Mazama, Wa - Goat Wall

Kathy and I talked about getting her some more multi-pitch experience and we thought heading to Mazama and climbing on Goat Wall would be a good option since there were a few new clip-ups that recently went in. This would allow us to gain some more experience together and for Kathy to get some more time logged on longer routes setting belays quickly, rappelling and leading against the clock.

Day 1 took us to a relatively new 11 pitch line called Sisyphus III, 5.11a. I found it a bit soft for the grade and would say it was more in the 10+ range since it was a single move but whatever. We combined the 1st and 2nd pitches and the last two pitches and called it 9 pitches with Kathy and I swapping leads like all good climbers should :)

We ended up eating Thai for dinner in Winthrop that we cooked ourselves and then walked about town to check out all the gobies ordering up AOD sugar cones. An early night at Yellow Jacket trail head and then another day on Goat Wall. We met up with Bryan Burdo who shared his latest guide book (pre-release version) with us and off we went to do Prime Rib. Another 5.9ish 11 pitch route where I ran into Ted Ullman and Jessie from Bellingham. Ted and I haven't seen each other in years and it was nice to catch up.

Kathy took me out for a Buffalo steak dinner and we split a 26 ounce steak. Who could eat that all?!? Yummy and another top notch weekend with the girl - friend.

Sisyphus Topo

Approximate Route (click to enlarge) and 'key' lone pine

KC on her favorite scree approach :0

Happy to be off the approach and gearing up

KC on her nice onsight of the 1st Canadian 10 pitch

Styling this route!

Yee Haw!

Looking up the Mazama Valley

Moi sending the crux pitch :)

"Kathy did you get any pictures??"

Living it up with Thai chicken wings with dipping sauce for lunch?

KC coming up the last pitch

On the way down

Prime Rib Topo

Leavenworth, WA - Outer Space

The plan had us heading for Mazama for Bryan's guide book release party but the weather didn't look too good so we decided to head to Leavenworth instead - sorry Bryan maybe next guide book! This would be KC's and my first trip together and I wasn't sure how it would go but let's just say that we had a fantastic weekend and she is one awesome Westy mate. Thanks again KC, you rock!

KC had asked me a few times about doing Outer Space, she had been on one bigger multipitch route before but hadn't placed gear yet. She was ambitious and really wanted to do this route so I was happy to climb it with her since it is such a classic. This would be my 3rd or 4th time on this route so I felt comfortable enough with the area and we planned to leave early and have a fun day. KC knocked me out of bed and was nice enough to get some good strong brew going. We organized our packs, discussed gear options, food, water and weather conditions. Around 8ish we were off in a bunch on the Snow Lakes trail. A quick hour covered the 1.5 miles and 1500 feet or so of approach. The only area that was a bit rugged was the climber's trail up to the wall since last winter's heavy wind storm knocked so many trees over and the trail has not been cleaned. We landed at the base of the route with no one around - what luck that on a fine spring day no one was ahead of us on this classic???

Note: I got the links to the pictures to work and click on them for larger images.

Prepping at the Canadian Locker Box

All spunky and ready to go!

Snow Creek Wall from part way up the trail

Outer Space Route

Snow Creek Wall - Outer Space goes up the left side

Crossing Snow Creek on the final approach

Mrs. Goat and her Kid

The next generation of back pack strap chewer

Just like Eric Hirst mentions in his write up, Mrs.Goat showed up on time and was accompanied by her prodigy. I kindly asked her not to chew the straps on our packs but as you can see her response wasn't too agreeable.

Her response to my request (click the image for clarity)

As our luck ran out some other climbers showed up and of course were vying for the same route. With not a regard for mountain etiquette they suited up and started off ahead of us. I quickly told KC that I was going to do a 200 meter dash and as the rope came tight she should just start climbing. The plan worked out seamlessly and I took a line slightly to the right of the other party and beat them to 2 Tree Ledge. KC quickly followed and as she gained the ledge asked me what just happened?!? A quick explanation and she got it - save the delays and falling rocks we were in the lead.

So on to the business. The first pitch is the classic 5.9 traverse and I always enjoy the step thru to the left leaning traverse. I made sure I yelled down to KC to ignore the stuck Alien before the traverse so she wouldn't spend all day fiddling with it. I loved the pitch as usual and let out a howl as I got across because it's such a nice ride. KC seemed to enjoy it too but for the first time it is a bit airy and I'm sure she felt the exposure. Nonetheless, she was a smiley face at the end of the pitch. On to a quick crack and across the face with the smaller chicken heads that are an indication of the joy soon to come; then to the 5.8ish pedestal with the belay on top that puts you on the shield proper.

