As noted on the climbing topo, almost all of the 15 pitches are 180 to 200 feet in length. This means you must have a 60 meter rope. It also means that although the climbing only ascends about 2,000 feet elevation, that's actually 2,700 feet of climbing, route-finding, etc. (due to fairly low angle of many of the pitches).
Rack of cams to 3 inches. Double up on the small sizes, including some #00 Metolius or Aliens. Nice to have triples in ½-inch size (#2 Metolius). One each in larger cams. Some small to medium stoppers, plus many long runners.
In late summer or fall, the last reliable water source is Pywiack Falls. In a non-drought year, one may also find water pools near the large pine tree on the approach slabs, as shown in the West Face photo. Various small seeps and pools exist on the climb up to pitch 8, after which the route is dry. Most of these would require ingenious contraptions of plastic and duct tape to collect any water. On the walk-off trail, the first water is the stream crossing about 2.5 miles north of Cloud's Rest summit. Water filtering is recommended.
This route may become an overnight affair for some folks. Since the authors have already sampled many of the bivy spots, here's a list of the best.
It is likely this route is quite wet in Spring and subject to avalanches or rockfall from the nearly 10,000-foot ridge above. Summer may be hot, with the sun coming onto the West Face around Noon. Late Summer and early Fall are recommended, after considering the likelihood of thunderstorms. With the miles of approach slabs, rappeling the route and re-crossing the wet slabs could be lethal (not to mention the amount of water that could be roaring off the 1 mile by 2 mile face!).
A route in this area had been climbed as early as the 60's, and even free solo ascents have occurred in more recent years. The west face is more than a mile wide and many, many routes are possible. We found possible evidence of previous passage on the 12th pitch, where hand jams seemed to have been cleaned of moss. We established our line in September, 2003.
Back to My Favorite Things Index
Copyright 2003, 2004 Hannah North, Tom Harper, Tom Malzbender