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On the Moose's Tooth corniced main summit (pic courtesy of Steve Towne).
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Cornice collapse and avalanche. It was quite exciting to hear the rumble and roar (pic courtesy of Steve Towne). |
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Steepish and kind of loose. Mt. Dickey and Mt. Barrill in the background. |
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Steve on the corniced summit ridge. |
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My lead (pic courtesy of Steve Towne). |
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Time to rehydrate... |
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Up what Puryear described as 'the 85 degree ice headwall' - buried under steep snow (pic courtesy of Steve Towne). |
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The top of col is to my left (pic courtesy of Steve Towne). |
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Looking down past an excellent ice screw to Steve at the belay.
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Almost above the col - pitch #18? (pic courtesy of Steve Towne). |
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Steve playing on a thin-ice variation along the left margin of the gully. |
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Some fuzz high in the sky, but nothing threatening, yet. |
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Steve cruising in the early afternoon sun. |
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On the receiving end... |
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Steve's turn on the sharp end of the rope. |
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Steve coming up. Camp and air strip getting farther and farther below... |
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Steve on the steep.
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Steve coming up to my belay. |
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Steep little corner. With the rock at my back, it was easy to have both hands free to place a screw (pic courtesy of Steve Towne). |
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The route continued to be mostly steepish with mellow snow and some steep ice steps (pic courtesy of Steve Towne). |
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Steve coming to join me above the crux of the route. |
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Steve pondering my fate. Decision time: do I head right for the rock pitch (which shredded Mr. Puffy's pants) and for which we had no #3 cam, or do I go left of the buttress in hopes of finding ice? |
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Meanwhile behind us, this was the view from the 7th belay - I think the peaks (from right to left) are Dickey, Bradley, Wake, and (a bit of) Johnson.
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Steve at the 7th belay. |
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Freddie and Bruce were far below in no time. |
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