Type: Trad, Mixed, Ice, 600 ft (182 m), 6 pitches, Grade IV
FA: Jason Kruk, Joshua Lavigne, Jon Walsh
Page Views: 943 total · 8/month
Shared By: Dave Rone on Nov 29, 2014
Admins: Dave Rone, Tom Jones, Richard Rose

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Description Suggest change

Check Your Head gives you a taste of difficult mixed climbing in a remote mountain environment. Unfortunately, the route can't be seen until you are nearly to it, and to get a good look, you might want to walk along the East Face before you climb up to the bench and the base of the route.
P1, 30m: climb easy ice if it's in, otherwise it's easy mixed climbing with marginal pro. Set up a belay in a cave.

P2. M6+, 35m: traverse left from the belay, hopefully on ice, then up to a left leaning crack that takes good gear. If there is no ice, the traverse is on very poor rock, protected by two fixed knife blades. Continue up the crack on decent gear to left-facing corner capped by a big roof. Place a bomber stopper and traverse left on good flakes and edges to another crack. The difficulty eases off as you follow this to a decent ledge and a two bolt anchor.

P3, M6+, 35m: from the belay, climb the slot past two fixed pins. After the 2nd, move left on flakes and edges to a crack system which continues up and left to a bolted station. The protection is a little sparse toward the end of the pitch, but the climbing is easier.

P4, M5, 25m: climb up then left to a belay at the base of the ice, passing one of the rappel stations along the way.

P5, WI5+, 40m: climb steep ice that gets easier higher up, to a ledge and sheltered belay.

P6, WI4+, 25m: climb sometimes thin but good ice to the top. Build an anchor on the ice.

Dave traversing past rotten rock on P2.

Location Suggest change

This is the rightmost route accessed from the bench above the major rock band on the east face. The descent is as follows.
Rappel #1: almost 60m to the bolted station at the top of the buttress.
#2: about 50m to a two-nut station at a stance.
#3: a free hanging rappel to the ground.

Protection Suggest change

10 - 12 screws, set of stoppers, double set cams from smallest C3 to #1 C4, and a #2 and #3. I'd also take a few pitons, knife blades to lost arrows.

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