Summit Block

This is looking over the short knife edge (about 15 yards) to the summit block of Southeast Pinnacle Butte #1. I didn't really capture it well here, but the knife edge is extremely exposed and is rotten. It is just wide enough (accommodates little more than the width of one foot) that on a wind-free day, someone with excellent balance could carefully walk it, but it is so rotten that it would be foolish to try. I straddled it and scooted along, praying that the ridge wouldn't crumble under me. This photo from the summit block shows the knife edge better, though not fully. At last, it's a short Class 3/4 move to the small top, which has enough room for one person but wouldn't be too comfy for two. If the block looks lower than my vantage point, it's because it is only slightly higher than the spot I was standing on when I took this picture. Absaroka Range, WY-- August 2011