Northwest face of Mount Matier - Victim of Climate Change?

Northwest Face of Mt. Matier - A Victim of Climate Change

My girlfriend and I left "Motel 66" at 4:45am August 24, 2014 and arrived at the base of the northwest face of Mt. Matier at about 8:30am. The bergschrund at the bottom of the climb was very difficult to cross with one bridge covered with rock on ice/snow and the other being very thin. So I lead my partner up class IV-V rock to get around this and the crevasses where we had a nice straight line to the top bergschrund (it is challenging drawing free lines with Photoshop!). I led and we did a running belay for most of the easy ice climb until I got close to the ice/snow shelf at the top when my partner built an anchor and belayed me the rest of the way. I carefully approached the huge crack and looked in. It was very deep to the point where I could not see the bottom. Although the snow and ice appeared relatively thick, it melted back and undercut below me an estimated 15m downhill (in hindsight, probably more). So I down climbed 15m and began to build an anchor. The snow was too deep to dig for an ice screw, so I hammered in a picket. It felt like solid placement, but just before I finished there was a very loud rumble followed by a loud and long crashing sound that I heard and felt directly below me. Without me knowing, my partner also saw a cornice on climber right fall into the huge crack around the same time. She thought I was calling the climb off because of that when I thought the inside of the ice I was on collapsed and I was sitting on an egg shell! Needless to say, I instantly called off the climb, pulled my picket and quickly traversed to ice to climber's left because the right side looked sketchy. This maneuver seemed to be the best choice, but turned out to be a mistake as it put us in line with the rock fall. Thankfully we did not follow the other climber’s advice and we decided to carry in two 70m half ropes (yes we are ice climbers 1st) because we were able to build our V-threads and quickly rap down and out of the way with only a few rocks flying by. We considered going back onto the rock and hammering in some pitons to rap off, but after the rock fall incident we decided to use the thin snow bridge to get across the bergschrund. This turned out to be a very good decision as we watched boulders and rocks fly down the mountain through that section of the climb (climber's left). So I set up my prusik and rap very carefully onto the snow bridge crossing the bergschrund. It was overhanging but I could see over. So I gave myself some slack in the rap line because it was pulling me towards the ice wall I rapped down and away from the direction I was going. While holding onto my rap with my right hand, I swung my ice axe into the snow several times in the same spot until it felt relatively secure. I kicked my right crampon into the overhanging snow/ice and pulled up with my left hand, gaining the top by grabbing my ice axe with my other hand. With the fear of rock fall, we were moving quickly. So while my partner was rapping, I set up a 2 picket anchor and threw her the end of one of the ropes she was rapping on (the other got tangled/froze in the bottom of the bergschrund where part of it now lives). Since the rap ropes pulled me away while gaining the opposite side of the bergschrund, she tied into the belay I set up and loosened her rap line. That was when the bridge collapsed; but since everything was set up right she only fell the distance the rope stretched and was not hurt but dangling free from the overhanging snow/ice. Now we were in a crevasse rescue situation, and still in fear of rock/boulder fall. Knowing that the only thing holding the pickets in was correct placement relative to the direction of pull, I was not leaving them because was between her and the anchor, and more importantly, the direction of pull changed slightly when the bridge collapsed. After my partner tightened the rap line and cut herself free from her spinner leash attached to one ice axe stuck in the wall a distance away, I reconfigured my belay so I was no longer between her and the anchor. Meanwhile she started setting up to prusik out of the hole. Unfortunately, we used our cord making v-threads and we only had two small useable pieces. So she attached a small piece of cord to a short sling to use as a foot prusik and a Sterling rope hollow block for a waist prusik. She then tried to ascend the belay rope while maintaining some tension on the rap line, but had a hard time because of the overhang, exhaustion and the Sterling rope hollow block would not slide over the lip. So I then set up a Z-pulley system but had problems... I only had one pulley on me, some crappy biners with her rope dug deeply into the snow. My axes were being used as backup anchors for the pickets, but now I realize I should have put one under the rope by the lip. So to overcome my failed Z-pulley system and the lack of useable rope, I attached myself to the anchor with the rope through my belay device and threw her a long piece of webbing tied into a loop that was attached to my personal anchoring system and harness. After she cut the waist prusik that would not slide on the rope over the lip and was holding her back, she tried to ascend as I pulled back on my harness and took up the slack between myself and the anchor with my belay device allowing her to see over the lip and sink in her only ice axe. We continued this process until my exhausted partner was finally out of the hole. With this huge delay we were force to walk out in the dark so we could get to work the next day. This was when I stepped off a 1 foot drop and rolled my ankle with 60lb+ pack on. We still had 6-7km to go, so I hobbled out with my pack arriving at the car at 5am. The following afternoon I discovered that I fractured my fibula!

This does not matter because we are extremely grateful that Mt Matier let us live!

Now you’re probably wondering how Mt Matier is a victim of climate change. On this website and in Kevin McLane's 2001 Alpine Select guide, this climb is in all year round with the end of the summer being the best time to climb. When my partner talked to her climbing buddy (very experienced climber), he provided some wise advice... the ice/snow climbs are changing with climate change so be wary of what the climbing guides say, as they may be outdated relative to current conditions. Choose to climb early in the season.

What did we learn/relearn:

1) our favorite climbs are changing as the climate warms, so be wary of what older climbing guides say about the best times to climb... the best choice is to go earlier in the season.

2) when in a dodgy situation around crevasses/bergschrund, belay from the anchor as oppose to belaying from yourself while attached to the anchor so you can move should you need more gear if it turns into a crevasse rescue situation.

3) each person must carry a waist and foot prusik (or ascending devices)... don't use them for v-threads unless you really have to.

4) think about how high you are climbing, and how many V-threads you will be making. Bring enough cord plus some for backup V-threads. We had 15m, but ran out when we needed the most!

5) always carry a sharp knife in case you need to cut yourself free from your gear (thankfully we both had one)

6) each individual must carry a full set of crevasse rescue gear and know how to use it

We are sharing this with the climbing community so we can all learn. So we would appreciate constructive comments only. We made mistakes, but we also made good decisions. So please keep your negative comments to yourself.