tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29393271396779508052024-02-18T21:03:00.119-08:00The 2nd AscentOur 1st and 2nd ascents...Danehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08300760603627210620noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2939327139677950805.post-68198144686192362712022-09-22T14:03:00.009-07:002023-08-14T16:41:12.450-07:00The Pillar on Mt Temple 1st ascent July 18/19 1976 w/ Mike Eastburn<p>Our line is on the left in green. The line starts on the obvious pillar, center of the face, in bright sunlight and climbs directly up to and over the ice flow just below the ice cliffs above. We started up at 6PM when the rock fall slowed and climbed to the last rock band before dark. The bottom pillar's rock was solid and fun climbing never harder than 5.7. Just a lot of it. We did a short bivy at the top of the snow bowl where we found a small but well protected cave. Climbed the 1st short rock wall above @ 5.8 and the traversed left to the ice tongue. Once sorted on the ice we climbed up the right side of the ice cliff and then eventually were able to just walk on to the summit ice cap and got to the East Ridge line and then right to the summit.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhej__WspavwFN0MgFmbQ8ggR2xWH1ljDDIW7zAMDgVxotSvIg1MFWw7sjiKwQVt2VwSyxS7olzMMQsV2ByqoQRqbD_7LFILF6-Qgl6smpk61rLxjQK2cGMLpomjRXubRWl0iAwfOCasBgW8-IG1zdcCVOVCWuTxLflnIPgdWtSJHEmfX077-ajEF4_6Q/s960/temple1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhej__WspavwFN0MgFmbQ8ggR2xWH1ljDDIW7zAMDgVxotSvIg1MFWw7sjiKwQVt2VwSyxS7olzMMQsV2ByqoQRqbD_7LFILF6-Qgl6smpk61rLxjQK2cGMLpomjRXubRWl0iAwfOCasBgW8-IG1zdcCVOVCWuTxLflnIPgdWtSJHEmfX077-ajEF4_6Q/w640-h480/temple1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2fV1g9zOY3Z8hP8Micy2h0eq4dcH6vl0a40QjM12hdrMa4lgq19emlEZaNPSI6P7QcPMHba9CjfqhgxEWQxkcH0UzUM5kelTUB0kXsvvYqmAGa4YcGI4GiiM6_-4oTd75yTpxynW9OIrUJvnOl8ojX4edyxvFXBihu0cDELDdl2Dt2t412F3LZcAGQ/s960/temple.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2fV1g9zOY3Z8hP8Micy2h0eq4dcH6vl0a40QjM12hdrMa4lgq19emlEZaNPSI6P7QcPMHba9CjfqhgxEWQxkcH0UzUM5kelTUB0kXsvvYqmAGa4YcGI4GiiM6_-4oTd75yTpxynW9OIrUJvnOl8ojX4edyxvFXBihu0cDELDdl2Dt2t412F3LZcAGQ/s16000/temple.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div><br /></div><div>On reflection there are probably better places to climb in summer ;) We were quite proud of ourselves and the climb until a similar photo came out in the CAJ that year.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2zCq-R0ZUjN3G0fiaJBfYI_w8tky3-_VtEBHb_rrRskAJLK2lXCHaP76bzJA5xDc3F1t7Gh7ljcOJkXKwVwMwDG91Qyf8XWdQqzXk9jIExjrW7g6bH80P3Fgw0BlwlprelkJUaHUez-1lfJwOyspl-CzrNo8HBj5i0aXnRVPyikXFj6rgRL7udEMpHA/s533/temple2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="533" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2zCq-R0ZUjN3G0fiaJBfYI_w8tky3-_VtEBHb_rrRskAJLK2lXCHaP76bzJA5xDc3F1t7Gh7ljcOJkXKwVwMwDG91Qyf8XWdQqzXk9jIExjrW7g6bH80P3Fgw0BlwlprelkJUaHUez-1lfJwOyspl-CzrNo8HBj5i0aXnRVPyikXFj6rgRL7udEMpHA/w640-h480/temple2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RV5Bf2y-CmYbDZLOllAzA5OpWSw_TLdvFQqmvzS6p6PuL6XTLgEMzipJHjyJOPycU8fWhXeRjK9C7-1PNh2tJtAF1tg-DIHcMIB7d0wrTj0CFtJwJ9RETC6fG1yMwryM7miVVaHYQWf7CQHxxFOQ0T6YJqiXdsHhZraoaF5ei90WORtBTRnMVnPYqw/s484/temp5%20(2).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="484" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RV5Bf2y-CmYbDZLOllAzA5OpWSw_TLdvFQqmvzS6p6PuL6XTLgEMzipJHjyJOPycU8fWhXeRjK9C7-1PNh2tJtAF1tg-DIHcMIB7d0wrTj0CFtJwJ9RETC6fG1yMwryM7miVVaHYQWf7CQHxxFOQ0T6YJqiXdsHhZraoaF5ei90WORtBTRnMVnPYqw/w640-h504/temp5%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div>Danehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08300760603627210620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2939327139677950805.post-57201887217989062562010-12-30T15:31:00.001-08:002023-08-14T16:42:01.850-07:00Slipstream, Mt Snowdome, Canadian IcefieldsColumbia Ice Fields, Mt. Snowdome - Slipstream is the obvious runnel of ice in the center of the picture. <br />
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This photo above shows about half of the actual climb. The climbers are on the first good ice pitch, of which there are four, with none of the lower approach gully or glacier showing. </div>
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Amazing photos by <a aria-describedby="js_37" aria-haspopup="true" aria-owns="js_36" data-ft="{"tn":"k"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=512601688772914" href="https://www.facebook.com/ChrisScharfPhotography/?fref=photo" id="js_38">Chris Scharf Photography</a></div>
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Slipstream from the walk in on the 2nd ascent, Jan '81. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ7s4nv5aIQCRsChjT5THLiGls_prR33mcXfazbwJuxPx5Jji0fbOdYCmrxzsPWJLA07n1O5r0JNP6zsiv4fSku5nTVppp9hDz-f2iwJWa5ejpqkWukROUUt5loP6uxWwBQFrAFW1Oawb7/s1600/2588_1112513728591_1099338977_30382977_2689659_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ7s4nv5aIQCRsChjT5THLiGls_prR33mcXfazbwJuxPx5Jji0fbOdYCmrxzsPWJLA07n1O5r0JNP6zsiv4fSku5nTVppp9hDz-f2iwJWa5ejpqkWukROUUt5loP6uxWwBQFrAFW1Oawb7/s640/2588_1112513728591_1099338977_30382977_2689659_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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A real treat for me...pictures from Jim Elzinga of John Lauchlan on the 1st ascent of Slipstream, Dec. '79. John had encouraged me to get on the climb and offered recent beta from working on a film about Slipstream. Without out his encourgaement I would not have climbed it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpofEePx05h4GwgqGXDwM5Vv5VX88N7Z42aMB21HTx3U4Zmara5SuZdeOwgjHFK-4hYLSwSbjs7SBgV_I-l1ZqWRCjdzFJdgcI-fy97LYbO9d1BmfDhmRBS7ZxHi8wBeuChuPVxV5j_Gnx/s1600/3325_1134766164888_1099338977_30417931_1751114_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpofEePx05h4GwgqGXDwM5Vv5VX88N7Z42aMB21HTx3U4Zmara5SuZdeOwgjHFK-4hYLSwSbjs7SBgV_I-l1ZqWRCjdzFJdgcI-fy97LYbO9d1BmfDhmRBS7ZxHi8wBeuChuPVxV5j_Gnx/s640/3325_1134766164888_1099338977_30417931_1751114_n.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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I think these are from the first waterfall section mid route. <br />
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For those into such things. John and Jim used Forest Serac Sabers that they cut down and modified the picks on the 1st ascent. They had leather boots and SMC rigid crampons. Of the four of us all except Gary used umbilicals. I lead all the water ice with the Clogs shown below on the 2nd ascent. Gary used the curved Chouinard tools. Gary had some of the first plastic Kolflachs in the country having bought his in Europe that fall while climbing in Chamonix. I had Haderer singles with super gaiters. Gary used Chouinard rigid crampons and I was on SMC rigids. <br />
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<strong>Gear Notes:</strong> <br />
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The upper slope provides the continued spindrift avis while on route. And the same slope loads and slabs off from the ice cap and sweeps the entire route clean many times each winter. The spindrift avis you'll likely live through. The powder snow slab avis are a toss up to live through depending where you are on the route when it happens. The nasty one will be part of the serac coming off. If you are in the waterfall pitches you may live through that..it has happened. Check out the conditon of the serac barrier before you leave the highway. <br />
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Past that, climb fast...take the gear you need to do that. Get off in the light so you can find your way down the descent gully off to the climber's far left in the bowl. Stay out of the crevassed nightmare that is the top of Snow Dome. Walking off the south side of Snow Dome (been done) and down the Athabasca is not recommended. <br />
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Climb has up to 6 pitches of WI3/4+ ( or 3 depending again on your rope length). Nothing really hard by today's standards. Climb has every bit as much ice as Polar Circus and can be just as hard technically but is much, much longer and very alpine in feel. Add the combined effects of a big mountain (3,456 m / 11,339 ft) with all the objective hazards to go along with that and you have a true classic. Be careful, pick the right conditions and climb fast. We took 8 screws and while I looked for and wanted some in the upper bowl, I did not find a place for rock gear.<br />
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1st ascent took 3 days c2c. A year later, the second ascent took 7 hrs and under 16hrs c2c walking down the Athabasca in the dark. 8 years later, and anyone's guess were the timing started, Slipstream was soloed in 2hrs plus of climbing.<br />
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<strong>Approach Notes:</strong> <br />
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An hour of so up the rock glacier from the highway. Most walk in as the snow gets blown off pretty fast. And you don't want to be on this route if there is a lot of new snow or wind around recently.Danehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08300760603627210620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2939327139677950805.post-48690029055497544572010-12-23T22:58:00.001-08:002023-08-14T16:42:49.136-07:00Polar CircusIcefield's Parkway - Polar Circus<br />
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<em>"Polar Circus is a popular and classic ice climb located in the Canadian Rockies off the Icefields Parkway. Climbers from throughout the world come to Canada to test their skills (and empty their bladders, sometimes unintentionally) on this incredible, 700 meter tiered frozen waterfall. Originally rated Grade VI, the first ascent of this route required eight days, fixed ropes, and substantial aid on the steepest sections. In what was to become a typical situation on this beautiful wall, the climb was crowded even during the first ascent, with two parties competing for the prize. The second ascent party, narrowly missing being the first to bag this great line, eliminated all but five meters of aid from the route. With the evolution of modern tools and techniques, "Circus" has since been downgraded to Grade V, WI5, and is typically climbed by competent teams in a long day from the Icefields Parkway."</em><br />
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With a 5 minute approach from the road this is one of the WI2+ pitches that start up the Cirrus Mtn Gully aka the Canadian water ice classic...."Polar Circus". Below: looking up one of those early easy pitches. The perfect warm up for the climbing to come.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimV6-SG5v20fB6yJ4vlg7wAE5DfddF-yy0Y_l9HwZ5RwDttFL_KpywdCZejYR2p9sbj71ZRBjRMuFkdTpobPFY-lf_cfrMEYkSIY8aLKLDp2ONFklihIw1owM7UB9OMOubTDQZTFJs3jDi/s1600/pc35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimV6-SG5v20fB6yJ4vlg7wAE5DfddF-yy0Y_l9HwZ5RwDttFL_KpywdCZejYR2p9sbj71ZRBjRMuFkdTpobPFY-lf_cfrMEYkSIY8aLKLDp2ONFklihIw1owM7UB9OMOubTDQZTFJs3jDi/s320/pc35.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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A bit of easy climbing leads you to the first steep section of water ice.<br />
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Below is looking down from the start of that pitch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiiP9EkXoYrumZxRGI3XIACl69zhPqwhQDon9MMPfW31hlBE6rkyAXev_n4l_IEdDD355Jb_c3oXgfAdNZVCysXAgeXfkn7_6QnjJDA420yJsU0v9ns5ygzx6rxQqqSyMWcIcXkhaFa9Q9/s1600/pc21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiiP9EkXoYrumZxRGI3XIACl69zhPqwhQDon9MMPfW31hlBE6rkyAXev_n4l_IEdDD355Jb_c3oXgfAdNZVCysXAgeXfkn7_6QnjJDA420yJsU0v9ns5ygzx6rxQqqSyMWcIcXkhaFa9Q9/s320/pc21.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Polar Circus '80, in easy ice conditions...the first steep bit that blocks access to the upper gully. Depending on conditions any where from WI3 to WI 4.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUXGqo3iG57D5DzVFmVJNQ_zYGrFCXfloocjmbooPrLgTq9dioI6IsTc7mzh7hJwSYYCc13qS-Ed2qUyEAOGa7vOJpKh8rufjJnfMOiaDyrTaJzRs4smTdSQlJqf1TdXuoBLWi8zeRQ0HX/s1600/pc1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUXGqo3iG57D5DzVFmVJNQ_zYGrFCXfloocjmbooPrLgTq9dioI6IsTc7mzh7hJwSYYCc13qS-Ed2qUyEAOGa7vOJpKh8rufjJnfMOiaDyrTaJzRs4smTdSQlJqf1TdXuoBLWi8zeRQ0HX/s320/pc1.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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The same pitch in Feb 2010 and a bit steeper and more sustained.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCSBfjR5E-QKdEMLtfGaFP_2Caj4v-XeH8sslDn55J_eMDN6PusGBSl9qKup3ZSF_b8rCpTqCesxrpgsNzpOu2qz2YVyf8q9aUiCMBegarIlz1hweGlqn3HhH9KVAm0H0gFQhMHkfxONfp/s1600/pc36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCSBfjR5E-QKdEMLtfGaFP_2Caj4v-XeH8sslDn55J_eMDN6PusGBSl9qKup3ZSF_b8rCpTqCesxrpgsNzpOu2qz2YVyf8q9aUiCMBegarIlz1hweGlqn3HhH9KVAm0H0gFQhMHkfxONfp/s320/pc36.jpg" width="236" /></a><br />
