Anyone been up to the Budd Lake area recently? I was wondering how much snow is still around.

Also, can you rap off the north end of the Mathes with a single rope?

MichaelJ wrote:Anyone been up to the Budd Lake area recently? I was wondering how much snow is still around.

Also, can you rap off the north end of the Mathes with a single rope?

Mike - still lots of snow but it is melting fast. My guess is that the approach will still be 30-40% under snow this coming weekend. Bring a lot of DEET. You can *probably* rap off with a single line from the North summit although it may be a bit tricky. As far as I remember, there is a tree below the notch that could be used as an intermediate anchor.

Misha is correct: you can rap off the north peak with one rope. I also recall using that intermediate tree.

I downclimbed from the summit on TR and placed pro for the follower to that same tree I think. It is a good sized tree and has plenty of slings on it. You are not going to get anywhere near the ground with one rope from that tree. We rapped down and left off that tree to a disturbingly exposed spot, pulled the rope, and then had to move climbers left on easy 5th class into a corner that runs down to the ground. In the corner we were able to sling something and do another single rope rap. We then downclimbed about another rope length to get to the deck. I despise downclimbing and would not have minded having two ropes to minimize the downclimbing.

If you do not mind downclimbing on easy 5th class terrain, I would not bring two ropes.

If this descent is not the standard one, someone please let me know so I can delete this and avoid spreading misinformation.

The length of the rope in use certainly has bearing on how many raps it is to the ground.

My first rope was 45M long, 11mm in diamter, which hardly allows one to complete a pitch of today's standards.

Half of that rope has been my tow rope for many years now.

Jim - SuperTopo beta is correct. We did this rap a couple of years ago; exactly as described. However, if I remember correctly there is another smaller tree below the notch that one rope should be able to reach from the North summit. I am not sure if it is good for rapping or if it has any slings though...

Chances are, this thing will be so crowded every weekend of July and August, you can probably team up with somebody and join the ropes for longer rappels.

I was there last week. No mosquitos until we got back to the car where I killed 8 during a 15 minute wait. Used a 60 meter rope to rap off the north summit. No problems and probably would have been fine with a 50. There is plenty of snow on the approach but it wasn't nearly as bad as anticipated on the way in or out. Used approach shoes and light crampons. Crampons were a good call. We left the trail head at 7:30am or so and it was a little softer than optimal for the last uphill section of the approach. Leave early.

Wasn't on Matthes Crest, but did climb a bunch of the Echos and Cathedral yesterday. I'll be uploading pics later this evening. Lots of snow in north facing areas(9200ft and up). From Bud Lake there was lots of snow to be had, I got a nice glissade off the North side of the Echo Peaks toward Cathedral. As mentioned too much snow for mosquitos still up high, in the Meadows they are starting to come out. It was windy yesterday and froze overnight, so hopefully the freezing will keep them at bay.
Eric

Update: Did the route on July 4. Plenty of easy snow fields to cross on the approach to the Echo shoulder, then some steep snow fields on the final Matthes approach (I kicked steps in approach shoes and was glad to have a trekking pole for balance). No other parties on the route.

Rap beta: From the north summit, a short vertical rap got us to the next station, then two full length raps (60m rope) got us to the top of the snow field, which we skirted with some class 4 rock downclimbing.

The summit register could use a new book if anyone is going up there.

Question: Has anyone done the full traverse all the way to the north? We didn't use the rope at all except to rap, so I was wondering if it gets any harder?

MichaelJ wrote:Question: Has anyone done the full traverse all the way to the north? We didn't use the rope at all except to rap, so I was wondering if it gets any harder?

I did it last year. While not technically harder, it is IMHO more exposed and awkward in places. It is also mostly a downclimb which is usually harder than going up. There is a number of bouldering problems with very uncertain landing that you'll have to downclimb, sometimes without seeing your footholds. We simul'd the rest of the ridge from the North summit which is probably the best way to do it unless you're ready to free solo it (I am not).

There are two versions of doing the full traverse all the way to the north end of the Matthes Crest. Most climbers who continue the traverse past the summits and "all the way" to the north end still skip the last large block system on the ridge by dropping down to a sandy ledge system on the west side (about 20 feet below the crest) instead. This avoids a final section that is about 30(?) feet long (horizontally). Many people at this point in the traverse are tired/happy/satisfied enough to never even notice that technically they are skipping part of the ridge.

In any case, to "really" do the whole thing, at that point where most choose the sidewalk option, instead you climb about eight feet up a crack, found on the west side of the crest, that is fist to offwidth size (depending on your hands and feet) and regain the ridge. That short sequence can actually provide the most difficult climbing on the entire Matthes Crest. Your reward for the difficulty is to end up safe and secure on the semi-level top of a broad block of granite that is really the last "raised" feature of the Crest before it begins to fade. This in itself is not particularly spectacular, but you do get the satisfaction that you bagged "the whole ridge proper".

I haven't met many people who have tackled that final block. I did it my first two times on the Matthes Crest because I didn't know any better. Since then I have avoided it, especially with partners -- it's not necessarily worthwhile/fun to include a crux at the end of the route when one can otherwise be heaving a sigh of relief. But it's there as a final kicker for anyone who needs one last pull.

After perusing the supertopo, I'm thinking about bringing my 60m doubles for this one, just for the final rap off the north summit. For most parties (ie. those of us who are courage-impaired ) does this make sense, or is a single 60m sufficient (as the SP route page implies) ?

thebeave7 wrote:Wasn't on Matthes Crest, but did climb a bunch of the Echos and Cathedral yesterday. I'll be uploading pics later this evening. Lots of snow in north facing areas(9200ft and up). From Bud Lake there was lots of snow to be had, I got a nice glissade off the North side of the Echo Peaks toward Cathedral. As mentioned too much snow for mosquitos still up high, in the Meadows they are starting to come out. It was windy yesterday and froze overnight, so hopefully the freezing will keep them at bay.
Eric

We encountered mosquitoes on the approach to Matthes on 7/3 starting below the base of Cathedral and continuing over the base of Echo Peaks and thru the woods below the crest. They're not thick but I wouldn't say they're light either. There's a hefty cornice on some of the ridges in the Cathedral Range, but not above Budd Lake if I remember correctly. We did the full traverse and came back the same way we approached to avoid any potential postholing.

Rob, I can dig thru my photos this evening if you are looking for anything specific. Send me an email.