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Kris Haskins Staff Webpage |
Mazama - Prime Rib and Gate Creek Cragging |
| June 19th-21st 2009 |
Mel and I went to Mazama this weekend to meet up with Michelle and Brian and celebrate Michelle's birthday. They left on Thursday, but we were only able to go for the weekend so we set out from Seattle around 7:15 or so after running a few errands. Once we were on the road there really wasn't much traffic so we cruised most of the way to the cabin. The only exception was getting stuck behind the same person twice (we made a stop) on highway 20. Apparently 40 is the new 60 on highway 20. We arrived around 11:30 or so, had a snack and a beer, then we were off to bed to get an early start on the day.
In the morning, Brian cooked up some delicious blueberry pancakes. After we all had our fill, we parted ways with Mel and I heading for Prime Rib of Goat (5.9 11p) and Brian and Michelle heading for Sisyphus(10P 5.10a/b and A0 or .11a). Mel and I made slow progress up the approach (scree isn't Mel's favorite medium) and reached the base of the climb in pretty good time. At the base, we racked up the draws and Mel took the first easy pitch of the day. As she was leading, a party of 3 came up behind us and I chatted with them a bit. Apparently we both knew Jesse Newman, so we shared a few Jesse stories (Awesome!). They were a very quick group, so we let them pass us after the first pitch
Mel leads the first pitch
I took the next long pitch, and then Mel led half of the third after she mistakenly stopped at the rap anchors. She brought me up and I just led through and brought her to the base of the next pitch. At the top of the fourth pitch, we heard from Brian and Michelle that they weren't very impressed with the thin licheny climbing on Sisyphus, so they were going to probably bail after the crux pitch. I then led the fifth, sixth, and seventh pitches. We stopped there to take a little break and let a faster team of two go by us. A bit of scrambling brought us to the eight pitch which I led. I brought Mel up and she led the ninth pitch which was the skybridge traverse. She had planned to lead the easy tenth pitch, but was tired and a little bit shaky from the last pitch so I led it and brought her up.
Mel follows the second pitch
Mel leads the third pitch
Our plan was to only do 10 pitches, so we relaxed at the top for a while taking in the views and eating some food. After a snapping a few summit shots, the wind really started to pick up and some clouds were rolling in so we decided it was time to start going down. The rappeling went pretty well for the most part except at the top of the fourth pitch. The wind was howling at this point, so when I tossed the rope it flew to the left immediately. Mel headed down first, and found that the rope was stuck on something. She spent the next 15 minutes working her way over and doing some scary traversing to eventually free the rope from a log it had wrapped around. I was sitting about the whole time on the anchor worried about what was going on, but she handled it like a pro. She was good until the next rap down to a larger ledge where she needed a hug which I gladly gave her. A couple more raps down and we were at the base of the climb.
Mel at the top
View from the top
We descended the talus field as the sun was starting to set and got back to the car after a long day of climbing. We headed back to the cabin where Brian had beer and cheese waiting for us to snack on before we started dinner. Brian manned the grill roasting some red peppers for Michelle's homemade salsa and then cooked up some halibut cheeks for the fish tacos. After dinner, I was pretty beat and managed to fall asleep on the couch while everyone else somehow mustered the energy to go out for a walk. After they came back, I vaguely remember getting up and making it to the bed before I passed out again until 9 the next morning.
The plan for the day was to head up to Gate Creek for some cragging, but not before Mel fixed us all delicious omelettes with a range of fillings. After breakfast, we headed out to the approach trail for Gate Creek. Brian and I forged ahead while Mel and Michelle took it a bit slower. When we got to the base, we went and checked out some other undeveloped areas. The place is huge, and there is an incredible amount of potential out there for some wicked climbing. If development ramps up, I'm guessing it won't be too long before top pros come out there to do some of the area's test pieces. For us mere mortals, it was the warm up routes which are both 10a. I started off by leading Hueco Thanks (5.10a). It was a stellar climb with a huge hueco right in the middle. We left the rope on it for Mel and Michelle and headed down to do Debutante (5.10a). Brian led this slabby route in style. I gave it a run on top rope and was amazed at the texture of the rock which was like sandpaper. You could literally smear anywhere like it was a good foot hold, pretty cool.
Team redcoat on Debutante (5.10a)
After the warm ups, it was time to hop on some more difficult routes. I opted for The Torcher (5.11a/b) and started up this really neat arête. I found the moves to be a bit difficult on the bottom and had to hang the first four bolts, but the climbing eased up top and I made it to the chains without too much difficulty. I think another couple goes and I could probably do it cleanly. After that, the rain headed in and put an early end to our day. Mel and Michelle headed down the trail while Brian and I ran over to check out rough cut and the 5.13's that had been set by Ryan Tripplet. They looked really hard ascending blank looking overhangs. We also went to the top of the wall and checked out the large cave area Burdo had told Brian about. It seems like there is almost limitless potential out there for new routes, and the cave looks like it could yield routes at the limit of today's best climbers.
Brian on The Torcher (5.11a/b)
After a quick hike down the trail, we headed back to the cabin for more beer and cheese. We snacked and chatted about the climbing until it was time for Mel and I to say goodbye. We packed up the truck, and started the long drive home. We made pretty good time and got back to Seattle around 9.
A big thanks to Brian and Michelle for having us out (Happy Birthday Michelle!). This was a incredible weekend of climbing, eating, and hanging out with great friends!