The Enchantments: 7/20-24 2016

Prusik peak above Gnome Tarn

The day before the trip I am unable to walk a mile. Shooting pain from a troublesome bulging disk; I haven't been completely pain free in five months, not since building a closet for our Au'Pair in February. But this is way worse. So I load up my pack and try walking that around. Oddly, this feels better.

The next morning I meet Brian, Michelle, Peter, Ethan, Adam, and Olivia at the Heidelberger, and we begin the long walk up and over Asgaard Pass, into the enchantments. It's a beautiful warm day, with just enough cloud cover to keep us from cooking on the way up the pass. As long as I keep moving, the pain stays away.

The goats greet us on the way up the pass; the Nannys shepherd the kids away. The billies stare belligerently. We camp on a rocky outcrop just below the Snow Creek Glaciers and become accustomed to these surly 300 lb beasts roaming around and through our camp.

Nanny and Kid, sunset.

Ethan about to begin the classic knife-edge section.

We move out the next morning at some none-to-early hour, moving camp to a lovely new site on the knoll that separates inspiration and perfection lakes. Then it's off toward Prusik Peak. The ultra-classic West Ridge (5.7) seems like just the warm-up climb we all need before attempting anything more difficult. We split into two teams of three (Peter is here to hike, not climb), and ascend toward the objective ridge. Being as I'm the only one who's been here before I wind up leading the party toward the notch where the climb starts, and make some bad choices. It's been 9 years since I was here last, and I haven't read any route descriptions on this climb since then! It's definitely better to go straight up and over the rocky knoll(s) between Prusik Pass and the objective ridge than to contour around on the north side, especially when said slope is still covered in hard late-summer snow.

The route is just as much fun as I remembered. Good rock, good cracks, never very hard, always spectacular. But by the time I am leading the last pitch a bank of thunder clouds is rumbling onto the plateau, enveloping Dragontail and Little Annapurna. Ethan, Adam, and I do not linger, and Brian Michelle and Oliva choose to bail down the north face, wisely forgoing the last pitch and the summit.

Adam and Ethan scurry across the summit of Prusik Peak
ahead of the approaching storm.

If you rap straight down (60m) from the northeast corner of the summit block you wind up on the same big ledge system you're on when you start the last pitch. From here, you have two choices. You can keep going straight down a gully system (our route) which gets you to 2nd class terrain in one more 60 m pitch, or you can traverse back west along the ledge system to another station near it's west end. This latter route (which Brian, Michelle, and Olivia chose) lands you on a sneaky little ledge system that leads right back to the notch at the start of the route, which is awesome, but the terrain you have to rappel over (2-3 30 m pitches) is decidedly rope hungry. We learn this the hard way a few days later. 

The next day it's grey, foggy, and spitting rain. We lounge in camp, watch "goat TV". Ethan discovers that he can pose the goats at will by anointing whatever rock seems most scenic. The goats rush over and battle it out to slurp up the urine. Eventually we all give up on climbing and head out for a hike down snow creek; naturally the weather clears shortly after we leave camp. Brian and Michelle decide to go back and  complete the West Ridge of Prusik, while the rest of us settle for a nice day of rambling and scrambling.

Adam boulders the south face of Prusik. The best start for
the Beckey and Stanley-Bergner routes is two cracks
to the right.

After a lovely lunch at Lake Vivienne we head off-trail to scramble up beneath the south face of Prusik, and from there up to a notch on Temple Ridge. On the way down we walk right under the south face on our way to Gnome Tarn. Going in, I had no real intention of climbing this face, but looking at it close up... it's just too beautiful not to. Perfect rock, splitter cracks, if only there was a route that didn't involve 5.9+ squeeze chimneys...

Back at camp Ethan and I study route descriptions. Huh. Aside from the first pitch, the Beckey route (5.9, supposedly) seems to be off-width-free, and there's a foot note that you can avoid the initial chimney in a 5.8 jam crack! We make plans with Michelle for the three of us to tackle it the next day.

But all through the night my back is killing me. I can't sleep for the pain. It's worse than ever, and in the morning I'm super depressed, thinking we'll have to call off the climb. Then I spend half an hour around dawn contorting myself into all kinds of odd positions photographing goats. Something cracks in there, and I feel better. I keep feeling better! We head up to the base of the route.

The Beckey route goes like this for us: We start up kind of late, but hey the rock has to warm up first, right? I lead everything on the face, make a few wrong turns. We sweat like crazy, run out of water, and wonder if we're in over our heads. But we have so much fun! 

Michelle, completing our 3rd pitch

One splitter pitch left!

I have an amusing episode leading seventh pitch where my right forearm cramps, involuntarily folding my middle finger down to my palm. I have to pry my hand open on the rock to make the next jam. I laugh and keep going. At the notch on the summit ridge Michelle takes the lead and flashes the splitter summit pitch. Ethan and I grovel in her wake, yarding on gear like gorillas with muscular dystrophy. We rap down in the dark, and get the rope stuck on the last pull, having taken the western option. Brian, and Adam see our headlamps coming down and rush up from camp with water and food. Amazing, climb, amazing friends. Back pain cured.

Michelle and I return the next day to free the rope, and then it's time to hike out.

Prusik Peak - South Face - Beckey Route: 5.9/C1 or 10a

(1) Jam the hand and fist crack behind a flake, just left of the huge chimney/slot that is the standard start (5.8+). Move right on the the first big ledge you come to and belay just left of the big chimney. Don't keep going up and left in the tree studded slot. That's the Stanely-Bergner. (2) Climb right around the corner scampering up toward the top of the chimney. Pull past the small tree/bush at the bulge using huge chickenheads, and wander up though a sea of beautiful rock until you run out of gear or rope. Great climbing, no commanding features worth describing (5.7). (3,4) Climb more nondescript but fun, clean, rock for another two pitches (5.7) until you reach Snaffle-hound Ledge. (5) Traverse climbers right, up and down a lot, until you find a beautiful finger crack in a left facing dihedral behind a boulder and a clump of trees. (6) Climb the crack (5.8) to a small ledge. Do not follow the beautiful hand crack that goes up and right. instead, step left around a bulge and ascend flaring jam cracks to a small belay stance 5.9+ (or 5.8 C0 for me). (7) proceed up and left, in the obvious crack system until you hit the ridge crest (5.8). (8) Climb the short gorgeous hand/finger crack to the summit (10a, or C1).

PHOTOS