Forwarding a trip report for Navajo Peak via the Navajo Glacier and North Face route. The author is Erik Corkran. We climbed the peak last Sunday, 10/10/99. Saw there was not much under Navajo Peak on your site, so thought this would be useful.
Thanks.
--Steve
-----Original Message----- From: Erik M. Corkran Sent: 10/11/99 2:47 PM Subject: Navajo Peak Trip Report (kinda' long)
This weekend Steve Baumgartner and I planned to climb a 4th-class ridge route on Mt. Neva in the Indian Peaks wilderness. At the last minute, Steve picked up some beta that the route was fairly easy, so he suggested the more challenging route up the N. Face of Navajo peak (steep snow, 5.0-5.2 rock). Sounded challenging but possible so we decided to give it a try.
Steve showed up at my house right on time at 6:00, but I couldn't seem to move very quickly so we didn't leave until about 20 after. Went climbing with Bill the day before and I was feeling tired (especially after having my butt kicked by some crack that looked "not too bad", but that is another story I guess).
At the trailhead, we looked at our gear in the usual attempt to get rid of anything possible to save weight. After my recent less-than-successful attempt on Ice Mountain, I knew we had to find a way to carry less. We ended up bringing 3 screws and some rock gear, mostly using hexes instead of cams for the big sizes. The route had a 5.7 variation which I wanted to at least look at. I figured with snow/ice and wearing boots, I might want the extra gear. Used my 9.4mm x 60m rope, having decided earlier not to use a single 8.8 as a lead line.
Approach was not bad at all (after Ice Mountain, it seemed very pleasant). Started hiking around 8:30 I think. Was about 3.5 miles on nice trail most of the way, some talus at the end but nothing terrible. Went ahead and put on crampons and gear at the base of the glacier. Just clipped the rope onto my pack to trail it. Steve was tied or clipped to the other end. Mostly just wanted the weight off our backs for climbing.
The initial snow section is low angle and had lots of rocks, probably covered later in the year. We were surprised at the amount of snow we found -- sometimes in over our knees. Hmm, well hopefully it will be better higher up, so we went on to see how things were. Conditions on the way varied from a few inches of snow over ice to about 2 feet of snow over ice. Avalanche was a concern but things just felt ok that day so we went on. Definately no place for the ice screws, and the rope wasn't doing us any good. Oh well, at least we were committed together. We just kept thinking we would go a little farther and see how we felt. We kept feeling ok, so we were soon at the top of the glacier in a nice rock alcove. On the snow traverse to Dickers Peck we passed the crevasse mentioned in the guidebook. Also as mentioned, it was very easy to just go around it (it's closed off at the right).
The first section had gone well, and it was now about 12:30 with the rock section still to go. Weather was great, and, though we weren't exactly flying up the route, we were moving very consistently and having a good time, so we checked the guidebook pages (in an excellent weight-saving maneuver Steve had pulled the relevant ones from the book) and started up the route. Was supposed to be 4th class with a couple of 5.0-5.2 sections, one 5.2 crack, option for one 5.7 crack. Looked a little cold, but not bad.
Steve lead the first pitch, about 180ft. Initially nice 4th class but then turning into some kind of 5.5 or 6'ish run out ice-covered rock. Definately didn't feel very easy when I followed it, and there wasn't much gear. Many footholds were ice/snow covered, making the climbing very challenging. After the initial section, the wall steepened considerably, and I don't know where all those footholds went! Other than that, it was absolutely freezing there on the shaded N (NW?) face. Steve managed to get in a few pieces and did a great job pulling off this lead. Oh yeah, it was his first lead in boots and mountain gear. Nice job!
According to the guide, we were supposed to climb up, find a vertical step which we would think was the summit tower (but wasn't), then scramble around and climb 200 more feet up to the real summit tower. We could see a vertical tower up above, so it seemed like our position made sense. After all, we were on the N. Face just like we were supposed to be, maybe the climbing just felt hard 'cause we were cold and tired? Nope, it really was hard, not our imagination. Well at least it looks like we will be in the sun soon.
