Kobi?s still figuring out the photo resize skillset too. Here?s a resized
version.
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From: Kobi Wyss
Sent: August 14, 2005 16:32
Subject: Robson Aug. 8-10
Robson via Ralph Forster hut and Schwartz Ledges.
Trail: The lower part of the trail is a jungle. We used the original trail,
which is on climber's right, on the way up and the newer trail, closer to
the gully, on the way down. Both need serious work to make them somewhat
enjoyable. Mainly branches and bushes that have grown into and across the
path. Nothing too big that would require a power saw, just a lot of hacking.
Once going through the rock steps, chains and a bunch of single bolt anchors
make life easier for guiding, especially on the way down. There are lots of
cairns and old flagging tape. Take along some tape to replace the bleached
out stuff. Try not to use the description in 'Selected Alpine Climbs', as
much of the trail has been re-routed since then. For example, the headwall
below the hut now has a much more direct route, without having to go out
right to the ridge and climbing a 5.3 pitch.
Hut: The hut is aging, but still a great shelter. The broken window has been
replaced with a Plexiglas pane for now and seems to keep the weather out.
The outhouse is mostly gone - just an out, with no house. There is lots of
fuel, both canister gas as well as white gas. No stove and no lantern.
Enough dishes and pots/pans to cook most things you would want to carry up
there, a bit shy on cutlery.
The climb: The icefall just above the hut is quite active. Fortunately it
only takes a couple of minutes to stagger through the ice blocks. There are
lots of cairns and markers on the many routes up and down Little Robson.
Still a bit hard to figure out first thing in the morning with a headlamp.
The two small cams came in handy, as a lot of the ledges are downsloping
slate and shale, especially on a frosty morning. On the way up the snow was
good and frozen all the way.
The ledges have quite a bit of snow and ice on them, with only 20 to 40cm of
rock rim showing on the outside, just above the big abyss - very exciting
shortroping! The seracs above the ledges were quiet all day and we did not
see any sign of recent activity. The latest looked a couple of days old.
We opted to cross to the SE ridge, as the Roof is festooned with rather
large rime towers and ice block spitting seracs this year. There is a
crevasse cutting across the whole Roof higher up, right out to the ridge. We
still had a reasonable, but feeble bridge, which may not be there much
longer. No problems above the crevasse.
The snow held until we descended the slopes to the ledges. Here we found the
usual wet, unconsolidated grains under a weak skin. I belayed 3 x 50m down
the slope. An ice axe stuck in the snow was a joke and even a T slot did not
inspire much confidence. We then used the 'let's get the hell out of here'
method.
The few small now slopes off Little Robson were complete dogshit by the time
we got there and we moved off in fear that the whole mess would take off
with us in it. What happened to the settled summer snow that would just
soften up on the surface?
Cheers,
Kobi Wyss
tibi1 /at/ shaw ca
The Ledges 2.jpg
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The Ledges 1.jpg
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