First Ascents in the Cashmere Crags
First Ascents in the Cashmere Crags R alph
S.
W idrig
G O OD g ran ite is probably the best of rocks to clim b on. T h e State of W ash in g to n is blessed w ith several g ran itic batholiths, of w h ich one of the finest, from a rock clim b er’s point of view , is to be found near L eavenw o rth , in the v icin ity of Icicle C reek and its trib utaries. In the center of this g ra n itic region rises a m en acin g collection of isolated spires and tow ers called the C ashm ere C rags. T h e g ran ite ran ge extends so uth w ard past In galls C reek and is fin ally clim axed by 9500-foot M o un t Stu art. T h e best approach to the clim b in g area is up the Icicle C reek road from L eavenw o rth , about tw o m iles. F ro m there, an excellent horse tra il leads five m iles up Sn o w C reek to N ad a L ak e. T h en one follow s up N ad a C reek, w h ich can be seen flow ing dow n over a series of cliffs and rockslides to the w est (no tr a il). It is best to keep just to the rig h t of the creek. O ne em erges in a large basin, w ith the crags b egin n in g to appear to the south. Proceed to the head of this sh allo w basin, and there you are—v irtu ally surrounded by ta ll, th reaten in g spires th at streak sk yw ard lik e D antesque flam es. O ne reflects that it m ig h t have been w ell to b rin g along more pitons, not to m ention contraction bolts … T hese w ere the th o ugh ts w h ich d rifted th ro ugh the m inds of Fred B eckey, Pete Sch o en in g, A rt H olben and the w riter as they be held the sigh t early one m o rn in g in the sp rin g of 1948. W e realized th at 99% of these aw fu l th ings had not been clim bed. A n d our in tended objectives for the trip w ere not yet even in v iew ! W e had p lan n ed to start at the w estern lim it of the spires and w o rk east, c lim b in g as m an y of them as w ould “g o .” W e therefore traversed w estw ard alo n g the low er northern slopes un til w e reached a broad col, “P russik Pass,” the w estern lim it of the crags. O ur attention now focused on the first of a series of three very strik in g towers. It seem ed to have only one route w orthy of consideration. T h is w o uld involve about 200 feet of n early vertical clim b in g, but w o uld end 30 feet below the su m m it horn. It w as decided that B eckey an d H olben w o uld w o rry about
m a k in g this route, w h ile Sch o en in g and I w o uld exam ine the next spire for a possible route. T h is next p eak w as sim ply a four-sided shaft, perched on an exposed, kn ife-lik e rid ge. It w as perhaps 60 feet ta ll and b eau tifu lly sym m etrical, resem b lin g a steep truncated p yram id . T h e sym m etry w as so strik in g that w e decided to call this “T h e M o n um en t.” A g a in there appeared to be only one pos sible route of attack. T h is, we could p lain ly see, w o uld involve 60 feet of direct-aid w o rk. On a p latform w h ich w as to be the base of operations, we assem bled our g ear—pitons of every description, ham m ers, ¼ -inch m an ila slin gs, contraction bolts (w h ich w ere not u sed ), karab in ers, tw o nylon c lim b in g ropes and, of course, tennis shoes. W e based our hope of attain in g the top on a vertical crack ru n n in g from the platfo rm to a very n arro w ledge w h ich extended around the peak about h alf-w ay up. T h ere the crack ended, but a cannonhole be h in d a larg e slab balanced on this ledge gave us hope of traversin g from that point to the opposite side of the spire. W e w o uld then try to pass a lin e over the rem ain in g pitch. I q u ic k ly stocked up w ith h ard w are and, w ith Pete b elayin g, drove the first piton. T h e crack w as too w id e for o rd in ary iro n ; an gle pitons h ad to be used. F o rtu n ately, w e had a fair supply of them . I tied a slin g into the rin g of the piton and, usin g it for a foothold w h ile at the sam e tim e ta k in g tension from Sch o en in g’s b elay, drove in the next piton as h igh as I could reach. C o n tin u in g in this fashion u n til four pitons had been used, I attain ed a position about ten feet below the ledge, on the sm ooth w all. I then retreated, and Pete w ent up to continue w h ile I belayed. T w o m ore directaid pitons enabled him to reach the ledge. I heard him say som e th in g about “a iry atm osphere” and w ondered how he m an aged to stick to the n arro w off set. A s I later found out, this ledge w as about six inches w id e! A s Pete began to traverse to the opposite side, I becam e m en tally prepared to give a d yn am ic belay in case he should slip. H is balance w as good, how ever, and soon the “tension” w as over w hen he anchored h im self on a relativ ely spacious platform , probably at least a foot and a h alf w id e! I next assem bled a lig h t cod lin e, w eigh ted at one end by several pitons. Piton w eigh ts had to be used, as no loose rock seems to exist in the area. A fter carefully co ilin g the lin e so that it w o uld
