from the route to finish, so Adam played with the finger crack a little bit before lowering off. I gave Hind Quarters a go and found myself to be quite tired but at the crux bailed back onto Dogleg to finish. I made my way up for the last time to clean the anchor and walk back down.

It was a strange day as I expected to have a positively easy time on Gibson's Crack and not struggle as badly on Dogleg Crack. I think my previous effort with Lori on Dogleg Crack was aided by taping my hands. I hate to admit that it made that much of a difference, but I really beat up my hands yesterday and struggled more than previously. So it appears to be an obvious connection.

Leavenworth Ice - 12.24.09

Jennifer was supposed to work Christmas and Christmas Eve, so I was trying to find something to do. I successfully wrangled Ryan and Dylan to be followers and climb an ice line up Icicle Canyon. I was hoping that the recent warm weather didn't destroy it, and we would be rewarded with an early Christmas present to ourselves.

We took a casual start and arrived in Leavenworth around 10am. The beauty of this route is the "ten minute" approach. So we readied ourselves at the car and hiked into the woods. The route was easy to find having done the trail to Condor Buttress earlier this year.

The route in Spring

Within ten minutes of hiking we were at the first step of the route. Since it was a bit steep, we opted to hike past it and start at the second step. So we roped up and started with the second step. The second step had an easier line on the right, and a steeper line on the left. Since it was the first lead of the day, and I wasn't sure how strong the ice was, we kept to the right side. After the step there was quite a bit of flat stream so I set a belay and brought Dylan up who then brought Ryan up. We unroped and hiked up the stream bed a distance before reaching the next step. While this step was a solid WI2, it was short and we decided to solo it as we knew there was more hiking above it.

While the climbing so far was generally easy, the ice conditions were quite variable. As I suspected, the wet warm trend from earlier in the week left the ice poorly bonded to the rock in some areas. A section of the first step had a hollow 3' square area surrounded by well bonded ice. This next step that also had areas of poor ice as well, but fortunately I used the pick holes from a soloist (who had passed us) so as not to damage the ice further when I went up.

Some more hiking through a now brushy and less open creek bed got us to the next step. This is where the real climbing starts. From the base of this next step, I thought I could make it to the base of the final step in one rope length. But once at the top of this step, there was a little more distance before another penultimate step. So I led to the base of that step and brought the guys up. I then led out on the penultimate step which was really fun. There was a bit of snow on the ice and there were some hollow sections, but I was able to sink screws in it fairly well including a 19 cm screw. Once at the top of that step I was in the basin below the final step and proceeded to the ice to build an anchor. Unfortunately, the ice on the final step was thin and I couldn't sink screws well. (I was out of shorties.) I had to use 21cm screws not fully sunk as the anchor.

I brought Ryan up and he belayed Dylan up. We discussed the final pitch when we were met with another soloist. We chatted with him a bit. (Turns out the other soloist was his buddy.) And then we let him go ahead of us. The left side of the final step starts with about 12' of 85° ice. It has been climbed as it had pick marks. The right side had also been climbed usually on the far right. I decided to take something right up the middle where I knew there would be pro (wrong) and it was a bit steeper than the right side.

I started up heading toward an icy rib that looked like it offered good protection. Unfortunately, it would not take a screw all the way and I had to tie it off. The stance also was not great for placing the screw and I really worked my calves while placing it. Just past the screw the ice was tympanic and did not feel comfortable, but this passed. A little further up and I found a rest stance, so I placed another screw in shallow ice. My calves were really getting worked and I decided instead of heading a bit to my left for a short step, that it was time to head straight for the top. I worked quickly and methodically through the final bit of the pitch and was on flat ground heading for a large Ponderosa. Once there, I made it my anchor and brought Dylan up. He belayed Ryan up while I sought out the descent or a possible continuation.

Most parties stop where we did and descend. This is the option we choose after the bits of ice above our location didn't seem to offer any great climbing (that we could do.) So we headed down, following the trail of footprints in the snow. Most of the descent was fine to do in bare boots, but there were a few icy sections that would have been nice to do in crampons. Not sure it would have benefited to leave them on the whole descent, but Ryan did and he didn't complain.

This was fun route, but the climbing really starts farther up and the first few steps are warm ups. Due to the short approach and the length of the non technical portions, it is an easy day trip. (Car to car for us was around six hours.) The ice wasn't in the best condition, and was hacked out in a few places as well. (Very different from how we found The Goatee.) The climbing on the upper three pitches was great, and I'd go back to do this again.

My pics are here.
(Dylan took pics, but I haven't seen them.)

The Goatee - 12.14.09

Steve and I got out to climb some ice before the weather turned warmer. While the weather wasn't supposed to warm significantly until Wednesday, precip was in the forecast from Sunday on. And this meant possible burials of lower angle ice by snow. We headed out the Leavenworth where we knew there would be cold temps and less precipitation. (And more options for ice.)