Riding the classic 5.9 traverse pitch

Looking down at 2 Tree Ledge and KC on the Traverse

KC coming up to the Pedestal Belay on P4

The next pitch is the wonderful long crack and face peppered with holds leading to Liberty ledge. This is a place where many a dubbie has been burned down I am sure since the ledge is made for sitting and gazing in utmost comfort. The final pitch starts with a bit of a sting but creative stemming and a little lay back off a finger crack dispenses with it quickly. Then another 180 feet of heaven sent crack and cookies to the top.

Looking down from 1/2 way up the P5 crack

Looking up the last 1/2 of P5 with Liberty Ledge above

KC starting out on the P5 crack - it's almost a full rope length

KC getting a little closer in the sea of face cookies

The descent isn't bad but it isn't that great either. KC wasn't feeling too well as she had a nasty stitch/cramp in her side. So we took our time going down and moved carefully. After our first rap, KC went on ahead while I was coiling the rope. There was much 4th class down climbing in combination with the rappels in this area and KC had begun to crab down a 70 degree slab with moss on it. All of a sudden I heard a scream, one filled with utter fear and pending doom, I looked up and saw her sliding on her back towards a small 2 foot wide ledge with a precipitous drop behind it, the kind no one wants to go over. I stood there feeling helpless and my ears started to ring and my heart started to pound as I watched her sliding for about 15 feet towards the ledge. I yelled her name as if I was throwing her a rope and in those fractions of a second I pulled on her with my gaze thinking I could slow her descent. I looked at her landing and thought to myself that if she lays flat against the rock and keeps her knees loose she'll absorb the energy and won't flip over the ledge. And as if she read my mind, she did just that. She came to a stop and I heard a little whimper which I'm not sure if it came from her or me. I raced down the other side of the slab being careful to avoid a repeat performance, scuffled across the ledge and gave her a great big hug saying "thank you for not dying, thank you so much for stopping on that ledge". For the remainder of the way down I made sure she stayed focused.

Say goodbye to Mrs. Goat!

Except for our descent episode the day was phenomenal and Kathy did great for her first big outing. We hiked out and both felt the need for hydration, food and a nap. So we departed from the parking lot and found a place to catch some zzzz's. It was a great idea and afterwards we warmed up some extra Thai food from the night before and talked about seeing a movie. It was nice that we were in synch with the activities we wanted to do. The one movie that was playing was not of interest so we ended up at Starbuck's sipping, reading and people watching.

The next day we set out to find Dog Dome and had a bunch of bush whacking to undertake just to get there. The landowner was a very nice man and let us cut through his property. Unfortunately, Dog Dome is over grown with moss due to the lack of traffic. We ended up getting one route in, Canine Capers, which is a 3 star 10b and which has very sporty spacing between bolts. I liked it and found it worthy of its rating. With a bit of clean up I think the other routes would be just as great but until access is improved I think it may not be soon.

We whacked our way back and I gave KC a gear placement clinic on Mountaineers Dome for the afternoon. We searched out Gibson's Crack for her to lead but had a hard time finding it; the guide said it was west of the Dome when we discovered it is really to the east.

KC was a treat on the way home and sorted out and organized my van which was really nice of her. Great weekend and we'll definitely do it again.

Leavenworth, WA - Sam Hill

What was supposed to be a Skaha weekend got cancelled due to weather and we instead decided to hit Leavenworth for the one sunny day - Sunday. Iona, Kathy T and I ran into Dave and Scott and we all joined up for some fine slab climbing on Sam Hill. Most enjoyable were Groping for Oprah's Navel and Contemplating Dog, which is what I felt like as I stood there determining my best option for the crux section with my head tilting from side to side.

Approaching Sam Hill

These two characters could compile a guide book of trouble making between them

Kathy setting gear in Sams n' Cams

Iona races Dave for the anchors

Yours truly in belay mode

Kathy smoking Oprah - did you know she smokes?

Heading up Blue Men Can't Sing The Whites

North Bend, WA - Infinite Bliss

Click for a big fat panaroma of the valley from the route

With Dave refusing to join me on Friday and most other climbers booked I was once again resigned to leaving this route be. As a last resort I called Kathy Chung, KC, to ask what she was up to for the weekend and see if she might have a change of heart. She excused herself due to some running thing but dropped the names of a few folks who I proceeded to call. Lucky Dean answered his phone and after we chatted for a few minutes he admitted he had always wanted to do the 23 pitch Infinite Bliss - apparently North America's longest sport route (ref. Rock & Ice Magazine). Dean said he was able to lead 5.10, had multi-pitch experience and could set a belay. I had only met him once in the gym so I figured with all the boxes ticked we could proceed the next morning at about 6am from the Park'n Ride to the route. This would also end up being the first longer day I would spend testing out the newly rehab'd ankle.

