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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 2, 2013 - 09:40am PT
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I just bumped the Pingora Thread and I was thinking that Wolfs Head needs some air time. The arete leading to the summit towers is one of the most beautiful places I've ever climbed.
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Jennie
Trad climber
Elk Creek, Idaho
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The easr ridge is a classic...outstanding photo opportunities and great granite.
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Love the way the route winds in and out of the towers and those fun exposed traverse sections.
Definitely a memorable climb.
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kpinwalla2
Social climber
WA
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Did it in the early 80's. Got chased off the top by an approaching thunderstorm. Never moved so fast over such steep terrain in my life...
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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One of my early technical climbs in 67 or 68.....loved it!
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mcreel
climber
Barcelona
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Yow! a great climb.
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mhay
climber
Reno, NV
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Great photo Todd Gordon. Did this route in 2000. Still remember that short, runout slab/arete section at the beginning of the arete.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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I don't have any photos of us on the climb, but did it in 1997
a memorable climb, and the best moderate ridge climb in North America...
the first pitch is an awesome uphill plank walk with tremendous exposure, and technically easy but very heady
recall having to wait out a quickly passing thunderstorm hiding out in the big blocks on the ridge
a wonderful place to climb
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rgold
Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
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East Ridge variation, mid-seventies
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John Butler
Social climber
SLC, Utah
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There's a lot of rock up there...
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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I hate the Winds. The weather has sucked every time I've been there.
The only good day we had on one trip we spent hauling some crispy critter
off of Wolf's Head.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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I did Wolf's Head back in the early 70s.
I have a great set of slides buried in the box...
The climb itself was dreamy but Brad Udall and I got a bit lazy on the descent and started rapping down the Cirque Lake side for some extended play!
Fortunately we weren't the first! LOL
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WyoRockMan
Trad climber
Flank of the Bighorns
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What a jewel of a place!
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mcreel
climber
Barcelona
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Great shots, thanks! Those bring back the memories. Anyone else catch fish up there? We got quite a few.
It's true that the weather in the Winds can be variable. Once I spent the better part of a week holed up in a tent in Upper Titcomb Valley. Did Helen and Sacajawea in brief breaks, but mostly got rained and snowed on.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Alpine mountaineering means learning to deal with weather... if you don't like weather, climb in California (we seemed to have minimized it...)
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Nice shots!
I think everyone has a picture of that waterfall!
Grossman- My pardner and I were downclimbing the descent that goes off the backside there until I finally called out in favor of rapping.
I had to use a carabiner brake, as I had dropped my belay device(only time in my life) earlier at the start of the piton traverse.
Once we made it to the Col, I had my one and only "mountain meltdown"- scared shitless having never descended a couloir before, much less in old five tennies. My pardner basically tele turned down the chute in his approach shoes and smoked a cig at the bottom, laughing at me as I tried to pull my sh!t together and descend.
I finally decided my nut tool would suffice to self arrest if I got out of control glissading, which I did, and it didn't.
I ended up clawing at the corn with my bare hands to try and slow down. When I got to the bottom it was as if my finger nails had grown a quarter inch!
Classic desert rat meets alpine situation!
The hike back to camp was awesome, through a gauntlet of falling ice stationwagons sliding off of slabs high on the flanks of Wolfs Head.
Chipped a bunk tooth on the summit, too, from some pinche nut in my energy bar.
Good times!
Edit-
perfect weather for a week!
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Kalimon
Trad climber
Ridgway, CO
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Nice photos everyone!
I had the good fortune of climbing Wolf's Head with Kim Grandfield back in the early 1980's. The previous day we climbed Pingora's NE face. Excellent routes, excellent partner and excellent weather . . . special experience.
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Roadie
Trad climber
Bishop, Ca
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Great picts and memories. I linked Pingora and Wolfshead about eight years ago and got chased off the top by lightnigh, really scarry lightning!
Went back a few years later and did a route on the south face which was mid 5.10 and also quite good.
Yeah, its too bad that between the bugs and the weather the season in the Winds is about three weeks. But then maybe thats part of what makes it special.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Compared with wrestling warm desert stone, alpine rock climbing always seems to turn into a prize fight at some point. LOL
Desert Rats On Ice is usually pretty entertaining.
On a Minarets trip long ago, Mike Strassman and I had to negotiate a bit of firm snow to cross the pass to put up a new route on Michaels Minaret. I went first carefully and got to sit and watch as the Hell Jar descended on Mike. He had a rock in one hand and a Yo hammer in the other and visions of doom on the screen. He was hugging that slope and scratching and clawing so much that I HAD to start ribbing him. The funniest part of the whole scene was that his faithful golden dog, Denali was standing right next to him offering support the entire time such was the inclination of his horror!
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