Our original intent was to climb Hubba Hubba. But with the recent snowfall and the thin looking first 15', we decided in the car not to climb it and to head for a new route, The Goatee. This route has seen lots of traffic since its first ascent on December 5th. This is probably due to the moderate nature of the climb. The first ascentionists did the climb in three 70m pitches with the first two pitches being WI2 and the third being WI3. And there was a walk off as a bonus. (Although it appears reading the thread that many people had trouble with the walk off.)

We left the car at 10:30am for the long hike up the Snow Creek Trail. We spotted the route a little farther after we expected to, and continued a bit further to make sure we had the correct path up in the snow. After a few minutes of hiking we returned to the location where tracks left the trail assured that this was the correct way to the route. With recent snow coverage (including the few centimeters that fell the night before) the footing was difficult going up. We were watched by a few goats around the time we made it to the climb.

We actually skipped the first step. (bummer) And we started climbing just above it where I led out on a full rope length. This stretch could easily be simulclimbed all the way to the base of the WI3 pitch. Instead, we belayed it and I led it putting in three screws and then bringing Steve up. After Steve came up, he ran up the flat section for a rope length putting in one screw before setting up a belay at the bottom of the steep section. The ice conditions were great. There was a little slush on top from 2cms of snow from the previous night. The ice underneath it was plastic and took pics well.

In about an hour we were both under the crux pitch and we decided that I would lead up it part way and then set a belay so Steve could lead the rest to finish the climb. Due to our late start Steve suggested taking the easier ramp on the right side of the route. I wanted to get on something harder, and went nearly straight up where there were a few convenient ledges for me to set screws. The climbing was difficult. Not so much because of the steepness, but because of my difficulty to swing the tools and keep them parallel. At one point one of my tools pulled from the ice, but both of my feet and other tool stuck. It was a scary moment for both me and Steve. This section also dinner plated a bit and I took a few chunks of ice to the face during the lower steep section. After completing around half of the steep section I moved right and set up a belay. I had numerous difficulties with screws on this pitch because two I had tried to place earlier had ice plugs which I could not remove. And this pitch required one handed screw placements. The other reason for difficulties I am not sure, but I eventually sunk two 22cm screws for the anchor and started to bring Steve up.

Steve came up to my position after cutting his lip on ice he broke off during the pitch. We quickly re-racked gear and he was off to finish the steep section. He placed three screws during the final steeps and then after going out of sight on lower angle terrain he had me take him off belay. (It just was not possible to belay someone that quickly especially with the iced up rope.) After running the rope to the end he set a belay and brought me up.

We were one short step away from the walk off. But Steve encouraged me to go one step further thinking we could still walk off from that position. I hurried up the two steps and set a screw to belay Steve up to my position with a hip belay. (Our tube belay devices were practically useless with the iced up rope.) We assessed the situation and determined we would belay our "walk off" because we were too high and the terrain a bit sketchy with loose snow over rock.

Steve led out a bit and slung a bush and then disappeared out of sight. He put me on belay. As I was holstering my ice tools, I somehow managed to drop a screw down one step below me. I quickly rappelled off the screw anchor I had and then soloed back up the step after retrieving the dropped screw. I then tore down the anchor and started the mixed climbing over to Steve's location. This variation on the walk off really wasted time, and while Steve attempted to coil the frozen rope, I set about trying to find the true walk off. I followed foot prints in the snow until they started going too far skier's right (At least I thought.) Then we saw foot prints going back to the left and followed them. After a short distance I realized they were goat prints and not human, but opted to keep following them as I could see they would get us passed the first step.

By this time Steve was almost right behind me and we came to another step where it appears the goat stopped and realized it couldn't find a way down and turned around. We continued on the goat tracks to a gully and made our way through some bushes on the steep gully where Steve accidentally left behind a biner with three screws on it. Fortunately at this time I was behind him and picked it up. It was getting dark and these things would be more difficult to see in the coming moments. But shortly after coming out of the gully, we had rejoined the base of the route. Once we recognized our footprints from the morning, we stopped to put our gear away and put on our headlamps. This would keep us from accidentally dropping any more gear, and at this point we needed the headlamps to see our way out. It was also around this time that it started to snow harder as we made our way back down to the trail.

The hike out was uneventful. And Steve and I had discussed that neither of us had ever come out on that trail under daylight. We made quick time back to the car and were off back home.

This was a fun outing that would have went smoother had we got and earlier start. Now knowing the route, I would recommend belaying the first step (sometimes called a WI2+) and then simul climbing up to the base of the steep pitch. If we had more time, Steve and I were intrigued by the ice continuing up the gully for what looked like a few more fun steps. It was a nice and enjoyable climb and the best ice I have been on this season. I am hoping to see more like that before the end of winter. But for now, the snow is falling and it is time to get back on the skis.

