2/12/12 11:58 pm-I had been yearning for an adventure. I found someone on cc.com who agreed to climb with me. I asked if he wanted to do the NE Buttress of Chair peak or NY Gully, provided he knew the approach to NY Gully. Turns out he knew it well. We would meet at some ungodly hour and head up to climb this lurking beast. His name was Scott and he went by ColdIron on cc.com.
I knew about this route via cc.com and specifically via Wayne Wallace, local hardman climber.
The fact that I heard about this route through this channel is a tell-tale sign and very much reflected the quality and character of the route.
I had only really heard small mumblings about it and some heads up sections that were a little dicey.
I dismissed any doubt in my head outright. Alpine climbs are never as hard as people make them out to be. Besides two technical sections, Triple C on Dragontail was essentially the composite of a marathon and a snow slog (and a big emphasis on the Besides.)
With Triple C in my mind for druation x technical aspects, I came to this climb with mixed feelings. I knew the climb would be slightly shorter than Triple C, and probably more technical (as it was- having a couple sections of dead-vertical water ice, and a very technical mixed pitch.)
Scott and I meet around 3:30 in the Alpental parking lot. Soon, we're sorting gear getting ready. I am mostly ready so there's a little waiting around but NBD. We chat about rack and rope, you know, normal climber BS.
I take the rope. Damnit. This would prove useful later in the day. But that is another story.
We gear up in the pre-dawn cold, and trudge our way up the beaten down snow path with our skis. We hold a solid pace. The skinning is icy at best. Some of the slopes were very steep and sketchy, especially while wearing a pack. Soon enough we arrive at the notch where I stash mt skis. Scott skis down to the base of the route. We then hiked up to the true start of the climb together. My first impression was that the climb looked much bigger than I had expected. Scott takes the first lead. He was not fast but made consistent progress. I was cold, having not brought a hard-shell because mine was being replaced.
While belaying, I look down and see two climbers coming up to the route. "Is that Colin?" I reply, "Yea."
"It's Will and Chris." They came up and we chatted for a bit while they decided if they wanted to continue, despite the fact that we were in front of them. By now Scott had set up a belay and brought me up. We agreed that Scott would take the next lead as well, since he had the gear and we wanted to move fast.
By the middle of the second pitch I saw that Will and Chris were looking at us from the Notch. They watched for a good hour. The second pitch was definitely in good condition. I took the third pitch- the crux.
The beginning was easy snow slogging, but then a head-wall appeared and a single crack split the face. I had heard it went free at 5.8, but I didn't know the mixed grade. I decided, after some tries, to aid one or two moves. After some considerable work (this wasn't aiding at Index by any stretch of the imagination), I made it past the headwall, only to face scary mixed conditions. At least I had good gear below me. I scratched my way up and set up a belay. From here, Scott brought us to the true top of the climb, where we made one rappel into a couliour.
We sorted gear and he got on his skis and we went down to the notch to get my skis. We traversed for a good half mile before dropping down towards Alpental. On the way down, Scott and I got separated. I was skiing over what looked like a mound of snow that turned out to be a small 20 foot water fall about 75 degrees.
I skiied across rock and landed on a sharp stump. The pain was a bit overwhelming at first, but I told myself to breath and that helped somewhat. After I composed myself, I realized I was bleeding. I was worried about bleeding out, so I called my dad. He told me to call 911. After talking to the operator, they told me to head down where they would meet me. I donned my skis and gear and headed down. Unfortunatly, I ended up above a large waterfall. Thankfully I had the rope and was able to make two rappels. Scott met me at the bottom. I could see aid cars in the parking lot. I skiied down to them while Scott coiled the rope. The medics told me I could drive to the hospital. Once there, they called a modified trauma on me and I got a CT and blood work and dilauded, as well as two IV's. After probably 3 hours they released me. I could barely walk because my leg had been banged up in the fall. I was prescribed two antibiotics and percocet. Two weeks out and I'm not quite fully recovered. I can rock climb and ski now, thankfully.
This accident could have been prevented. My urgency that was precipitated by losing Scott caused me to make a split second judgement call that I might have not made otherwise. Thankfully I had the rope and was able to descend quickly. Also, it was good that I did not bleed out more than I did.
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