Scenery during the approach
First we tried to climb something that looked awesomely adventurous. It took us three tries to climb a first pitch off the glacier. The first attempt involved me falling off some hard wet stuff, spending lots of time climbing every which way but to a belay, then bailing.
Here PH makes our second attempt on a face crack.
That pitched seemed to match one bit of beta but it was found distasteful for other reasons. Then I got to lead a beautiful dihedral through a roof with a splitter crack. It didn't match any beta but it was a sweet pitch.
Then we bailed and drank some Irish whiskey.
The next day, we climbed the Cooper-Kor on the East Face of Pigeon Spire. I left my camera at our first water stop of the morning, so no pictures of one of the most scenic climbs I've ever done. But here's a picture of Pigeon Spire. The East Face is on the left. We descended the West Ridge, on the right, which was a nice lofty hike.
Someone found my camera and gave it to Sheryl Crow. She took good care of it and it was returned to me the same night. Thanks, someone and Sheryl!
Snowpatch Spire scenic
We were short on time, but wanted to make one last climb. So we headed for Paddle Flake Direct, a highly recommended route requiring only a very short hike from camp. The climb is left of the corner, part of it touches the vertical line between sun and shadow. Climbers can be seen on McTech Arete.
The first pitch was 55 m of pure fun. PH follows.
PH works the awkward start to the next bit.
Higher on the route, PH finds a good rest before climbing through the roof with the hand crack. Good times!
Hero hand jams to the top!
Thanks for the great trip, Peter! Let's go send that other stuff....