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Base Camp
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- Statistics:
- Date Hiked: July 16, 2009
- Miles Hiked: 3.0
- Elevation Gain: 2,100'
- Hiking Partner(s): Jeff
Shafer
- Description:
- After climbing Spearhead the previous day and spending the night in
upper Glacier Gorge, Jeff and I got up shortly after 6:00 am. Two
parties had arrived at the base of the north ridge of Spearhead as we prepared
breakfast and hot drinks. We weren't in a particular hurry because
our intended route for the day was significantly less popular than the
north ridge of Spearhead. After we ate, we meandered across the
valley to Green Lake and then to the north buttress of Pagoda Mountain.
Neither Jeff or I had done any significant amount of research on the
route or read any trip reports. All we had to go on was Rossiter's
two sentence route description that can be summarized as follows:
Pagoda Mountain-North Buttress-5.6-Scramble to the base of the route,
climb five pitches to the ridge crest, and then scramble to the summit.
As it turns out, two of my friends had already climbed the route.
Mountain Project and climbinglife.com rate the route 5.7 which both Jeff
and I would generally agree with at least by the lines that we climbed.
- Not knowing exactly what was ahead of us definitely added to the
excitement for the day. We ended up completing the climb in five
pitches and it worked out that I was fortunate enough to lead the
three harder pitches. We accurately scrambled into the base of the
north buttress from the left. I didn't think the first pitch
looked too bad, so I asked Jeff if I could start us off for the day.
He quickly responded with a yes and said I was up anyway. I took
off up some easy terrain but slowed my pace as the pitch seemed to get
progressively more difficult the higher I got. I used all but 10
to 15 feet of the rope on the first pitch and set up and anchor in a
good stance about 20 feet below an overhang. As Jeff reached my
belay station, he agreed that pitch one ended up being slightly harder
than it looked from below.
- Jeff climbed a nice crack to the right of the overhang above us and
then traversed left and up above the roof on some slabs to a convenient
belay station. For pitch three, I traversed just slightly more to
the left and climbed a slabby dihedral, a short vertical section back
towards the ridge, another large left facing corner to easier terrain.
I used the entire length of our 60 meter rope on this pitch. From
here, Jeff lead a shorter pitch four up and then traversing left to a
large grassy ledge below the vertical prow of the north buttress.
Pitch five was a long and sustained vertical section that I stretched
the rope on once again. This was a very fun and exciting pitch
that seemed to go on forever. I started on a small face and worked
my way into a long chimney system left of the buttress that takes you to
the ridge crest. Unfortunately, the upper part of the pitch
contains some loose and dangerous rock. As Jeff came into site, he
said he didn't think he'd ever reach me.
- I felt like the ridge from the top of the climb to the summit
remained class 4 in many areas and we stayed roped up for a couple of
scrambling pitches. Pagoda Mountain was a new peak for the both of
us and upon reaching the summit, we enjoyed some salmon on tortillas
while taking in the views of the surrounding area. Neither Jeff or
I had ate or drank much during the morning, so lunch was very rewarding.
The walk-off down Pagoda's east ridge was fun. However, the
descent from the saddle between Pagoda and Longs to the basin below was
loose, rotten, and annoying. After getting back to our bivy, we
had some more hors d'oeuvres and then enjoyed some mashed potatoes and
ramen noodles. Jeff knew the camp booties belonged to me for the
evening since I lead the hardest pitch of the day. We finished off the Knob Creek and turned in for
the evening.
- Maps:
-
Click here
to view a
map of the area where this hike is located.
- Photographs:
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www.
just
hiking
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