The Tooth - WA
May 30, 2009 |
We did the annual visit to The Tooth on Saturday and had a blast. Jim, Brad and I met at Carl's shop after work Friday and piled into the Dodge for a quick trip to the trailhead. We were sound asleep fairly eary because we're all old. Jim got a little cold huddled in his Eeyore sleeping bag.
Expecting hoards on the route, we got up early and were heading up the snow by 5:15. All went well all the way to Great Scott Basin where Jim and Brad got their first view of The Tooth. A good path was beat into the consolidated snow on the winter route (west of the creek) and we made good time. I was surprised not to see any fresh tracks ahead of us given how great the weather was.
We worked our way up the softening snow towards Pineapple Pass, stashing trekking poles before heading up the last steep section. Before long we were standing at the base of the route with no one else in sight. Jim and I took the first rope up.
The rock was warm and easy. Jim tried in vain to remove a nut from the first pitch so now The Tooth has yet another fixed piece. Other than the time spent on that valiant attempt, we cruised the rest of the route. We opted to scramble the third pitch since the exposure seemed minimal and the climbing going about 3rd to 4th class. The summit is such a cool place with plenty of seating and huge views. We spotted Mt. Stuart to the east, Mt Rainier loomed large to the south and Glacier Peak and Mt Baker were clearly visible to the north. I'm sure there were tons of named summits before us but those were the only ones I could name. We both had lunch and lounged about as we waited for Carl and Brad who were obviously savoring the rock more than we did. I kept an eye out in the basin and found no one else ascending - amazing. Before long, Carl and Brad arrived. We enjoyed the summit for about two hours before seeing another team finally heading up the basin below. We took our time rapping off and got to the base soon after the party of three arrived.
The snow had softened up enough by this point to make for a fast descent. Before too long we were back at the truck and heading to Spokane. |
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