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Polar Circus, when in safe avi conditions is an easy (WI4+/ 5-), and super classic one day ice climb. With an short approach and quick descent it is one to go back to again and again.<br />
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Again 1980 with bivy gear (the 80/81 winter season turned Polar Circus from an over night climb to a one day route) at the beginning of the long snow gully below the Pencil.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYD4fWI9LygRh7znlBLrFTmQ10iEQvOmORW3HUmyswWloinwk_uVprh2v1fRwJtVNA6tRwTMucGa2Tp2lEUo6o4oO1j96oDCZ-rt47xDxuX6-IUEdmFGIHsJqWYaOFvs6_LZxHY2ULrmZL/s1600/pc16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYD4fWI9LygRh7znlBLrFTmQ10iEQvOmORW3HUmyswWloinwk_uVprh2v1fRwJtVNA6tRwTMucGa2Tp2lEUo6o4oO1j96oDCZ-rt47xDxuX6-IUEdmFGIHsJqWYaOFvs6_LZxHY2ULrmZL/s320/pc16.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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This is looking down the snow gully section just after turning the easy ice at the base of the Pencil which is on the right of this picture and just out of sight. Climber's left and up hill of this picture is the avi prone slope.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmaaETNv-qV-QfroCR2ldoZ7zbzksnp9LWw5mfbrQLL9nP5d4RGx0pAF0ThPLbIPXHq3z0O_Z0L_YpxK7RYaOa6Tavl6zmWSFXPV5UbFaXjnv9zGCgS8lz6Poi0PnGwc9VpC5UTJ3sabR/s1600/pc22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmaaETNv-qV-QfroCR2ldoZ7zbzksnp9LWw5mfbrQLL9nP5d4RGx0pAF0ThPLbIPXHq3z0O_Z0L_YpxK7RYaOa6Tavl6zmWSFXPV5UbFaXjnv9zGCgS8lz6Poi0PnGwc9VpC5UTJ3sabR/s320/pc22.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Turning the Pencil just below and gaining the avi slope. A short bit of WI4 and a lot of mild ice and gully climbing are below this. Spectacular position! The avi slope goes up and out to the right and then back left into the upper bowl above on an almost level traverse. That final level traverse back into the basin and the upper tiers can be really scary because of the sun exposure.<br />
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John Lauchlan in this picture and in the same area where he was later swept away in an avalanche while trying to make the first solo ascent in the early winter of 1982.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpZLBhWhpQ6sqwNFVh21haXeTegN4LYbBpo583M9BcT4IxPQJ4U4OfPfF_0fq_vEWkZxcZLLPeESj8SvD2EiiCYIjMFZkJ7B6GbxUX0cTTCwVjKAeNVZ0_RjxAhh_vLzS4NaUCvGKKSeQ/s1600/pc9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpZLBhWhpQ6sqwNFVh21haXeTegN4LYbBpo583M9BcT4IxPQJ4U4OfPfF_0fq_vEWkZxcZLLPeESj8SvD2EiiCYIjMFZkJ7B6GbxUX0cTTCwVjKAeNVZ0_RjxAhh_vLzS4NaUCvGKKSeQ/s1600/pc9.jpg" /></a><br />
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Ray Jotterand photo 1979<br />
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The unformed Pencil's stub.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGRn7mFKLwEHAJbTbONO-VqAsfX8MCJ5-xZHo5Q4wS1hnVFhjWk05VT4LUUuNbrE-lARKt59uhYi37CrAehSY6KBfbbyDXsVeBmjoEiW8ewyocxfhMb4QV7NJBwqasR4flye8nVhbhlCB/s1600/pc3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGRn7mFKLwEHAJbTbONO-VqAsfX8MCJ5-xZHo5Q4wS1hnVFhjWk05VT4LUUuNbrE-lARKt59uhYi37CrAehSY6KBfbbyDXsVeBmjoEiW8ewyocxfhMb4QV7NJBwqasR4flye8nVhbhlCB/s320/pc3.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Partially formed and fallen pencil in the back ground.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP2uB7Paqln6x_bHo-NBuuK-HrARc6p3mYpe1v5DXr2eSzLJArpyGH1T0DtqPOWS7X0v4jBcpAQAcWF5knBGG6Nrt2_95SH9-xOrCK7nXPeReR2fxLW27UP0dkKKyTTVOazLSM4wg41Vv3/s1600/pc2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP2uB7Paqln6x_bHo-NBuuK-HrARc6p3mYpe1v5DXr2eSzLJArpyGH1T0DtqPOWS7X0v4jBcpAQAcWF5knBGG6Nrt2_95SH9-xOrCK7nXPeReR2fxLW27UP0dkKKyTTVOazLSM4wg41Vv3/s320/pc2.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Looking up the right hand section of the boot packed snow traverse above the Pencil. At the trees in the picture the boot pack jogs back left and into the huge upper bowl.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRYvzpqmIn340rYA3C66xAw5hsWyd3h2NO2xKVqGa8grCVzY9IrSEa-Nt0ba8GVwlWe2TgW3aGFBWdJltRQxEjgBYpMYPheG7S0MhQ6jaJb42exhSRI-SofeVfOuhyLH-uorrn1R_IrWXd/s1600/pc20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRYvzpqmIn340rYA3C66xAw5hsWyd3h2NO2xKVqGa8grCVzY9IrSEa-Nt0ba8GVwlWe2TgW3aGFBWdJltRQxEjgBYpMYPheG7S0MhQ6jaJb42exhSRI-SofeVfOuhyLH-uorrn1R_IrWXd/s320/pc20.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<strong>Get there early while the traverse is still in the shade!</strong><br />
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The last four pitches of the climb (or 3 rope stretching pitches with a 70m rope and some imagination) and generally the only thing people rope up for these days. In early Jan of '75 the first ascent party climbed 14 roped pitches of ice and taken 8 days up and down. Water fall climbing was still fairly new and nothing this long or this cold had been done before. Charlie Porter, the Burgess Twins and Bugs McKeith were some of the most accomplished climbers of their generation at the time. The second ascent lead by Laurie Skreslet literally following in the 1st ascent teams foot steps did it in two days and all but the last bit of it free.<br />
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Huge admiration for both team's imagination, tenacity and skills. Ice climbing changed faster than anyone ever thought possible between 1975 and 1980.<br />
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The upper bowl from lower on the route.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIghrkKctXRCqIKhVWIxTlliNOjUrVkGP8132VhPD4X3jf4PErd00TfT1a5SPc0zomC-j5BrjXayLB7uhnfUL_tO_uBzwyOTlzvUBZ0Si6qDm8jIysNrRt1vlmTxd_dl48h_M_qCiMWESj/s1600/pc6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIghrkKctXRCqIKhVWIxTlliNOjUrVkGP8132VhPD4X3jf4PErd00TfT1a5SPc0zomC-j5BrjXayLB7uhnfUL_tO_uBzwyOTlzvUBZ0Si6qDm8jIysNrRt1vlmTxd_dl48h_M_qCiMWESj/s320/pc6.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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The upper bowl when you turn the corner on the snow traverse. Good look at the first fun pitch on the first tier of the 3 upper tiers.<br />
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The upper tiers are made up of this pitch, the Ribbon pitch and the final head wall of ice.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin7j5XaCvadJPwtOsLaGMX14SpPhMjNZLAZXZjmLC_J5_5UwR0-WdjDLr0omWVgLdjRQyavSgDyexGbD-r-ENarxv4HyNxBVSQo7KgPEFGTv6x2PM3Z75Dy3SU3dSJ9R25egkabxxT72W8/s1600/pc27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin7j5XaCvadJPwtOsLaGMX14SpPhMjNZLAZXZjmLC_J5_5UwR0-WdjDLr0omWVgLdjRQyavSgDyexGbD-r-ENarxv4HyNxBVSQo7KgPEFGTv6x2PM3Z75Dy3SU3dSJ9R25egkabxxT72W8/s320/pc27.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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The Ribbon pitch below.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU_gYgOl7EMTFT2GWCPasqUUESwi8fWT4zFYcwv_ThjPY4yZiDsvEa1_TTgmNafvnA7ZJ8a79FcOnWUB6SvYvlDtzkulTi42GnmGXpvRbMpUQnyG5y6N1YMXKGG5nox28e2-Tiy56tv6Un/s1600/pc5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU_gYgOl7EMTFT2GWCPasqUUESwi8fWT4zFYcwv_ThjPY4yZiDsvEa1_TTgmNafvnA7ZJ8a79FcOnWUB6SvYvlDtzkulTi42GnmGXpvRbMpUQnyG5y6N1YMXKGG5nox28e2-Tiy56tv6Un/s320/pc5.jpg" width="214" /></a><br />
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Difficulty on this pitch depends on the amount of ice some what but more importantly what time you get there, the temps and how wet the ice is. This pitch can easily be running with water and rotten ice.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJgWhqX_Cu7SaQR3MSxsvYCsP8QepbvxHrpP8IGm31KfHka0B6mKYEeBFlRNWDyxwFGyN8_aT1KGVkFAUkX0uVhpd4Z0_Dj5jdBTkdYOo-DB0OCB5baOB6K02w0pnm4oOaBfYFWOSb1Ak/s1600/pc24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJgWhqX_Cu7SaQR3MSxsvYCsP8QepbvxHrpP8IGm31KfHka0B6mKYEeBFlRNWDyxwFGyN8_aT1KGVkFAUkX0uVhpd4Z0_Dj5jdBTkdYOo-DB0OCB5baOB6K02w0pnm4oOaBfYFWOSb1Ak/s320/pc24.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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You are looking at entire last set of tiers in this picture. The three climbers at the right side of the ice are at the base of the Ribbon pitch in fat Feb '10 conditions.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5vLdm0Ndi0MZ5qzb9-erjILTv_3bnGoiDF8P3_yNFAMeLHf1CQ0upiwNasydpG0Ov128gFQ_RmPBVu5CsgNMMaZNO4go4wzrpbnO2ZEDaGWP2LJw7s6YhW0qyZtUMvmn-PLGLWFE0N40M/s1600/pc12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5vLdm0Ndi0MZ5qzb9-erjILTv_3bnGoiDF8P3_yNFAMeLHf1CQ0upiwNasydpG0Ov128gFQ_RmPBVu5CsgNMMaZNO4go4wzrpbnO2ZEDaGWP2LJw7s6YhW0qyZtUMvmn-PLGLWFE0N40M/s320/pc12.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2j43lDnEFg06UhxydWLlvxPF-r29FUzjHdoOH9FqVUhQ9vLWF4ebCzgVH_hGb0Bs74hPm7CulVPdBQPPK8sX283DBiyBp3TD41mBG0PWrvnj1W34wII4QAUvEWSZXtvvOSFVFwzQ3_yXk/s1600/pc10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2j43lDnEFg06UhxydWLlvxPF-r29FUzjHdoOH9FqVUhQ9vLWF4ebCzgVH_hGb0Bs74hPm7CulVPdBQPPK8sX283DBiyBp3TD41mBG0PWrvnj1W34wII4QAUvEWSZXtvvOSFVFwzQ3_yXk/s320/pc10.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJDhlT47rAFJ5dFXSfSmk4J6xQSAKf6qz4i-gRsqJQPbGST7eTObyoKcq_ZM06-78-z0UHvjSBI9RPdmRP794y0PoBlMpQpkHMkzjztVUTnJcJ-74kT9KQifu5epC0wkyDNzheRIhRvcqz/s1600/pc11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJDhlT47rAFJ5dFXSfSmk4J6xQSAKf6qz4i-gRsqJQPbGST7eTObyoKcq_ZM06-78-z0UHvjSBI9RPdmRP794y0PoBlMpQpkHMkzjztVUTnJcJ-74kT9KQifu5epC0wkyDNzheRIhRvcqz/s320/pc11.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Parts of the the last long pitch (or two short pitches) are shown here on the last tier. Fixed anchor on the right with a decent belay platform and rap chains. Climber here is on the last bit of steep ice and generally the crux of the route. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi9VCaR1wGoBWHMJAUsXeZO8JK9RYO9gB4W06i1SXyXV1Ai9arbUldZ2IgIXyecHd3fTkyebOnhk74uwOLkwyDLF-4WJplNaEt0_Q7Z8WQjB2NYVSXimD_yjE85cP0stoMhTxFn04tCBIY/s1600/pc26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi9VCaR1wGoBWHMJAUsXeZO8JK9RYO9gB4W06i1SXyXV1Ai9arbUldZ2IgIXyecHd3fTkyebOnhk74uwOLkwyDLF-4WJplNaEt0_Q7Z8WQjB2NYVSXimD_yjE85cP0stoMhTxFn04tCBIY/s320/pc26.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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The final short pitch to finish the climb..steeper than it looks and generally sun rotted ice by the time you get on it. Perfect finish to a great climb! Picture is taken for the chained belay anchor and rap point.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslXWcZghwm4PP_t-Fa2_W-HI4updXzKn_QIzpY2NJqLdw5_PI_IPp5V3YyoQQCIOYX0NVbOBEBo4KYrbfYmiJxhygDwJF8FgRae-kgALMplaZnxM5RZDD-jXX1OQ9557r5nz5oTRoZR6Q/s1600/pc29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslXWcZghwm4PP_t-Fa2_W-HI4updXzKn_QIzpY2NJqLdw5_PI_IPp5V3YyoQQCIOYX0NVbOBEBo4KYrbfYmiJxhygDwJF8FgRae-kgALMplaZnxM5RZDD-jXX1OQ9557r5nz5oTRoZR6Q/s320/pc29.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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For shortened view of the last tier. Chains in the rock are climber's left one step above the climber in the picture<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXejWyU_6-k0qrz9X3Sug087fn0_twLswBOVyNyMI7R1U9Xk-LZ4_NVr2x590L1C11RIhH2SFryRNlm3fh7kOgAew_El44p1_J3hsJymJN6JgGwCC6Lh3odBwvhxiD7OWDXmq4Ovmwne3H/s1600/pc7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXejWyU_6-k0qrz9X3Sug087fn0_twLswBOVyNyMI7R1U9Xk-LZ4_NVr2x590L1C11RIhH2SFryRNlm3fh7kOgAew_El44p1_J3hsJymJN6JgGwCC6Lh3odBwvhxiD7OWDXmq4Ovmwne3H/s320/pc7.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Looking back down the final pitch just belwo the last set of rap chains. Incredible piece of ice!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbj9cQl8yec0lF4hpYtM3tWyUK7HR3AbwxIoLtuaVmGbRzMTR9FqSQjMLCWHJwfe3Y2zYLePferaWVDZFTKWnj5JjjPoFpyhYqNPAY2n7NdE0mSOMvTNKOnHEu_gb8YCjMzd8fMGxpj-uG/s1600/pc30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbj9cQl8yec0lF4hpYtM3tWyUK7HR3AbwxIoLtuaVmGbRzMTR9FqSQjMLCWHJwfe3Y2zYLePferaWVDZFTKWnj5JjjPoFpyhYqNPAY2n7NdE0mSOMvTNKOnHEu_gb8YCjMzd8fMGxpj-uG/s320/pc30.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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The always terrifing, free hanging rap off the Pencil on the way down.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1oEe4ntT1aoA0m0nP1L5jCNXI8SFrC6VI1j2-d1gOzXQueh9KKwB2jCZrwQjQyPhDUrXJulttXx8XxgguaKMR0sJ3kh007xi-G79qFuji4c1O15h1HVuCAW_tG5ItZFPKOIW96ekUqZaX/s1600/pc31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1oEe4ntT1aoA0m0nP1L5jCNXI8SFrC6VI1j2-d1gOzXQueh9KKwB2jCZrwQjQyPhDUrXJulttXx8XxgguaKMR0sJ3kh007xi-G79qFuji4c1O15h1HVuCAW_tG5ItZFPKOIW96ekUqZaX/s320/pc31.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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A wonderful climb to be done over and over again just for the fun of it! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiLYFU8e9evPcG099Cc2zU4WZZlIYzotz-r08br0bYlHWWrOvHUN6XXajnV-3SEys_cmYiGaFEXSguceQqnRsAD4KBeN6moP4EEaL6rDViynob6F91BSbuiTFNr1OtnU9xlZ05po2vTE6F/s1600/pc34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiLYFU8e9evPcG099Cc2zU4WZZlIYzotz-r08br0bYlHWWrOvHUN6XXajnV-3SEys_cmYiGaFEXSguceQqnRsAD4KBeN6moP4EEaL6rDViynob6F91BSbuiTFNr1OtnU9xlZ05po2vTE6F/s1600/pc34.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Dbl click to enlarge the topo and check out the rap line, depending on conditions and daylight if might be a little confusing first time up the route.<br />
