Climbed the Whimper Wall (just south of the Weeping
Wall)tuesday. We plowed a mighty trench through the facets and the windslabs to
get to the base of the Whimper wall from the Weeping Wall. It did allow us to
stay high on the face and not have to walk up onto any snowslabs in the flat
light. On the descent in better light we walked staright down to the road. Nasty
wind affected snowpack in that area. We walked in either knee deep sugar with
our feet on the ground or thundered through the scary windslab with our
feet almost on the ground. I kept one hand on the rock almost the whole way and
really liked that.
Ice was really good on the left hand lines. Some
running water but it could be avoided. Decent fixed threads as of today at
the very top of the left hand lines. 60m to a station at the top left
of the right hand(shorter) line. 45m to snow but we rapped across the big
hard wind/spindrift slab at the base till we were below an old fracture
line.
Whimper wall has almost no hanging daggers or
crowds. The weeping wall has some daggers threatening some lines and crowds are
almost as common. Snivelling gully was sounding very wet and the daggers that
threaten the route are growing.
Balfour wall a few days ago. Good ice and little
snow.
Larry Stanier
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain
Guide
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