Liberty Bell - Barber Pole Route, Concord Tower, and Goat Wall - Prime Rib (of Goat)

Michelle and I took another foray into the mountains again last weekend. After climbing the North Face of Baring a couple weeks ago and badly cutting my finger with a knife, I hadn't been out much and figured some moderate climbing would do us both some good. We joined our good friends Chad and Deb from Seattle and met at Washington Pass. Our first objective was a cool looking route on Liberty Bell - the Barber Pole. It roughly follows the line below up the the mountains northeast face.



We had a leisurely start and bushwacked to the base, then climbed several hundred feet of exposed scrambling up what is called "The Bong" to get to real climbing.

Michelle on The Bong




The first part of a route was a very cool ramp system that led up and left, quickly gaining much exposure over the east face. We led out and Chad and Deb came up behind.

Michelle and Chad on the ramp


We simul-climbed several pitches until we came around a corner and onto "M and M ledge". I had slept on this small slopey sandy ledge in the rain nearly 10 years ago while climbing Thin Red Line - a route that comes directly up the east face. It looked much different now. Above we cruised up very nice granite for several pitches.

Michelle following, Chad leading behind


Nearing the top


We topped out in the early afternoon on a perfect Cascade day.

Summit shot and views






The route overall was very classic and highly recommended. There wasn't a bad pitch and it offered good and varied climbing, exposure, and a cool natural line. After rapping off the other side of the mountain, we decided to make a quick jaunt up Concord Tower which is directly across from Liberty Bell. An easy but fun 2 pitches lead to the small summit.

Michelle climbing up the final bit


On the summit


Our friends Tom and Katie were climbing the Beckey Route on Liberty Bell at the same time


After a fun night of barbecued salmon and lots of wine, we got an even later start for Goat Wall. This is an awesome wall located near the town of Mazama. I had climbed Sisyphus and Restless Native up the main wall last year so wanted to try out another route. Prime Rib climbs an arete on the left side of the wall and is a moderate semi-alpine sport climb of 11 pitches (5.9). Michelle and Deb both led the entire route for us guys. Great job girls!

Prime Rib (of Goat) very roughly follows this line


Here's a picture of the main wall, with Restless Native and the upper part of Sisyphus


The route is pretty straight forward - very well bolted, with fun clean rock.

Michelle leading the 2nd pitch


Deb leading the 2nd pitch


It was a pretty hot day but the wind kept it cool.

Michelle somewhere around the pitch 5.


Deb belaying


More bolts...


The route had tons of ledges and a several scrambling sections but it often had some good exposure

Deb leading a pitch


Michelle leading the 8th pitch


Michelle leading the final 5.9 crux


Silverstar and the wine spires from the top of the route


We made about 12 rappels down to the base. On the hike out, this little guy greeted us on the trail



All in all a great weekend!

P.S. Michelle said there were not enough pictures of me, so here I am (the one taking the picture)...

North Ingalls Peak - South Ridge

We've both been out climbing a lot, but this was our first trip out into the Cascades together this year. We were looking for a leisurely day and neither of us had climbed Ingalls Peak - a peak that is just in our back yard. We left Leavenworth in the morning, drove to the trailhead, and hiked easily to the base. A little snow cover made getting to the base of the route enjoyable.

Michelle on the approach. The north peak of Ingalls is the spiny peak right over her head.


The route takes the left skyline.


Michelle led the entire climb, which we did in two pitches of low 5th class climbing plus a bit of scrambling.

Michelle leading the first pitch.


Michelle leading the super-steep 2nd pitch. (It's not really that steep)


We cruised past another party of 4 and quickly made the summit.


Summit views.




Mt. Stuart.


We made 3 rappels with one rope and some downclimbing to get back to the base. Then we made the nice sunny hike out.

UTAH DESERT TOWER TOUR

Michelle and I just returned from a two week trip climbing desert towers around Moab, Utah. Overall we had a great trip, climbing 11 routes on 10 towers (actually 9 towers and 1 mesa).