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Another topo here which might show the actual climbing a bit better:<br />
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<a href="http://lamountaineers.org/NAC/browserf/climbs/polarcir/topo.pdf">http://lamountaineers.org/NAC/browserf/climbs/polarcir/topo.pdf</a><br />
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Gear Notes:<br />
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These days all the rap anchors up high (above the Pencil) are fixed chains or pins and tat. You will rap straight over the Pencil so be careful there of you or your rope knocking anything down. 70m ropes are really much easier but 60m ropes will work as well. Take some tat for V threads for the Ribbon pitch and lower in the gully if you want to avoid any extra uphill walking at day's end.<br />
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Be really careful on the avi slop above the Pencil...it has been fatal.<br />
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Avi danger in particular on this route can be horrible with a huge slide coming out of the upper bowl at the top of the climb. Nothing would survive if you were any where below the final tier when that happens.<br />
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A dozen screws should be plenty for anyone capable of finishing the climb. Plan on anywhere from 5 to 3 roped pitches depending on the length of your rope and a lot of easy ice either soloed or climbed together.<br />
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A early start will get you off before the south facing avi slopes heat up. Or better yet do it on a snowy, cloudy and cold day. You can avoid the avi danger and soft, rotten ice on the crux pitch if you do without the sun. Don't forget 3 or 4 long screws just for that rotten ice late in the day.<br />
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8 or 9 hrs round trip, car to car, these days is a reasonable time with good ice and snow conditions. 5 or 6 hrs of climbing. A hook fest on hammered out ice will make it quicker. A lot of snow to break trail through or really cold, new ice can make it a "slightly" longer day. <br />
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Approach Notes:<br />
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On a good day 10 minutes up a boot packed trail from the road. Cowboy-up and start on the first easy ice available instead of walking up the snow slope to the left and beginning of the first WI4 pitch.Danehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08300760603627210620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2939327139677950805.post-84598104581063539542010-12-22T09:43:00.002-08:002023-08-14T16:44:07.874-07:00Blue Moon, Snoqualimie Mountain, Central Cascades<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Northwest Face of Mtn Snoqualmie- photo essay - direct variation, Pineapple Express, 2nd ascent of "Blue Moon" <br />
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Date: 2/19/2009 <br />
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Trip Report: <br />
The view from high on Phantom Slide going in. <br />
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The scene of the crime. Pineapple Express in orange., <br />
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Craig's photo. Wayne and Craig's 2 pitch, direct variation, Blue Moon marked on the full line of PE.<br />
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The Blue Moon variation should be obvious in both pictures. And more direct than either line topo suggests. The ice hose and chimney pitches are just left of the smaller rock head walls and just right of the orange topo @ mid height. The obvious ice hose dissappears into the chimney in Cauthorn's picture. From that '05 picture I have to assume the line is generally there and "in". <br />
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First pitch snice <br />
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For the most part the entire route was solid sticks in snice with a good water ice base. <br />
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The money pitches on Blue Moon are #2 the ice hose and #3 the amazing Scottish chimney. <br />
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This comment from Craig aka Alpinemonkey on Blue Moon's first ascent": <br />
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"I didn't lead our second pitch that may have been the crux, but it had about 3 moves off the deck that were a little thin and hard. After that it seemed sort of like moderate thin ice/dirt climbing, a little run out, but not unreasonable." <br />
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Pretty sustained pitch, thin ice on the bottom, with a hand crack in the corner mid pitch that will get the attention of most. Big Cams in hidden placements made the run outs resonable. Much steeper than it first appears. But, hey, the landing looks good :) <br />
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The 3rd pitch starts from a physically tight belay (fixed stopper) inside a deep, 3' wide chimney. The leader will be dropping EVERYTHING that comes off down on you. On our ascent I could not turn side ways because of our (small) pack, couldn't see and was swimming in snow. I had the wind knocked out of me by a big piece of ice I unknowingly took full in the chest. It is a short crux right off, on a 60m pitch but awesome position, spectacular visuals and hard climbing. This was the crux of the climb for us @ M5/6 with perfect dry tooling to get to the chockstone, and then ice, to get on to the chock stone, (FP just below it). Thankfully ice at your back and over the top in there, it was weird and way fun. Awesome pro. You exit the chimney onto steep tree climbing and end on a fairly flat bench with fair size trees for a belay. <br />
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Bit cold and miserable at times. <br />
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Pretty much simul climbing to NY gully from there for us. <br />
Last pitch of NY Gully has a bit of a sting in snow and big gloves. <br />
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Entrance to NY gully. <br />
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Camera started to fail here.<br />
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Looking back down the ramp from the same spot from a previous ascent.<br />
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Camera failed here from the cold, so no pics of Jens, again leading in fine style and me floundering about with the pack. But it looked a lot like this pic of Marko's from a few days earlier. <br />
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Looking back down the face after the last corner crack crux again on a previous ascent.<br />
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These two pics are of the last bit after the crux of NY gully. <br />
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Jens Klubberud and I did the climb in 7hr 15min from rope up at the base of the gully to the exit on the ridge, Feb. 18. 4 to 6" of new snow on the ground in the Phantom slide and it snowed most of the day on us, enough to get small spindrift avis on the first 3 pitches. <br />
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A proud line and fine climb! Excellent position and a few stellar sections. In places you start to get a real, big north wall, feel. I'll admit it was no dissappointment when the climbing eased after the first 600 feet. <br />
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Blue Moon a 2 pitch direct variation of Pineapple Express IV WI4 R M6 5.8 <br />
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Blue Moon variation of PE <br />
Pitch 1 - 60 meters WI 3 <br />
Pitch 2 - 60 meters thin and delicate WI4 [b]new[/b] <br />
Pitch 3 - 60 meters, ungraceful chimney but short M5/6-[b]new[/b] <br />
Next - bunch of simul climbing <br />
Pitch 4 - step off into NY Gully and climb to corner crack <br />
Pitch 5 - Corner crux of NY gully 5.8 M4 <br />
Final- easy but exposed traverse to the ridge <br />
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The original ascent account of Pineapple Express. <br />
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"On February 9, 2005, Roger Strong and I climbed a new route up the longest portion of the Northwest Face of Mount Snoqualmie. We approached from the Alpental parking lot, ascended the Phantom Slide to the northwestern shoulder of Snoqualmie, dropped into the Thunder Creek drainage, and then traversed beneath the New York Gully area to the lowest toe of the rock buttress. The first pitch started just left of the lowest point of rock and climbed a thin slab of ice hidden in a long right-facing corner (WI3+ R). After this pitch we trended up and left, pulling steep heather into a mixed gully leading to a tree belay beneath a rock headwall. The superb third pitch climbed the steep right-facing corner to a tree belay (M6 with good gear). Pitch 4 led up and right into snow and trees. The next pitch squeezed through the trees and traversed right to a 5.8 rock step that led up to a tree belay. We then continued up easy mixed ground to a flat ledge beneath the huge headwall that guards the top to the Northwest Face. We then traversed easily along a spectacular ledge system rightward to join the last two pitches of New York Gully. In total, we did nine long 60-meter pitches. For gear, include a couple of thin pitons along with cams to 3” and many slings in the rack. IV M6 5.8 WI3+.<br />
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Dan Cauthorn" <br />
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Gear Notes: <br />
Even with all the snice available this year, we placed only one shortie screw on lead. We did however use 2.5 to 3.5 cams in a number of crucial places. There are several fixed pins and now a wired stopper on route. Lots of useful places for a selection of blades or thin lost arrows. Which I suggest we start leaving intentionally as fixed pieces. <br />
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Approach Notes: <br />
Park in the Groomer lot facing north. Directly in front of you is Phantom Slide. Head directly up hill entering the trees early on the left (mid height of the first approach slope) and bypassing the water falls and small cliff band which on on your right. Follow the boot pack up the left edge of Phanton slide until you hit a slight steepening on Phanton Slide near the top of Mt Snoqualmie and close to the first obvious big rock spur of the NW face of Snoqualimie. Look closely on your left for some bigger old growth trees, cut left here into a clearing and bench. (300 or 400 yards ) Head straight up again at the left edge of the bench. (200 yards) Hit the ridge at the decent gully. Decent gully is just under the western N face spur of Snoqualmie. Way easier (up and down) than it sounds or looks!Danehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08300760603627210620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2939327139677950805.post-48405720904834536582010-12-20T17:06:00.001-08:002023-08-14T16:43:44.429-07:00Mt. Deltaform, Super CouloirMt. Deltaform N. E. Face - Lowe/Jones aka "Super Couloir"<br />
