North Pillar Left  5.8 R

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Type:  Trad, Alpine, 4 pitches, 500 feet, Grade II Consensus:  5.8 [details] FA:  Mitch Musci, J Whorton, 2005 New Route:  Yes Submitted By:  Mitch Musci on Sep 7, 2005 You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (2) Your todo list: Your stars: Your rating: -none- [change] Your ticklist: [add new tick]

Mitch follows the nice hand crack on pitch 2. Phot...

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Description 

Begin in a prominent gully that splits the left side of the north face. Scramble up the gully until it turns to 5th class. Step right on to a grassy ledge with a nice crack for an anchor.

Pitch 1: (5.7, 140 feet) Zig-zag up the face above, trending slightly to the right. Traverse right under a roof, then head straight up a left facing corner to find another nice belay ledge with a splitter hand crack for an anchor.

Pitch 2: (5.7 R, 140 feet) Jam the nice hand crack straight off the belay for 40 feet...you are now on the North Pillar. Continue up the pillar with occasional protection while passing a few bulges. Belay on the left side of the pillar beneath a steep, left facing dihedral system.

Pitch 3: (5.8, 150 feet) Climb up into the dihedral system and pass through two roofs (crux) with good protection. Climb a blank slab and belay at the base of a large step in the ridge on the left.

Pitch 4: (5.7, 100 feet) Ascend the step with nice face holds and a crack, then continue on easier terrain to the false summit. 4th class scrambling finds the true summit.

Descent: Head west along the ridge (4th class) for about 200 feet to the first prominent saddle. Instead of staying on the ridge, skirt the next tower on the right (north), then make a descending traverse NW (skier's left). You will eventually be funneled into a 3rd-4th class gully leading down to the valley floor. The further west you traverse, the easier the descent will be.

Protection 

Standard alpine rack to 3 inches. Doubles of 1-3 inches can be useful for the hand crack belay.

Photos of North Pillar Left Slideshow

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J Whorton climbs through the dihedral system on pi...

This shows the Direct North Pillar on the right (r...