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Kangaroo
Temple, Southwest Face, 5.9, 7-8 pitches |
back
to wa pass |
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Tucked
away over a small saddle and totally hidden from the highway, the
Temple is somewhat protected from the hectic activity of the Pass
proper, and it almost have the feel of wilderness in there. The
level of adventure is heightened even further when you set out on
the routes and realize the Temple is made up of rather inferior
rock. Loose, crumbly, eroded and hard to protect. So it goes. Yet
some of the outings I've had in there have been memorable and fully
worthwhile. Maybe that's just me...
Right after topping out I was less
thrilled by the quality of this classic outing. Lots of granola
pitches and loose flakes abound. But in retrospect, I must admit
that it was a great day on a classic route with some distinctly
memorable moments. The caves aren't
trivial either. To preserve this longish route's remote and adventurous
character, no more will be said.
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The South Face is
the long sweeping right skyline that starts out on the white
slab in the lower right corner of the picture, while the NW
Face is the much shorter crack system to the right of the blank
section near the left side of the upper part of the mountain.
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Somewhere mid way
up the Temple, on the long South Face route. This was one of
the better pitches when it came to rock quality, albeit not
very difficult. Joe Sprauer is following wearing a down parka
on yet another wintry day in July 2004. |
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The
first ascensionists, if there is such a word, called this the
Cheval Bulge. I guess it most have been a memorable passage
for them back in the early fifties, when they reportedly spend
two and half days putting up this route. The South Face does
have a lot of tedious climbing that I can see would be rather
unnerving without racks of cams and those nice smooth soled
shoes. As it was, this section turned out to be a gritty, flared
crack comprised of maybe two awkward moves, followed by steep
loose flakes and a decomposing squeeze chimney. Joe Sprauer
climbing |
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With the main difficulties
behind us and a comfortable ledge for a belated lunch, things
were looking pretty good here after 7 pitches or so.
The valley behind is part of the upper Twisp River drainage
and was the preferred approach in the times of old before the
completion of the North Cascades Highway. |
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