pay out (a n d also pay o ff), I gave the w eig h t a m ig h ty thrust. L u ck w as w ith u s: it soared inches above the top an d dow n the other side into P ete’s lap. I then tied the spare clim b in g rope to m y end of the line, and Pete p ulled it over the top. T h en , w ith Pete b elayin g his end of it, I ascended the w all usin g slin gs and P russik knot. H av in g gain ed the top, I anchored the rope w h ile Pete clim bed. F ive hours after w e started from the platform , w e w ere both perched on the m eager sum m it. W e could now see B eckey and H o lben back on the first peak. A s w e learned later, they had also used a lot of direct-aid pitons to negotiate the low er 180 feet, an d now they w ere d eb ating the best m ethod (if a n y ) of scalin g the final horn. A fter reach in g a decision, A rt m ade a lasso from a 100-foot len gth of ⅜-inch nylo n rope. W ith this he v ain ly attem pted, from a very precarious perch, to lasso the horn. On the fourth try he succeeded, an d jo yfu l shouts could be heard echoing off the near-by spires. Beckey then clim bed up this rope w ith slin gs and P russik knot, en co un terin g extrem e difficulty at the jun ctio n of the loop and the horn. B ut u ltim ately both clim bers reached the top and b u ilt a large, tall cairn . T h ey dubbed it “P russik P e a k ,” in recognition of their extensive use of the P russik knot. A short tim e later w e held a rendezvous at the base of the th ird spire. T h e lateness of the hour put any attem pt on it out of the q u estio n ; but after lo o king it over w e concluded that here ag ain one, and only one, route w as even th in kab le. T h is peak looks very im pressive from a distance. Its square appearance inspired the nam e “B oxtop.” U n u su ally clear w eath er allow ed us a good view of other near-by peaks. T o the south, the larg e b ristlin g m assif of M cC lellan P eak stood clearly o utlined. A p arty reached its highest point in 1946.1 E astw ard , just past the Boxtop, projected a fo rm id able spire, the W est P eak of M ount T em p le, nam ed and clim bed by a p arty in c lu d in g B eckey on a previous trip .2 T o the north, perhaps three m iles distan t, loom ed a very large, thick, th um b -like shaft. B eckey turned to m e and said, “Oh look, there's T h e M ole.” T h e 1 Keith Rankin, “ N ew Climbs in the Cascades,” Mountaineer, X X X IX (Dec. 1956), 28. 2 Gum m ie Johnson, “ N ow Conquered,” Mountaineer, X X X IX ( 1 5 Dec. 1 947), 5 1 . See also A.A.J ., VII (April 1 948), 1 02.
shaft w as thereupon nam ed, and we im m ed iately m ade plans for its conquest on the next trip. On M em o rial D ay w eek end, one w eek later, B eckey, W es G rande an d I m ade our w ay up R at C reek hoping to m ake an attem pt on this new peak. R at C reek d rain s the northern slopes of the crags and flows into the Icicle R iver several m iles above Sn o w C reek. W e had decided on this approach because it seemed the most direct route to the base of the M ole. By noon w e w ere w ell up tow ard the head of the creek, and several new peaks w ere b egin n in g to show them selves. T h e M ole loom ed up lik e an im m ense m onolith, its dom e-like top ap p earin g to be qu ite inaccessible. C onsiderable am ounts of snow still cov ered the are a; the effects of an exceptionally severe w in ter w ere still very apparent. T h e ap p allin g , near-vertical flanks of the M ole, how ever, w ere virtu ally d ry ; and c lim b in g conditions appeared to be at their best. T h at afternoon, from our cam p near its base, w e studied a route w h ich once ag ain w as the o nly one that seemed to exist. W ith the aid of a telescope, we concluded that the first 500 feet w o uld be the toughest. If they could be negotiated, the rem ain in g 300 feet, we decided, w o uld surely prove easier. A t d aw n the next m o rn in g, the sky w as clear, and a brisk north w in d assured us th at it w o uld rem ain so. A fter a q u ick breakfast we packed our rucksacks w ith rope, pitons, karab in ers, etc., and started out in h ig h spirits. W e ascended a series of steep snow fields an d then a couloir w h ich brought us out at the junction of the M o le’s rock flanks and its low er snow fields. H ere w e set about ch an gin g to tennis shoes w h ile the b ark in g of coyotes echoed w eird ly from the basin below . F red led the first three rope lengths, u sin g a couple of pitons for safety. T h en , after a brief debate as to the route, G rande clim bed a h ig h -an g le 100-foot g u lly an d be layed m e to his stance on a sm all p latfo rm . H ere the route w as com pletely blocked by a larg e flake, split off about six inches from the m ain face. T h e only apparent solution w as to go rig h t over the top of the flake by usin g tw o direct-aid pitons in a crack on the adjacen t w all. T h is G rande did, and from the top w as able to stem dow n the other side. F red and I then cam e up q u ic k ly , and W es proceeded along
