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Fritz
Trad climber
Hagerman, ID
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 7, 2009 - 12:37am PT
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Mt. Fay-Chouinard Route 1978
MARK & RAY’S BIG MT. FAY ADVENTURE
It all started with the Washington State University Alpine club scholarship fund. The club was cash-rich from running learn to climb schools twice a year. Mark Mason approached me with a plan to convert some of that cash to our pockets. We presented the summer 1978 Canadian Climbing trip with three goals: “the Chouinard route on the North Face of Mt. Fay, The North Face of Mt. Robson, and The West Ridge of South Howser Tower in the Bugaboos. All three routes were prestige routes, but well within our abilities. I had already attempted Mt. Fay & South Howser Tower (twice), but had failed due to horrible weather. At the time I even thought of the routes as relatively safe sure-bets.
Our scholarship grant request was the most ambitious presented by the challenge-retarded membership of the club, but we were slighted with the offer of $50.00 gas money for Mark & a warning that it was not to be used to buy liquor.
In August we were off to the Canadian Rockies. Mt. Fay was to be the warm-up for the following big climbs. Weather was good, a rarity in that range. “After all, where do you think all the glaciers come from anyway?”
I knew we had to register with the Banff National Park rangers because of the problem a previous W.S.U. Alpine Club party had. In the early 1970’s they attempted a winter ascent of Mt Victoria and of course failed to register. Three days later, concerned rangers followed the climbers ski trail from the parking lot at Lake Louise up under Mt. Victoria in a helicopter.
After a noisy helicopter search the rangers finally spotted the climbers tent high on the Victoria glacier. As the rangers flew low over the climber’s tent, to see if they were safe: all three climbers bare-assed the helicopter. The pilot later confessed that a R.C.M.P. officer (Mountie) aboard, had to be physically restrained from shooting at the climbers. The helicopter flew off down the valley. However, when the climbers finally returned to their VW van; they were arrested, imprisoned, fined, and darkly warned never-ever to return to Canada.
We, of course, registered with the rangers for our Mt. Fay climb. Unfortunately, we optimistically predicted we would return in two days from our adventure.
The North Face of Mt. Fay is climbed in two stages. With a start at Moraine Lake, climbers must first get past the complex lower cliffs, icefalls, and surrounding small peaks that defend Mt. Fay. Then a plateau under the upper North Face gives easy access to the esthetically pleasing and steep North Face routes.
North face of Mt. Fay in center of picture. Chouinard route is left-most high ice face. The Prow is prominent rock formation at top right of picture. 3-4 Couloir is out of picture to right. Cooper Hut is just out of picture at top right.
There are various ways to approach the plateau under the upper North Face of Mt. Fay, but most of them end at the Cooper Hut. The hut is a small aluminum shelter that sets at the top of two couloirs that provide the most obvious access to Fay’s North face. I had been up and down the most popular approach route, 3-4 Couloir, in very bad conditions the previous year (I was attempting to prove that you could do ice climbs in nasty weather). Having survived 3-4 Couloir’s rock-fall once: I could hardly wait to share it with Mark.
3-4 Couloir was first climbed in the1890’s and is a class 4 scramble. Like certain other venerable Canadian routes: it is one loose, steep, dangerous, long, scary, bitch of a scramble. It turns out the hut is named for a climber killed in 3-4 Couloir by rock-fall. The hut journal contains many mentions of rock-fall injuries in 3-4 Couloir. A photo near the start, that Mark took, shows me running across rock littered snow.
Since Mark didn’t know yet, he yelled at me; “Hey: what’s the hurry?” When the first rock screamed by his head a minute later-------- Mark got the idea.
Ray running from rockfall, at start of 3-4 Couloir.
After 3-4 Couloir steepened and narrowed; the rock fall diminished, but never ceased entirely. Somewhere along the way, Mark insisted on roping up in case one of us was cold-cocked by a rock. (Mark hadn’t done enough Canadian climbing to be at ease on wet, loose, steep limestone swept by rock-fall: somehow the romance of it all just didn’t seize his imagination in a positive way.)
Near the top of 3-4 Couloir the loose, wet limestone blocks finally gave way to a high angle scree slope. At the end of my last lead I suggested un-roping, but without comment Mark continued past me roped-up. Halfway up his scree lead he pounded a protection piton into a Cadillac-size rock buried in gravel. Fifty feet higher, Mark just flopped down in the gravel and told me, “on belay.”
When I got to Mark’s piton, I removed it. Rather than slog through the steep gravel around the Cadillac-sized rock, I simply stepped up onto the rock. As I stood on the rock, arms akimbo, catching my breath; it suddenly rolled out from under me! I jumped into the air: landing on my feet in the scree, as Mark pulled me up tight with the rope.
