Misty Fjords AK Wall

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johntp

Trad climber
Little Rock and Loving It
Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 23, 2018 - 10:03pm PT
Anyone know if this has been checked out?

Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Sep 23, 2018 - 10:15pm PT
I have. Bring yer brolly and trowel. OK, maybe a wetsuit instead of a brolly. 😉
johntp

Trad climber
Little Rock and Loving It
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 23, 2018 - 10:30pm PT
I have. Bring yer brolly and trowel. OK, maybe a wetsuit instead of a brolly. 😉

Choss?

When we were kayaking there we had seven straight days with no rain and only occasional overcast skies.

If you've checked it out, did you get to the rock? How did the quality look? Or are you just talking smack?
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Sep 23, 2018 - 10:55pm PT
Not choss by any means and while these days one can enjoy extended sun or at least no rain it still comes down in buckets from Sept til May which means cracks are filled with veggie delights. In yer pic if you don’t see any green then there’s probably no cracks. And have you noticed the vertical green wall at the base? Gonna need a Stihl for that shiz! Flew very close - trust me, getting started and getting off could be epic. Definitely Type A fun for somebody! 🤪
johntp

Trad climber
Little Rock and Loving It
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 23, 2018 - 11:06pm PT
In yer pic if you don’t see any green then there’s probably no cracks. And have you noticed the vertical green wall at the base? Gonna need a Stihl for that shiz!

I see cracks. Unfortunately that pic is as close as I got to the wall. Nothing that couldn't be gardened with some time and effort.

Yeah, the approach would be a bear, but no worse than other remote climbs. Meaning there is probably a lot of undergrowth and dead fall to be dealt with, not inaccessibility. Can't see a need for a stihl. Short approach from a float plane fly in.

Anyone climbed on it?
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Sep 23, 2018 - 11:15pm PT
I’m pretty sure a couple routes have been done. A boat would be highly preferable to a plane. The ‘Stihl’ is a figure of speech. 😉 If you haven’t experienced the PNW or SE AK then yer in for more than Type A fun on the approach and descent. Lotsa bears there too! I’ve done 1/4 mile per hour in that stuff and that wasn’t dragging a haul bag.
johntp

Trad climber
Little Rock and Loving It
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 24, 2018 - 12:36am PT
If you haven’t experienced the PNW or SE AK then yer in for more than Type A fun on the approach and descent. Lotsa bears there too! I’ve done 1/4 mile per hour in that stuff and that wasn’t dragging a haul bag.

I took the pic from a kayak. Understand what you mean by type A fun.

Just wondering if anyone here has climbed on it.
F

climber
away from the ground
Sep 24, 2018 - 01:37am PT
Yes it’s been climbed. By a few different routes and by a few different parties.
But don’t take their word for it, just ask the resident expert on everything, Reilly. He flew by once.
Getting started and getting off as said by Reilly are reported by folks that have actually climbed there to be by 4th class and bolted rappel. Not that “epic” as described by the flyby observer. Just obscure with bad weather, which is true for 95% of the rock climbing in Alaska.
J R

climber
bend
Sep 24, 2018 - 12:57pm PT
Check it out and let us know what you find. I've looked at it and spoke with a few hearty fellows who have climbed on it. There are a few established routes and info is on the internet. Wet and veggies as the others have said.
johntp

Trad climber
Little Rock and Loving It
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 24, 2018 - 04:44pm PT
and info is on the internet.

From MP:

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/106953724/the-misty-fjords-national-monument-ak

excerpt:

Legend has it that there are a couple bolted routs heading up some big walls somewhere in the Misty Fjords National Monument (down on the panhandle; southeast Alaska near Ketchikan). When the weather permits, the climbing would be incredible in many places. It does rain quite frequently and the rock is usually wet, but during the summer months, the occasional sunny hot spells dry out the rock making, "climbing," a goal rather than an activity of leisure. You have to get it while its good.
Thus far, it appears that these "legendary" bolted routs are only a myth as no one can pin-point where they are. As far as I know, the entire place is unclimbed, even traditionally. That goes without saying that the potential for new ascents is endless.
These "big walls" are glacially carved granite that reach up to 3000 feet and higher directly from the fjords below. As far as establishing this territory as one sought out by climbers, who knows what the future will bring. It is truly difficult to find a more beautiful place than this.
johntp

Trad climber
Little Rock and Loving It
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 24, 2018 - 04:50pm PT
but these low altitude crags in along the northern coasts are just to darn busy imho.

Care to elaborate on what you mean by "too darn busy"? Seems to me one could spend years there and not see another party.