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Deltaform from the summit of Temple. I decided on that trip I must do the two Deltaform ice routes while descending from Temple. Little did I know at the time that Super Couloir had yet to be climbed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Fo4oMpYJVn4Zj2Ufhp-2STy0jdg9rTBOIE6PyjXcBvp4jgMX5fDX5vgEcFCco8Ewwc4S4aiwGRB5c2JVkDSobHeEGrmVm4GYYKCyEjP0A5-l8Tg4G4C5eeDMHkRB9-PHowHqB5Dw6_IZ/s1600/d1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Fo4oMpYJVn4Zj2Ufhp-2STy0jdg9rTBOIE6PyjXcBvp4jgMX5fDX5vgEcFCco8Ewwc4S4aiwGRB5c2JVkDSobHeEGrmVm4GYYKCyEjP0A5-l8Tg4G4C5eeDMHkRB9-PHowHqB5Dw6_IZ/s640/d1.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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By the body count, two of the most deadly climbs in the Canadian Rockies are Super Couloir on Deltaform and Slipstream on Snow Dome. The British alpinist, Dick Renshaw said of Super Couloir, "in foul weather it is more dangerous than the Eiger". The first three parties in the gully all had minor epics of their own, all in marginal weather or snow conditions.<br />
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Sept 2007 in dry conditions<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzLtbgnRO-hu04Xr-YNZiu8LNKQVysFyj9HxNcdcPhlYrn5pyHHE-4cYztodHvynE0yZ62iXKvwy9fsGorxe65vlh2AxnYezYT9oaVSB1r9wtPiZ68Mf0LKBc5kgY_b7YkidqNSKwgzS4c/s1600/P9020003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzLtbgnRO-hu04Xr-YNZiu8LNKQVysFyj9HxNcdcPhlYrn5pyHHE-4cYztodHvynE0yZ62iXKvwy9fsGorxe65vlh2AxnYezYT9oaVSB1r9wtPiZ68Mf0LKBc5kgY_b7YkidqNSKwgzS4c/s400/P9020003.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
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Ken Glover photo<br />
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The conditions of the 2nd ascent in July '76<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghOWdB8vzI3zqtjD93qWjc6Dad3YurDm_8iTAt3h-6X35j8AZ0FDhyiN_OTdgPXD9Pdl4ylEHsbdsVJ3owouTjvqKGWf12kiFt2Jk_eT6lpSJdiZOqDJhiUq-F7G9f6qTsL83ZqYNX8uW-/s1600/d3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghOWdB8vzI3zqtjD93qWjc6Dad3YurDm_8iTAt3h-6X35j8AZ0FDhyiN_OTdgPXD9Pdl4ylEHsbdsVJ3owouTjvqKGWf12kiFt2Jk_eT6lpSJdiZOqDJhiUq-F7G9f6qTsL83ZqYNX8uW-/s400/d3.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
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This photo is crossing over from the lower gully into the upper gully. Lowe and Jones bivied on a flat stance chopped from a snow arete here. Gwain and I chopped off the arete as well and had a brew here in 1976 before the rain really started. In the dry conditions of 2007 it was a mixed traverse.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnjYSIWWZ_mbCarnECjr82dKtsXLRxuzG666yaGR9VCYWAzgAFSUe0QtNa0eUIotXrHEcQoH5JcMctnct_7A8jQu9RWN3FfuxucrankqCw0KtFioq0MakczR56N1DEDE_gzsTRyAbgGWMR/s1600/P9090046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnjYSIWWZ_mbCarnECjr82dKtsXLRxuzG666yaGR9VCYWAzgAFSUe0QtNa0eUIotXrHEcQoH5JcMctnct_7A8jQu9RWN3FfuxucrankqCw0KtFioq0MakczR56N1DEDE_gzsTRyAbgGWMR/s320/P9090046.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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Ken's photo in the dry fall of 2007 a dry fall and the effects of global warming. The picture of James shows him on the mixed ground lower and to the right of the ice in Ken's photo.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVHx5m9foHx-aRf4SFetzniY13qFTEtk9v_k3h6NxRehe0LWyT_NwKXpvrdat9YaQftGOaIjQkMObiU9e8n88716MVpXCH-A3Gzg55oehCPIje_MJmz7w1qNAr6tsnwmW1lu2Il6lw_mG/s1600/P9090050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVHx5m9foHx-aRf4SFetzniY13qFTEtk9v_k3h6NxRehe0LWyT_NwKXpvrdat9YaQftGOaIjQkMObiU9e8n88716MVpXCH-A3Gzg55oehCPIje_MJmz7w1qNAr6tsnwmW1lu2Il6lw_mG/s320/P9090050.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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James is at the same location I was in the at the narrows after just having set a screw when the upper right cornice came thundering off. I was covered in snow and shaken but thankfully protected by the rock above my head. Same rock directly behind James' red pack in the picture. 30 seconds and 3 steps later and I'd been blown off and dangling from that screw. Gwain, thankfully, was belaying on the lower rib just out of the gully. Same rib that is now a mixed traverse in Ken's photo.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSrFneUen2qxPAoHfXCRVxc9dREQlA9gqwhi_22tqwiiXONSEzG42QdJjIjMzLmkuEuoq3Txg_kyuRlKlQuGuAwvRPChqZuKxOQCPGbpcAckoEeHxJWez7nkJ86KLpwjfi085ZAaQ5h_f8/s1600/d5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSrFneUen2qxPAoHfXCRVxc9dREQlA9gqwhi_22tqwiiXONSEzG42QdJjIjMzLmkuEuoq3Txg_kyuRlKlQuGuAwvRPChqZuKxOQCPGbpcAckoEeHxJWez7nkJ86KLpwjfi085ZAaQ5h_f8/s320/d5.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Looking down the upper right hand ice gully from just below the crux chimney/corner system in '80. Perfect hard ice conditions. At this point it started raining....hard...on us.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLqZK1UXq6B5sN0_zt2OkhkiEUY0FKU3Aw6Tt8ITaxXpZbfR7Z0P9cGJmz9fdo1_AlE9l3LcWvkDBoTGeQCYmMUAnqDKNcjqP1_wliedUuotzzRG1YvAnISxO2AHhuzR9ty_rglmLGJYEh/s1600/d7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLqZK1UXq6B5sN0_zt2OkhkiEUY0FKU3Aw6Tt8ITaxXpZbfR7Z0P9cGJmz9fdo1_AlE9l3LcWvkDBoTGeQCYmMUAnqDKNcjqP1_wliedUuotzzRG1YvAnISxO2AHhuzR9ty_rglmLGJYEh/s320/d7.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Ken's more current photo from just a bit higher up and in the left hand gully in drier conditions.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR1JOmF8ToSa-NjkUDNoknYDCbGfKUgNXjzZGvjsQ09CAAdF8PRNo22GLin1bnzOUObRqD97J4zje9AGrMMRR_jLpGFHIXBlzhQ-0cmx0zCknAMs-NLQeKD7AezGFYy20onDp_MJWXltLt/s1600/P9090056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR1JOmF8ToSa-NjkUDNoknYDCbGfKUgNXjzZGvjsQ09CAAdF8PRNo22GLin1bnzOUObRqD97J4zje9AGrMMRR_jLpGFHIXBlzhQ-0cmx0zCknAMs-NLQeKD7AezGFYy20onDp_MJWXltLt/s320/P9090056.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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and the more typical, modern traverse out left to Carlos', "new" exit pitch, 5.8.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj22wdylCcNmBLIKYK_lIQTjEKV6MkHfQsIpg2kxsuehyW-dtgl0PStohwdSbvtcpldbFes5EHPNl_9NGMhNNIFZHbHY8-xKkY-iFF_Pe-7TJZpEpCjxXYhM_hyphenhyphen8r_iLsPz_ljxC_gzwyAK/s1600/P9090069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj22wdylCcNmBLIKYK_lIQTjEKV6MkHfQsIpg2kxsuehyW-dtgl0PStohwdSbvtcpldbFes5EHPNl_9NGMhNNIFZHbHY8-xKkY-iFF_Pe-7TJZpEpCjxXYhM_hyphenhyphen8r_iLsPz_ljxC_gzwyAK/s320/P9090069.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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and looking down that pitch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-5gjip_YpbXGLbq2jjsKrJ6Hu-rp37stO2qZDhqKLRGQkX2q_PuYE8m99TNkMffO6VlSGbhYHe9nB4WeUSHg4-1IpnzIM8OybC75WOjZJVc-A2ZCj3Uc79J5HPllIn6pBXrywR048EQZD/s1600/P9090071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-5gjip_YpbXGLbq2jjsKrJ6Hu-rp37stO2qZDhqKLRGQkX2q_PuYE8m99TNkMffO6VlSGbhYHe9nB4WeUSHg4-1IpnzIM8OybC75WOjZJVc-A2ZCj3Uc79J5HPllIn6pBXrywR048EQZD/s320/P9090071.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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The original finish is obvious. You just continue up the ice until if forms a chimney bisected by a small ledge and alcove on the left. The first bit of chimney is fairly tight but offers a rock stance off to the left. The second bit is the beginning of the pitch that exits stage right and finally goes through the ridge cornice, shown here.<br />
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The second pitch of the original Super Couloir finish, which Lowe/Jones originally rated 5.9. Tim Friesen climbing in what appears to be "dry" conditions.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU369owk4FHLgvUIYb1ySdcKQnApypJI1YHyZ7rM14dZDhck_e2i3ztQxIexKNpODWYqpqxFU_7DjmGNHBL5_Qni9QA6ZEVR29gdWNqJfvZcePdwmReswgwfSljTwo-5vlJMqKDfWcZKty/s1600/d11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU369owk4FHLgvUIYb1ySdcKQnApypJI1YHyZ7rM14dZDhck_e2i3ztQxIexKNpODWYqpqxFU_7DjmGNHBL5_Qni9QA6ZEVR29gdWNqJfvZcePdwmReswgwfSljTwo-5vlJMqKDfWcZKty/s320/d11.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Dave Cheesemond photo<br />
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July 1976<br />
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<strong>By the time we got to the chimney that forms the first pitch of the head wall it had been raining for some time and we'd been soaked most of the day. The corner was now a full blown water fall.</strong> I climbed up into the corner, got even wetter if that is possible, colder and worse yet, pretty darn scared from the continuous rock fall in there and the snow mushroom coming down, nearly knocking me off. (some how I had been able to forget that small detail until now) We were loosing light quickly and it seemed like we were way, way out there. Even though I had just done the new route on the N. faceTemple the week before. This seemed really serious and BIG step up from Temple. Avalanches, rock fall (that was increasing with the rain) and now a long, wet, miserable night out. We chopped out a good bivy ledge 14 feet long and 2 feet wide at the base of the rocks, out of the water fall and rain. We are wet and miserable but it was a decent bivy which sorted a lot out. Thinking the water volume would be less in the morning, it was not, Gwain offered to lead. An alcove off to the left, high in the chimney, made a good belay spot. Pins for the anchor, 2 Leppers that should have been tied off and were not. Gwain stemmed his way up the first pitch without crampons through the water fall and then scratched his way up the second with crampons on through some really bad rock, a mixed bowl, some ice and finally bottomless wet snow over and through what was left of the cornice. The second pitch scared me, no pro, tricky, lots of snow. Gwain later lost some skin on his hands to cold injuries from those leads.<br />
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We'd been wringing out our Dachsteins at every belay for two days with water running over the ice. <br />
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I don't think I have ever been so relieved emotionally to get off a climb before or since. <br />
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We had done it all before, just in more controlled circumstances, when getting off Deltaform's north glacier route the year before.<br />
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But the rap (leaving our entire rock rack and some screws pounded into rock as the ropes hung up), the 2nd bivy and the long walk (25K) out of Marble canyon, now in heavy rain, was epic for us at the time. When we hit Highway 93 by Mt. Stanley and hitched back into the park I had blood running down my thighs from my wool knickers and we hadn't eaten in 48 hrs. Looking back it was a grand adventure (almost too grand) and a small price to pay. <br />
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I had written a story BITD describing the climb, calling it "Trout Fishing in Canada". That should give you an idea of the conditions we had. Felt like we were swimming up stream the entire climb. <br />
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Jim Elzinga and Gerry Rogan had been caught in a storm the previous season, (we didn't know, nor were we counting) spent a few extra days out and been forced on a more direct (and much harder) line above the 1st gully to keep from being flushed off the route. They were eventually picked up by helicopter on the descent. Which we were told checking back in, gave us the 2nd ascent of the Lowe and Jone line.<br />
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<strong>A bit more info from my memory and a recent conversation on the Elzinga/Rogan ascent.</strong><br />
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"Rogan's and Elzinga's ascent on Deltaform is just one example of the obvious confusion with the early history of these climbs. What did they really climb? 2nd ascent, new route or rescued while rapping off the route? I read about the "rescue" in the local (Lake Louise) news paper. I distinctly remember having something to eat in Lake Louise, looking at Gwain in amazement and saying..."they didn't actually do the climb but were rescued by a helicopter!" But that was only the local (Banff/LK Louise) news paper, like any news paper, the question remained. What did they REALLY climb? Sounded like a new route up and right of the upper gully to me. The article said 'rescued" by the helicopter. While rapping off? What side of the mtn south or north? While still on the climb coming down or after the climb while descending or picked up on the actual ridge? Mtn #48 reported their climb as the 2nd ascent. Park Warden told us after our ascent we did the 2nd, a full year after Elzinga and Rogan had been on the climb. Who do you believe? More importantly what was the real story behind that climb? I'd bet what they actually did was forced a new variation (unrepeated for obvious reasons) of the route off to the right of the upper gully and then slung off the ridge crest by the rescue effort"<br />
