Forum Index > Trip Reports > Tricouni, Primus, Austera, Klawatti, Dorado Needle, Eggplant - June 26-29, 2017
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Gimpilator
infinity/21M



Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics
Location: Edmonds, WA
Gimpilator
infinity/21M
PostFri Jun 30, 2017 10:21 am 
video link Intro (skip if you have a short attention span) When Michael and I were trying to pick out a trip, I said it was a shame that we didn't have a 3rd partner for glacier travel, since the weather window would be so excellent for the Inspiration Traverse. He convinced Josh to repeat it. Unlike myself, Josh is always willing to repeat peaks for the fun of it, especially if it's to help someone else out. He could have completed the Bulger List by now, but instead has done many of them 2 or 3 times. So in essence he would be our guide and not a lot of new research was necessary since he was familiar with the routes. Now for a word of thanks. Having only one car to work with, I asked my father who is retired if he could help us out with the car shuffle ordeal. He agreed to do it. Thanks Dad! Day 0 We would be going southbound ending in Cascade River valley, contrary to the norm. After dad dropped us off, we started hiking around 8:30pm and made 3 miles along Thunder Creek before camping. Day 1 For our first full day, we aimed to reach Lucky Pass. Along the ridge above McAllister Camp, we were attacked by a horde of mosquitoes. Can't even put into words how bad it was. We later agreed that it was the worst any of us had ever seen during daylight hours. Michael became seriously ill at Borealis Lake and we were afraid he was coming down with the flu. We discussed calling the trip off, but decided to wait until the next day just to see how he was feeling. Fortunately he recovered from whatever the illness was and we were able to proceed.
McAllister Ridge trail
McAllister Ridge trail
Red Mountain
Red Mountain
Tricouni
Tricouni
Primus
Primus
Logan
Logan
Arches, Arriva
Arches, Arriva
chopsticks
chopsticks
Day 2 The icefall direct route below Lucky Pass didn't look great so we did the longer traverse option accross the Borealis Glacier. From the pass I wanted to climb Tricouni first because most parties skip it. Beckey says the ridge goes at class 3, and for once, that's true even by todays standards. After Tricouni, we followed the east ridge on the far side of Lucky Pass to the summit of Primus which is broad and flat. We descended the west ridge for awhile and then dropped south onto a snowfeild to the edge of the North Klawatti Glacier. Austera Peak and Towers rose impressive above us to the south. We had to traverse east for a long way to bypass the cliffs which separate the north Klawatti from the main Klawatti Glacier. On the main Klawatti Glacier we ascended west to the summit area of Austera Peak. Some snow on the route made the way Josh had gone before impassable. Fortunately I found a ledge which put us up near the false summit. We rappeled from the false summit down into a notch and I scrambled to the summit from there. Two more rappels and we were off the summit and scambling back to the glacier. We had to rush now because it was late and we wanted to camp near Klawatti Peak. To reach the col southwest of the peak we had to pass over a rock wall. Josh climbed over the wall and then belayed Michael and I up. What we climbed felt like at least 5.7.
Borealis Lake
Borealis Lake
on Tricouni
on Tricouni
Primus from Tricouni
Primus from Tricouni
Logan and Goode
Logan and Goode
Klawatti and Eldorado
Klawatti and Eldorado
Tricouni register
Tricouni register
Goode
Goode
Tricouni summit
Tricouni summit
looking back at Tricouni
looking back at Tricouni
looking up Primus
looking up Primus
Austera northeast face at center
Austera northeast face at center
Snowfield group
Snowfield group
Goode
Goode
on the North Klawatti Glacier
on the North Klawatti Glacier
Klawatti Peak
Klawatti Peak
Austera main peak and false summit
Austera main peak and false summit
coming over from the false summit
coming over from the false summit
Austera summit
Austera summit
the wall
the wall
Day 3 After much inspection and debate, I refused to go up the south route on Klawatti. The snow looked rotten to me and broken up and steep with a bad runout. Josh and Michael were ready to go for it and half way up, but I called them down and we went back to the southwest buttress. This buttress was obviously technical at the base, but looked easier above. Josh led a long pitch which took almost all of our 30 meter rope and then belayed us up to the crest. It felt like 5.6 to me with maybe one harder move. There were numerous rap slings up here. We scrambled good rock for a short while until we came to loose crap. There were a number of ways to go up class 3 / 4, but a lot of loose rock was present on the route as well as some exposure and it was sketching me out. I started complaining and being annoying and whining. Sorry Josh and Michael. But I still stand by the fact that I don't like this peak and the middle part of the southwest buttress is nasty unpleasant. Yuck! The last bit to the summit was class 2 and good. The clouds cleared, just enough to see for awhile, before socking in again. On the way down I whined some more and complained and generally had a bad attitude. We moved our camp over onto the Inspiration Glacier near the Tepeh Towers.
the southwest buttress above
the southwest buttress above
the southwest buttress above
the southwest buttress above
Josh leading
Josh leading
Klawatti summit
Klawatti summit
I hate steep/loose/exposed
I hate steep/loose/exposed
looking back at Klawatti
looking back at Klawatti
going to Tepeh Towers
going to Tepeh Towers
Klawatti alpenglow with southwest buttress front and center
Klawatti alpenglow with southwest buttress front and center
good view of Buckner and Forbidden from camp
good view of Buckner and Forbidden from camp
Day 4 After a very lazy start, we crossed the McAllister Glacier to Dorado Needle. The snowfinger below the base of the climb was kind of shaped like a Z, because it had two bergschrund/moat formations coming in, one from each side. We had to tread carefully on the snowfinger. Josh did and excellent job leading the climb in 3 short pitches. I especially enjoyed the challenging cheval up the knife-edge, which was really unique and not like anything I have done before. On the way over to the Eldorado Glacier we had time for one more peak, but we had all done Eldorado before, so we opted for Peak 7733' which some have called Eggplant. It was easy snow and Class 2. Good views and worth the minor detour! We didn't fall in any holes in the boulderfeilds during the descent.
Dorado Needle
Dorado Needle
snow finger
snow finger
2nd pitch
2nd pitch
Michael a-cheval
Michael a-cheval
Dorado Needle summit
Dorado Needle summit
awkward rappel
awkward rappel
the lower crevasse/bergschrund
the lower crevasse/bergschrund
Eggplant!
Eggplant!
Moraine Lake from Eggplant summit
Moraine Lake from Eggplant summit
Klawatti Peak
Klawatti Peak
Eldorado
Eldorado
Triplets
Triplets
Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Torment
Torment

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Fletcher
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Fletcher
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PostFri Jun 30, 2017 10:50 am 
Looks great guys! So glad you got to do this together!

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RichP
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RichP
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PostFri Jun 30, 2017 11:29 am 
Amazing trip and pics. up.gif up.gif

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Josh Journey
a.k.a Josh Lewis



Joined: 01 Nov 2007
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Josh Journey
a.k.a Josh Lewis
PostFri Jun 30, 2017 11:32 am 
Reserved.

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Michael Lewis
Taking a nap



Joined: 27 Apr 2009
Posts: 629 | TRs | Pics
Location: Lynnwood, WA (for now)
Michael Lewis
Taking a nap
PostFri Jun 30, 2017 11:56 am 
This is one of my lifetime goals achieved. While I am still in pain, I do not regret it. Thank you Adam for inviting me and thank you Josh for leading and basically guiding. Special Thanks to Adam's dad for driving all the way out there. Some phos:
nobody knows whats going on
nobody knows whats going on
Way too steep
Way too steep
Primus fuel for Primus Peak
Primus fuel for Primus Peak
Should we continue?
Should we continue?
sleeping in a nice place
sleeping in a nice place
Blind shot
Blind shot
Borealis Lake
Borealis Lake
Josh taking a picture
Josh taking a picture
Adam taking a picture
Adam taking a picture
Josh barely eating
Josh barely eating
Tricouni Pano S to NW
Tricouni Pano S to NW
Tricouni Pano NE to S
Tricouni Pano NE to S
Tricouni
Tricouni
Josh looking Austere
Josh looking Austere
What's down there?
What's down there?
Josh not so Austere
Josh not so Austere
bottom of the climb Austera
bottom of the climb Austera
popping over to klawatti
popping over to klawatti
Great ending to the day
Great ending to the day
Fine Belay weather
Fine Belay weather
Adam belays Josh up
Adam belays Josh up
Josh pitches out the start of Klawatti
Josh pitches out the start of Klawatti
In the middle of it all
In the middle of it all
Magic Swan Fingers
Magic Swan Fingers
Alpine Enthusiast
Alpine Enthusiast
Josh Raps Klawatti
Josh Raps Klawatti
Adam Belays Josh down
Adam Belays Josh down
Tent below at Klawatti col
Tent below at Klawatti col
Inspiring traverse to Eldorado
Inspiring traverse to Eldorado
Settling in
Settling in
Adam and Josh watch
Adam and Josh watch
Sunset over Klawatti
Sunset over Klawatti
Wonderlust
Wonderlust
Sunrise from our camp on Inspiration
Sunrise from our camp on Inspiration
Not really though. The reward is way more than I paid.
Not really though. The reward is way more than I paid.
Remnants
Remnants
Josh finds gold!
Josh finds gold!
Adam
Adam
Edible Dorado
Edible Dorado
Rapping Dorado snow
Rapping Dorado snow
Where did we start?
Where did we start?
Window
Window
From the first Belay station at the top of the snowfinger on W Ridge of Dorado Needle
From the first Belay station at the top of the snowfinger on W Ridge of Dorado Needle