Our first stop was Arches National Park. We decided to warm up on Off Balanced Rock, North Chimney (5.7). The 100-foot runout on the second pitch was a little unnerving but luckily the chimney was fairly secure.

Here's a shot of me taking a picture of Michelle coming up the chimney:

On top of Off Balanced Rock:

Next stop was the obligatory Owl Rock, Olevsky Route (5.9), definitely a must do tower for anyone visiting Arches.



Michelle rapping off:



That evening we hiked out to Delicate Arch for the sunset:



Next it was time for the Fisher Towers:



It rained a little the night we got there, so climbing Ancient Art the next day was out, as climbing dry mud is bad enough. Instead we did the really cool hike through the towers and out to a viewpoint.



Later that evening it seemed to dry out enough to give Lizard Rock, Entry Fee (5.9) a go.

Leading up:



Michelle on top:




The next day we headed up to do Ancient Art, The Corkscrew Route (III 5.10d)

The route climbs up the central chimney then up the highest point on the left.



Following the first bolted crux:



Michelle walking the "sidewalk" toward the summit:



The summit has to be one of the top five coolest spots in the world that I have been.

It is literally only 2 feet by 2 feet and drops down several hundred feet in every direction. (Oh and did I mention it's practically made of mud?) Michelle stood up there too with a little coercing:

We came back down and I decided to give a go at The Cobra (5.11R). I mean, how much longer is this thing going to be there? I had to get it while I still could.



Chalking up under the lip:




One more day in the Fisher Towers and we wanted a little bit more, so we climbed the Kingfisher, Colorado Northeast Ridge (IV 5.8 C2).

Kingfisher, the route ascends the left side of the tower:



This was actually Michelle's favorite route of the whole trip! Not because the climbing was that great - mostly a bolt ladder with a few very C2 mud placements and some good free-mudding. But the overall line, exposure, and summit were fantastic.

Looking straight down the Northeast Ridge:



Summit views - The Titan, Echo Tower, and Cottontail Tower:



We had to have at least one rest day, so we drove up to Canyonlands National Park and poked around:




Next stop was Castle Valley. We of course had to do the obligatory route on Castleton Tower- the Kor-Ingalls (III, 5.9).

Castleton Tower:



The route follows the central dihedral:



The line is good, but the climbing leaves a bit to be desired. The crux offwidth is only cruxy because they tell you to bring so much god-damned gear up the route and you have to squeeze up the thing with all this crap. In reality you only need a number three Camalot and 4 quickdraws to lead the crux pitch. Anyways, cool summit.

Michelle coming up the crux OW/Chimney:



The Rectory came with many recommendations, and although it is a mesa and not a tower, it still has a tower feel and is a really cool desert formation.

The Rectory is the Mesa in the foreground, the route climbs directly up the facing wall:



We climbed Fine Jade on the Rectory (III, 5.11a). The first two pitches are the crux and are both interesting and sustained. The warm up pitch is a steep but short 5.10d hand-OW-hand crux.

Michelle following the first pitch:



We hiked across the Rectory to watch some climbers on the Honeymoon Chimney of The Priest.





Climbers on Fine Jade, The Rectory:



Later that afternoon we decided to climb the North Chimney of Castleton Tower (III, 5.9), as many people consider it the better of the two moderate routes. The first pitch was ultimately classic. Two parallel cracks, mostly hand jamming, and interesting moves for an entire 150 feet. The second pitch, however, was mostly junk and I linked all the way to the notch in exactly 200 feet.

Michelle following the first pitch:



The next mission was Sister Superior, Jah Man (III, 5.10c). Another fine desert route, with a stout but short crux on the 3rd pitch. And one of the finer chimneys in the area - the Sister Squeeze chimney on the 2nd pitch.

Sister Superior:



Up close:



Looking down the 3rd pitch:



On the summit looking toward Castleton and the Rectory:



And for the final hurrah we took the long drive out and climbed Moses, Primrose Dihedrals (IV, 5.11d).

Moses is the tallest tower:



The route is everything it's cracked up to be - short but sustained pitches, interesting climbing, and an awesome position.

Michelle coming up the 4th pitch:



Pitch 5:



Summit success: