Leavenworth, WA - Snow Creek Wall, Galaxy

A few weeks back I was introduced to Craig who is now a local who is working as a post doc at UW. His buddy was one of the guys who pitched in a helped carry me out the last 1/4 from Oak Creek Canyon at Red Rocks when I rolled my ankle (see April 2007 Red Rocks trip report).

Wanting to introduce Craig to some of Washington's finer side of climbing I decided to take him to Snow Creek Wall. Since Outer Space - the 5 star classic on the wall - would most likely be crowded on this fine weathered weekend, I decided against doing it and decided to check out a longer more varied route which I thought would provide a fun day out. We decided to give Galaxy 5.8+ (FA 1966) a run since it goes at a moderate grade for about 9 or so odd pitches and would be a good climb for us to feel each other out. The guidebook doesn't say much more than pro to 3" and describes the route as wandering up the gully to the left of Iconoclast.

Craig met me at my place around 6am and we took off for Leavenworth making a Starbucks pit stop along the way. We parked at the Snow Creek Trail Head, packed and made good time up to the base of the wall in about 75 minutes. The weather was sunny but a nice cool wind was blowing down from the pass and keeping the temperatures moderate for the day. After racking up I started up the lower slabs and the route basically went as follows:

P1: Start up what best figures as the easier entry to the gully system 5.6 and pass slings atop of the first set of blocks. Move up and right thru bushes to find gear and then step further right on good face moves to continue up until reaching the 2nd set of slings 20' higher.

P2: Continue up the corner/crack/gulley system 5.7, to a two pin rap/belay station. (We climbed past this and enjoyed building our own belay about 30ft. below the tree and at the bottom of a left trending rotten crack that lulls one out on the chossy face and towards a stew of slings and a small dying shrub-ask me how I know!)

P3: From the 2 pin belay continue up the corner/crack with fine stemming and jamming, 5.8+, until 30ft. below the tree. Move up and right and get good gear in cracks on right. Traverse back left across a thin ledge and a blank face (no protection) and into a rotten layback crack reaching the tree from the right. - note to test the pins, the one on the right was loose and I hammered it back in with a rock!

P4: Continue up from the tree in the ramp and crack system leading up to another bush and another rotten corner. 15 feet up this corner reaches another ledge and belay point.

Our actual pitch four led us up behind the tree on a clean slab that had no gear. I followed this to the left side of a bushy ramp and a big boulder. I then proceeded to bash my way up the ramp and wack those bushes aside until I got on top and found 2 cams to place. The next logical step was across and into the rotten corner that I describe as P4. At this point we decided to bail since we spent too much time getting lost and gardening the route. Kramer's hand drawn topo of the wall was frustrating to follow as it doesn't really describe the features on the upper section of this wall very well. We ended up trying to follow a route that didn't seem there!

I have to say that the third pitch is great but overall the climb would be much better if it would see more traffic. Good gear but way too much greenery on the route that we had to bash thru or tear out. The cracks were also very dirty and required much cleaning for us to place gear and proceed. It felt more like landscaping then climbing. We later discovered that the slings on the chossy face and dying shrub are useful for bailing from the route. A single 60m doesn't go from the tree to the 2 pin rap below so one must use the intermediate station. The small tree at that rap is quickly decaying so it'll be a short time before it's gone.

I'd like to go back and finish the line but from below the route finding for the next 4-5 pitches looks just as wonder filled as some of the earlier stuff. Craig was great about the whole thing and we had two good karma events that day: 1) missed a speeding ticket on the way over; 2) recovered a lost #10 Stopper in the bushes.

Craig prepping at his Subbie

Looking for the line at the base

Craig man strikes out for P3

He becomes the moss master

...and scores the money pitch for the day...

Craig making some fine moves before tree ledge

Delicate traverse

Washinton Pass, WA - NEW Spire West Face

After my earlier excursion on the NW Corner I really had a craving for that fine looking line called the West Face. I have to say that this route didn't disappoint and delivered for me the finest crack climbing in the pass up on the upper pitches. For this route I hooked up with Kane from CascadeClimbers and who is working in Mazama at the North Cascade Basecamp. With a straight forward approach and a few pitches common with the NW Corner I was relaxed about the climb enough to allow me to concentrate on freeing the 5.11 crack section.

