Moonrise & Pillar of Pain
February 22, 2009
Exerpt from the trip report:
It was our last day, and we wanted smaller approach and more climbing.
Thus we headed to Moonrise & High On Boulder again, with the usual late
start. We didn't know if the Pillar of Pain higher up the drainage was
formed, and aimed to find out. There was another party at the base ready
to start climbing, but they were doing High On Boulder, so we were going
to be out of each other's way. I was also happy this allowed me to take
some cool photos. I ran up to the ledge by taking the right side, and
setup a nice belay before bringing Karéwho then headed up the pillar.
The climbing was very nice again... I did the 3rd (easy) pitch and then
we went 50 feet higher up the drainage before traversing left to regain
High On Boulder via a traverse left over some trees.
From there we climbed up easy ice and hiked to a 15-meter step of WI 3,
which led us to the Pillar of Pain - it looked nice! Like all ice
climbs, it looked intimidating from a distance, but once up close, all
kinds of features revealed themselves making it look very approachable.
I was psyched to get on it, and after fueling myself and getting a quick
drink, I didn't want any longer. The climbing turned out to be steep
but pretty easy, mostly due to the friendly ice quality and a groove.
David and Sandy from the East Coast (the other party) arrived shortly
after us, and David also led the pillar. We later met at the Proud Cut
Saloon, which we highly recommended, and socialized - cheers guys and
thanks for the entertaining stories!
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Karen coming up the first pitch |
Karen starting up Moonrise with another party on High On Boulder |
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David and Sandy on High On Boulder |
Fueling up with some gel before starting The Pillar of Pain (WI 5) |
Pillar of Pain |
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Peter on the Pillar of Pain |
I love stemming |
Higher on The Pillar of Pain |
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Almost there |
David starting up The Pillar of Pain |
David cruising up the pillar |
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Karen, satisfied from our trip |
Sandy and David |
Sandy and David |
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The descent trail from The Pillar of Pain |
Karen laughing that I'm taking pictures instead of helping with the rope :) |
Downclimbing low angle ice |
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One of the only two bolt anchors that we saw on the trip |
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