The photo in the OP was taken from several miles away. My guess is the routes approach Yos wall levels.
F

climber
away from the ground
Sep 24, 2018 - 05:37pm PT
Tim Touala, Rock 'n' Road, 2002. Route #21 of the Alaska chapter, Misty Fjords (Devils Punchbowl):

"The scenic 3,000' K-F-H Route done in 1994 starts just left of center of the whole wall at the water's edge and follows a steep bushwack up the water channel to a tent ledge at 8,000. Then there is much 5.4 - 5.7 climbing, with a 1,500-2,000' rock staircase (4' wide) of fourth-class simul-climbing with amazing views of the Fjords. Twenty-three double-rope rappels. Very wet."

"Kruis-Fitch-Highleyman Route, III 7
F

climber
away from the ground
Sep 24, 2018 - 05:39pm PT

Scott Kruis · Jun 15, 2018 · Unknown Hometown
Hi all! I just noticed this discussion on climbing in Misty. As Ken Trout noted above, my buddy Mark and I climbed Punchbowl Wall in 1994. Originally I had the climb listed on the Rock n' Road web site, but I think that is all history now. It was all part of a long story for me, kayaked there a bunch just looking at the lines, and finally had to gave it a go. Took some interesting logistics to figure it out. Wrote a story/trip report and Scree Magazine published it in 2014. Would be glad to pass on story or route info if anybody is interested. The climb was one of the coolest things I've ever done. I just joined the mp site, will have to see if I can get the climb on there. Generally, it was a 3rd/4rth class approach to a ledge at el. 800ft, 5 pitches of moderate 5th class, then 2,000 ft of simul climbing up a ramp system. Took us 23 double rope rappels to get down along with some 4rth class downclimbing. Used a Bosch drill with 3/8" bolts for the rappel stations. The bolts and hangers would be questionable after all these years. I am still climbing, wouldn't mind getting up there again if somebody might be interested. (fyi, friends and I cleaned and put up most of the routes in Harriet Hunt too)Cheers,Scott Kruis
Corvallis, OR
F

climber
away from the ground
Sep 24, 2018 - 05:41pm PT
https://cdn-uploads.mountainproject.com/forum/55590.jpg

If simple intardnet research is difficult for you, maybe SE AK climbing isn’t going to be your cup of kombucha.
johntp

Trad climber
Little Rock and Loving It
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 24, 2018 - 05:52pm PT
You better live nearby and have nothing better to do....vast quantities of better/cleaner/drier stone in the lower 48...

Been there?

I could see spending a few weeks there in August. Salmon fishing, crabbing, kayaking. Lotsa ways to kill time waiting for a window.

Again, looking for someone who has actually climbed the Misty Fjords walls, not people posting crap without having climbed there.

If simple interdental research is difficult for you,

Thanks for the topo link.

The reason I posted the OP is that I'm going through boxes that haven't seen the light of day in over ten years. I'd totally forgotten about this photo. Seeing it brought back the thoughts when I first saw the wall. Just beginning my research. I know how to surf the web.
johnkelley

climber
Anchorage Alaska
Sep 25, 2018 - 01:08am PT
Come to SE AK. I need a partner bad...

Andy what’s wrong with you? Let’s go do something?
johnkelley

climber
Anchorage Alaska
Sep 25, 2018 - 01:18am PT
I know that complete non-participtation is easier but you’ve had too much of that and you are too young to retire. Even though younger guys have retired but most of them at least did “something” notable...

johnkelley

climber
Anchorage Alaska
Sep 25, 2018 - 10:02am PT
Jim- see why I’ve given up on the “other Alaskans in my hometown”?
Tom Patterson

Trad climber
Seattle
Sep 25, 2018 - 01:42pm PT
I've always wondered the same thing about Misty Fjords. I used to live in SE Alaska, and the thing that always made it a "what's the point?" proposition was just the sheer volume of rain, or runoff when it's not raining. But a lot of the rock looks actually pretty fantastic, if conditions were right. Here are a couple of pics from the Ketchikan Shore Tours collection:


johntp

Trad climber
Little Rock and Loving It
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 25, 2018 - 05:37pm PT
But there is a lifetime of FA climbing WAY easier to get to than that.

But the fishing would be worth the trip.

By all means don't let me stop you.

After you get done playing with devil's club you'll go searching for more Type 1 sort of fun.

The access is not all that hard. Expensive, yes. Wet? Yes. Nasty undergrowth? Yes. Chances for a window in August with any possibility of success? Who knows. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Salmon, crab and berry picking? 100%.

Still waiting to see something from someone that has climbed there. The fact that none on this forum has experience there adds to the allure.

Fact is it's probably over my head. Still be a fun trip to just get up there and check it out.
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