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<strong>The following is from a conversation with Jim Elzinga in 2009</strong>. Funny enough Elzinga and Rogan did do a significant variation of the Super Couloir by climbing straight up from the traverse between the upper and lower couloir in 1975. Rating? Typical Rockies 5.9 A2 all done in a 2 day storm over 3 days of climbing. They were pulled off the ridge by the Tim Auger and the Park's helicopter. This climb really started Elzinga's serious alpine career although he had done a bunch of "serious" things in most climber's minds back though the winter of '71/'72. Gerry Rogan had enough after Deltaform and while he continued to climb, Deltaform was the end of the serious stuff by Elzinga's account. <br />
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Gwain and I did Deltaform '76, then Liberty Ridge '78 and went to the Eiger together in '78 among other climbs. We climbed a lot of rock together after '78 but no more alpine. Gwain was always a very gifted, solid climber and amazing athlete in any venue. <br />
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With this trip down memory lane I've been searching around for my old journals and things I'd written BITD. "Trout Fishing in Canada" was an interesting read last night, some 35 years later. Never trust the comments of youth while they are basking in the simple glory of survival. <br />
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<strong>Gwain's comments on his recollections via email 12/22/10</strong><br />
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"Looking at those pictures made me real nervous again. The hubris of dumb youth. Most of the climb is a blank to me except for a couple real specific moments that I guess are engraved in my memory for whatever reason.<br />
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I remember we bivied off to the left of the chimney, we were going to do the last 2 pitches the next day. It seems like the bivy was a good ledge, wide enough to sleep lying down and it was semi protected. What I remember from the bivy site was watching a dump truck load of rock come tumbling down right through the base of the chimney where we were standing 30 minutes ago. That was unsettling.<br />
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The next day we started up because we couldn't go back and were more or less committed. Crummy or no protection, wet Canadian limestone, stemming. Great sense of relief making it to the ledge on the left.<br />
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Belay setup wasn't exactly ideal. Fiddled around with stoppers or anything else I thought would work with not much success. I tried several cracks with the Leppers and they kept bottoming out after an inch or two at best and that was that. Clipped in. I debated tying off but I don't think I had any webbing or anything to use. <br />
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Hauling the packs was interesting. Didn't even come close to the face. Free swinging the entire way up. The belay anchors were not that good to hold a fall. I did the best I could to keep a really tight rope and was relieved when you got there. The pins would bend when any kind of weight was put on them.<br />
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Chouinard made a mini hand axe. (The Chouinard Climax, which I had previously teased Gwain about how worthless it was!) It was about the size of a wall hammer and had an ice axe head in miniature. I bought that just before this climb and glad I did (it is now lost). I think under better conditions (dry, warm) the last pitch wouldn't have been that horrendous. What I remember is verglas and crampons, no protection, clearing ice for my hands and feet with that Chouinard tool, Millar mitts, not having cold fingers and thinking, 'don't make a mistake'. After the verglas then being faced with some clumsy borrowing through the snow band on top. Just like Lowe/Jones, nothing to anchor to for a belay so I dug a pit and plopped my butt into it. You looked relieved when you got to the top."<br />
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Relieved? I had tears freely rolling down my face after pulling the cornice. Gwain gave me a fatherly hug and said, "it's OK". I was shattered just following.<br />
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A short bit from "Trout Fishing in Canada" a short story written in the summer of 1976 about our ascent of Deltaform. <br />
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"June 1975...half way up the North Glacier route of Deltaform <br />
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Gwain, "You will never catch me on that route, it looks more like a bowling alley than an ice climb." <br />
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July 1976.. sitting on the Wenkchemna glacier directly under the Super Couloir. <br />
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"Gwian, do you remember your comment last year?" <br />
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"Ya" <br />
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"What am I doing here anyway" <br />
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"The upper gully looks pretty steep" <br />
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"They say it isn't over 60" <br />
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Finally, after four years of waiting, we were committed. I thought the Lowe/Jones route on Deltaform the most beautiful ice climb in Canada. (I still do) <br />
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Memories of my other attempts and the one success on this face brought back butterflies. <br />
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Both of us were procrastinating. We were scared. We both know soon we won't be able to go down as easily as we can go up. Problem is Super Couloir gets harder the higher you get. <br />
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We cross the first of the avalanche troughs. I slip! I almost fall off! Gwain doesn't notice. Climbing together. I've got to be more careful. I'm still not sure I want to be here. <br />
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We make another traverse across a fair size runnel of water. The amount of water coming down is amazing. We can not hear each other because of the amount of running water beside us. This is a strange mixture of elements. It sounds like a bubbling trout stream. <br />
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The route forces us back out to the edge of the water. It is cold! Our mittens get wrung out at every belay. It can not be this wet all the way up. Finally, we are off the first section of ice and a couple more rope lengths lead to the snow arete. <br />
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The view is incredible! The slope is 55 degrees on either side. We chop platforms, brew up and have lunch. We'll easily be up and off long before it gets dark. <br />
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The upper couloir does indeed look steep. Gwain gets the first lead. You have to be joking! The upper couloir is ice with a couple of inches of water running down it. That makes the climbing easy but not too enjoyable. The couloir narrows at half height. I put in a screw. Then it happens! With a ear shattering BOOOM, the summit cornice breaks off! I scream and count seconds as I try to tie Gwain off before the avalanche hits. In moments it is over. I am covered in snow, my are hands cramped........ <br />
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Nothing to do but climb." <br />
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I put in a second screw and bring Gwain up. Short pitch. Short on nerves at this point.<br />
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Funny reading this now, experiencing those same long buried emotions. Bit and pieces of memory coming back as I write and reread every one's experiences. Better still to have another 30 years of climbing and seeing all the obvious rookie mistakes :) <br />
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Super Couloir isn't hard by today's standards or even the standards of the 1st ascent party. We found it challenging in less than stellar conditions for our limited abilities. It is however, one of the classic alpine ice climbs in North America.<br />
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<strong>More from Gregg Cronn about his early ascent of Super Couloir:</strong><br />
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Gregg's comments and story:<br />
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"I gave a nervous chuckle when you mentioned it being one of the most dangerous climbs in the Rockies. I had one of the most hair raising epics of my life on that climb. Here is the story...<br />
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The summer of 1980 was extremely wet. I wet and cold Spring led to a similar June which led to an extremely wet July. I was working for Yamnuska Mountain School at the time and we had 18 days of rain out of a 21 day trip. Not only did it rain, the high peaks got blasted with snow. It didn't stop snowing and raining until the second week of August. Even then there was no long spell of clear weather that summer. I heard somewhere that St. Helen's blowing its' top contributed to the unusual weather that year. After teaching all summer James Blench and I had some time in early September to do a climb together. The two 'merrycans' working for Yam decided on the Super Coulior of Deltaform. After a four day late August storm, and the summer weather, the mountains were just pasted with ice and snow. That may partially account for the fat appearance of the ice in the photos from 1980.<br />
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We started up the lower gully at midnight and soloed all the way to the traverse to the upper gully-which we reached in a glorious sun rise. All the mountains were bathed in pink--a blue haired Mary Kay Saleslady's wet dream. The climbing was the best alpine ice I have ever experienced. We both had Axes and north wall tools (Chouinard zero for me) which penetrated solid Styrofoam ice to the hilt with an easy swing. We swung six wonderful leads of ice climbing up to the head wall which we reached at noon. James belayed me to a stubby Chouinard screw and I launched on to the mixed pitch, excited at the prospect of reaching the sun and tagging the summit after the two short pitches remaining. This was also going to be my first big Rockies test piece and I was psyched to have it nearly in the bag. Twelve hours later I rolled over the ridge cornice, in the dark, so tired, hungry and dehydrated that I was hallucinating wildly and talking to my ice hammer ("please Ms. Mjillnar stay in that ice for me"), completely numb to anything but an overpowering urge to sleep.<br />
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The fun started when I fell, 70 feet out right at the crux. I don't remember what caused the fall because my mind immediately went blank. Faced with my soon to be demise at the young age of 20, my brain core decided it was best if my conscious part of my being wasn't witness to what was going to happen when I splatted like an overfilled waterballon on the 60 degree ice below the overhanging crux. Poor James had to watch, like a catcher following a foul ball heading to the stands behind him, as I ripped all the protection and sailed over and behind the belay. I came back to life at the end of 140 feet of rope without a scratch on me and all my ripped protection tingling together in front of me. Dwayne Congdon's borrowed friend, lovingly placed in a bomber crack below the crux, is bent and the cams on one side destroyed.. God truly does love the foolhardy.<br />