N Early Winter Spire - West Face, 6 Pitches 5.11a

Kane showed up early but his other partner Cricket/Randy bailed on him so it looked like it was just the two of us. I tried to get him to relax because the face isn't in the sun until later in the day and it is much nicer to do when it is a bit warmer. We headed out a little after 9am and started up the winding Blue Lake trail reaching the turn off from the main trail in about 1.5 miles with ~700 vertical feet being hiked. 30 more minutes and 1K more vertical feet brought us to the base of the route.

Official Timex approach time

Official Timex Base Elevation and Temperature

I geared up and made my way through the familiar first pitch linking it with the move of the belay thru the trees and into the little amphitheatre below pitch 2. Kane wanted to get more leading in since he has only been climbing a short time so we decided this could be his pitch. I mistakenly led this pitch when on the NW Corner climb and then stepped over to the tree on the other side of the buttress so I knew it is well protected and about 5.8.

A while later Kane brought me up to the belay, handed me the rack and wished me good luck on the unprotected flake. We didn't bring anything larger than a #3 Camalot so the flake had to be climbed unprotected. It was committing to lay back the thing knowing it would be tricky to step back out of it but it went well and the flakes above have slings to clip from a good stance. I scoped the traverse and saw the bolt, an old 1/4" time bomb. I thought this route had been fixed!?! So I got some gear in under the lip of the traverse and started out. It was only as I was part way thru that I noticed the shiny new bolt on the upper lip! The traverse is airy and wonderful with great friction until I was able to blindly lay back around the corner. A nice reach to a high right foot around the corner allowed me to work a nice Camalot #1 below an old fixed pin. Then I moved up and left to the base of the thin crack.

Young Kane looking excited about his lead

Kane finishing up his lead

A good belay setup is necessary at the base of the 11 crack

View from belay

Moi heading out on the crux and loving it!

Kane arrived at the belay and we arranged gear and got ready for my anticipated lead of the crux. I prepared the small gear and struck off on the good entry to the thin crack. Overall this section took small nuts very well and offered excellent finger jamming. Part way up is a small horizontal tipper edge that made for a great place to work gear in. My next goal was to get my foot up on that tipper edge so I laid back the crack and smeared hard. Another good stance here with my left foot on the tipper edge let me work a Metolious #1 Cam into the crack. I pushed on and up with the crack getting tighter until I could see a good flake edge. As I reached up for it my feet blew and I was off for some flight time. Damn! I blew the onsight! So at this point I realized that I climbed too high and that after I placed the cam I should have traversed left to the second crack system. Back on and in a few moves I was in the left crack system and ready to build the next belay after that short crux pitch.

The next pitch is the best on the route. It starts with a few gaston opposition moves in a crack to a small overlap that takes a .75 Camalot well and then up into another finger crack. The upper potion starts as an intimidating looking thin crack and then with awesome finger jams it just keeps getting better. I wished that this pitch could have just gone on and on and it is the money pitch on the route! Eventually it peeters out and one has to traverse right to a larger crack and a belay if your partner mistakens his 50m rope for a 60m! ;) A longer rope would have had us complete the pitch to the top.

The amazing 6th pitch finger crack

Final traverse from the last belay station

Kane taking the short 5.6 crack to the summit

Washington Pass, WA - SEW Spire, East Buttress

South & North Early Winter Spire and Liberty Bell

(major formations from left to right)

After a botched attempt with Chris Kouba a week earlier, I returned with a vengeance and my best arsenal: a good weather forecast and Michael Cartwright. Michael met me at Blue Lake Trail Head Tuesday morning ~8:30am with breakfast in hand - nice. We parked his car at Blue Lake and drove my van to the hairpin with the strategy of coming down the South Arete and taking the pleasant Blue Lake trail back to his car. Sorting gear and filling water Michael introduced me to his little blue alpine pack, Cedric, described it as a member of the Spider Pig species and proceeded to sing me the Spider Pig jingle. A little explanation may be required:

Spider Pig would end up being our "light weight" climbing companion for the day and would get a free ride up the route on our backs. Mostly it carried 2 pairs of shoes, a jacket, 3 litres of water, a few bars and 2 Egg McMuffins.

The climbing route is about 10 pitches long, consists of crack and face climbing and back when Fred Becky and Doug Leen first put this up in 1968 it took them 2.5 days to ascend the line. The 2 bolt ladders can now be freed at 5.11a and it was our intention to do just that. Departure time was a little late at 9:30am but hey we are the masters of the casual pace. Michael immediately set pace and with the approach gully steepening I could feel my heart thumping away with the sprint we had going. Temps were just right and so we made good time ~1hr. to the base of the route.