Pics are here.

Leavenworth - 05.09-10.09

With a avalanche report that read like this:

We are urging potential backcountry travelers to avoid
traveling in or near avalanche terrain until the recent snow
has either slide or settled and stabilized over the coming
days. [NWAC]

Julie and I were not going to be going anywhere where snow was present. Which was a shame as it was her last weekend in Washington before leaving on her trip. So we scratched our plans for something big and snowy and resigned ourselves to heading to Leavenworth to do some rock climbing. Ken and Sammy had canceled their plans for North Twin Sister due to the same avalanche forecast, and we would be meeting them in Leavenworth Saturday morning.

We arrived in Leavenworth with no sign of Ken and Sammy. We started up Icicle Road to see if we could find them at eight mile campground. We found them walking the road just in front of Icicle Buttress and said we'd meet them in town to discuss plans for the day at Starbucks. In the Starbucks we decided to hike up to Givler's as Ken and Sammy had never done it. Julie and I had done it back in March, and we decided we would just lead the opposite pitches we led then. So after a brief stint in Starbucks we headed up the Icicle to climb Givler's Crack.

The hike up is a little longer than most approaches in the Icicle which keeps traffic down to Givler's given it is a four star route that mortals can climb. We had some difficulties in staying on route, but eventually wound up at the base where another party was on the first pitch. We sorted ourselves and gear and started off after the second of the previous party reached the top of the first pitch. Julie led the first pitch, and hung out at the bowl after the crux opening moves. Once the previous party started leaving the belay at the top of the first pitch, she headed off to finish the pitch. I quickly followed. Ken was about half way up the first pitch when I started off on the second. Now having climbed Givler's Crack three times, I can say that the second pitch is one of my favorite leads. I can also say that I enjoyed it much more on lead than following. It is super enjoyable, and long. I arrived at the top and started to bring Julie up. The wind at the top was pretty brisk and we huddled behind the anchor boulder to stay out of the wind.

After a short time Ken was in sight, and he finished the pitch with a tired smile on his face. He clipped into my anchor and brought Sammy up. Sammy was successful at removing the fixed nut at the bottom of the second pitch and came into site with a big smile on his face. I think they were both happy they didn't just go climb R&D. Once we were all on top, we basked a bit and then headed back to our packs at the base. We collected our gear and hiked a bit down before finding a suitable ledge to eat lunch.

After the hike down, we considered another multi pitch climb. We looked at R&D, with crowds on it and some clouds blowing in and decided if it started to rain, we didn't want to be on R&D. We chose to head to Barney's Rubble area which was by the roadside and had some climbs we could do.

Sammy wished to lead a 5.7 that he had led a few years earlier. Julie and I headed to a 5.6 crack to climb. I started up the 5.6 while Sammy climbed the 5.7. The opening moves of the 5.6 were weird as it had to be accessed through a cave like feature and then step up into the crack. After placing three pieces, I was having difficulty gaining the crack and finally asked Julie to lower me off. [I later realized that when she led the route that there were plenty of options for feet on the face. I was trying to put my foot in the crack which was painful and awkward. Sometimes I just have difficulty reading a route.] Sammy was undeterred, and was still making his way up the 5.7 as Julie took the lead on the 5.6. After getting about halfway up the route, Julie slipped and took her first lead fall on gear. It was a minor incident as she mostly ran down the wall backward about five feet or so. She bumped her knee, and had a small rope burn on her wrist. She got right back on and finished the route. I eventually followed (as Ken followed the 5.7) and we topped out. I found the rock on the route to be very greasy feeling and I am not surprised by Julie slipping on it. We later talked to Ian and he used the same adjective to describe the rock and stated that it was because it sees so many ascents being so close to the road.

After topping out, we headed into town to see if we could find Ian and his team who had climbed Yellowjacket Tower that day. We chatted at dinner, and then went our separate ways.

The next day our goal was Condorphamine Addiction(5.10b). It is loosely described as a seven pitch bolted alpine route. Ian had told me that it was within my reach technically. And if we couldn't do the .10b moves it was easy to aid past them. The hike in was long and steep (for cragging.) The trail was loose and sandy as well. We had a minor difficulty finding the correct trail when entering the woods. The book is fairly accurate with the turn left after the first boulder on the map description. Then it was fairly easy to stay on the path up to Condor Buttress.

Once at the buttress, it was easy to identify the start of the climb. Julie and I were apathetic about who climbed which pitch and she finally decided to lead the first (5.7) pitch. After a short distance, she was at the belay and brought me up. The first pitch was nothing remarkable, and a good warm up for the rest of the climb. I took the lead on the second pitch (5.9) which starts with a fun traverse, and then goes up around a corner on steepening terrain to the belay. I think there was 12 bolts on the pitch as I was nearly out of gear at the next belay station. I brought Julie up and she started off on the next (5.4) pitch. After nearly a full rope length, she brought me up. I commented that the latter part of the pitch seemed a bit thin for 5.4. We briefly studied the topo for the route and I was off on the next pitch.

Our fourth pitch started out with easy fun climbing with some horizontal crack features on the slab. It then got to a point where it was steep and there was a difficult move. I commented down that I thought Julie combined the 5.4 and 5.8 pitches and that this was the first .10b move. She didn't believe me as it looked easier from her stance. Not knowing for sure if it was .10b, and feeling like I would kick myself if it 5.8 and I aided the move, I set about trying to figure out how to gain a dish above a bulge with no discernible hand holds. (There were some very tiny edges etc. and an arete to my right that I could use.) After a few attempts at upward progress, I informed Julie I was grabbing the draw and heading up. While it made the move easier, it did not make it more secure, and after gaining the dish, I held on to the draw for a bit until I was able to grab a small hold above me. At that point I moved slightly right and clipped the next bolt. The next moves went left around/through a roof where the difficulties lessened to the next belay. The moves left from the clip felt more like 5.8 or 5.9 from the previous .10b moves. I quickly moved through them and was at the next belay.

I brought Julie up to the crux where she agreed with me that it was a .10b and she proceed to follow my lead by yarding on the draw to complete the move. When she arrived at the belay, we consulted the topo again and agreed that she must have joined the 5.4 and 5.8 pitches and that was indeed the first of the .10b pitches. She then led off on the next .10b pitch.

On the next pitch there was a point from the belay that did not look difficult, but Julie was hesitant below it. She said the moves were thin and committing. I asked her if she thought it was the crux of the pitch. She said she wasn't sure. After some pause, she successfully completed the moves and put me on belay. I arrived at the same spot and saw what she meant. While this portion wasn't as steep as the crux in the previous pitch, it had some thin feet and not a whole lot for hands. I gingerly transferred my weight up to my right foot, and made moves to quickly get through the crux. The difficulty eased after a few moves and I continued to the top of the pitch. When I arrived, we both agreed that the moves felt more like .10a moves than .10b.

Since I had most of the gear, I told Julie I wasn't stopping to transfer gear or the backpack, and I would continue on the final 5.4 pitch to the top. I arrived at the top chains in no time, and brought Julie up. We remained anchored in, and ate our lunches. We wanted to get started on our rappels as we could see another party coming up the route.

We made seven raps down bypassing a party of four on two ropes on the way down. The rappels were easy, and being only single rope, we had no issues with throwing or retrieving the ropes.

The whole climb and rap took about 4.5 hours and Julie and I decided we would check out Bathtub Dome to see if there were options we'd want to climb there.

With some navigational difficulties and some steep sandy trail, we finally arrived at Middle Tier of Bathtub Dome where we were looking to climb a 5.7 crack called New Fixtures. (A two star route.) After looking at it and remembering that Smoot has it rated R in his guidebook I talked to Julie about it. The first 15' or so is climbing between a detached pillar and flake, so I would say there are not safe gear placements during that segment. We then opted to climb Chumstick 2-Step which is a bolted 5.9 to the left of New Fixtures. As we started gearing up, the wind picked up tremendously and started blowing clouds over our heads. we went from shorts and t-shirts to pants and jackets. Then we decided we did not wish to get rained on and packed up and hiked out. Arriving back at the car around 3:30pm we decided to just head back to Seattle.

Overall, the climbing on Condorphamine Addiction was fun. I think my favorite pitch was the 5.9 pitch. The 5.10b moves are easily aided if need be, and I would like to go back and give another shot at freeing the first .10b moves. We witnessed the leader from one of the other parties climb it, and he made it look effortless stemming his hands out to both sides. It probably still wouldn't be easy, but I'd be happy if I could free it. It would also give me a chance to come back up to Bathtub Dome to climb Chumstick 2-Step which looked enjoyable. The hike in and out of the area was tedious, but worth it considering how enjoyable the climb was. I did not find this climb to be as classic as Lost Charms or Dreamer, but was definitely something I would go back to do again. It can also be done with combining pitches, but I think the way we did it was fairly enjoyable. The topo is fairly accurate, and should be easy to follow. You may be able to save time rapping with two 60m ropes, but since it is setup to be rapped with a single 50m rope, I like not bringing the second rope, and not having to deal with the mess that is associated with double rope rappels.

My pics are here.
Julie's pics are here.

