April 25, 2004, The Tooth (5,604)
4/25/04
WA Snoqualmie Pass
2112
0
The Tooth (5,604')
Surf and Turf at Snoqualmie Pass
The Climb: 5.4 grade II, 3 pitches.
The Ski: From Pineapple Pass (5,100') to the Alpental Parking lot (3,140'): 1,960' vertical.
Belaying Ron up in the warm sun in my t-shirt two pitches up the rocky spire of the Tooth with gear scattered down the face I had just climbed, it hit me: Summer is here!
----
A beautiful clear window of weather prompted a scan of the "to do" list. Most of the trailheads were getting melted out nice and early, but not enough to roll the dice for some of the bigger peaks. Low level snow was fast disappearing so a higher route was in order, but again, easy access was still a ways off for some of the routes. What we were really after was a day of surf and turf to kick off the summer climbing season and enjoy the easy access afforded by snow on what usually is a slog. Ron and I decided to take the opportunity to tic of a classic rock climb close to home before the route melted out. We had designs on the Tooth several times before, this time, with the weather and snow conditions on our side, we would succeed.
The Approach
We left the Alpental parking lot at 6:45 am. Not obscenely early, but certainly early enough to beat the guided parties that were sure to be climbing. Conditions reported from the Pass area on Saturday pointed to grim conditions. In the shade a fine trap crust could be found, while in the sun, bottomless mush. Upon our arrival, temps were in the 30s and a fine crust had indeed firmed everything up. Super speedy skinning brought us up into the Pineapple Basin in no time flat.
Once in the bowl, we could see three customers had left their track from the col on Saturday, leaving stylish s turns down from the top. Otherwise, a few boot steps leading up to the Tooth spires was all that marred the snow. We easily skinned to within 100 yards of the notch then heaved the skis over the shoulder and followed the well defined boot pack to the top. We dropped our skis and changed attire. Heavy packs were dropped and heavy climbing gear extracted. Note to self: keep ski boots until you reach the base of The Tooth. We gambled on finding firm ground on the scramble to the base (neither of us had been beyond the notch) from the snowy notch we ascended and this proved a mistake. Cautious stepping down icy filled boot holes over cliffs kept us honest, and we were no worse the wear when we assembled at the base of the Tooth.
The Climb
Pitch 1 (5.3) From the ground, I found easy blocky climbing that hardly required gear. Then the face kicked up and I actually stemmed out a few feet above a well set cam and felt the exposure under my legs. Ah, climbing again! I banged in some more pro and cruised to the large break in the face after 100'. I decided to bring Ron up as I'd placed most of the few cams I brought and the belay shelf was quite cozy.
Pitch 2 (5.3) The next face was a short steep block with quite good climbing up a series of small steps on a vertical face. Balance was the key, difficulty was minimal and the exposure delightful. A couple of actual climbing moves were required and I was at the top of the second pitch. I decided to run it out across the class 3 third pitch and with properly placed gear I was able to make it to the rap anchors under the final face without too much drag. I had three feet of rope left when I brought Ron up.
Pitch 3 (5.4) The final pitch had several variations (heck, they all did), but we settled on the far right one, as this appeared to have the best pro. It was short, but I actually was able to use a hand jam, so the pitch"s stature rose markedly. The top, well, we now knew why it"s such a classic. The views all around were fantastic, especially the Chair Peak route we had been tossing around, and we could enjoy the views in solitude.
The Descent
As we prepared for the first of 4 rappels back to the base, a twosome was working the final pitch. Wow, they must have been moving, I thought. As I waited for Ron at the rappel station, I could see the leader had soloed the last pitch, his rope hanging loosely down to his belayer - fast indeed! After another rappel, we were deep into the heart of a group of 10 or so climbers waiting to make the fixed line ascent to the top. Never one to mince company, I nodded and smiled in the appropriate places, and scampered away back toward our packs before Ron even touched down.
After a rewarding rock climb, what more could you ask for but a 2,000' vertical foot ski descent! At the top of the notch, I changed back into my ski boots and gathered my climbing gear for the descent. As Ron and I chatted, I suddenly noticed my gear bag was gone! Wouldn't you know it, but the slippery devil had slid into a hole under my pack and down into the moat separating the snow from the rock! Oh no!
I could barely see it and an idea struck. I grabbed my whippet and used it like a fishing rod to retrieve the errant bag. Yet another use for the trusty Whippet!
The snow reports form Saturday, well, sadly, all were true. The upper section of Pineapple Basin was the best part of the descent as we could stay on top of the crust and swish around the corn, while lower down the crust became very deep and difficult to turn in. The trees lower down didn't improve the skiing much and we resorted to carving giant GS turns to keep momentum and turning at a minimum. The trail leading back to Alpental, ironically was a sight for sore eyes and we cruised easily back out to the car.
