Full TR here:
Stevee B's Golden Incalescent Blog


Captain's Log, Stardate 2013-08-17, Mount Huxley. The time is 7:45 pm, and we've completed the Evolution Traverse, 17h 12m since leaving our tents at Darwin Bench. I feel like I'm three feet underground, I have to go home. I'm breathing LSD. I need to go to the planet surface and be naked. Permanently.


Our buddy Kiff Alcocer hung with us until the Darwin downclimbs, but then took off and reached Huxley in 13 1/2 hours.

Special thanks to all the S'topians and others for the beta and advice. There's a ton already written, which we've linked to at the end of the blog entry, but on the chance that I don't take the time to write a follow up logistics post, I hoped to highlight a few things.

- The rock is incredible and worth a trip in whatever fashion suits ones abilities. One day, five days, who cares, make it happen.


 There is plenty of fun climbing remaining after peak 13,332'. Though the crux may be in the rear view mirror, the fun isn't over. This section is worth its own visit if you felt so inclined.

-We found no mandatory upclimbing any more difficult than 5.7. The route we took down off Darwin was 5.8 but so loose as to feel more difficult. I personally am a soft (occasional) 5.9 leader and felt "comfortable" (well mostly comfortable) unroped throughout. Alex Few and Jed Porter wrote a recent TR indicating that competent and perhaps somewhat specialized roped climbing techniques can be employed to provide greatly increased safety at minimal time cost.

 The key to a pleasant Darwin descent may be to drop directly below the summit and cut hard left toward the ridge, even crossing one of the towers on the east rather than the west. The dirty downclimbs are no fun, and we understand the raps aren't much better.



 We left camp with no puffies, light windbreakers, 3L water each, a 30m 7.7mm rope and a sub-2-pound rack consisting of a #2, .75, three nuts, a tricam, a slung hex, and two alpine draws. We didn't use any of the rack or rope but I wouldn't tell anyone to go without as having bail options may be worth the weight of at least the rope, nuts, and some tat.

 No water on route except the lake below Haeckel. No snow, and only a small patch of ice on Gould that wouldn't have helped much anyway.

-brought light (8oz) harnesses but didn't use them

-better fitting shoes are probably cheaper than the podiatrist appointments I'm now paying for. Sizing down a 1/2 size on Gandalfs wasn't a great way to go. Great shoe for the route but boy does size matter.

-Aaron @ SMC, a big tip of the hat to you, sir.



Full TR here:
Stevee B's Golden Incalescent Blog