Let me repeat myself: the Cadillac-size chunk of rock that we had both assumed was bedrock, or at least damned solid, rolled out from under me like a log in water, when I stood on it! To make a classic understatement: I’m still glad I removed Mark’s piton, before I climbed up on the rock it was in.
I was so rattled by the near fatal event, I didn’t even enjoy the noise the Cadillac rock made clearing out debris in 3-4 Couloir. Good thing no one was below us. We found our way up the next few hundred feet and arrived at Cooper Hut without further incident. On the way I was amused at seeing a trilobite-a marine fossil at 9,000 feet.
Cooper Hut is basic. Eight bunks, bedding, and cooking implements. We dropped our packs, then hiked over to the gently rolling glacier under Fay’s North Face to look at the Chouinard route. The route was wonderful: steep 60 to 70 degree hard snow and ice leading to a vertical ice cliff at the top. Everything looked solid and straightforward: best of all no rocks were in sight on our route on the face. Thus, there was no loose rock to climb or to roll down on us.
Upper North Face, Mt. Fay. Chouinard route is left-most ice sheet with sunlight on bulge.
We made an early start the next morning, since we had to climb Fay and descend to the Ranger Station by nightfall. The Fay Glacier up close to the North Face was not badly crevassed, so we reached our route fairly easily. Once on the steep snow and ice slope we made good time, only occasionally placing ice screws for protection. The conditions were perfect with hard snow just a few inches deep over blue-water ice. We’d belay every 150 feet and swap leads. Mostly front-pointing with our crampons we climbed quickly up the uniformly steep (60 – 70 degrees) snow and ice.
Mark starting the Chouinard Route.
Under the ice bulge at the top of the face, we encountered blue-water ice on the surface with some hollow sounding areas that were scary. Mark started to put in an ice screw at one belay, then discovered the whole ice sheet bulging outward as he turned in the screw. He retreated down fifteen feet to more stable ice. The vertical to slightly overhanging ice bulge was skirted to the left, and two more leads got us to the wildly overhanging summit cornice.
Mark led up to the the dripping, sagging, summit cornice and since he was out of rope, belayed just underneath it. When I got there, he begged to do the last steep, slightly un-solid lead up around the cornice: since he was getting both wet and scared sitting under it.
We popped out on the summit in early afternoon. Our ascent of the Chouinard Route had been nine leads of great ice climbing. The next day we were told by Park Rangers the cornice fell off in the late afternoon, the day of our climb!
After summiting, we were a long time descending Mt. Fay. We ended up going off the lower angled south side of Fay and had a stiff uphill walk back to Cooper Hut. By the time we reached Cooper Hut we were whipped and the day was late. It was agreed we would do the descent to Moraine Lake the following early morning.
A more experienced climbing party, we met at Cooper Hut, told us about a much safer route off the Mt. Fay plateau. The route went out the Fay Glacier under our North Face route to a prominent rock formation called “The Prow”. From The Prow, one rappel put you on ledges you could down climb un-roped to easier terrain.
Very early morning found us on the Fay Glacier heading for The Prow, which we reached with minimal difficulties. The descent route was now clear, since we could see Moraine Lake. We hurried off the route, but Fay is a huge mountain and time flew by. Moving as quickly as possible, we climbed down a long series of ledges toward easier terrain.
We were nearing the end of Moraine Lake and had finally reached a trail, when we heard a helicopter. To our dismay it appeared, then headed right up toward Mt. Fay: without a doubt looking for Mark and Ray. Mark took off running for the Ranger hut, still one mile away. I sped up, but trotted along fatalistically. After all, I knew we would get an ass-chewing whenever we both appeared. Mark was able to stop a second search helicopter from getting in the air.
Mark & Ray were asked to appear at the main Ranger Station. The rangers were stern, but pleasant. They let us off with a minor lecture on climbers’ responsibility.
Then one ranger shocked us by explaining the early morning rescue helicopters were due to their fears that we had been injured or killed when the summit cornice fell off the afternoon of our climb.
There was silence ---- while the fact sunk in that the annoyingly drippy summit-cornice, we had both spent too-much time under, had fallen off right after we summited. We were both embarrassed and apologetic.
Mark and I swore ourselves to secrecy about our overdue return. Then we reassessed our Canadian climbing goals.
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Jeremy Handren
climber
NV
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Thanks Fritz...that brought back some memories...I be surprised if those ice routes even exist anymore. The 3-4 couloir looked like a total death trap when I did Fay (1990 I think) we went around to the right which was steep and super ugly but safe at least.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Interesting and entertaining. Thanks!
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Canadian Rockies
Better known to many - except those unfortunates living in backwaters like Canmore, Calgary and Edmonton - as the Canadian Rubblies. And for good reason. All explaining why more and more alpine climbing there happens during September - May, when the rock is reasonably well covered by snow and ice which cements it together.
A good account of a fine climb - one of the first modern ice climbs in the Rubblies.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Hagerman, ID
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 7, 2009 - 09:06pm PT
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Mighty Hiker: I was attracted to N. Face of Fay because I was starting to feel that one of those loose rocks in "the rottens" might have my name on it.
We were just not bright enough to take relatively safe "The Prow" route up to the Fay Glacier, since the guidebook description made it seem tough to find some key parts. Easy to find coming down.
It was only after climbing 3-4 Couloir, that I learned it was a major bowling alley. In 2006 I was chatting with a REI manager in their SLC store. BITD he had been seriously injured by rock fall in it, and had to be evacuated.
3-4 Couloir certainly gets mentioned in older issues of “Accidents in North American Mountaineering” reasonably often.
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Oct 11, 2009 - 06:02pm PT
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Thanks for the story Fritz,
Zander
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Oct 11, 2009 - 06:16pm PT
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Whoo Hoo, Fritz!!!!
Supergaiters, old salewa screws, piolets!
edit
I forgot the Dachsteins, and the salewa adjustable crampons!!!!
AWESOME!!!!!
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Oct 11, 2009 - 07:25pm PT
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Nice account of a full-value adventure, and great pics.
Thanks.
Rick
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Fritz
Trad climber
Hagerman, ID
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 12, 2009 - 12:17am PT
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I still think about what might have happened if Mason, after driving the pin into the Cadillac-sized rock in 3-4 Couloir, had climbed onto it: instead of slogging around it.
Would I have been quick enough to drop the belay, and untie from the rope, while dodging the rock?
I can't imagine that I could have stopped the rock after it rolled 100 ft.
It doesn't play well in my mind.
I shared these thoughts with a peer who gave up "dangerous climbing" after he had a rappel fail during a thunderstorm retreat. He fell 20 or so feet until the rappel rope jammed in a flake. Then, the party had to re-unite and extract the jammed rope. Then: he got to finish the retreat, in the storm, with a severely sprained ankle.
His analysis of my chances in the rolling rock, with belay rope attached scenario.
"You were toast!"
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Bad Climber
climber
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Oct 12, 2009 - 09:40am PT
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Ah, Fritz, thank you! This brings back huge, most excellent memories. I climbed that route back in the mid-80's. It was, and remains, the best ice climbing I've ever done. We hit perfect plastic conditions--real thunk! thunk! placements. When I pulled over the bergshrund, I realized I was on the climb of a lifetime, pale blue alpine ice reaching up to a clear alpine dawn. Fantastic.
We did the direct prow approach, which, I understand, is now outfitted with all kinds of chains and rails and such, probably because the 3--4 gully is so dangerous. When we did the prow, there were rap anchors, but I think that's it. It was actually fun mid 5th class climbing, steep and pretty solid. We bivied on the very point of the prow, the north face looming above. During the night, I'd bolt up in my sack when some big-ass chunk of ice would fall of the glacier that hung off both sides of the point.
One of my best adventures. I really felt like an alpinist on that one.
Thanks again!
BAd
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Oct 12, 2009 - 10:39am PT
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Classic Old School Outing! Ice is nice and will suffice...
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Oct 12, 2009 - 07:08pm PT
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I also smiled when I saw the Supergaitors
Nice Write-up.
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rollingstone
Big Wall climber
Seattle
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Oct 12, 2009 - 08:14pm PT
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I have to correct Ray's (Fritz) assertions regarding the earlier WSU Alpine Club trip to the Canadian Rockies. I was one of the three climbers on that trip, and we did NOT bare-ass the chopper intentionally. Here is what really happened:
Glen Boles had just published the Canadian Rockies Guide -South, and we managed to overlook the warning that registration was mandatory in Parks Canada. Our original goal had been to do the North Face of Assiniboine, but after we sobered up, we realized the approach was a little too far for us (15+ miles in and back out). After reading through the guide, we decided on Mt. Victoria, because we figured it was more accessible. So, Christmas break, 1973 saw Dave, Gary and me driving from Pullman to Lake Louise. Younger readers should note that we were such neophytes that we did not really know that hardly anybody went climbing in the Canadian Rockies in the winter. The guidebook was just so damn intriguing that we just had to go there. A review of the literature of the day shows the same names again and again doing winter ascents (Brian Greenwood, Charlie Locke, and others who I cannot remember right now. I believe we used snow caves entirely on the climb, if my memory serves me correctly. We left Lake Louise parking lot, and snowshoed around the lake. We ascended the NE Face of Victoria over the next several days, and back at our high camp the night that we summitted, we slept through a storm that scoured the face, and swept off several feet of snow. I was actually the one presumed to have mooned the chopper. In reality, I was just finishing up my morning rituals at the loo, when to my surprise I heard the sound of rotors, and from below me, a chopper heaved into view! Needless to say, I pulled up my surplus wool trousers, tucked in my wool sweaters, and waved at them. I actually thought it was a heli-tour by CMH (Canadian Mountain Holidays for those readers under 50). I gave the pilot a friendly wave, and crawled back into the cave to tell Dave and Gary what a cool thing I had seen.