Leavenworth - 05.04.09

Steve emailed my on Sunday to let me know he was going to be out of work on Monday and to see if I wanted to do something outdoors. We both felt let down by the Sunday forecast which predicted rain almost everywhere, but things looked bright and sunny on the Leavenworth web cam. We talked Sunday night and decided that with a similar forecast (20% chance of rain) that we would head to Leavenworth to climb some rock. This would keep us from being miserable in wind and weather up high.

On the way out to Leavenworth Monday morning, Steve said he was interested in doing the link up of Heart of Gold (5.10-) and Prime Rib (5.10b) that would give us a nice seven pitch outing. I was game. I hadn't been to Duty Dome before and knew that Heart of Gold was a somewhat popular route that is probably lightly crowded on weekends.

We hiked up to the base and geared up. Heart of Gold has bolts, but will take gear in a few spots, so we had a full trad rack on us. The start was a little interesting, and the first bolt is somewhat awkwardly placed from where we started. Since the third pitch was supposed to be the crux, I let Steve have the first pitch lead. Steve led off, and was soon around the corner out of sight. About 50m of rope later, he was at the top of the pitch. I followed up and met him there.

We had a discussion on where the route was supposed to go, and then I led off on the second pitch. Steve seemed to think the route went climber's left to a slab, while I was pretty sure it went right. I proceeded rightward for a bit over a few steps where I could see the bolts for the next anchor. There was no obvious way there, but there were plenty of flakes and features I could use for protection on the way there. So I started up a bit. The rock was loose and fragile, and that is when I noticed a line of bolts to my left. So I downclimbed to the top of the first step, and proceeded to hit the slab with a line of bolts. This was far easier climbing than the first pitch. (Felt like 5.5) I arrived at a nice new anchor for the belay. Later we would determine that I should have traversed far right after the second step (A small tree/shrub is there) and then headed straight up to the anchor. This did not look like an appealing option to me at the time because it looked like 20'+ of traversing without protection.

Our off route adventure did not greatly impact our position, as Steve just had to traverse about 15' right of the belay to rejoin the route at the start of the third pitch. He then continued on for the rest of the pitch until it was time for me to follow. The third pitch was clearly the hardest. (Well, we don't know what the on route 2nd pitch was.) There was an awkward, but not difficult move above the belay, then some really thin slab moves for a few bolts, before the difficulty eased a bit. I met Steve at the belay, and led off on the 4th pitch. Truthfully, if one starts the third pitch at the correct belay, you could probably incorporate the 4th pitch into it, as it is merely 40' of 3rd class slab. There is a belay anchor at the top, and after that, you are in the 3rd class gully.

After topping out, we weighed our options. Weather was moving in. (It was no longer sunny, and the wind picked up.) We figured we could continue on Prime Rib, or go close to the road to climb some single pitch climbs. I told Steve, we might as well go for it while we were up there. So we proceeded to the base of Prime Rib.

The first pitch starts with some steep tricky crack moves (5.7/5.8) to gain the slab. Once on the slab, there are ample bolts, and nothing trickier than what we had seen on Heart of Gold. The belay comes up quickly and I followed Steve up. To expedite things (and because I do not lead 5.10b) Steve was leading all the pitches on Prime Rib. He led off on the second pitch which starts with some lie back moves to reach the base of the next slab. The second slab was most likely where the .10b rating comes in. Steve gained it on the far right but then had seriously difficult moves to head left toward the bolts. He hung at the second bolt, before working his was flawlessly through the rest of the pitch. When he was about 10' from the anchors, I alerted him that I could see raindrops. He asked what I wanted to do, and I said "Let's go for it."

I climbed up through the lie back, and started to get on the base of the slab when the rain started in earnest. It was not likely I was going to complete .10b friction slab moves on wet rock, and we opted for Steve to lower me to the base of the climb. Then he would rappel and clean the gear.

Once at the base, we made a sketchy walk off down the wet gully and got back on the trail to retrieve our packs at the base of Heart of Gold. Then it was back to the car and Seattle bound.

While at the Duty Dome area we saw some new climbs being put up. Also, the pitch I led is newer and not in the current guide books. There was a lot of interesting climbing to explore there. I am hoping to go back. Steve and I also discussed the second pitch of Prime Rib which we both believe that you should gain the slab on the left, and not on the right. The left seemed to have more difficult feet, but had the edge of the arete for hands at least. It was nice to be out, even if we got rained on during our sixth pitch.

My photos are here.
(With some of Steve's pics.)

Leavenworth Weekend - 03.28-29.09

Ian was having a field trip to get the Intermediate Students leading on gear. He was kind enough to take some of my students along, assuming I would also be there as an instructor.

The forecast didn't look great for Leavenworth, but it did not look awful either. When we arrived in the morning it was fairly sunny in town, but after heading a few miles up Icicle Road, you could see the clouds coming in from the west.