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You build up quite a lot of speed when you travel through the air for 100 plus feet and my brand new Edelrid showes it. The kern sports a 15 foot long melted metal on plastic burn that Jame's dynamic body belay allowed to run through the screw carabiner as I slowed down. Having checked out for the air show I am in surprisingly good spirits. I have lost my glasses in the fall, so I can now add 20/200 vision to my issues but I am confident that we can still get up the thing. James, however, is totally freaked. He wants to start rapping the route. I convince him to give it, the pitch that I just logged some considerable air time off of and for some reason beyond both of our capacities to understand at the time survived, a shot. Now James is a fantastic climber, one of the best I have ever seen move in the mountains, but after fifty feet he wants no part of the iced up, down sloping, hard to protect Rockies shit show that awaits him over the next 30 feet of overhanging hell. He lowers off. Now what?<br />
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Not aware of Carlos's easier variant (the willy bastard took one look at the crux on a cold Feb. morning and immediately headed left), climbed during his winter ascent a few years ago, I am pissed and want off the climb so I set off up pitch again with Jame's top rope speeding my climb to the crux. It took me nearly three hours to climb the crux. It was iced up and hard to protect and, not surprisingly, I didn't want to fall. When I get to the belay, 15 feet below the ridge, I place 7 pieces of protection to build a decent belay. Dwayne's friend gets pounded into a crack like a cheap french pin. Jame's climbs carefully and slowly up, not liking the the sound of my "don't fall" and lets me lead over the cornice when he reaches me. I hacked away for an hour before I could flop my sorry ass over the other side at midnight.<br />
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The next morning we start down quickly and slurp water at some drips and head down into the valley on the south of Deltaform, easily reached in a few hours. It takes us all day to walk the 12 miles to the road. My calf's are two balls of cramps from standing on my front points so I have to comically walk backwards up any up hills. When we reach the highway, James stands in the middle of the road with his bandanna flying in an outstretched arm and forces the first car by to stop. I didn't wrap my hands around a rope for nine months. I think it is now called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.<br />
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Shows you how bad it gets when it is going so well. If the crux on Deltaform is 5.9 then the crux on Grand Central Coulior is 5.6. Easily the most terrifying piece of ground I ever had to climb in the Rockies!!!<br />
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Cheers,<br />
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Gregg"<br />
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Carlos Buhler on the 2nd winter ascent of GCC.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkO31L36KbJw0izI_tbLK_kGMPHH49w6OcX0y_C44hQCnXchRwWbEVzKVa3Zi5-rwIlzpbYqQHU-f4Mz4Q_LKm4zuEp1pgLxBPY0MEnHP4bBnxnKuTIZ-u1Pd4v1AnXXqyr-aGwZCpHWrV/s1600/dt14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkO31L36KbJw0izI_tbLK_kGMPHH49w6OcX0y_C44hQCnXchRwWbEVzKVa3Zi5-rwIlzpbYqQHU-f4Mz4Q_LKm4zuEp1pgLxBPY0MEnHP4bBnxnKuTIZ-u1Pd4v1AnXXqyr-aGwZCpHWrV/s320/dt14.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Gregg Cronn photo<br />
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(Gregg did early repeats of the Lowe routes on the North face of Alberta and Kitchener's GCC in winter) <br />
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<strong>To help put the current conditions, Carlos' winter finish and modern climbing into some sort of perspective Ken's and Colin's story needs ot be told.</strong><br />
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Ken Glover's recollections of his and Colin's climb in 2007:<br />
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"Drove with Colin Wooldridge to Moraine Lake parking lot on Sept 15, 2007 at 4am. Reached the bergschrund at dawn, inch of recent snow, minus 3 C. Bergschrund required about 100 meters 4th class scrambling on the left. The main couloir was fortunately silent with no rockfall through the early sunlight hours and the air temperature didn't get above freezing. Great neve conditions eventually gave way to ice as we neared the "cross-over rib" at 2/3 height. We crossed to the lefthand gully over a slabby rock rib, about 5<br />
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meters of easy but careful and exposed mixed traversing. The position from this point onwards had great exposure. This upper gully soon split into two and we followed the less-icy more-neve left hand branch, still undecided about whether to attempt the original chimney exit or the easier left-hand finish. At the top of the gully, at the base of the upper headwall, it was obvious that we were too far up and left to get to the base of the original exit without rappelling. This, combined with our anxiety over the nasty reputation of the original exit made us rope up for an exposed leftwards traverse pitch. Colin led this to the base of the first left-facing corner system we encountered. The position was now even more exposed and invigorating. Colin found a decent belay here and I climbed a loose but reasonably well-protected pitch to the ridge, nothing like the stories we'd heard about the original exit. Climbing was on snow-covered incut edges, large enough to climb with hands and thin gloves. I think I took my crampons off for this.<br />
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The scramble to the summit was sunny. We spent several hours trying to descend by the 1908 Kaufmann route down the S ridge.to SW bowl, hoping to find a "shortcut" back to Wenkchemna Pass. Ultimately we reascended to the E ridge and downclimbed/rappeled to the Deltaform-Tuzo col where it got dark.<br />
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Here we turned our backs on the civilisation of Lake Louise and staggered down into the BC wilderness. We trudged for 10 frosty hours through the bush, with many shivering 3 minute naps, curled up in the bush still wearing our packs to stay warmer. Marble Canyon and Hwy 93 was a welcome sight at dawn. After we hitch-hiked back to our car we raced home, I cleaned up and drove into Calgary. I was making mindless comments in a meeting by 11am while Colin slept in his car at a truckstop. We were psyched for a while<br />
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after this one, but it was the last alpine route I climbed with Colin before his tragic death in the mountains later that Fall.<br />
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Ken<br />
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ps. Great shot by Dave Cheesmond of Tim Friesen. It looks great. From the<br />
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security of my chair, I kind of wish we'd taken the original exit."<br />
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<strong>And finally the 1st ascent account by George Lowe</strong> <br />
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Deltaform North East Face, first ascent account <br />
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George Lowe CAJ 57, 1974 <br />
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“By evening we were under the face. <br />
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The face was obviously not in condition. It was plastered with snow and avalanching continuously. Exhaustion and fear kept us from starting in the morning. By midday no big avalanches were coming down so we rationalized our way into starting at 5pm. With winter snow still covering the ice we climbed unroped until the last few pitches before the end of the lower part of the couloir. There we bivouaced, a 5 star site cut into a narrow snow arete flanked by 55 degree slopes. <br />
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Morning found us front-pointing up the upper couloir….thin ice over rock, bulges over 60.…always with a good screw or two for protection. Only small chucks of ice came down ass the sun hit the face. <br />
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About 12 leads and seven hours later, we were under the top rock band….100 yards below an enormous section of cornice cracked off and disappeared down the couloir where we had been an hour earlier. Another lead and we were under and overhanging chimney seated on a hummock of ice. Off came the summit cornice, crashing out over our heads. Five minutes later down came a large rock fall. Our thoughts could be read in our eyes. Thank God we hadn’t procrastinated another half hour in getting started! <br />
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Chris stemmed up loose flakes in the chimney getting bits of manky protection here and there. We had no haul line, so he cut the pitch off at 25 meters. Then I took my turn. The pitch started with some very difficult but good over hanging rock. Then came a groove, not very steep, 65, but with only bits and pieces of protection. Meters of chopping holds, balancing carefully….so carefully….between them. Hours passed in tense concentration until the rope ran out, just as I heaved over the cornice on the ridge. It was the most horrible pitch of my life. <br />
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Chris followed on prussik as I anchored the rope with my body, shivering in the wind, wondering if I could hold out until he made it. Then I had to go back down after my pack. <br />
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Finally we were (both) on top (of the ridge) at 6:30PM. It had required eight hours to climb two pitches. <br />
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By dark we were on the summit. <br />
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The next day we raced to get off the mountain before the helicopter came looking for us. We spotted it in the afternoon as we were starting the last rappel off Neptuak. “our bodies are OK” we waved. It is our minds that are bruised. IV (?) F8 or F9. Chris Jones and George Lowe July 8/9 1973 "<br />
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as a reference for those interested in such things: <br />
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G. Lowe and J. Glidden did Alberta in 1972 <br />
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G. Lowe and C. Jones did Deltaform in 1973<br />
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G. Lowe and C. Jones did North Twin in 1974 <br />
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Gear Notes:<br />
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Gear for steep alpine ice and some moderate rock in boots (5.8 or 5.9) depending on how you decide to finish the gully. A little sketchy for pro via the original rock finish. If you have made it that far it shouldn't be missed IMO. Why bother with second best? Good, cold conditions and weather!<br />
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Climb is easily done now in a day...getting off and back to the car may be a good bit longer.<br />
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Approach Notes:<br />
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A few km up the trail from Moraine lake parking lot.<br />
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Descent is complicated and depending on which way you go it can be a really long hike out. <br />
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*I know the ice has been soloed several times up and down since 1980 but to date I don't know of anyone soloing the original rock finish.*<br />
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<strong>My thanks to Ken Glover, Gregg Cronn and Gwain Oka for the use of their photos and words for this blog piece. Good to remember guys, thanks!</strong>Danehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08300760603627210620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2939327139677950805.post-24889913787579493422010-07-11T02:29:00.008-07:002023-08-14T16:40:26.525-07:00The North Face of Mt Edith Cavell"<strong>Climbers</strong> coming here for the first time may not be familiar with the type of climbing and the varying rock quality in particular. The Rockies are made up almost entirely of sedimentary rock including limestones and dolomites, shales, and silicas (including quartzite - metamorphic rock). The characteristics vary widely from the very worst to some fine rock, depending on the formations (the layers) encountered. The best rockclimbing is found on the some of the thickly bedded limestones (such as Roche Miette) and the beautiful quartzites located along the main continental divide ranges.<br />
