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Base Camp
Up
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- Statistics:
- Date Hiked: March 14, 2010
- Miles Hiked: 2.0 (Estimate)
- Elevation Gain: 1,000' (Estimate)
- Hiking Partner(s):
Jeff Shafer
- Routes: WI3
- Description:
- After a rather unsuccessful climb in the First Gully the day before,
we moved over to Second Gully. Our recon from the previous day
indicated that the Second Gully was fat, and in fact we saw a team of
climbers rapping the route as we checked it out. Unfortunately,
the weather wasn't as cooperative as Saturday but we still managed to
top out and get some fun WI3 climbing in. I lead the first pitch
and was a little shaky to start out. I hadn't been climbing in a
while, and it took me a bit to get my climbing feet underneath me.
I reached a set of bolts after a rope stretching pitch of 60% ice and
40% snow. The bolts are directly in the middle of the flow and
would generally get covered if climbers weren't regularly on the route
keeping them visible.
- Jeff lead the second rolling pitch which I thought was more like 85%
ice and 15% snow. This was another fun, full, rope stretching
pitch. Jeff anchored to an existing V-thread and two ice screws.
Just after starting up the third pitch, I noticed the second set of
bolts at the top of pitch two. This set of chains was placed well,
high on the side of the route where ice doesn't form. However,
they are too far from the first set of bolts to be used as an anchor
unless you simul-climb some or have a 70m rope. Anyway, I lead the
third pitch which was fatter than my previous trip up this route.
I chose a slightly harder line which definitely kept me on my toes.
I placed a screw at the top of the ice and then snow-climbed to a small
shrub which I used to bring Jeff up on. I probably should have
shortened the pitch and built and ice screw anchor at the top of the ice
instead of trying to stretch the rope out again.
- After trying to hide the anchor I used from Jeff, I broke trail up a
snow pitch to the final ice pitch. After getting a couple screws
in, Jeff finished the climb to the top of the Second Gully on a final
stepped pitch of ice. We rapped off a shrub at the top of the
route that had chord. We down-climbed some snow and then rapped of
the shrub I used on the way up leaving a piece of our V-thread chord.
From here, we used the upper set of bolts to rap just above the first
set of bolts and then used the lower set to get us to the bottom.
- Maps:
- Photographs:
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