Direct East Buttress, S.Early Winter Spire - 5.11a, 10 pitches

Sprinting up the gully MC sets the pace on the approach

The author cruising up the final approach

Stuffing Spider Pig for the climb

Looking up from the route start

After soloing up a bit of the easier lower section we roped up and I led off on the second pitch which went fast and easy and got us to the 3" 5.9 crack. Michael handed off Spider Pig and launched into some easy flakes which led to a feisty layback jamming crack and a under clinging traverse under a roof. As I climbed this pitch I often cursed at Spider Pig because he was fat and uncomfortable. Happy to drop Spider Pig off, I picked up the continuance of that crack for the next pitch which also included a balancy step left under a small roof. A quick move off the belay and we were at the base of the 1st bolt ladder. Michael decided to free the bolt ladder and made fast time with a pull around the crest to the next belay. I on the other hand had to ferry Spider Pig across this section. I freed most of it until the crest where Spider Pig distracted me and caused me to fall. I almost pitched Spider Pig off had it not been for the water and shoes that Spider Pig so valuably carried. Once again free of Spider Pig I could climb as intended and pitch 5 started off by traversing right two bolts and getting into a beautiful 5.10 Canadian finger crack - that would be 5.10eh for the rest of you. The short crack leads up to a face and a traverse right brings you to a well camouflaged bolt and some slabby faces moves to a good ledge. One more money pitch of 11a bolt ladder begins up and left from the belay. This pitch has a couple of funky mantles and ends below much easier low fifth class terrain. A quick run up easy lines brought us to the summit. At this point we ripped into Spider Pig and emptied its guts while we searched through the internals for something nutritious. After a quick lunch we made our walk down the South Arete and eventually to the trail.

Michael heads into the corn flakes on pitch 3

Spider Pig gets a ride up the crack on pitch 3 - 5.9

Pitch 5: the first bolt ladder - Michael is going for free!

Michael rolling around the corner - 5.11a

Freeing the Canadian (10 eh!) finger crack at the start of pitch 6

Michael & Spider Pig following Pitch 6 up the slabby face

Looking down from Pitch 7

Our car to summit time was 5 hours and the descent down to Blue Lake Trail Head from the summit to us ~2 hours. An awesome day and thanks Michael for coming out!

Washington Pass, WA - North & South Early Winter Spires

WA Pass Spires - S. & N. Early Winter Spires 1st two from left

After the weekend with KC the spires in Washington Pass were stuck in my mind and so I hooked up mid-week with Kevin to do a double header. North and South Early Winter Spire in a day. We left Monday night and camped at the pass. The mosquitos were numerous and hungry as usual during this time of year. It was nice to escape the 90+ temps back in Seattle and we slept soundly at 5000+ feet. 5am and the ex-Marine was shaking the van to go but not before we fueled with some of my morning oats. The approach is a gentle 1.5mi and 45 minutes to the climbers trail which is past the Liberty Bell cut off and at about 600' elevation from trail head and beside a well running melt off fed creek. About another 900' to the base of the spires and about ~1.5hrs total approach time.

N.Early Winter Spire on left and S.Early Winter Spire on right - looking from west

Evening sun on Liberty Bell the night before

Gear sort and prep while avoiding loss of blood to mozzies

Cut Throat Peak Panaroma on approach - note the shadow of the Liberty Group Spires

Covert Goat

I did notice that the goats here in WA Pass are a little more sneaky than the Snow Creek Wall goats. They try to quietly stalk you using the shrubery as cover!

North Early Winter Spire - North West Corner Route 5.9

A view of the obvious sickle on the NW Corner route
(photo credit: Eric & Lucie)

Kevin leading off p1

Higher on P1

Moi on the crux off-width - grunt!

This pitch likes to eat larger cams so 2 to 3 four inchers would be nice. We linked pitches 2 and 3 and summited in a relaxed ~3 hours. Rappels with twin 60m ropes got us to the packs at noon ~6 hours from car departure for lunch and then off to the next route.

Thru with the grunt fest

Kev coming up to the summit


Summit Panorama

After lunch activities had us chasing some guided party of 2 up the SW Rib that we saw earlier that morning on their approach to the South Spire. We caught up with them 2-3 pitches from the summit and exchanged hi/byes. Summit took us about ~2.5hr and we down climbed the South Arete and rapped the last 200'. Back at the car in ~11 hours total. Great day and time to burger up in Marble Mount.

South Early Winter Spire - South West Rib 5.8

Kevin leading off P4

Moi on P5 Double Off Widths

P6 Ridge Run

Great exposure off the right hand side

Looking down into the Methow Valley