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The Columbia Icefields is a spectacular glaciated plateau, which boasts several of the highest peaks in the Canadian Rockies. Alpinists, from the novice to the extreme, will be challenged by routes such as the Normal Route on Mt. Athabasca (II) or the Grand Central Couloir on Mt. Kitchener (V 5.9 A2/W5). The quality of the routes combined with roadside access make the Icefields an excellent area in which to focus a climbing trip to the Canadian Rockies. The North Face Mt. Edith Cavell and the Japanese Route on Mt. Alberta are two additional alpine climbs that are among the 50 Classic Climbs in North America."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_LC6BTBobK85IiB6LkI_GcU8DvwzHNTTbegny39HMv1qpBtPBGcUWovuGVhiSlExQDpmSPraryXLAhU1jlF_2rQ9Pl7I1RHdeQgIkT478cb8pXPZ7a7iTy3VT0pgmLP4tMVURCcGGpG-5/s1600-h/edith2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432996577852010514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_LC6BTBobK85IiB6LkI_GcU8DvwzHNTTbegny39HMv1qpBtPBGcUWovuGVhiSlExQDpmSPraryXLAhU1jlF_2rQ9Pl7I1RHdeQgIkT478cb8pXPZ7a7iTy3VT0pgmLP4tMVURCcGGpG-5/s320/edith2.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 310px;" /></a><br />
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The original North face line from "50 Classic Climbs of North America" in white. Not uncommon to use a variation of any line on the face. The line I climbed is in black.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRBKVXfLDW9O6yho1b0Pt9F9km7pVndXFQAE3P_ZvPz_nGKeEPVO7spIYd2ZP3pbItFdbhSFZZ7C6lUzx-yEyDO6xysEsTRa4PZdTbgWXWnrcpufQscZYbvikOs6xxY8ULCHQAoyWt6jt/s1600-h/edith2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433098417358930114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRBKVXfLDW9O6yho1b0Pt9F9km7pVndXFQAE3P_ZvPz_nGKeEPVO7spIYd2ZP3pbItFdbhSFZZ7C6lUzx-yEyDO6xysEsTRa4PZdTbgWXWnrcpufQscZYbvikOs6xxY8ULCHQAoyWt6jt/s320/edith2.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 224px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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Mike Graham's photo and comments from a 1975 ascent with Rick Accomazzo, "here is of me just below the rock bands on EC. guess we were considering roping up at this point. I think that was a motorcycle helmet."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNymn8yYX0bKEFPEqXpvI4wudlqUgTSm21M7eGExNP68sXhyphenhyphenzGH1rY3xUfTR9xA2nJnBFADmbkq1wAzVE6ds99u_3ECyOEmyWQvN7vYQjQtAeAQHSxNwC1jIDlz_DmiJOtOhD7qWINms-7/s1600-h/edith3.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433098426160945442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNymn8yYX0bKEFPEqXpvI4wudlqUgTSm21M7eGExNP68sXhyphenhyphenzGH1rY3xUfTR9xA2nJnBFADmbkq1wAzVE6ds99u_3ECyOEmyWQvN7vYQjQtAeAQHSxNwC1jIDlz_DmiJOtOhD7qWINms-7/s320/edith3.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 206px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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Here is a picture looking down the rock band Mike is looking up at, mid face above the Angel glacier on Cavell. Photo by Monomaniac @ Mountain Project.<br />
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And a view down the upper ice/snow slope.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqg2HgWhxypDqMm_6Ht6KlwLUPSj4rxWfWZvXytEwwQoGOHIMxIqON85M18BK69l_tiuuI7YMDgKgTfbNEcyMNsqq4vmy9dtoRHLxofiwNBfSOI_LhJajskudujao2i2MyPIuEfXJha7_/s1600-h/edith4.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433098429386142402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqg2HgWhxypDqMm_6Ht6KlwLUPSj4rxWfWZvXytEwwQoGOHIMxIqON85M18BK69l_tiuuI7YMDgKgTfbNEcyMNsqq4vmy9dtoRHLxofiwNBfSOI_LhJajskudujao2i2MyPIuEfXJha7_/s320/edith4.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 215px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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Three different big, Canadian mountains here with TRs. Deltaform and Temple are limestone. Edith Cavell is quartzite.<br />
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Deltaform has some of the worst rock imaginable (anywhere, except maybe Deborah) in the last rock band. Same reason most now try to avoid as much rock up high as possible by climbing the shorter variation on the left.<br />
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Temple on the other hand has some of the best limestone in the Rockies on the central buttress before you break out into the bowl at mid height. If that ridge were anywhere besides under a few million tons of ice it would be a classic climb. Wonderful in boots, but something that would be a delight in shoes. Above that the rock quality goes to shit...but still not as bad as Deltaform's last bit.<br />
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Edith Cavell? Amazing, solid quartzite the entire way, up the north face and down the east ridge, if you pay just a little attention and stay out of the choss. Beautiful in cut holds on smooth rock the while climb. Stuff that would be fun in rock shoes was still enjoyable in dbl boots. Of course with the reputation of the final shale band on Cavell I just had to go see for myself. I intentionally climbed directly through it, after a little pre-inspection from below. Not bad in crampons, easy angled and well frozen while I was there and still way better than any thing on Deltaform.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1C8HV3XE54gfoLVIEu_XXKHlv0ZVDQNQ3umuN6OJyLJY-JPAuwXpSrMAL2Fj_EYASU5mg4zPQcp0Jhc4Vj8ZvHoI1HV8KDSrv62TFXWKGwlhm4a8YQaoRHcGZqKcGnKFqMfw2ghidjVi/s1600-h/EdithCavell1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433102921917690306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1C8HV3XE54gfoLVIEu_XXKHlv0ZVDQNQ3umuN6OJyLJY-JPAuwXpSrMAL2Fj_EYASU5mg4zPQcp0Jhc4Vj8ZvHoI1HV8KDSrv62TFXWKGwlhm4a8YQaoRHcGZqKcGnKFqMfw2ghidjVi/s320/EdithCavell1.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 320px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 212px;" /></a><br />
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Classic look up the east ridge of Edith Cavell.<br />
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But no question in any one's mind, it isn't granite If it was granite it might well be boring!<br />
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Edith Cavell North Face, 1st ascent , AAJ 1963<br />
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Day two……<br />
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It began to rain just as we started climbing. It was easy climbing on low angle rock and we moved at a steady deliberate pace. We were not going to let ourselves be forced to move fast by fear. A far cry from yesterday! It began to hail and we could hardly hear each other above the noise of the wind and thunder. Lightning was hitting the summit 800 feet above us. Clouds moved back and forth unveiling ghastly views of the ice-plastered wall to the right and left of us. In about three hours we reached the summit ice slope. It looked very steep but not long, possibly two pitches to the summit rocks, but it was to take 500 feet of step-cutting before we were to reach them! The ice was in terrible shape. Since it was granular and kept sliding, I had to chop steps all the way. The higher up we got the worse the ice became, while the slope continued to steepen. Through breaks in the clouds Doody and Beckey appeared below me, huddled against the slope trying to avoid the ice chips. Below them the wall dropped sheer and Eiger-like for 3500 feet. Lulls in the storm gave hopes that it would stop, but hail and snow kept us soaked through for the rest of the day. Freezing feet made me chop a little faster but I had to make bigger steps for my weaker legs. With only a few ice pitons, we had to keep the leads fairly short. My left foot had lost all feeling. After an interminable time we reached the summit rocks only a little way from the top, but the face was not going to give in so easily. The next 300 feet took everything I had to lead. On horizontal bands of the loosest shale, pitches had to be short because of the lack of piton cracks. Each move was a desperate effort to keep from sliding down the wet slabs. Doody belayed perfectly calmly, never complaining of countless rocks dislodged onto him. The last pitch took me to 80 feet above Doody on extreme rocks with no protection. I got above a small band of dirt and there I was with my hands on the summit! I tried to pull myself up but could not. My feet slid continually and my fingers dug deeper into the dirt, but I could not move. I looked across 50 feet to the summit pole and then down 4000 feet to the ground. 0 God, what a place to get it! I was afraid for the first time during that day. With frantic eyes I spotted a two-foot long patch of hard snow ten feet to my right.<br />
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I very cautiously eased over. It felt solid, so I pulled up, mantled and was up. Never have I felt so happy as that day on the summit with my friends. Even though we encountered a great deal of objective danger I feel there are times when this wall is perfectly safe. When we climbed the wall, it was in very poor condition. Future parties should try to climb it in cool weather, perhaps the first week of July, when the summit ice slope would be in better shape as normally nearly all of the rockfall is caused by the summit ice fields avalanching and flushing rocks. Since retreat from high up the face would be next to impossible, enough gear should be taken along to last three days even though in good conditions a two-man party could climb the wall in one day. The summit rocks should be avoided by climbing the 60~ ice to the left. Speed is the biggest safety factor on nearly any great wall, so it is better to go unroped as much as possible. No more than 10 pitons need to be taken, two of which should be knife blades.<br />
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Summary of Statistics AREA: Canadian Rockies.<br />
ASCENT: Mount Edith Cavcll, 11,033 feet, July 20-21, 1961-first ascent of north face.<br />
PERSONNEL: Fred Beckey, Yvon Chouinard, Daniel Doody.<br />
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Edith Cavell, Second Ascent of the North Face, 1966.<br />
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On July 30 Gray Thompson and I quickly climbed the first third of the 4000-foot face on firm quartzite, finding good holds all the way to the Angel Glacier. We roped below the glacier and after two steep ice leads, we trudged up the glacier, crossed a difficult bergshrund, and climbed continuously mixed snow and rock to the base of a 300-foot vertical buttress. I led the first pitch up wet rock on the right face of an inside corner; then Gray made an extremely difficult second lead, climbing F7 rock up a waterfall. We emerged at the top of the buttress soaked but happy that the hardest rock climbing was behind us. More mixed climbing, some of it after dark across steep ice, took us to a bivouac ledge 200 feet below the summit icefield. We had expected that the icefield would be an easy snow climb to the summit, but the next day we found that the snow was rotten and underlain by hard ice. We avoided the summit rocks climbed by the first-ascent party by traversing left and climbing ice to a rock outcrop directly below the giant cornices which festooned the summit ridge. The final lead began up snow which was at first underlain by rotten rock, and then by ice, and it ended in deep unstable snow, which let me know I would not fall only when I dug my ice-axe into the summit. When Beckey, Chouinard and Doody made the first ascent in 1961 the face was dry and they had heavy rockfall. We had no rockfall, probably because the face was still plastered with winter snow and the rocks were frozen in place. Under the right conditions, the objective dangers are not great, and it is certainly one of the great face climbs in North America.<br />
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DENNIS EBERL<br />
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Edith Cavell, 1967, 1st solo ascent<br />
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To really comprehend what Robbins did in the fall of 1967 on Edith Cavell it helps to know what he was doing earlier in the year.<br />