an exposed ledge to a short, steep g u lly w h ich w as filled w ith ice. T h is he slow ly ascended, belayed from below , by chopping steps w ith a piton h am m er. H e then anchored h im self and belayed m e up. H ere the route w as ag ain blocked by an enorm ous flake, but a n arro w tu n n el seem ed to lead in behind it. I gave W es a shoulder stand, an d he started to craw l th ro ugh the cannonhole. W h en he w as about h alf-w ay th ro ugh , he yelled back that he could see d a y lig h t th ro ugh another o p en in g straigh t above and th at he w o uld try to stem out th ro ugh it. T h is he did, and im m ed iately reported th at the w ay looked clear to the sum m it. W e scram bled up the rem ain in g 300 feet of exposed but w ell-broken face. T o our astonishm ent w e found several larg e pools of clear, cold w ater on top of the fin al block—evidently solution holes in the g ran ite. A fter q u en ch in g our thirst w e go t out lunches and prepared a g o rm a n d iz er’s potlatch to celebrate our good fortune. A large cairn w as then constructed from loose boulders, and a register bottle left inside. A s our eyes w an d ered across the ro llin g snow fields to the south, w e could not help but be im pressed by the appearance of the peaks at the east end of the crags. W e decided to attem pt them next and let the Boxtop go for a w h ile. B ut our chance did not com e u n til au tum n . On the first w eek end of Septem ber 1948, B eckey, Sch oening an d I w ere once a g ain at the east end of the crags, p rep arin g to tackle the three fo rm idab le spires w h ich d om inate th at end. T hese can be p la in ly seen from N ad a L ak e . T h e rock w as a ll d ry by now , and w e w ore tennis shoes the en tire day. T h e first peak that w e attem pted w as the high est of the three. It did not prove too difficult, an d it w as a very en jo yab le clim b. W e called it “R azo r B ack S p ire ” an d from its sum m it ad m ired the h igh est peak in the area, M o un t T em p le, ju st across a col to the w est.3 O ur next objective w as “T h e Professor,” so nam ed because of an odd slab p ro jecting from the upper part, lik e the nose of a d ign ified professor. Seen from the M ole, this spire seem s to thrust sk y w ard in a tw istin g fashion. T h e clim b proved considerably m ore difficult than the previous one. R each in g its base involved some 3 Mt. Tem ple was first climbed in 1 946. See Rankin, op. cit., p. 29.
really delicate balance w o rk and took an hour and a half. T h e route w as clim axed by a 60-foot vertical pitch lead in g up the south sky lin e. T w o pitons w ere em ployed as safeguards here, and after some strenuous m uscle-w ork by the leader the sum m it w as ours. W e felt w e had tim e to try one m ore peak and, after construct in g a six-foot cairn , h astily m ade our w ay over to the base of “T h e L igh th o u se,” th ird of the three east spires. It is a tall, isolated tow er w h ich stands lik e a beacon just to the north. A b rief ex am in a tion of its tap erin g, cylin d rica l surface m ade it obvious to us that here w as a tough one. T h ere seem ed no visible w ay to get started on the th in g, and the appearance of its upper regions w as even m ore d isco uragin g. For a m om ent I en tertain ed the idea of tryin g ag ain the tactics w e had applied to the M onum ent. F u rth er in vesti gatio n show ed that this w as probably the only w ay, save that of n a ilin g one’s w ay straigh t up the face w ith a star d rill and con traction bolts! W ith careful belays w e clim bed to a sm all platform on the north face. F ro m here a h idden flake of ex fo liatin g g ran ite existed up to w ith in about 15 feet of the top. T h ere it ended, an d the rem ain in g pitch w as sim ply a smooth w all. T h e flake, how ever, term in ated in a sh allo w depression from w h ich w e hoped to get a stance to pass a lin e over the top. Pete retreated, m ad e his w ay around to the low er south face, ascended as far as safety w o uld perm