Time: 1:45 pm.
Surf and Turf at Snoqualmie Pass
The Climb: 5.4 grade II, 3 pitches.
The Ski: From Pineapple Pass (5,100') to the Alpental Parking lot (3,140'): 1,960' vertical.
Belaying Ron up in the warm sun in my t-shirt two pitches up the rocky spire of the Tooth with gear scattered down the face I had just climbed, it hit me: Summer is here!
----
A beautiful clear window of weather prompted a scan of the "to do" list. Most of the trailheads were getting melted out nice and early, but not enough to roll the dice for some of the bigger peaks. Low level snow was fast disappearing so a higher route was in order, but again, easy access was still a ways off for some of the routes. What we were really after was a day of surf and turf to kick off the summer climbing season and enjoy the easy access afforded by snow on what usually is a slog. Ron and I decided to take the opportunity to tic of a classic rock climb close to home before the route melted out. We had designs on the Tooth several times before, this time, with the weather and snow conditions on our side, we would succeed.
The Approach
We left the Alpental parking lot at 6:45 am. Not obscenely early, but certainly early enough to beat the guided parties that were sure to be climbing. Conditions reported from the Pass area on Saturday pointed to grim conditions. In the shade a fine trap crust could be found, while in the sun, bottomless mush. Upon our arrival, temps were in the 30s and a fine crust had indeed firmed everything up. Super speedy skinning brought us up into the Pineapple Basin in no time flat.
Once in the bowl, we could see three customers had left their track from the col on Saturday, leaving stylish s turns down from the top. Otherwise, a few boot steps leading up to the Tooth spires was all that marred the snow. We easily skinned to within 100 yards of the notch then heaved the skis over the shoulder and followed the well defined boot pack to the top. We dropped our skis and changed attire. Heavy packs were dropped and heavy climbing gear extracted. Note to self: keep ski boots until you reach the base of The Tooth. We gambled on finding firm ground on the scramble to the base (neither of us had been beyond the notch) from the snowy notch we ascended and this proved a mistake. Cautious stepping down icy filled boot holes over cliffs kept us honest, and we were no worse the wear when we assembled at the base of the Tooth.
The Climb
Pitch 1 (5.3) From the ground, I found easy blocky climbing that hardly required gear. Then the face kicked up and I actually stemmed out a few feet above a well set cam and felt the exposure under my legs. Ah, climbing again! I banged in some more pro and cruised to the large break in the face after 100'. I decided to bring Ron up as I'd placed most of the few cams I brought and the belay shelf was quite cozy.
Pitch 2 (5.3) The next face was a short steep block with quite good climbing up a series of small steps on a vertical face. Balance was the key, difficulty was minimal and the exposure delightful. A couple of actual climbing moves were required and I was at the top of the second pitch. I decided to run it out across the class 3 third pitch and with properly placed gear I was able to make it to the rap anchors under the final face without too much drag. I had three feet of rope left when I brought Ron up.
Pitch 3 (5.4) The final pitch had several variations (heck, they all did), but we settled on the far right one, as this appeared to have the best pro. It was short, but I actually was able to use a hand jam, so the pitch"s stature rose markedly. The top, well, we now knew why it"s such a classic. The views all around were fantastic, especially the Chair Peak route we had been tossing around, and we could enjoy the views in solitude.
The Descent
As we prepared for the first of 4 rappels back to the base, a twosome was working the final pitch. Wow, they must have been moving, I thought. As I waited for Ron at the rappel station, I could see the leader had soloed the last pitch, his rope hanging loosely down to his belayer - fast indeed! After another rappel, we were deep into the heart of a group of 10 or so climbers waiting to make the fixed line ascent to the top. Never one to mince company, I nodded and smiled in the appropriate places, and scampered away back toward our packs before Ron even touched down.
After a rewarding rock climb, what more could you ask for but a 2,000' vertical foot ski descent! At the top of the notch, I changed back into my ski boots and gathered my climbing gear for the descent. As Ron and I chatted, I suddenly noticed my gear bag was gone! Wouldn't you know it, but the slippery devil had slid into a hole under my pack and down into the moat separating the snow from the rock! Oh no!
I could barely see it and an idea struck. I grabbed my whippet and used it like a fishing rod to retrieve the errant bag. Yet another use for the trusty Whippet!
The snow reports form Saturday, well, sadly, all were true. The upper section of Pineapple Basin was the best part of the descent as we could stay on top of the crust and swish around the corn, while lower down the crust became very deep and difficult to turn in. The trees lower down didn't improve the skiing much and we resorted to carving giant GS turns to keep momentum and turning at a minimum. The trail leading back to Alpental, ironically was a sight for sore eyes and we cruised easily back out to the car.
Time: 1:45 pm.
Reply to this TR
Please login first: