Trip Date: September 11, 2012
North Early Winters Spire Day Climb
Liberty Bowl
North Early Winters Spire aka NEWS (7760′+)
Trip Report Summary
Region: Northeastern Washington Cascades
Sub-Region: Washington Pass Mountains
Area: North Cascades Scenic Highway Corridor
Starting & Ending Point: Blue Lake Trailhead on Highway 20 (Elev. 5400 feet)
Way Points: Liberty Bowl (trail hike)
Summit: North Early Winters Spire (rock climb via Southwest Gully—South Face [Chockstone Route])
Guiding Service & Guide: North Cascades Mountain Guides / Larry Goldie
Approximate Stats: 5 miles traveled; 2600 feet gained & lost; 6.6 hours up; 3.6 hours down.
Related Posts
South Early Winters Spire via South Arete – June 11, 2011
South Early Winters Spire via Southwest Couloir – July 18, 1981
Full Trip Report
For those of you who might not have heard, Fay Pullen celebrated her 70th birthday on September 12th. Eileen and I agreed well in advance that an event like this warranted a truly special climb. The challenge was to come up with a peak that has exceptional cachet, that none of us had done before, and that could be climbed in one day.
After mulling over these requirements for several weeks, one peak stood out above all others in my mind: North Early Winters Spire (NEWS). However, because I worried about this climb exceeding my limited rock skills, I felt like we needed a rope-gun to ensure a completely positive birthday experience. We ended up finding the ideal person in the form of Larry Goldie from North Cascades Mountain Guides in Mazama. Larry is compact, amiable, encouraging, and soft-spoken but carries a big arsenal of technical skills.
Fay, Eileen, and I met Larry at the Blue Lake Trailhead on a frigid Tuesday morning (strictly speaking, this was one day before Fay’s birthday, so she was still a youthful 69.997 years old). The temperature was 28 degrees and there was a skiff of snow on the ground. This was quite a shocking change from our long stretch of summer weather and would undoubtedly affect our climb. (Without Larry to lead us, we certainly would have changed our plans.) We divided up the group gear, shouldered packs, and hiked up through frosty Liberty Bowl toward the awesome, sweeping, granite faces of NEWS and SEWS.
- Larry, Eileen, and Fay On Snowy Trail To North Spire
Our chosen route up NEWS was the Southwest Gully and South Face, which locals call the “Chockstone Route” because the key feature is a famously giant chockstone located in the upper gully. Beckey states that nowadays this route is shunned by rock climbers in favor of the more difficult, solid, and direct routes nearby. However, it has historical significance as the first route ever completed on NEWS (in 1950), and the numerous old pitons we saw along the way indicate this was probably a standard route for many years after that first ascent.
Since there were four of us, Larry had us climb using the typical technique for a 3:1 client-to-guide ratio: Fay and Eileen moved simultaneously on two staggered ropes, while I moved separately on a trailing rope. Pitch 1 went up a series of cracks and ramps along the left edge of the southwest gully. Pitch 2 continued up the gully a short distance until almost underneath the giant chockstone, then veered left up an ever-steepening series of ledges and cracks before making a delicate crux traverse back to the top of the chockstone.
- Fay and Eileen Climbing Pitch 1
- Larry Nearing Crux On Pitch 2
With our fingers having lost all feeling due to the cold air and rock, this Class 5.7 crux felt every bit like 5.8 or more. We inched across the granite face not knowing exactly what we were hanging onto, all the while expressing our opinion with loud grunts and curses. Even Larry, who routinely leads Class 5.12 rock pitches, stated that climbing and protecting this crux with numb fingers gave him some difficulties.
- Fay and Eileen Climbing Around Chockstone On Pitch 2
A short scramble up the sandy upper gully led to the bottom of a smaller chockstone and the start of Pitch 3, which went up steep snow-covered steps and ended above the NEWS – SEWS notch. It was nearly 2:00pm when I arrived at the belay ledge, and for the first time all day, we were in the sunshine. Ahh, blessed warmth!
- Eileen On Belay Ledge At Top Of Pitch 3
Pitch 4 continued up a long chimney system that ranged from narrow to wide and ended on the peak’s high western shoulder. We finished our climb with a short but exposed scramble to the sunny summit (6.6 hours from car; 4.7 hours from base of rock).
- Fay and Eileen Climbing Pitch 4
Views from the summit were excellent, thanks to the previous day’s precipitation.
- Black Peak and Cutthroat Peak From Summit
- Mount Hardy, Golden Horn, and Tower Mountain Above Liberty Bell
As a birthday surprise for Fay, I pulled two large cupcakes out of my rucksack. “Whoa, what happened here?” I mumbled to myself in dismay. It would be an understatement to say that the Pitch 4 squeeze chimney had not been kind to the cupcakes, yet an overstatement to say that they appeared to have been run over by a truck. I will simply say that they were climb-weary but delicious.
- Fay On Summit With Cupcakes
During our short stay on top, Larry entertained us with several hilarious Fred Beckey climbing anecdotes. If someone were to compile a comedy CD of Fred B. anecdotes, Larry’s would probably be given titles such as “These Napkins Might Come In Handy Later,” “I Need A Woman,” “These Boots Don’t Feel Right,” and (my personal favorite) “It Gets Steeper At The Top?”
- Jim, Fay, and Eileen On North Early Winters Spire Summit
Our descent involved three single-rope rappels from the summit to the southwest gully, followed by a thrilling double-rope rappel over the giant chockstone—the longest free-hanging rappel I’ve ever done—and one last short rappel to the base of the rock (1.7 hours from summit). Climbing with a professional guide is always educational, and even we “old mountain dogs” learned a few new tricks. For example, Larry had us rappel using an ingeniously simple, efficient, and fool-proof tether system that none of us never seen before.
- Rappelling Down South Slot
- Jim On Rappel Over Giant Chockstone
We arrived back at the trailhead at 6:30pm (3.6 hours from summit), feeling giddy and contented after an amazing day in the mountains. Although it was Fay’s birthday climb, all three of us felt like we’d received a fantastic gift.
Admittedly, the Chockstone Route lacks the purity that serious crag climbers expect, but those of us who have spent a lifetime scrambling up loose mountain gullies will regard the rock to be very solid overall, the terrain to be varied and interesting, the exposure to be considerable, and the climbing to be fun and challenging. Those attributes, combined with the sub-freezing weather and dusting of snow on this particular day, gave our climb a distinctly alpine feel. We could not have selected a better peak or guide for Fay’s 70th birthday.
Photo Gallery
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