it, and anchored him self on a sm all shelf w h ere he w ould receive the lin e. F red and I then prepared to clim b, by tension, to the upper lim it of the g ran ite flake on the north face. H ere ag ain w e learn ed that an gle pitons w ere a ll th at could be driven in the w id e crack betw een the flake and m ain w all. W ith F red b elayin g , I began the ascent of this pitch, usin g an gle pitons and slin gs in the sam e fashion as had been necessary on the M o n um ent. B ut about 20 feet up, the crack suddenly flared out to an irre g u la r w id th too g reat for our w idest an gle pitons. For a m om ent it seem ed that w e w ere to be stopped ju st six feet below the depression from w h ich w e had expected to throw the line. F in a lly I stretched to m y utm ost reach an d tried a piton at a point in the crack that seem ed som ew hat n arro w er. It stuck, tem porarily at least. I then gave it a gentle tap w ith the h am m er, to see if it w o uld d riv e ; and soon the a ir w as filled w ith the m elodious, high-
pitched rin g in g of a piton b ein g driven in sound rock. A hoarse yodel then inform ed Pete that the line w ould soon be co m in g over the top. I q u ic k ly retreated, and F red w ent up to the shallow depres sion to throw the w eigh ted line. H is accuracy w as good, and after the second attem pt Pete yelled back that he had the end of it and w as tyin g on the spare clim b in g rope. Fred soon p ulled the rope back over the top, and Pete ascended the final pitch usin g P russik knot. F ro m the top the afterglo w of a b eau tifu l sunset suggested that darkness w o uld soon be upon us. T w o q u ick rappels and some scram b lin g bro ugh t us dow n to the rockslide, and from there we hastily m ade our w ay dow n tow ard N ad a C reek. T h e trail at N ad a L ak e w as reached at 2.00 A .M . A bivouac closed a rather ex h au stin g d ay. T h e clim b in g season w as now w an in g , and a sizable grou p of rock clim bers from Seattle m ade p lan s for an elaborate expedition to the crags to get in a last bit of clim b in g before w in ter. S ix of us w ere p lan n in g to have an airp lan e drop supplies to our cam p in a b eau tifu l open m eadow near the L igh th o use. O ur e q u ip m en t, this tim e, in clu d ed an autom obile tent, a 12-pound radio, and a profusion of canned goods and delicacies. W e had plan n ed to set up a cam p that w o u ld seem a paradise to parties retu rn in g from a day in the crags. B ut such it w as not to be … A friend of one of the clim bers w as to drop the eq u ip m en t from a Luscom be seaplane. T h e p lan w as for h im to lan d on L ak e W en atch ee, take on a load of bundles w h ich w e w o uld have previo usly left on the beach, and fly them over to our cam p, a distance of about ten m in utes by air. On the afternoon of Septem ber 19th we w ere eag erly w a itin g at our cam psite for the sound of ap p ro ach in g aircraft. Soon we could see the p lan e com ing, and w e im m ed iately set up the p re arran ged sign als to m a rk our position. T h e first load got off e x celle n tly : all the bundles fell w ith in 100 yard s of cam p. T h e second load w as also very successful. B ut on the th ird and last trip th ings fin ally w ent w ro n g. A s the first bun dle left the plane, the second one fell dow n from the seat and jam m ed on the righ th an d stick of the d u al controls. T h e p lan e w ent into a spin and
crashed in a rockslide about 300 yard s from cam p. T h e pilot broke rig h t through his 2000-pound test safety belt and w as throw n out on the rocks. T o our am azem en t he picked h im self up and started over to m eet us. Som e cuts and a sprained back seem ed the extent of his in juries, and w e brought him clear out to the cars that even in g. T h e next day w e spent salv a gin g w h at w as w orth w h ile of the dem olished airp lan e. T h e next after that proved to be the only one of clim b in g. T h e W est P eak w as clim bed for the second tim e, and Beckey and Sch o en in g w ere fin ally able to force their w ay to the top of the Boxtop, under very cold and adverse w eather conditions. T h ey reported this to be an excellent clim b in vo lvin g a surplus of exposure. D irect-aid technique w as ag ain resorted to.* T h e fo llo w in g m o rn in g the p arty w as greeted by storm y w eather and eigh t inches of fresh snow . W in te r had obviously arrived, and w e m ade haste to cache the unused food that rem ain ed. T h e party then m ade its w ay dow n the fa m iliar route to N ad a C reek as sw irlin g fog closed in around the ice-sheathed spires behind. * See the note on p, 342 below .— E d.
S.
W idrig
G O OD g ran ite is probably the best of rocks to clim b on. T h e State of W ash in g to n is blessed w ith several g ran itic batholiths, of w h ich one of the finest, from a rock clim b er’s point of view , is to be found near L eavenw o rth , in the v icin ity of Icicle C reek and its trib utaries. In the center of this g ra n itic region rises a m en acin g collection of isolated spires and tow ers called the C ashm ere C rags. T h e g ran ite ran ge extends so uth w ard past In galls C reek and is fin ally clim axed by 9500-foot M o un t Stu art. T h e best approach to the clim b in g area is up the Icicle C reek road from L eavenw o rth , about tw o m iles. F ro m there, an excellent horse tra il leads five m iles up Sn o w C reek to N ad a L ak e. T h en one follow s up N ad a C reek, w h ich can be seen flow ing dow n over a series of cliffs and rockslides to the w est (no tr a il). It is best to keep just to the rig h t of the creek. O ne em erges in a large basin, w ith the crags b egin n in g to appear to the south. Proceed to the head of this sh allo w basin, and there you are—v irtu ally surrounded by ta ll, th reaten in g spires th at streak sk yw ard lik e D antesque flam es. O ne reflects that it m ig h t have been w ell to b rin g along more pitons, not to m ention contraction bolts … T hese w ere the th o ugh ts w h ich d rifted th ro ugh the m inds of Fred B eckey, Pete Sch o en in g, A rt H olben and the w riter as they be held the sigh t early one m o rn in g in the sp rin g of 1948. W e realized th at 99% of these aw fu l th ings had not been clim bed. A n d our in tended objectives for the trip w ere not yet even in v iew ! W e had p lan n ed to start at the w estern lim it of the spires and w o rk east, c lim b in g as m an y of them as w ould “g o .” W e therefore traversed w estw ard alo n g the low er northern slopes un til w e reached a broad col, “P russik Pass,” the w estern lim it of the crags. O ur attention now focused on the first of a series of three very strik in g towers. It seem ed to have only one route w orthy of consideration. T h is w o uld involve about 200 feet of n early vertical clim b in g, but w o uld end 30 feet below the su m m it horn. It w as decided that B eckey an d H olben w o uld w o rry about
m a k in g this route, w h ile Sch o en in g and I w o uld exam ine the next spire for a possible route. T h is next p eak w as sim ply a four-sided shaft, perched on an exposed, kn ife-lik e rid ge. It w as perhaps 60 feet ta ll and b eau tifu lly sym m etrical, resem b lin g a steep truncated p yram id . T h e sym m etry w as so strik in g that w e decided to call this “T h e M o n um en t.” A g a in there appeared to be only one pos sible route of attack. T h is, we could p lain ly see, w o uld involve 60 feet of direct-aid w o rk. On a p latform w h ich w as to be the base of operations, we assem bled our g ear—pitons of every description, ham m ers, ¼ -inch m an ila slin gs, contraction bolts (w h ich w ere not u sed ), karab in ers, tw o nylon c lim b in g ropes and, of course, tennis shoes. W e based our hope of attain in g the top on a vertical crack ru n n in g from the platfo rm to a very n arro w ledge w h ich extended around the peak about h alf-w ay up. T h ere the crack ended, but a cannonhole be h in d a larg e slab balanced on this ledge gave us hope of traversin g from that point to the opposite side of the spire. W e w o uld then try to pass a lin e over the rem ain in g pitch. I q u ic k ly stocked up w ith h ard w are and, w ith Pete b elayin g, drove the first piton. T h e crack w as too w id e for o rd in ary iro n ; an gle pitons h ad to be used. F o rtu n ately, w e had a fair supply of them . I tied a slin g into the rin g of the piton and, usin g it for a foothold w h ile at the sam e tim e ta k in g tension from Sch o en in g’s b elay, drove in the next piton as h igh as I could reach. C o n tin u in g in this fashion u n til four pitons had been used, I attain ed a position about ten feet below the ledge, on the sm ooth w all. I then retreated, and Pete w ent up to continue w h ile I belayed. T w o m ore directaid pitons enabled him to reach the ledge. I heard him say som e th in g about “a iry atm osphere” and w ondered how he m an aged to stick to the n arro w off set. A s I later found out, this ledge w as about six inches w id e! A s Pete began to traverse to the opposite side, I becam e m en tally prepared to give a d yn am ic belay in case he should slip. H is balance w as good, how ever, and soon the “tension” w as over w hen he anchored h im self on a relativ ely spacious platform , probably at least a foot and a h alf w id e! I next assem bled a lig h t cod lin e, w eigh ted at one end by several pitons. Piton w eigh ts had to be used, as no loose rock seems to exist in the area. A fter carefully co ilin g the lin e so that it w o uld
pay out (a n d also pay o ff), I gave the w eig h t a m ig h ty thrust. L u ck w as w ith u s: it soared inches above the top an d dow n the other side into P ete’s lap. I then tied the spare clim b in g rope to m y end of the line, and Pete p ulled it over the top. T h en , w ith Pete b elayin g his end of it, I ascended the w all usin g slin gs and P russik knot. H av in g gain ed the top, I anchored the rope w h ile Pete clim bed. F ive hours after w e started from the platform , w e w ere both perched on the m eager sum m it. W e could now see B eckey and H o lben back on the first peak. A s w e learned later, they had also used a lot of direct-aid pitons to negotiate the low er 180 feet, an d now they w ere d eb ating the best m ethod (if a n y ) of scalin g the final horn. A fter reach in g a decision, A rt m ade a lasso from a 100-foot len gth of ⅜-inch nylo n rope. W ith this he v ain ly attem pted, from a very precarious perch, to lasso the horn. On the fourth try he succeeded, an d jo yfu l shouts could be heard echoing off the near-by spires. Beckey then clim bed up this rope w ith slin gs and P russik knot, en co un terin g extrem e difficulty at the jun ctio n of the loop and the horn. B ut u ltim ately both clim bers reached the top and b u ilt a large, tall cairn . T h ey dubbed it “P russik P e a k ,” in recognition of their extensive use of the P russik knot. A short tim e later w e held a rendezvous at the base of the th ird spire. T h e lateness of the hour put any attem pt on it out of the q u estio n ; but after lo o king it over w e concluded that here ag ain one, and only one, route w as even th in kab le. T h is peak looks very im pressive from a distance. Its square appearance inspired the nam e “B oxtop.” U n u su ally clear w eath er allow ed us a good view of other near-by peaks. T o the south, the larg e b ristlin g m assif of M cC lellan P eak stood clearly o utlined. A p arty reached its highest point in 1946.1 E astw ard , just past the Boxtop, projected a fo rm id able spire, the W est P eak of M ount T em p le, nam ed and clim bed by a p arty in c lu d in g B eckey on a previous trip .2 T o the north, perhaps three m iles distan t, loom ed a very large, thick, th um b -like shaft. B eckey turned to m e and said, “Oh look, there's T h e M ole.” T h e 1 Keith Rankin, “ N ew Climbs in the Cascades,” Mountaineer, X X X IX (Dec. 1956), 28. 2 Gum m ie Johnson, “ N ow Conquered,” Mountaineer, X X X IX ( 1 5 Dec. 1 947), 5 1 . See also A.A.J ., VII (April 1 948), 1 02.
shaft w as thereupon nam ed, and we im m ed iately m ade plans for its conquest on the next trip. On M em o rial D ay w eek end, one w eek later, B eckey, W es G rande an d I m ade our w ay up R at C reek hoping to m ake an attem pt on this new peak. R at C reek d rain s the northern slopes of the crags and flows into the Icicle R iver several m iles above Sn o w C reek. W e had decided on this approach because it seemed the most direct route to the base of the M ole. By noon w e w ere w ell up tow ard the head of the creek, and several new peaks w ere b egin n in g to show them selves. T h e M ole loom ed up lik e an im m ense m onolith, its dom e-like top ap p earin g to be qu ite inaccessible. C onsiderable am ounts of snow still cov ered the are a; the effects of an exceptionally severe w in ter w ere still very apparent. T h e ap p allin g , near-vertical flanks of the M ole, how ever, w ere virtu ally d ry ; and c lim b in g conditions appeared to be at their best. T h at afternoon, from our cam p near its base, w e studied a route w h ich once ag ain w as the o nly one that seemed to exist. W ith the aid of a telescope, we concluded that the first 500 feet w o uld be the toughest. If they could be negotiated, the rem ain in g 300 feet, we decided, w o uld surely prove easier. A t d aw n the next m o rn in g, the sky w as clear, and a brisk north w in d assured us th at it w o uld rem ain so. A fter a q u ick breakfast we packed our rucksacks w ith rope, pitons, karab in ers, etc., and started out in h ig h spirits. W e ascended a series of steep snow fields an d then a couloir w h ich brought us out at the junction of the M o le’s rock flanks and its low er snow fields. H ere w e set about ch an gin g to tennis shoes w h ile the b ark in g of coyotes echoed w eird ly from the basin below . F red led the first three rope lengths, u sin g a couple of pitons for safety. T h en , after a brief debate as to the route, G rande clim bed a h ig h -an g le 100-foot g u lly an d be layed m e to his stance on a sm all p latfo rm . H ere the route w as com pletely blocked by a larg e flake, split off about six inches from the m ain face. T h e only apparent solution w as to go rig h t over the top of the flake by usin g tw o direct-aid pitons in a crack on the adjacen t w all. T h is G rande did, and from the top w as able to stem dow n the other side. F red and I then cam e up q u ic k ly , and W es proceeded along
an exposed ledge to a short, steep g u lly w h ich w as filled w ith ice. T h is he slow ly ascended, belayed from below , by chopping steps w ith a piton h am m er. H e then anchored h im self and belayed m e up. H ere the route w as ag ain blocked by an enorm ous flake, but a n arro w tu n n el seem ed to lead in behind it. I gave W es a shoulder stand, an d he started to craw l th ro ugh the cannonhole. W h en he w as about h alf-w ay th ro ugh , he yelled back that he could see d a y lig h t th ro ugh another o p en in g straigh t above and th at he w o uld try to stem out th ro ugh it. T h is he did, and im m ed iately reported th at the w ay looked clear to the sum m it. W e scram bled up the rem ain in g 300 feet of exposed but w ell-broken face. T o our astonishm ent w e found several larg e pools of clear, cold w ater on top of the fin al block—evidently solution holes in the g ran ite. A fter q u en ch in g our thirst w e go t out lunches and prepared a g o rm a n d iz er’s potlatch to celebrate our good fortune. A large cairn w as then constructed from loose boulders, and a register bottle left inside. A s our eyes w an d ered across the ro llin g snow fields to the south, w e could not help but be im pressed by the appearance of the peaks at the east end of the crags. W e decided to attem pt them next and let the Boxtop go for a w h ile. B ut our chance did not com e u n til au tum n . On the first w eek end of Septem ber 1948, B eckey, Sch oening an d I w ere once a g ain at the east end of the crags, p rep arin g to tackle the three fo rm idab le spires w h ich d om inate th at end. T hese can be p la in ly seen from N ad a L ak e . T h e rock w as a ll d ry by now , and w e w ore tennis shoes the en tire day. T h e first peak that w e attem pted w as the high est of the three. It did not prove too difficult, an d it w as a very en jo yab le clim b. W e called it “R azo r B ack S p ire ” an d from its sum m it ad m ired the h igh est peak in the area, M o un t T em p le, ju st across a col to the w est.3 O ur next objective w as “T h e Professor,” so nam ed because of an odd slab p ro jecting from the upper part, lik e the nose of a d ign ified professor. Seen from the M ole, this spire seem s to thrust sk y w ard in a tw istin g fashion. T h e clim b proved considerably m ore difficult than the previous one. R each in g its base involved some 3 Mt. Tem ple was first climbed in 1 946. See Rankin, op. cit., p. 29.
really delicate balance w o rk and took an hour and a half. T h e route w as clim axed by a 60-foot vertical pitch lead in g up the south sky lin e. T w o pitons w ere em ployed as safeguards here, and after some strenuous m uscle-w ork by the leader the sum m it w as ours. W e felt w e had tim e to try one m ore peak and, after construct in g a six-foot cairn , h astily m ade our w ay over to the base of “T h e L igh th o u se,” th ird of the three east spires. It is a tall, isolated tow er w h ich stands lik e a beacon just to the north. A b rief ex am in a tion of its tap erin g, cylin d rica l surface m ade it obvious to us that here w as a tough one. T h ere seem ed no visible w ay to get started on the th in g, and the appearance of its upper regions w as even m ore d isco uragin g. For a m om ent I en tertain ed the idea of tryin g ag ain the tactics w e had applied to the M onum ent. F u rth er in vesti gatio n show ed that this w as probably the only w ay, save that of n a ilin g one’s w ay straigh t up the face w ith a star d rill and con traction bolts! W ith careful belays w e clim bed to a sm all platform on the north face. F ro m here a h idden flake of ex fo liatin g g ran ite existed up to w ith in about 15 feet of the top. T h ere it ended, an d the rem ain in g pitch w as sim ply a smooth w all. T h e flake, how ever, term in ated in a sh allo w depression from w h ich w e hoped to get a stance to pass a lin e over the top. Pete retreated, m ad e his w ay around to the low er south face, ascended as far as safety w o uld perm it, and anchored him self on a sm all shelf w h ere he w ould receive the lin e. F red and I then prepared to clim b, by tension, to the upper lim it of the g ran ite flake on the north face. H ere ag ain w e learn ed that an gle pitons w ere a ll th at could be driven in the w id e crack betw een the flake and m ain w all. W ith F red b elayin g , I began the ascent of this pitch, usin g an gle pitons and slin gs in the sam e fashion as had been necessary on the M o n um ent. B ut about 20 feet up, the crack suddenly flared out to an irre g u la r w id th too g reat for our w idest an gle pitons. For a m om ent it seem ed that w e w ere to be stopped ju st six feet below the depression from w h ich w e had expected to throw the line. F in a lly I stretched to m y utm ost reach an d tried a piton at a point in the crack that seem ed som ew hat n arro w er. It stuck, tem porarily at least. I then gave it a gentle tap w ith the h am m er, to see if it w o uld d riv e ; and soon the a ir w as filled w ith the m elodious, high-
pitched rin g in g of a piton b ein g driven in sound rock. A hoarse yodel then inform ed Pete that the line w ould soon be co m in g over the top. I q u ic k ly retreated, and F red w ent up to the shallow depres sion to throw the w eigh ted line. H is accuracy w as good, and after the second attem pt Pete yelled back that he had the end of it and w as tyin g on the spare clim b in g rope. Fred soon p ulled the rope back over the top, and Pete ascended the final pitch usin g P russik knot. F ro m the top the afterglo w of a b eau tifu l sunset suggested that darkness w o uld soon be upon us. T w o q u ick rappels and some scram b lin g bro ugh t us dow n to the rockslide, and from there we hastily m ade our w ay dow n tow ard N ad a C reek. T h e trail at N ad a L ak e w as reached at 2.00 A .M . A bivouac closed a rather ex h au stin g d ay. T h e clim b in g season w as now w an in g , and a sizable grou p of rock clim bers from Seattle m ade p lan s for an elaborate expedition to the crags to get in a last bit of clim b in g before w in ter. S ix of us w ere p lan n in g to have an airp lan e drop supplies to our cam p in a b eau tifu l open m eadow near the L igh th o use. O ur e q u ip m en t, this tim e, in clu d ed an autom obile tent, a 12-pound radio, and a profusion of canned goods and delicacies. W e had plan n ed to set up a cam p that w o u ld seem a paradise to parties retu rn in g from a day in the crags. B ut such it w as not to be … A friend of one of the clim bers w as to drop the eq u ip m en t from a Luscom be seaplane. T h e p lan w as for h im to lan d on L ak e W en atch ee, take on a load of bundles w h ich w e w o uld have previo usly left on the beach, and fly them over to our cam p, a distance of about ten m in utes by air. On the afternoon of Septem ber 19th we w ere eag erly w a itin g at our cam psite for the sound of ap p ro ach in g aircraft. Soon we could see the p lan e com ing, and w e im m ed iately set up the p re arran ged sign als to m a rk our position. T h e first load got off e x celle n tly : all the bundles fell w ith in 100 yard s of cam p. T h e second load w as also very successful. B ut on the th ird and last trip th ings fin ally w ent w ro n g. A s the first bun dle left the plane, the second one fell dow n from the seat and jam m ed on the righ th an d stick of the d u al controls. T h e p lan e w ent into a spin and
crashed in a rockslide about 300 yard s from cam p. T h e pilot broke rig h t through his 2000-pound test safety belt and w as throw n out on the rocks. T o our am azem en t he picked h im self up and started over to m eet us. Som e cuts and a sprained back seem ed the extent of his in juries, and w e brought him clear out to the cars that even in g. T h e next day w e spent salv a gin g w h at w as w orth w h ile of the dem olished airp lan e. T h e next after that proved to be the only one of clim b in g. T h e W est P eak w as clim bed for the second tim e, and Beckey and Sch o en in g w ere fin ally able to force their w ay to the top of the Boxtop, under very cold and adverse w eather conditions. T h ey reported this to be an excellent clim b in vo lvin g a surplus of exposure. D irect-aid technique w as ag ain resorted to.* T h e fo llo w in g m o rn in g the p arty w as greeted by storm y w eather and eigh t inches of fresh snow . W in te r had obviously arrived, and w e m ade haste to cache the unused food that rem ain ed. T h e party then m ade its w ay dow n the fa m iliar route to N ad a C reek as sw irlin g fog closed in around the ice-sheathed spires behind. * See the note on p, 342 below .— E d.
