Choss Bubbles (summer var. to an existing winter route)  5.9-

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Type:  Trad, Alpine, 4 pitches, 1600 feet, Grade III Consensus:  5.9- [details] FA:  Season:  Summer Submitted By:  Nic Harnish on Aug 17, 2010 You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (1) Your todo list: Your stars: Your rating: -none- [change] Your ticklist: [add new tick]

The first pitch with an interesting 5.9-ish start.

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Description 

Ascend the longest section of the North Face directly to the summit starting on a 500 foot slab wall. This is the best rock on the route. Three pitches will get you to the top with the second pitch being the 5.9 crux, but 99% of the climbing is around 5.6/7. Excellent slab climbing. Upon reaching the top of the initial slab wall about 400-500 feet of very loose, class 3 scrambling brings you to the "choss bubbles", a strange, bubbly-looking formation of gravely granite. One pitch of 5.7R will be enough to surpass this strange little section. It's R-rated for the few legitimate placements and the fact that it's like climbing on small marbles. After this section is another 400-500 feet of class 3/4 scrambling on extremely loose terrain. We chose to simul-climb this portion as a safety precaution. After this ridiculous bullshit, you've summited. Yeah. I gave this route one star for the initial, fun slab pitches, otherwise this route blows. Have fun!

Location 

The route ascends the longest section of the North Face directly to the summit. Descend via the West ridge over the West sister peak and and down the other side to a low saddle and downclimb to the camp.

Protection 

Set of cams from 0.5 inches to 2 inches and a set of stoppers.

Photos of Choss Bubbles (summer var. to an existing winter route) Slideshow

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Choss Bubbles. This photo was taken at the top of...	Pitch two.	Leading through the "choss bubbles", 5.7R.
The beginning of the simul-climbing to the summit.	The final, short, class 4 simul-climbing to the su...