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It was early 1966 and John Harlin was still alive. Royal Robbins had come to the American school in Leysin Switzerland to teach with Harlin but in '66 became the sport director at the school taking Harlin's place as Harlin began planning for the Eiger Direct. Among other climbs Robbins and Harlin had just done the 1st ascent of the American Direct on the Dru with Robbins leading the majority of it when Harlin was injured by rockfall. Climbing with Chouinard in the Dolomites they had done several hard climbs together including the north face of the Cima Grande. On a trip to England Robbins made some hard and impressive choices at the time about free climbing with "clean" pro.<br />
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By April of <span style="font-weight: bold;">'67</span> Robbins was back in the Valley. In May he and Liz Robbins did the classic Nut Cracker Suite with its obvious and futuristic statement on climbing ethics. Then in June the 1st ascent of the West Face of El Cap with T. M. Herbert.. Again in June the Grand Sentinel with Chouinard another grade VI wall climb. In July Half Dome again with Liz. April through July sounds a little like a vacation for Robbins from "hard climbing". For some it would be a good climbing resume.<br />
Two new grade VIs, a early ascent of a grade V and a new III free climb? Not bad for 4 months in 1967. And there was much more to come.<br />
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As fall approached Robbins headed north. The first climb was the new route on the North face Geikie with Hudson. Another new grade V but this time in the Candian Rockies on crappy rock. 4000 feet. V, 5.9 , A3 (which still has a fearsome reputation)<br />
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By any measure Robbins must have been in decent shape by the end of August 1967!<br />
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Not much written on Robbin's solo and the third ascent of the Chouinard/Becky/ Doddy route that I can find. Other than the fact Robbins wanted to teach himself "mountaineering". Edith Cavell became his school room for the day. Robbins spent 4 hours on the last 600 feet of snow and rock. He later commented on his climb, "mountaineers aren't made in a day". Becky is said to have told Robbins after his climb, "That was a pretty good stunt." Robbins took it as a compliment. Those that know Becky might have read that differently.<br />
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Robbins obviously knew how to push the envelope mentally and physically in the Alps, Yosemite and now he was doing it again alpine climbing in the Canadian Rockies.<br />
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Some perspective on Robbin's climb? It was 14 years before the face was soloed again. A lot had changed in those 14 years.<br />
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<strong>"A lot had changed in those 14 years"</strong><br />
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I am still convinced that the majority of what gets done in the alpine is mental....but modern gear certainly has lowered the mental stress over time.<br />
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Edith Cavell was first climbed by two of America's best alpinists..Chouinard and Becky. Doddy was along to film and did almost no leading according ot the original account.<br />
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The date was 1963.<br />
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REI was selling chrome moly 12 point Eckenstein and every axe in inventory...any where in the world....had a straight pick. Chouinard was still climbing with ice daggers...even though he would say, "no more of this ice dagger bullshit for me" by 1965. And then went on to forge his first ice hammer in 1967. Salewa had just started selling the first lwt weight, and most importantly, the first adjustable crampon. And in 1964 the first Salewa tube ice screws cam out.<br />
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Boots available? Slim pickens unless you actually made it to Europe to buy real climbing boots. By 1966/67 the Lowe Triplex (a triple boot) and the Galibier Super Guide ( a single boot) and Hivernal (a dbl boot) were available in Europe and with some difficulty in the USA.<br />
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Robbins had access to the Galiber boots. (he was working with Galibier as a designer and had visited the factory) From a email exchange with Robbins he remembered using Galibier dbl boots, Salewa crampons and a metal axe. No doubt Robbins had the best European gear available to him in 1967.<br />
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Gear changed so much in the next few years and by 14 years later there was no real comparison. And no question, these climbs had gotten "easier".<br />
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The second longest ice face in the Canadian Rockies (Robson having the longest) The east face of Stanley is first climbed in 1966.<br />
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The first route on the north face of Temple, the Greenwood/Locke was done that August in '67 along with Robbin's solo on Cavell. With the reporter lamenting the "directisma" on Temple would have to wait on another generation.<br />
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3 years later (1970) the Lowe's arrive on Temple...the "directisma" is done with aid climbing through the ice cliff. The "new" generation has arrived back in the late '60s. By the time the picture of Jeff Lowe aiding through the ice cliff shows up on Mt 34 it is Oct of 1974. Jeff and Mike Weiss had climbed Bridalveil free on WI6 <span style="font-weight: bold;">10 months previously.</span> But that photo of Jeff Lowe on Mt 34's (1974) cover (even though it was then 4 years out of date) directly encouraged two more routes to be climbed on Mt. Temple. (1974 and 1976)<br />
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Yes a lot had changed by the time the 2nd solo ascent of Cavell was done. Polar Circus was by then standard fare in an easy day instead of the original eight days. Slipstream which took 3 days on the first ascent, by two of Canada's most experienced, had been done in less than 9 hrs on the 2nd ascent.<br />
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Some of the best gear available in 1968/69.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdt0uWenBs4kVL24otk4AAhDWAkVCkjG_CUbO_Kf1gHX4BOH5BH7o-xKsRjbLbnZO0fGrO1HTSVkLJPaEbpCmtldPWNyzcMXYLHa9OPqAAM03u_rtwDvfOblUr-jwRAPinU1-BDuXJuyzv/s1600-h/edith6.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433098440931352530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdt0uWenBs4kVL24otk4AAhDWAkVCkjG_CUbO_Kf1gHX4BOH5BH7o-xKsRjbLbnZO0fGrO1HTSVkLJPaEbpCmtldPWNyzcMXYLHa9OPqAAM03u_rtwDvfOblUr-jwRAPinU1-BDuXJuyzv/s320/edith6.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 240px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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McInnes metal shafted axe, Salewa adjustables, Galiber Havernal dbl boots. Likely the combo that Robbins used on his ascent.<br />
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Gear from the 2nd solo of Cavell in August '81<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnW2_HMgD5Qd5GaRUcexYPshLzeLQCcH9ykHxvsXbDzXfbt-zf6F6fJfT47XKukr3h5MkupcjaI06-d7z25s_NzCCBguBAiqRGB9zKPjkRYrcauSx_Snv4QoOeuepqM1zDsQgjp1Dj4hOS/s1600-h/edith9.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433098816112298066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnW2_HMgD5Qd5GaRUcexYPshLzeLQCcH9ykHxvsXbDzXfbt-zf6F6fJfT47XKukr3h5MkupcjaI06-d7z25s_NzCCBguBAiqRGB9zKPjkRYrcauSx_Snv4QoOeuepqM1zDsQgjp1Dj4hOS/s320/edith9.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 240px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD49FKkYAQjgTEewftpZiaTL8zNTVBQCm6BYoFEHQTwOdpCClNvPrvPfYCub3NMnHXc5X6clvBA5UuDEwj_uNQ33LvdI7YO3FpDODeNHHlEA4WYDTtYWHfRiUqujIsnQ8pe7zV5H6Sro0U/s1600-h/edith8.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433098812320552994" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD49FKkYAQjgTEewftpZiaTL8zNTVBQCm6BYoFEHQTwOdpCClNvPrvPfYCub3NMnHXc5X6clvBA5UuDEwj_uNQ33LvdI7YO3FpDODeNHHlEA4WYDTtYWHfRiUqujIsnQ8pe7zV5H6Sro0U/s320/edith8.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 240px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLhjwjxzGaMS22QBrcB3cRzF6hPm9KisOK5FRkaaEOazO_XrvhY5c2A9HutVlof_liDjG43OcjaWAZP7YK_l3jPovAxAEl_zF5vaGINWODKp6WQLlZX7q1onjBOqUX6mgp9ypyvkjorAce/s1600-h/edith7.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433098806493608658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLhjwjxzGaMS22QBrcB3cRzF6hPm9KisOK5FRkaaEOazO_XrvhY5c2A9HutVlof_liDjG43OcjaWAZP7YK_l3jPovAxAEl_zF5vaGINWODKp6WQLlZX7q1onjBOqUX6mgp9ypyvkjorAce/s320/edith7.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 240px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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A Ultimate fiberglass helmet, Merino wool jersy, Eastern Euro wool gloves I bought in Nepal in '77, a Alpaca hat from Peru. Only things missing besides lunch and the water bottle are the GPIW Fish pack, knee high gaiters and my polyester XC knickers.<br />
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Wild Things swami with a buckle, Snowdon Curver axe and a terro hammer.<br />
<br />1st generation Koflach Ultra db boots and Chouinard hinged crampons.<br />
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There are several mentions of the time frames these climbs were done in. For instance one of the few details from Robbin's solo was the 4 hrs it took him to climb the last 600 feet of snow, ice and rock.<br />
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14 years later a "modern" climber bragged on his own solo ascent of Edith Cavell in a CLIMBING magazine. He had told of climbing, "from the Angel glacier to the summit in 4 hrs!"<br />
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The top of the Angel glacier is close to half way up the face. You would be pressed to find anyone including the first ascent party who used a rope the entire way to get there.<br />
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Fact was by the late '70s that kind of speed wasn't even worth mentioning since Robbins had already covered that same ground in similar time. Climbers were by then ('81) measuring the climbing time car to car or at the very least from the parking lot to the summit.<br />
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Yes, things had changed. Royal Robbins was the climbing editor of SUMMIT before and long after his solo of Edith Cavell and never thought the "stunt" worth mentioning in the national climbing press or his biography past a few words.<br />
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Things had indeed changed.<br />
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The flip side? Nothing here (Temple, Deltaform or Cavell) even remotely as hard as the early European climbs done in the 1930's, like the Eiger north face for example or Bonatti's climbs in the '50s let alone Robbin's own European test pieces in the Alps. For that kind of climbing you'll need to step it up to the "modern" Canadian 5.9 A2 classics.<br />
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It is more about conditions than it is about gear. Rock and ice gear obviously. And freezing temps from top to bottom. A early start will help you get that in weather that can be fun to climb in. Done in good conditions the climbing is awesome the objective hazards almost zero. The 1000' mixed section between the lower buttress and the upper ice slope is as good as it gets...classic alpine nirvana.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigBtNXZxGegR28wuSyGWHJ8JWicK29bqOzvSD0XGjWi16es5KltMI04OFH2x3FTIdz3WgcRyjY50Fd7q-vzMecUi19pWH6yWbjLh-nvI1ihDAa18n3B-5YWIsEg1n71HWZqzaWDsv0GH1P/s1600-h/ECavellRA.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432996583292870930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigBtNXZxGegR28wuSyGWHJ8JWicK29bqOzvSD0XGjWi16es5KltMI04OFH2x3FTIdz3WgcRyjY50Fd7q-vzMecUi19pWH6yWbjLh-nvI1ihDAa18n3B-5YWIsEg1n71HWZqzaWDsv0GH1P/s320/ECavellRA.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 211px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
"Here's a shot of Rick Accomazzo on the summit of Edith Cavell after doing the Chouinard/Doody route. 1975, taking a break on our car to car push."<br />
Mike Graham photo</div>Danehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08300760603627210620noreply@blogger.com0