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xuanxier
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Joined: 09 May 2017
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xuanxier
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PostFri Jun 30, 2017 12:01 pm 
Killer work up there guys! Wish I had asked and joined on this one but oh well. Guess next time. I was going to suggest Klawatti/Austera/Primus a week or so ago but eventually I set on Olympus. Too tired to even think about another long haul right after Olympus given that I'm going for another 4-day mission this upcoming weekend. Did two day-trips in between (Corriveau, Little Tahoma) and still felt pushing it. Saw this massive group of tall peaks from Eldorado Peak but didn't know you can actually access them from the north side too.

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neek
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neek
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PostFri Jun 30, 2017 12:13 pm 
Inspiring! Nice action shots. Always hard to stop and take one of those when you're in the middle of things.

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Mesahchie Mark
A Lerxst



Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 700 | TRs | Pics
Location: In Wonderland
Mesahchie Mark
A Lerxst
PostFri Jun 30, 2017 12:28 pm 
Great trip! Having made it to Primus and back from Cascade River Road, your one-way plan was a smart move. up.gif Now I'm itching to get back to DN! I expect the snow fort was gone by the time you all passed by... wink.gif

Cheers, Mesahchie Mark
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awilsondc
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awilsondc
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PostFri Jun 30, 2017 12:45 pm 
I'm happy for you! Looks like an awesome trip. That's pretty cool of Josh to repeat this with you. It's gotta be a pretty short list of people who have done that more than once! up.gif up.gif up.gif

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zephyr
aka friendly hiker



Joined: 21 Jun 2009
Posts: 3361 | TRs | Pics
Location: West Seattle
zephyr
aka friendly hiker
PostFri Jun 30, 2017 1:30 pm 
Congratulations! Such a strong team effort. I enjoyed hearing the side stories and discussion points. It made it more real. Excellent photos to back up the story and inspire us at home. What a cool looking tower this is.
Gimpilator wrote:
Well done! ~z

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Distel32
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Distel32
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PostFri Jun 30, 2017 3:08 pm 
up.gif

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Routes
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Routes
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PostFri Jun 30, 2017 3:40 pm 
Amazing. Always love reading the summit register notes.

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raising3hikers
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raising3hikers
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PostFri Jun 30, 2017 3:43 pm 
nice trip and cool pics up.gif I still need to go back in there and climb tricouni one of these days, at least you didn't skip it

Eric Eames
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DIYSteve
seeking hygge



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DIYSteve
seeking hygge
PostFri Jun 30, 2017 4:46 pm 
Good TR and pics guys. up.gif Borealist-to-Eldo traverse is a great high route and deserves classic status. Getting around Austera Toe looks daunting from a distance but easy peasy when you get there.

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MangyMarmot
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MangyMarmot
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PostFri Jun 30, 2017 6:10 pm 
Great trip. Lots of cool photos. Primus and Tricouni was one of my favorite trip last year. I hope to get back up there for the others.

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Forum Index > Trip Reports > Tricouni, Primus, Austera, Klawatti, Dorado Needle, Eggplant - June 26-29, 2017
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