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New Mother Nature

5.11 C1, Trad, Aid, Alpine, 1800 ft (545 m), 10 pitches, Grade V,  Avg: 3 from 1 vote
FA: Dave Medara, and Drew Spaulding- Late July 1996
Alaska > Interior Alaska… > Denali NP > Ruth Gorge > Gargoyle
Warning Access Issue: Register with the NP Mountaineering Headquarters in Talkeetna, AK before climbing in the park! DetailsDrop down

Description

An incredible line as a whole, but some sections of wet and loose rock to add to the excitement... Eyeing up what we thought was the best line, we noticed rappel slings up to about the 400' mark. It was obvious the first 4 incredible pitches were done by a previous party...(?) At that point, we tried to climb left, then tried to climb right only to turn back as other parties had. Dave Medara took the rack and tackled the ominous offwidth crack straight up. About 30' up with our only #4 Camalot tipped out to the max, Dave hauled the hammer and hand drilled a 1/4" hole on the sidewall of the large, acute corner! Wedged there with a full, contorted body cam, he was able to pound in a buttonhead(only bolt on the route) to give him the confidence to continue. If we had some larger cams, it could have been a fun lead. It was quite dramatic and a job well done by my very strong partner!(I had denied taking the lead due to lack of gear...) This was the link to the upper pitches of New Mother Nature! 5 more long pitches brought us to the summit at about midnight. We decided to wait for the sun to brighten the sky so we'd have more light to descend. At about 4 am, six 100-foot and 7 long rappels brought us back to the base safe and sound.

Protection

Full rack with a few extra 4.5"-6" pieces to tackle the crux offwidth...

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

A view of our approach to the base and our tent in the distance
[Hide Photo] A view of our approach to the base and our tent in the distance
View of the Gargoyle from the north... New Mother Nature!
[Hide Photo] View of the Gargoyle from the north... New Mother Nature!
View from Peak 6000'<br>
[Hide Photo] View from Peak 6000'
Moments later...
[Hide Photo] Moments later...
Dave drilling a 1/4"er to get through the offwidth crux
[Hide Photo] Dave drilling a 1/4"er to get through the offwidth crux
A little spindrift on Mt. Dickey
[Hide Photo] A little spindrift on Mt. Dickey
Looking across the Gorge
[Hide Photo] Looking across the Gorge
Chillin' after the descent
[Hide Photo] Chillin' after the descent
Peace from the summit...
[Hide Photo] Peace from the summit...
Peace from the summit...
[Hide Photo] Peace from the summit...
Dave on the 2nd to last pitch...11:00pm
[Hide Photo] Dave on the 2nd to last pitch...11:00pm
Summit of Mt. Huntington seen over the crest of the Rooster Comb
[Hide Photo] Summit of Mt. Huntington seen over the crest of the Rooster Comb