Colchuck Peak, NEBC

Grace and I headed up to Colchuck lake on Friday with vague intentions to climb Tripple Couloirs; or something. Whatever looked good and we decided we were up for. When we got there we found a veritable army encamped at the foot of Dragontail, all intent on TCs. Valerie and her partner Keelan showed up shortly thereafter, making up part of a stream of additional climbers, all headed for the same route. I don't object to a little spontaneous camaraderie in the mountains, but part of what I go up there to find is savage solitude. The feeling of an environment so hostile that any human presence is fleeting and perilous. More than that, so many people on one route seemed potentially dangerous.

We decided to give the NE Buttress Couloir a shot instead. This route is something of an enigma. Seldom done, with little said about it in Beckey. It's always been on my list, partly out of a sense of vengeance. It almost killed me once. I've learned a lot since then. I wanted to see how it would feel now, and what it was like in a more reasonable season. We resolved to start early.

We started late: 06:45. Snow conditions near the lake were miserable. We endured a demoralizing slog across the lake and up the moraine though breakable shin-deep crust, at which point things improved radically. Above that point we enjoyed perfect toe-kicking styrofoam to the entrance of the couloir. There was no bergschrund. Only a steepening debris fan that welcomed us in. With two ice tools the lower 2/3 was straightforward 50 degree snow with only one narrow steeper section. Conditions were excellent, and we rapidly cramponed up to within ~500 vertical feet of the top. Here the main couloir splits to the left and right: 60-70 degree snow flutings or knarly mixed climbing, respectively. Both capped with gigantic 20' cornices. Pick your poison. I climbed through some steeper, softer snow to establish our first belay and lowered a rope to Grace. We opted for the left hand variation, sticking to the right-hand rock walls for shelter form possible ice-fall.

p1 consisted of 60-70 degree softish snow (not as good as below) with one #2 camalot and a dead-maned picket for pro. Ends in a thank-god moat/cave big enough for a bivy with good cracks for anchors. 70 m (short section of simul-climbing).

p2 from the cave we climbed a steep narrow mixed corner for several meters (good protection). More steep snow led to a good rock belay just below the cornice cap. Not as well sheltered from objective hazard as could be wished. 55 m

p2.1 I attempted to tunnel through the cornice. 50 degree slopes lead up and under it's overhanging curl. I  chose the left hand side where the cornice appeared thinnest, and well away from Grace at the belay. A dead-maned picket just below provided security while I dug. I quickly encountered bulletproof (or perhaps shovel-proof!) snow-ice. After an hour's fruitless work I decided to call it quits. Pulled the picket. Down-climbed. 0 m

p3 Traversing below and left of the belay I found a traverse across a sharp snow-arete into a narrow subsidiary gully. (50-60 degree slopes with mostly good snow.) Sunlight breaking though the cornice-cap  above suggested an exit passage! The gully steepened and narrowed into a mixed chimney (low 5th?) culminating in a vertical slot between the cornice wall and a blank rock slab. Progress up the last 20-30 feet was made by chimneying between the two with solid, though psychologically difficult, steps kicked into the vertical /overhanging cornice wall. Good pro from stoppers, small angles, and knifeblades. 100 m.

Sunshine and a light to moderate wind greeted us above the cornice. From there it was in easy amble to the summit perhaps 150' higher and 1/4 mile distant. We celebrated our victory. Snapped a few photos. Packed up. Glissaded all the way back to colchuck lake. 12 hour day, camp-camp. Those last three pitches really ate time.

This was some of the best climbing I've done in the cascades. Fun 50 degree snow soloing followed by three full-value pitches of real climbing. Difficult, but never truly desperate. Good protection where it was wanted most. I can't say enough good things about having a solid selection of pins. The only piece of gear I didn't use on this climb was an ice screw. A five-star route in the conditions we encountered.

Only two things we should have done differently: got an earlier start, and explored more thoroughly before attempting the cornice tunnel.

All in all, an awesome trip! Although I led everything, Grace endured some long cold belay sessions while I was excavating pro, shaking out frozen hands, or psyching myself up for a committing move. Not to mention hammering out all the pins I placed. I'm incredibly fortunate to have married such a mentally and physically strong woman!

Gear: pickets (2), camalots from #0.5-#2, assorted knifeblade and angle pitons (6), stoppers (~10), tricams (3), ice screws (3), half-ropes.