Northeast Face

CLIMBERS BEWARE! For the most deranged choss-wranglers only. The rock quality is so bad it helps to have a sense of humor about it. If you're serious about climbing this peak, triple-test every hold, wear helmets, and don't trust the pro (leader should not fall). We trundled hundreds of the most dangerous loose rocks, but the whole mountain is crumbling and the last pitch feels like it could collapse out from under you at any time, so no amount of cleaning will ever make this route safe. The crux moves are on relatively solid rock and somewhat protected by a #4 cam in a crumbly slot, but portions of the other pitches are truly unprotectable. Due to the traversing nature of the route, there are places where a fall would be equally catastrophic for the leader or the follower.

The summit tower is only 100 ft. tall on the north end, but we climbed it in 4 short pitches to avoid heinous rope drag on this wandering route.

P1: 5.6 R, 60 ft.

Start at the base of the steep NE face below a pine tree; make delicate unprotected moves off the deck to traverse left directly below the tree; climb the chimney past the live tree and a second dead tree to reach a large notch/ledge. Belay with the rope wrapped around a big rock pillar.

P2: 5.0 R, 60 ft.

Traverse horizontally to climber's right on a downsloping exposed ledge system to move the belay to a large platform at the far right edge of the NE face with a small tree. No protection placed on lead. Belay with cams in cracks above the platform.

P3: 5.9 PG13, 40 ft.

Climb a knobby face (5.6 R) to the base of an obvious double chimney system; combine face and crack moves to overcome the bulge where the left branch of the chimney steepens and narrows to an offwidth (crux, 5.9 PG13); climb jugs a few more feet to a big ledge at the N end of the summit ridge. Belay with the rope wrapped around a huge rock outcrop.

P4: 5.4 X, 40 ft.

Climb a short choss tower to gain the summit ridge; scoot across a 10-foot-long, 6-inch-wide knife edge of crumbling mud over considerable exposure; climb a second choss tower to reach the summit plateau (no pro available until marginal placements in the last few feet). Belay from a stubby rock protrusion (roughly a 10-inch cobble). Leader may want to untie before belaying follower because it is unclear if the belay would hold a pendulum fall if the ridge collapses.

Descent:

Rappel 110 ft. down the NE face from the slung cobble (P4 belay), passing the notch at the top of P1 and continuing down a steeper chimney just E of the route start. A single 70 m rope is barely sufficient to reach a walk-off ledge.

__________

Four stars for the epic ridiculousness of Absaroka adventure climbing. Zero stars for the rock quality and convoluted short pitches. That averages out to two stars, right?

From the north side of the summit tower (visible from the usual approach), look for a right-facing flake/chimney system with a live evergreen tree halfway up in the middle of the steep NE face. The route makes a zig-zag past the tree, out right to the double crack/chimney system on the N ridge, then back left along the summit ridge.

We brought a plethora of weird gear (including 12-inch nails and snow pickets) expecting a funky nail-up aid route, but the rock is so rotten that hanging from gear seemed untenable, and not much pro is available anyway. Only the following gear was placed:

Single cams #0.4, #0.5, #2, #3, #4 (large sizes crucial on P1 and P3)

Black and red tricams

Slung trees/rock horns (one piece of webbing left for rappel)

No bolts on this formation--let's keep it that way.