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GRJ
climber
Juneau AK
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Topic Author's Original Post - Apr 6, 2008 - 11:58pm PT
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This last March Sam Magro and I visited the Mendenhall Towers just outside Juneau Alaska to see if we couldn't dig up some fun mixed lines on the North Side of the massif. We flew in on the night of the 14th in clear weather......the next day it fell apart on us. Over the next week and a half we received over 20ft of new snow. We spend 7 days shoveling in 2-4 hour shifts to keep from being buried. Imagine the two guys in a leaky dingy bailing to stay afloat, yeah that was us. Finally, after one horrendous night, we dug a cave.
Then, after 5 days of cave dwelling, the storm broke. We had to spend the first day drying layers and letting the snow settle. The next we tried what we thought was an ice choked corner on the West Tower and got our asses handed to us. Then next day we tried again, cuz we're really smart like that, and got shut down by insanely difficult mixed climbing.
We had our bivy gear so at 11am we went exploring and hit the jackpot. Perfect neve ice and wonderful mixed climbing. 1500ft later we found a nice little alcove beneath an overhang and as it was beginning to get dark and the sky was red we figured why not get some sleep and climb in the light. We did just that and awoke to northern lights followed by another beautiful day of climbing on the upper headwall.
To get an idea of good the route was 14 pitches, the easiest "pitch" was AI3+, and the hardest AI4 M5. When the climbing got difficult the was gear there, then in between we found ourselves on bomber neve.
We summited at 6pm with a view 100 miles in every direction. We were able to run down the West Ridge with only one single rope rappel and made it back to camp by 8pm. We never even bothered getting out our headlamps, and the only gear we left on the route was a picket on the descent.
In the end we made the first ascent of the North Face of the West Tower "The Great White Conqeror" 800m V M5 AI4 A1
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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FANTASTIC!!!
Out of curiosity, is there any relation to the Mendenhalls of Eastern Sierra fame?
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climbrunride
Trad climber
Durango, CO
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Looks great. Way to go!
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
Otto, NC
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Awesome. If there is a god then 54 page-one political threads will immediately self-destruct out of pure shame.
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Standing Strong
Trad climber
the secret life of T*R
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grj where did you guys come from? balla damn.
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Crimpergirl
Social climber
On my way to Boulder
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Gorgeous photos! Thanks for sharing -
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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That is freekin' awesome. Very spare trip report, but nice and concise. Leave it to the Alaskan spirit to help keep us all focused on the ball.
Hats off to you gentlemen.
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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That's one beautiful mountain. Congratulations!
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Oakville, Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Great job, lads! Brrrr ... sure looks cold, though.
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simian
Gym climber
milan
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I love the way this was reported...I've spent some time on these towers (traversed, aid on the N face, frist free of the ears) and know how big and dark they can be, well done lads, not just the climb but also the very British reporting style!
Did you walk or fly?
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Now that looks like an adventure. Got more pictures?
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GRJ
climber
Juneau AK
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 7, 2008 - 03:02pm PT
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Lets see if I can answer a few questions. I am from Juneau and Sam is from Ohio, but we've both been staying MT for the last few years.
I don't know where Mendenhall was from but his name is everywhere. That's one of the main reasons we named our route "The Great White Conqueror."
We flew in with coastal helicopters. Knowing the kind of weather we might be dealing with we brought more food than anyone in their right mind would think to bring. We skied in a whiteout to Suicide Bowl and found that the glacier had opened up much more than expected so rather than spend 2 days hauling and navigating our way through we called for a pick-up.
The Mendenhall is in bad shape. I hadn't been on it in two years and the usual access via the West Glacier trail is getting kind of nasty. It was very sad to see, but maybe it will reveal some amazing rock in the few years.
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TheJman
Trad climber
Bozeman, MT
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Sam & Ryan.... Congrats guys... Everyone was pulling for you back in Bozeman.. Awesome work.. From Sam's TR, I heard there were also some brown little friends left behind on the route... Great work guys!
josh
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SteveW
Trad climber
State of confusion
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Great report--looks like a great route!
Did you mean the glacier's in bad shape due to
global climate change or did I just misunderstand?
(that happens occasionally). . .
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GRJ
climber
Juneau AK
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 7, 2008 - 03:18pm PT
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Thanks Josh, and yes some brown friends did some low angle base jumping.
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Hamilton
Mountain climber
Bozeman, MT
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Awesome! Nice work guys - looks like a sweet route and great climbing. I'm jealous!
Sam - see you back in Bozeman!
Chris
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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I don't ice-climb but that's an awesome outing. Well done!.
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