2023 SLOGS
Prusik Peak
9/23/2023
On a cold September evening, Kirk and I made our way to the Enchantments zone near Leavenworth. We aimed to squeeze in a final alpine rock adventure on Prusik Peak before fall and winter took over the PNW. We arrived late and barely slept before our alarms went off at a disturbingly early hour. Though only a few pitches were on the docket during the journey, the approach would be unfortunately long (classic Cascades), and there was potential for afternoon precipitation.
Shoving off at 2:45am, we wandered through the dark laden with our gear and rope. We ascended above the quintessential Colchuck lake and half way up Asgard Pass before the sky finally began to show some light. 8.5 miles and nearly 6k’ later, Prusik was finally in front of us. A better climber than me, Kirk was hoping to give the “Becky-Davis” route a go. Though still moderate, this route is longer, more sustained, and more committing than the popular West Ridge. Alas, strong winds and looming clouds convinced us to take the easier route.
We donned our climbing equipment and I slugged down an 8oz sugar free Red Bull. Only seconds after I tightened my harness, I felt a poop starting to build, but I didn’t speak up and we began our climb. A short scramble brought us up to our first pitch, and we were bummed to find two parties ahead of us on this cold, gray day. We huddled behind a rock trying to avoid the wind as we waited- not for the last time, either. Eventually Kirk led off first, and we efficiently tackled each of the four casual pitches. At each anchor we had to wait for the slower groups ahead, forcing me to think about my growing intestinal urges as we sheltered from angry gusts. Kirk, solution-oriented as ever, informed me of a high alpine turd disposal method involving squishing your product between two flat rocks and frisbee tossing the sandwich into thin air, but I opted to hold it. Despite my cramping tummy, the last two pitches were most fun. We romped across the classic knife edge, and then squished ourselves through an offwidth to gain the summit.
After a quick celebration, we began our rappel journey off the north face. My body could tell a bathroom break was imminent, and I pleaded with myself to hold on just a little bit longer. When we hit solid ground, I departed, did my business, and returned a lighter, happier man. In a few more minutes we trekked back to our stashed packs where Kirk brewed us some nice warm tea. Reluctantly, as a light snow began to fall, we slung our heavy packs back on and began the return slog. The precipitation added ambiance to the classic PNW environment, and unfortunately slicked up our route down Asgard pass where it was warm enough to rain instead. 16 hours after our departure that morning, we finally made it back to the car, and then down to Leavenworth for some juicy pseudo-Bavarian würst and ales.
Liberty Bell and Concord Tower
8/2/2023
Liberty Bell and Concord Tower 8/2/2023
I had just finished a summer season working a youth backpacking and climbing camp in Seattle. A friend from the camp, Chetco, had half a rack and time to spare, so we headed to Blue Lake trailhead to sleep the night before our climb. I had nerves about the climbs despite easy descriptions, as I hadn’t led too much trad, yet felt like the default rope gun on the trip if we came to any tricky bits.
We woke up early and marched up the tight gully leading to the Liberty Bell’s Becky Route. Luckily there were not too many other groups up yet, as the gully was a rock fall gauntlet. A light scramble led us to pitch 1 where we ditched our bags carefully, wary of the crafty goats in the area eager to lick pee and rifle through human items. Pitch 1 was a dirty 5.5 that spoke to Chetco, so he led on up. I took pitch 2, which involved a single, exciting, airy 5.7 move right off the bat, and then chilled out into fun, classic blocky climbing. Chetco took the next pitch and got a little turned around. Luckily a guide caught up to us on route and shouted some beta to my partner. The pitch involved a fun, intimidating looking slab romp around a corner that was not so bad and protected well. A final scramble brought us nearly to the summit, but a stubborn 12 foot boulder problem guarded the very top. I finagled my way through it with two committing steps up the slab, Chetco followed, and we enjoyed a sunny, calm summit snack. Finally, we downclimbed the boulder problem (slung our rope around a large rock on top, lowered ourselves, then whipped the rope up and over the rock back down to us) and found the rappel line.
As we climbed and descended the Liberty Bell, the north face of Concord Tower was smiling at us from across the gully. Back at the notch between the spires, we decided we had plenty of time left in the day to give ol’ Concord a whirl. I had the pleasure of leading all three pitches- each in the 5.6/7 range– perfectly in my comfort zone. I got slightly nervous and pumped on pitch two and climbed extra fast at the cost of sparse protection, but with the easy grade, everything ended up ok. After enjoying the pointy summit, we found the rap line and headed down. The final rappel was a bit hard to find, and im still not sure we went down the most popular way. Our anchor was on a single tree barely thicker than my arm (but there were plenty of slings and webbing…). Luckily, the roots held and we made it down safe. We left our helmets on as we collected our bags and descended the gully. Others above us continued to knock stones down our way, and we were thankful when our overhead was finally clear. Chetco spent the day in an outfit that would be most appropriate for an elderly spirit charged with the protection of a swamp or bog. He had a mystical wolf shirt, mustache, reflective sunnies, fanny pack, and most notably carried around his water bottle with a homemade handle giving it the look of an ancient lantern. It is always important to send in style.