Game Over!

January 10, 2010 - Just after we merged with the Green Butte route we were cliffed out by a rib extending down the ridge to the west (right in photo)(#1 in this photo). There was no reasonable way to climb over it, and descending around it would have meant dropping at least several hundred feet. There were many other ribs after this that had obviously had the same problem, so dropping around them really meant dropping off the route and traversing into Avalanche Gulch. In a final effort, I climbed along the ridge crest hoping it would provide a way past the ribs, but that way cliffed out (#2 in this photo). Tom Bennett is beginning the long reversal of the route. Part of the tediousness was due to the fact that we were punching through snow to talus most of the way down, which was hard on the ankles when our crampon spikes caught rocks! You can see the length of the Green Butte Route below.