We started with ground work at Mountie's Dome and then on to mock leading. The clouds and precipitation got closer and closer throughout the day until it reached us. It wasn't bad at first, and was barely wetting the rock. By the end of the afternoon, it was full-on raining (and looked to be snowing only about 1000' up from our location.) Once it got really wet, we called it a day.

Sunday started out with cooler, but much sunnier weather. The sun quickly warmed things up as we took the 30 second hike to Roto Wall. Some people started out with their gear leads, while others took some following and an additional mock lead before they got out on the sharp end. Overall, everyone did well, but some people need to practice more.

For the people who finished early, there was even a little free time to climb on their own. Lori and Josh headed up to Givler's Crack for an adventure, and Adam got to follow me up a 5.6 slab climb on the right of Roto Wall. It is always an interesting experience being the first to climb a slab in season. It had a lot of kitty litter on it and the 5.7 to the right of it was even a bit mossy at the start. The 5.6 was also fairly run out at the start, with only two pieces of pro in in the first twenty feet or so. After the free time, we packed our gear and headed home.

My pics are here.

Leavenworth Rock - 03.21-22.09

Took Julie to Leavenworth for a phase of her farewell tour this weekend. The big goal was to climb Givler's Crack. In my opinion, Givler's Crack is the best accessible crack in the state, A four star classic that I had climbed in October with Lori. I wanted to lead the first pitch, and give Julie the money pitch. We had some other climbing we wanted to do, as Givler's Crack would not take more than a few hours.

Julie and I took a leisurely drive out to Leavenworth by leaving Seattle at 8am. Some rain was forecast for the morning, so we figured we would miss it if we left later. When we arrived in Leavenworth, Julie wanted to hit Gilver's Crack first. The weather was great, and it made sense to get our main objective before the weather turned sour. We had planned for snow on the ground, but most of the south facing slopes were snow-free, with a patch here and there. The north facing slopes of Icicle Canyon were full of snow and crags on that side looked cold and wet. There was still a fair amount of ice on the Pearly Gates.

We hiked in the general direction of Givler's Dome, but wanted to do a warm up on Freewheelin' (5.7) which is another crack route Lori and I did in October. Due to the snow patches, and general water erosion from the winter, we had some difficulty finding the trails. We eventually wound up at Freewheelin', which Julie led and I followed. No issues there, we headed up to Givler's Dome.

After a short walk, we were roping up. I let Julie know that I struggled with the crux when I followed Lori, so I wanted her to know I may need to take rope, or worst case fall. Funny as it was, just getting on the rock proved a little difficult for me. Once on the rock, I placed four pieces in the first ten feet of climbing to get through the crux. It was not as much as a struggle as I remembered it, but it was definitely a work out. The rest of the pitch went quickly and smoothly (I placed only three pieces the rest of the pitch.) and soon I was ready to bring Julie up with my anchor on top of the flake. Julie made quick work of the pitch and reported to me at the belay that taking the pieces out at the crux was difficult. It was her turn to lead up the four star second pitch. We both cruised the second pitch, and were celebrating on top in no time. Now to find other endeavours.

We hiked about a bit to find Fit 'n' Trim (5.8) a two pitch bolted/gear route near Mastodon Roof. Getting there was difficult and as best I can tell, no obvious trail leads there. I started to lead the beginning moves. There is an overlap/roof about eight feet off the ground where I placed a cam. After that, a bolt is clipped above the roof. After bungling around trying to overcome the overlap, I lowered off and gave the lead to Julie. She got through the overlap rather easily, and continued on the pitch to a tree belay. (off route) I followed up to her, after a fall and some hanging at the overlap crux of the pitch. We both ended up going a little left to overcome the crux, which was easier, but perhaps not exactly on route. Once up to the tree, I could see a bolt anchor and led up to it. This was supposed to be the top of the first pitch. I brought Julie up where we discussed the options of continuing up the wet second pitch or rappelling off. We decided on rappel, but I would lower Julie first to see if the rope would reach the ground. It did, and I then rapped down to the packs. (Lowering Julie from the top proved somewhat stressful for my body. I think if I was going to lower someone in a situation like that again, I would lower off the anchor.) We hiked out and called it a day.

Day 2 we again took a leisurely start and hiked up to the Planet of the Eights area in the morning. This is another not so easy to reach crag in the Icicle. Basically you cross the street from the Snow Creek Parking Lot and head generally east until you can cut back west and then up a 3rd class step near Poison Ivy Crack. Trails were well defined, but we had to cut through some cabins on the way there. Not sure if that is a normal or accepted practice. All routes on Planet of the Eights are 5.8, and all have at least one star. When we got up there, the routes looked a bit imposing, and we decided on the far left (Small Change) as our first route. I led it slowly, and then Julie top-roped it. We then both top-roped Surveillance of Assailants which was a more interesting and fun route. We left the third route for another time, and headed down to top rope Poison Ivy Crack (5.9.)

