(cross-posted from cascadeclimbers.com)

Trip: Guye Peak (Alpental) - Improbable Choss Pile With A Nice Traverse

Date: 10/13/2010

Trip Report:
"So, you like this kind of stuff?", I ask Ed after the second pitch, a ginger tiptoe job over waterfall-covered loose rock with enormous rope-drag. (I likely went off-route, but it looked like the line of least choss.)
Yeah, he says, it has this alpine feel.
"So, you came back for this?", I keep probing after we get our money's worth on the "approach pitches" by belaying in unusual spots, and me failing to commit to the line suggested by an improbable-looking piton.
Ed laughs and leads us to the Lunch Ledge. He's climbed that thing three times. He's crazy!
And then he leads in style (tall-person variation) and I follow with a singing heart (no loose rock! fun moves! I'm glad I didn't have to trust my life to the second, moving piton!) the famous traverse, which is frankly the most probable thing on this entire mountain.
I lead the fourth-class ramp by levitating over the scree and cutting steps in the pine needles. And finally we pitch out the improbable third class moves between walkable ledges, and yes, clip that piton that some young'uns were complaining about on cascadeclimbers earlier.

The beginning of the descent is of course also quite technical, and apparently involves a rappel that's not mentioned in the Nelson & Potterfield book.

All in all a fabulous, death-defying day on the most improbable choss pile I've ever climbed. The traverse is nice, though. I would not recommend Guye Peak to a friend.

I have pictures, but they're on a disposable analog camera (long story), so I need to have them developed first. Anyone still doing that?

Gear Notes:
Second piton on the traverse moves in place.

Approach Notes:
Steep, loose boulder/scree field.