Old School WB - Aug 28, 2012 2:06 pm Date Climbed: Aug 26, 2012
SW face in great shape
With crystal clear skies and no wind we had a glorious ascent of the South-West Face of Mount Fryatt on Sunday August 26. Our team of 3 (V. Dewit, E. Coulthard, K. Barton) approached on the 25 via the Geraldine Lakes.
The majority of the SW face was clear of snow and ice. At the bottom of the “central” main gully we travelled up ice/snow slopes for about 150 metres to the final cliff between the face and the summit ridge. Nearing the top of the ice/snow we had a surprise, a solo climber caught up to us (F. Jacso). FJ got the green light from his wife later than the rest of us and decided to catch up to us.
About 25 metres off the snow, a 30 metre pitch of 5.4 with great pro on solid holds to a set of two rappel anchors, a short scramble of 10 to 15 metres, then another short pitch of 5.3/5.1 to another rappel station. Summit and final ridge bone dry. 6.5 hours to summit. Great views, especially of Robson , Clemenceau and Tonquin Valley peaks. Three raps on the descent, then downclimbed mostly rock ribs, avoiding gully systems, but there was no natural rock fall on descent. Back to col and bivy site quickly. Hiked out in about 6 hours with perfect weather. All in, car to car 36 hours.
Old School WB - Aug 28, 2012 2:06 pm Date Climbed: Aug 26, 2012
SW face in great shapeWith crystal clear skies and no wind we had a glorious ascent of the South-West Face of Mount Fryatt on Sunday August 26. Our team of 3 (V. Dewit, E. Coulthard, K. Barton) approached on the 25 via the Geraldine Lakes.
The majority of the SW face was clear of snow and ice. At the bottom of the “central” main gully we travelled up ice/snow slopes for about 150 metres to the final cliff between the face and the summit ridge. Nearing the top of the ice/snow we had a surprise, a solo climber caught up to us (F. Jacso). FJ got the green light from his wife later than the rest of us and decided to catch up to us.
About 25 metres off the snow, a 30 metre pitch of 5.4 with great pro on solid holds to a set of two rappel anchors, a short scramble of 10 to 15 metres, then another short pitch of 5.3/5.1 to another rappel station. Summit and final ridge bone dry. 6.5 hours to summit. Great views, especially of Robson , Clemenceau and Tonquin Valley peaks. Three raps on the descent, then downclimbed mostly rock ribs, avoiding gully systems, but there was no natural rock fall on descent. Back to col and bivy site quickly. Hiked out in about 6 hours with perfect weather. All in, car to car 36 hours.