We were pretty much committed to rapping Poison Ivy Crack, as the 3rd class step was wet and not a safe down climb to get back to the road. So we set up an anchor, and we rapped to the bottom. Julie went first and did nice work on the crack. The crux is at the top where the crack ends and you have to move left out of the crack and onto a steep slab before topping out. Julie hung a few of times while working out the moves. She lowered off, and I gave the route a go. Unlike Julie, the route was never really a hands crack for me. However, I was able to climb the crack up to the crux fairly easily as well. I weighted the rope briefly at the crux and then worked out the finishing moves. Neither of us felt that we needed to climb it again. Julie and I agreed that is was not that difficult, but would be a bit harder to lead. I would recommend that anyone wanting to top rope it, use a cordelette or long runners to build the anchor so it reaches over the lip of rock at the top.

That was our last climb of the day. After saying "hi" to Ken, we headed back to Seattle.

My pics are here.
Julie's pics are here.

Rainbow Falls - 01.05.09

First post of 2009!

Steve and I gambled on the impending weather doom* to see if we could hit some ice in Leavenworth. Our gamble paid off, as it never went above freezing in Leavenworth, and we even had a "mostly sunny" day.

We weren't sure what was in and what we could climb. So we headed up the Icicle to see what was there. First stop was Rainbow Falls, but we saw another party gearing up, so we continued on the road. We drove all the way to the end of plowing around Bridge Creek. There were assorted ice climbs that were visible from the road. Some not. Most of what we could see would involve wallowing long distances through knee/waist deep snow to get to. Other interesting looking formations involved inconvenient crossings of Icicle Creek. So we headed back to Rainbow Falls.

We parked at the Snow Lakes trail head and walked across the street. The approach was about 2 minutes of deep snow hiking to the base. There was a small section near the right, where the falls were still running. Steeper sections of the falls looks great. Lower angle portions had a fair amount of snow on them. (Maybe 6-8")

The other party was climbing the steeper far right side of the falls. We opted for the stepped middle of the falls. Steve had first lead. He picked his way up a ramp through the middle and topped out. He built an anchor and brought me up. The ice was variable. Some sections offered great ice for climbing, while other sections had little or no ice. Some sections required quite a bit of snow cleaning even as the second. After I topped out, we made the decision to walk off. Our 60m rope would have been too short to rap the route. The walk off was long and through deep snow. Steve and I sometimes went in up to our thighs.

When we returned to the base we had hoped to climb the right side. However, a third party arrived, and were climbing it. So I took the lead on a slightly different variation up the middle. What Steve and I thought would be better ice, turned out to be more of the same. Only steep vertical sections proved to be great for climbing. Sometimes the ice above a bulge was scary and made for unsavory moments. I was a bit tired and gripped when I reached the last step before the top out. I down climbed back to a good screw with a decent ledge, placed a second screw and brought Steve up to finish.

After the walk off, it was near dark and time to go home. We had some frozen gear that we needed to sort at the car and dry out at home.

Overall, this was a great experience for Steve and I. It was our first ice climbing this season. It may have been Steve's first time on waterfall ice as well. It was interesting, because of the highly variable conditions that we experienced. If the ice was better throughout, we would have enjoyed climbing it more, but wouldn't have gotten the experience we did.

My pics are here.
(I've included some of Steve's pics.)

*A warm spell with above freezing temps up to 3700', and rain. Making avalanche danger rising to extreme for 4000' and above. (High avy danger below.)

Leavenworth - 10.28.08

After last week's trip to Leavenworth, Lori decided there shouldn't be anything keeping us from a return trip to give Classic Crack another shot. So we decided to go out and warm up on a few other cracks before attempting to tackle Classic Crack.

One thing I can say is, the Leavenworth climbing season is coming to an end. When we left the car around 10am, it was still around 40° out. As soon as the sun goes behind the ridge or clouds, it tends to get real chilly as well.

We started out on a crack we had dubbed "Puppy Crack" a few weeks earlier. This because we thought it was Dogleg Crack, but it is shorter (and easier.) After "Puppy Crack" we set up a top rope on Dogleg Crack. From a technical rating standpoint, it turns out Dogleg Crack, 5.8+ is not a particularly good warm up for Classic Crack, also at 5.8+. (We didn't realize it had the "+" until we were already trying to climb it.)

After a few attempts each, we both successfully climbed it without hanging or falling. The key for me was unlocking the right foot moves on the thin face while on the lower portion of the crack. After that, the crack climbs straight up for a bit, (easiest part of the climb) and then to the dogleg. After we were both confident about Dogleg Crack, we moved on to Classic Crack.

