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Wheeler Peak / Northwest Couloir. Grade III, 5.4. Snow / ice up to 50 degrees. Northwest Arete to the right of the couloir. 6/26/05
Comments [ Post a Comment ]| dug | Did | | 
Hasn't voted | you guys climb this? And whats the nice looking arete flanking the right side of the couloir? | | Posted Jul 1, 2005 1:07 am |
 | | Sam Mills | Re: Did | | 
Hasn't voted | No. We passed under it on the way to an attempt on the West Arete. Don't know how much snow/ice will be left in it this fall, so I'll probably give it a try next spring. Nice looking couloir though.
I couldn't find much information on technical routes for this peak, so I don't know the name of the arete you're talking about (if there even is a offical name). The West Arete is the ridge going up the right skyline.
- S | | Posted Jul 7, 2005 1:30 pm |
 | | Clydascope | Re: Did | | 
Hasn't voted | That's the North Arete, III 5.8 if I recall correctly.
Sam, did you climb the West Arete? I'd be interested to know what thought of it. | | Posted Jul 7, 2005 3:03 pm |
 | | Sam Mills | Re: Did | | 
Hasn't voted | Clydascope,
We couldn't find a class 4 start just right of the streaks, so I took a 5.6 / 5.7 line up one pitch. I ran into a loose, hard to protect 5.7 ish section with no way around (at my climbing level). After bouncing a few melon size boulders off the rocks near matthew at the belay, I backed off.
After down climbing a ways, than being lowered back to the belay and getting things cleaned up, it was close to 11:00 am, so we bailed. This was the last day of several days of climbing, and I still had a long drive home. I was hoping to be up and off the climb by 3 or 4:00 pm and it was obvious that wasn't going to happen.
I was going to e-mail you to get a some information, but I'll use this opportunity. Your route page says to traverse class 3-4 ledges below the two branches of the wishbone. In the picture below, I marked our route in red. Matthew mentioned it then, and the more I look at the pictures, the more I agree with him, should we have continued more to the right and climbed near line B? Or, even further around the toe of the arete and climbed up the area marked by line C?
I hope this makes sense and thanks for any insight.
 | | Posted Jul 7, 2005 5:36 pm |
 | | Clydascope | Re: Did | | 
Hasn't voted | Line B looks like the way we went, but it was many years ago. Line C would probably work as well.
I was up in that area last Saturday and it's still a little confusing exactly where the start was. Our video does not show it very well.
Sorry to hear you didn't make it to the summit. Can you add this photo the page and I'll attach it to the route page for clarification?
Chris | | Posted Jul 7, 2005 6:57 pm |
 | | Sam Mills | Re: Did | | 
Hasn't voted | Can you add this photo the page and I'll attach it to the route page for clarification?
Chris,
I'll change "our route" to line A and add it to the West Arete route page. Thanks for the input.
-S
| | Posted Jul 7, 2005 8:03 pm |
 | | dug | Re: Did | | 
Hasn't voted | Your photo inspired me to run up and climb that right hand arete today. Sustained pitch of 5.8 to get on arete then never harder than .6 Nice line with some poor rock. (pulled a 1000# block loose and it nearly got me, hope no one was in the couloir!) Anyway, would like to find out somehow if this has been climbed . | | Posted Jul 10, 2005 10:54 pm |
 | | Clydascope | Re: Did | | 
Hasn't voted | I showed a photo of this area to Claude Fiddler last week and he pointed right at this line as the one he did several years ago. | | Posted Nov 30, 2005 12:21 pm |
 | | dug | Re: Did | | 
Hasn't voted | Thanks!
Added the route to the database as 'NW Ridge' as it didn't seem to be the N Ridge which from my view was the ridge on the left of the couloir in this shot. Please correct me if this is inaccurate. | | Posted Dec 1, 2005 3:14 am |
 | | dug | Re: DOH! | | 
Hasn't voted | Make that 'NW Arete' | | Posted Dec 1, 2005 3:23 am |
 | | Sam Mills | Re: Did | | 
Hasn't voted | Doug,
I edited the picture to include the NW Arete.
-S | | Posted Dec 1, 2005 9:14 am |
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