After some discussion of which formation above might be the correct one, I headed up my pitch. Got a nice tri-cam after a short traverse and climb. Going well so far. Hmm the first 10 feet of the nice crack appear to be a nasty seam in a dihedral (that dark stuff is moss, not a shadow). Too scary to get over there, but looks like some gear in a crack straight up.
Up a few moves of icy ledges and great, there's a bad RP placement. Only brought 3 RPs 'cause you don't need that many on an easy route, right? More ok but scary moves, a worthless rp, a bad stopper. Ten more feet up an exposed corner brings me to a decent stance and a chance to place my green alien. Oh crap, right hand is numb, "Watch Me!". Placement is garbage but I keep it anyway. Looking down I tell Steve, "You know, all I really want is just one piece that might catch me. Just one"! This is absolulely terrifying but the thought of trying to downclimb is worse. Fortunately about 10-15 more feet up and exposed but fairly-juggy corner brings me to a great sling placement, then it's easy 3rd-class rock in the sun. Suddenly things don't seem so bad.
Steve arrives at the belay quickly, and after the mandatory thawing out, we try to figure out where we are. Well, there's that pink vertical step, hey that might even be the 5.2 crack. Should be easier from here, another pitch through this step, easy scramble pitch to the summit tower then up (4th class or 5.4, depending on route). Steve sets of hiking across the traverse, exposed but a very nice ledge system. Then the great announcement "It's a cruise!". He heads up an exposed snow talus ramp to the west while I walk along the easy part with the rest of the rope. I soon join Steve at the belay (got a hip belay up the ramp). Well, on to the scramble and summit tower.
"Umm, where is the summit tower?". "Don't know, let's go up here and look." A short but nice scramble on solid rock, up some thing that might have been a 10ft 5.2 crack (what does one look like, anyway?). Finally it dawns on us -- ohhhh, this IS the summit... Very unusual, an unexpected summit instead of the usual million false ones! Well, looks like we found our own route. It's around 2:45 and we stay on the summit for a few minutes, very happy to be there and in the sun.
We descended Airplane Gully, which might have been hard to recognize from the top if it weren't for the footprints made earlier that day by a party of three (we talked to them on the approach). The gully snow was re-freezing in the afternoon shade, so it made descent much easier than it looked. Wow, there really is an airplane here! We saw lots of pieces of it, though neither of us saw the propeller. Oh well, can look for it next time I guess. Other than that, I saw some really nice cracks around, even some offwidths (of course).
Made it back to the car around 6:30, tired but very happy that we stuck with the route and pulled it off.
One of my goals for this trip was to try to go much lighter than I had in the past. On Ice Mountain, I wore SMG-9s and Charlet Grade-8 monos (only crampons I own). My feet were cold, hurt, and felt like I had lead bricks strapped to them. This time I wore Trangos (still not waterproofed yet) and some strap crampons I borrowed from a friend. Don't know what they were -- made in West Germany, and with leather straps. Old-school all the way. They kicked butt!
Other than forgetting my gaiters, I did SO much better with the lighter equipment that I have no desire to wear all that heavy crap again. These crampons were 1/2 the weight of my Grade-8's, but still twice the weight of Steve's aluminum Kongs. Yeah my calf muscles got tired on the ice, but my feet didn't feel like they were being crushed, and they weren't any colder than in the Salomons. Oh yeah, and I could actually climb too, what a bonus! Anybody want to buy a pair of SMG-9's?
Left side of the glacier has very nice-looking ice on it. If you climb the snow on the right, leave your ice screws unless you just like carrying extra stuff. Picket could probably be used here. I think we ended up toward NW instead of straight North. To do the 5.0-5.2 route probably need to start farther left, then traverse farther than we did at the start. Guidebook mentions a ramp to an improbable stance. I didn't see it, but maybe it's there. Of course, it's probably sloping and covered with thin snow layer...