It was getting late, and neither of us felt comfortable about going unbelayed to the the anchor at the top, so we belayed it, and both rapped off, while I set a directional. Lori gave it the first shot, and was able to climb it to the top with a few hangs and hollers. I started climbing and did not get too far off the ground when I once again had difficulty unlocking delicate foot moves. After some hanging, Lori had to lower me as she was in an uncomfortable situation at the belay up top. I told her to clean the anchor and rap off as it was getting late, and I was getting chilly.

Overall, I have noticed for me that it is still the footwork that takes priority when crack climbing. Unlocking the moves on the lower portion of Dogleg Crack made all the difference on that route. Due to the right leaning nature of the lower crack, your right foot needs to be on the face through that section. Mostly Lori and I figured that you used the right foot stances just to bump up the left foot in the crack, and that the left foot was used for moving up the crack. A similar issue occurred for me on Classic Crack. The previous week I had got farther up the climb. However, I believe I muscled (pull up) my way through the delicate foot work, which tired me out. This time, I was having difficulty unlocking a move I had no difficulty getting past last time, but was attempting to climb it in better style. So I think when crack climbing gets hard for me, I will not blame the jams, but look to the feet.

My pics are here.

Lori's pics are here.

Leavenworth - Gilver's Dome - 10.05.08

With a somewhat grim weather forecast for the weekend, Saturday was a write off. But Sunday looked promising on the east side of the Cascades. Lori and I made plans Saturday to head up Sunday morning. Rain occurred most of the drive over including areas NE of Steven's Pass where the snow level was reaching down below 4000'. We were not optimistic. Upon arriving in Leavenworth with the clouds breaking up, spirits heightened.

The goal for the day was the 4-star classic: Givler's Crack. It is a two pitch climb with a 5.8 crux right off the ground and a long second pitch with a really awesome 5.7 hand crack. Lori led off the first pitch in great style and was soon at the belay. After some decision making on which crack she should take to get there. (There is an alcove after the crux, with two cracks leading up to the belay ledge. Lori took the left crack.) The second pitch starts at the base of a hand crack that goes straight up the face. I cannot say anything else about the crack other than the climbing was awesome! After about 20m, the angle eases and then eases again before reaching a boulder for the belay. I brought Lori up and we hung out a bit before walking down to our packs.

With the time being around 1pm, we hunted around for our next objective. We found it in Rare Earth (5.10a), a steep bolted slab. I felt unsure of climbing it, and let Lori have the lead. She progressed slowly up the slab with some minor detours that were perhaps easier ground. After a fall around the fifth bolt, she cruised up the second unrelenting half of the climb. I followed the pitch but had to take twice as it felt my feet were going to burst into flame. Because of my height, the first three bolts went easily, but the second half of the climb really did not have breaks. It was a relief to finally arrive at the anchor.

We hiked back down to the packs and proceeded to climb Freewheelin' (5.7). A short crack with a slab finish a little to the left of Rare Earth. I found the start awkward and bypassed it somewhat with a flake to the left. I lie backed the flake until I had a decent opportunity to gain the crack. After having climbed Givler's Crack, this climb was disappointing. The crack was flaring and did not take jams well. It ended quickly and then picked up as a very thin crack to the right that wouldn't even accept my fingers. A brief stint in the second crack led to a slab with a bolt which didn't seem necessary after climbing Rare Earth. I brought Lori up, and we proceeded to our next destination.

Our final goal of the day was to climb Dogleg Crack(5.8) at Alphabet Rock. We had some difficulty getting down from Freewheelin' and spend a while hiking over to Alphabet Rock. Interestingly, we found a crack we though was the Dogleg, but was too short and did not have an anchor at/near the top. We then realized we were too far right and found the correct route and proceeded to set up a top rope. I was too tired at the end of the day and gave up without really having completed a move. Lori attempted the route and had difficulty with the lower crack and then proceeded to climb the route Hind Quarters (10a) and switching back to Dogleg Crack near the top. We tore down the top rope, and headed back to Seattle.

A great day was had. The weather was good if a little variable. Givler's Crack is easily one of the best routes I have climbed. Although Givler's is popular, we had the route to ourselves and only saw another party coming up as we were leaving the base. Since it is a 4-star route, it spoiled us for the rest of the day. Especially Freewheelin' as it was not nearly as good as Givler's Crack. I'd recommend if you were taking the 45-60 minute walk up to Givler's, that you may wish to stop at Freewheelin' first. Unless you are trying to beat the crowds. Although if there is a line for the route, Freewheelin' would be a nice diversion during the wait.

My pictures are here.

Lori's pics are here.