After we made it all the way back down to Lake Louise, we spent several hours heating the oil in the engine of Dave's van. It was -25F when we got to the car, the parking lot was deserted, and the engine was not turning over. Eventually one of us noticed that all the gear we had left in the van, including a tool box, was not there. I volunteered to hike back down to town, and report the theft. I think I arrived at the Warden's office around 11:30 pm, or maybe a little after midnight. I started to tell the warden on duty that our car had been broken into. He asked where it was parked, and I replied "Lake Louise parking lot." He said, "A white van?"
I said yes. He told me it was not broken into. Rather, he said that the Park warden who figured out we were climbing there had "found the vehicle unlocked," and our items had been confiscated to ensure that we would come in.
He drove me back up to the lake, where we were informed that climbing in the National parks of Canada without registering was against the law, and we soon had a date in court to sort it all out.
I do not remember the name of the park warden who helped us through the process, but we actually got off fairly lightly, considering they could have made us pay for the chopper ($600/hour), the RCMP officer, the warden, the guide on board and a fine from the province of Alberta for general punitive purposes. I think we each had to pay $200.00, for a total of $600.00. This was only because the warden assured the judge that we were not malicious in our intent, nor were we dirtbag Vietnam-war draft-dodgers which were common in Canada in December 1973. Two of us were students in good-standing at WSU, and one of us was a mathematics instructor at the University of Idaho. I guess this convinced him, because after we got the money wired up to us, we were able to collect our gear and roll for home. As I recall, we did not miss a day of class.
The next several winters I returned to Canada, climbing along the Banff-Jasper h-way, and threw in summer trips to boot. Good times. The story got better each time I heard some Canadians recount about the Yanks that had mooned the RCMP. Anyway, that is what really happened. BITD, we had no beta, Mountain magazine was still under issue #30, Climbing magazine was a thin rival to Summit, and the gods ruled in Yosemite! Or so I recall the view from the backwaters of Pullman. Good to hear your story, Ray. I think we had better weather in August of '77 on Fay than you did. No rolling stones for me on that trip!
Mick
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Fritz
Trad climber
Hagerman, ID
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 13, 2009 - 08:10pm PT
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Mick: Thank you for posting up the "correct version" of the mooning your would be rescuers story.
I think my version is a little more fun. I will admit I can now remember both you and Gary (during some beer drinking) recounting the incident mostly as you state it-----although I don't recall that the mooning was entirely accidental.
You didn't mention jail-time? My memory tells me it was cheapest and warmest accommodations available in Baniff----- and was a "positive experience"???
I sent the story link to Gary, but have not heard back.
My abuse of the WSU Alpine Club does not apply to the club before the late 70's. The early 70's alumni were an inspiration to me: you, Roskelly, Alan Kerney, Dave Neff and others; set a high standard.
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rollingstone
Trad climber
Seattle
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Oct 14, 2009 - 06:09pm PT
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Ray: Thanks for the response. I tell you, the mooning was entirely a case of bad timing. I did not even hear the chopper because he was flying right up the face from below, rather than coming in from the side or from above us. I had no idea they were flying until he just popped into view. I was so naive that it never occurred to me that they might be looking for us! After all, we knew where we were, so how could there possibly be problem? After working two summers at Mt. Rainier, and knowing their regulations, how could I not know the same rules would apply in Canada? Fekking stupid, I was. We never went to jail because the wardens kept our stuff until we went to court, so we just hung out around Banff for a few days. I think we might have gone down to Calgary to escape the cold, because we were camping in Dave's van. Saw American Graffiti there, I think.
Once we were back in court, we paid the fine, got our stuff and left (until the next winter, of course!)I remember being intimidated all the time in the Alpine Club, just desperately trying to get good enough so I was not considered a total bumblie. I remember hearing stories of John Roskelly, and Jeff Duenwald (from the Vet school), and wondering if I could ever get good enough to maybe actually climb in Yosemite or bigger ranges!! My lack of maturity back then makes me laugh today. I have been fairly fortunate with all my climbs in the Rockies, however. I don't think I have ever had an incident like the one you described.
Mick
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L
climber
Just surfin' the tsunami of life...
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Feb 26, 2010 - 06:53pm PT
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Fritz,
This TR is magnifique! That gripping ending was worth the price of admission, too.
Thanks for sharing your stellar writing abilities and excellent photos with us. I sure am glad it was you out there doing all these daring deeds instead of me ;-)
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Dirka
Trad climber
SF
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Feb 26, 2010 - 07:54pm PT
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Kick ass! Thanks for posting up.
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