Having been up to pitch 13? 14? 15? - can I remember? - with Dave some prior attempt, I felt confident that the 5.10 sections would go quickly as would the low fifth class slab sections down below.

I woke up to bright light streaming thru my window only to realize that I set an alarm on a clock that was not reset for daylight saving. It came out of my spare bedroom after cleaning up for the arrival of my new roommate and I didn't think to look twice. I jumped out of bed like I was late for a final exam, showered in under a minute, ate breakfast and was out the door in about 10 minutes - I was so glad I packed the night before! I called Dean on the way to the meet up to let him know I was running late and he said he was also running late. All in all we ended up about 1 1/4 hours behind schedule and I was determined we'd make this up.

Dean suiting up

Official Verizon Start Time (oh look I have messages and 2 bars of signal!)

The approach to the route is a steep climber's trail thru the forest and it took us about 1 hour to get to the base of the climb. Being early spring the route was running like a waterfall and required us to stay tight to the right and avoid the wet slab. We roped up and I told Dean that I was happy to simul-climb all the way to the head wall. He seemed ok with that and we would only stop to replenish runners if need be.

Dean Coming Up the 1st HeadWall / Slabs Down Below

That's a long ways down

At the start of the head wall I offered Dean the lead but he thought we were making good time and that I should continue for a while more. We motored thru the first section of easier terrain, the “stair case to heaven” and then on to the first bit of easy 5.10. At the belay at the top of the stairs we experienced rock fall and this is where Dean understood the benefit of a helmet. It was also the point where I discovered Dean's level of experience when I asked him to lead the next pitch and he replied that he needed a ‘refresher’ on how to set up the top anchors. It was not a good thing to discover this 12 pitches up this route. Dean really didn't have the confidence or experience to lead and I can only blame myself for not asking the right questions and adequately accessing his ability. This placed us both in a bit of a dangerous situation. I decided for safety sake that I should lead the rest of the way and keep a closer eye on Dean although he seemed to be following ok.

Top of the Stair Case to Heaven

A view down from the top of the 5.10- pitch... ankle is still taped up from injury

Dean making his way up a ton of run out ground - do you see gear???

The upper pitches of the route totally ease of in terms of difficulty but leave one far above any safety and exposed to loose rock and dangerous if not life threatening falls. For both our safety I recommended to Dean that if we are going to continue we would have to un-rope and each carry a line to the next head wall. The solo climbing ended at the next headwall but the start of pitch 17 was a bear to find since the topo didn’t clearly indicate its location relative to the football field sized head wall.

Soloing the easier but nasty rock up higher...this is scary!

Dean unties from the rope and I start coiling it up - you're on your own from here!

After some exploration and soloing on the upper wall I discovered that I had soloed above pitch 17 and was standing at the base of pitch 18. I beckoned Dean to come up via my route and we prepared for the 5.10+ section next. As Dean arrived at the belay he informed me that his feet were hurting him and he wasn’t sure he could go on. I had a hard time imaging bailing when we were this high on the route and only had 5 pitches left. I had to resign my disappointment and accept that if he didn’t want to go on it was my obligation to succumb to the lowest common denominator. I recommended that he loosen his shoes and let his feet breathe with the hopes that would spur him on and make him last the next 5 pitches. The next pitch was wonderful and sustained in nature and the best pitch on the route. It felt like 10b/c to me and it is too bad one has to approach through the other 17 pitches to get here. I carried on to the next pitch stretching out the rope and had to split draws to hit the belay. Pitch 20 and its coming un to 4ish in the aft; I can feel the summit closing in. I yell down to Dean to “Climb”! and he starts up. Unfortunately this pitch doesn’t go so well for him and he takes a great deal longer than I had hoped and leaves many of the draws hanging behind. This basically limits our ability to continue as we would not have adequate gear to carry on. As he reaches the belay he tells me that he is done, his feet too sore to continue. OK then, time to go down...I don’t say a word otherwise than “let’s get ready to start our rappels” and to which he replies “I hate rappelling”…………………. amen.

The upper section of the route - I left off just before the big corner

Due to no anchors on the upper choss, we had to down climb unroped

Oh finally a shrubbery we could sling and rap off but to where next???

We of course had our follies on the way down and it delayed us more than a few times but I stayed positive and kept my eye on Dean. I was more than happy to reach the base and prepped quickly to use the remaining twilight to descend to my van without head lamp and with great focus on not twisting my ankle. We capped the evening with a beer and a celebration that we were both alive, without injury and upon terra firma for the night. The route took us about 14+ hours car to car.