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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 8, 2011 - 01:27am PT
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You know the deal: books, maps, sex, lies, videotape and fuzzy math to follow!
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 01:27am PT
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The Basics:
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Hi Tar !!!
Bring it on bro, bring it on.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 01:28am PT
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Location, location, location:
The view from the east …
It’s a long approach through Rocky Mountain National Park,
We live in Nederland on the left, Long’s Peak is marked in blue, we make the end run around Fort Collins to Cameron Pass:
The view from the West …
The Never Summer Mountains highlighted by red dots, our home range the Indian Peaks highlighted in green:
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 01:30am PT
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Blue marks the road which was clear, red denotes trail, 95% snow-covered:
That awesome aerial picture with the markup was taken either from Iron Mountain or Thunder Mountain, looking westward.
Not my photograph. I'll dig up attribution and edit in a while.
The North ridge is on the right in the East ridge on the left.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 01:30am PT
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The Back Story:
Well golly, there I was several weeks ago in a legally induced stupor, face down in the shag carpet having done not Jack since my spontaneous 3rd of January bilateral knee funk, when I sniffed the approach of an essential mountain adventure wafting in through the open window.
That’s kind of how it goes. Like the siren call or something. Not without false starts of course; such as a four block bike ride without patellar tendon straps sidelining me for another 10 days and canceling the first go around. Sprinkle a little strategy over that dish: basic stuff like no prior training or walking allowed lest I blow myself up. Then I pared down the goal, tossing out one of the peaks and adding my champion wife. I’m smart like that sometimes.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 01:31am PT
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But that’s just the details … here’s the pictures!
July 1, 2011 … 5:30 a.m. … late start to accommodate unfamiliarity with the terrain.
A touch northwest of Rocky Mount National Park, a mile south of Cameron Pass, American Lakes Trail:
Diamond Peaks stretching up out of their slumber just short of 12,000 feet:
Lulu Mountain, 12,228 feet:
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 01:32am PT
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 01:33am PT
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Couple of hours on the go,
Iron Mountain behind, 12,265 feet:
First glimpse of Static’s elegant structure, with a 12,580' summit on the new maps:
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 01:34am PT
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The Electrode, 12,018 feet:
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 01:35am PT
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 01:36am PT
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There’s something comforting about a sense of scale;
Certainly this is part of what makes the mountain experience so meaningful:
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 01:36am PT
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Good place to take a rest.
I’ll resume this in a little bit: thanks for taking a look!
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 03:14pm PT
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Lulu Mountain, 12,228':
The Electrode, 12,018':
On the boogie:
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 03:16pm PT
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Static Peak, 12,580':
Snow Lake, 11,516' situated directly below Static Peak's North Face:
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 03:17pm PT
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Traversing toward the North Ridge:
A look up as we pass beneath a Never Summer wall of cobbles:
Our access plan, a 50° snow gully:
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 04:06pm PT
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Strapped into the aluminum crampoons, 8:45 a.m,
Conditions were firm beneath a thin layer of soft snow.:
Lisa, after emerging from the steeper, narrower section of the gully:
A bit of deeper, low angle soft snow just below the col:
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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What a delight to find this thread suddenly here. With its tale unfolding slowly like the day itself.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 04:07pm PT
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Crampons off, weather brewing a bit,
Time to move quickly but not before snagging a view southwest to Mount Richhtofen, 12,940’ and Mount Mahler, 12,493’:
Mount Richthofen:
The elegant profile of Mount Mahler:
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 04:18pm PT
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Things were somewhat as I expected on the Northwest Side:
Colder, some lingering snow clinging to the loose rocks, wet lichen underfoot, and brewing clouds.
Not cold enough for verglas though!
We moved with a studied haste and much care …at times we were clinging to a very narrow knife edge ridge, with quite a drop to the west.
For the most part it was fussy class two and three scrambling with loose, slick footing.
A quick snapshot of some fourth class rock here, which led up to the steeper section on the ridge, carefully circumvented by a ramp on the right, placing a single a cam between us as I moved across a thin ledge which dead-ended, forcing us necessarily up into some fifth class cracks, corners and bulges … where I put in a number three friend and belayed Lisa. Instead of hand jamming and stemming up a steeper albeit short corner above me, I opted for a traverse left, traverses being a good thing with the loose rock abounding, soon to gain a series of stacked flakes which I decided would be fairly straightforward for Lisa as long as she did not pull out on them … shortly to reach the top of the difficulties belaying a second time with another small cam.
All in all I brought three cams and used each of them in short order, and that was that.
Looking down the third and fourth class North Ridge which led up and out of the col, before scooting out around a corner into the final fifth class described above:
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