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Cauthorn-Wilson

WI4, Trad, Ice, Alpine, 800 ft (242 m), 7 pitches, Grade III,  Avg: 3.1 from 7 votes
FA: Dan Cauthorn and Tim Wilson
Washington > Northwest Region > Hwy 20 & N Casc… > N Cascades > Washington Pass > Cutthroat Peak

Description

Climb snow or neve for roughly 400 feet to reach a WI3-WI3+ ice pitch.  Climb this to a fixed piton anchor at the base of the crux pitch, which is sustained WI4 for a stretch before it slightly eases off to WI3+. From the top of the crux pitch, head for the ridgeline in three or four pitches that may be snow, ice, or mixed.  

Many parties choose to descend from the ridgeline on rock anchors (some fixed) or possible V-threads to enable an easy descent to their skis or snowshoes at the base of the route.  Instead, you can choose to climb several more moderate(?) pitches to the summit.  Protection may be hard to get on these pitches, which go at 5.4 in the summer.  From the summit, the West Ridge descent may be preferable to a descent of the route.

Location

East face of Cutthroat Peak. Approach as for South Buttress, but cross over the rib extending south from the S Buttress into the basin East of Cutthroat Peak.  The route is obvious (the big couloir on the East Face), but be very cautious of avalanche conditions on these East-facing slopes that get sun for most of the day.

Protection

Screws, nuts, pitons, cams to 1". Emphasis on small gear. Two 60m ropes.

Season

This route gets a lot of sun.  The best time for an attempt is as soon as possible after the annual opening of Highway 20, usually in April or May.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Crux pitch, Dan Cauthorn, Cumbre bound!
[Hide Photo] Crux pitch, Dan Cauthorn, Cumbre bound!
Cauthorn-Wilson is obvious in the center of the face.
[Hide Photo] Cauthorn-Wilson is obvious in the center of the face.
Approaching the couloir before dawn
[Hide Photo] Approaching the couloir before dawn
Looking down the first pitch
[Hide Photo] Looking down the first pitch
Nearly at the base of the first technical pitch
[Hide Photo] Nearly at the base of the first technical pitch

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Christian Spencer
Bellingham, Wa
[Hide Comment] when is the best time to do this? Apr 30, 2017
Jeff Hebert
Seattle, WA
 
[Hide Comment] The weekend the pass opens, unless you're using a snow machine from Mazama even earlier. Depending on the year, the snow might already be rotten by the time the pass opens. May 2, 2019
Alex Weber
Vancouver, BC
 
[Hide Comment] Climbed this on April 24th 2024
I believe we left the car at 5am, got to the base at 7am
It was mostly cloudy all day which was needed, as any time the sun came out the mountain started to shed.
I carried by skis in for the approach but didn't use them as the snow was too firm. However, they made for a quick descent at the end of the day when it was warmer.

We soloed up to the crux pitch. I made an anchor off to the left as the rappel station we saw was right in the line of fire.
The sun started to come out as I lead this pitch. It wasn't looking super fat and was partly delaminated up top. I made use of the 'chimney' sections where I could. I didn't find a ton of rock or ice placements.
Above this, I continued, but couldn't make it to the cave with our 60m ropes. I made an anchor with what I could using knifeblades and a snow picket. I was not thrilled with this anchor.
We then finished up to the ridge in two more pitches (not rope stretchers by any means). The snow was really unconsolidated which didn't make for good travel or protection. We created a two-piece nut anchor that we rapped off.

All around a great experience; happy to get it done and no one hurt :) Apr 26, 2024