Basic Rock Climb - Kangaroo Temple/North Face

We left the parking lot at the hwy 20 hairpin at approximately 6:30AM and made good time. We were at the base of the climb in approximately 2 hours. Weather was very pleasant with cool temperatures on our approach. The approach was completely snow free, so no ice axes or crampons were required. However, the lack of snow made the steep approach to the notch difficult due to very loose rock. Our group stayed close together to help mitigate rock fall hazards.

P1 was climbed all the way to the ledge system by the first rope team. The second two rope teams climbed P1 to the existing piton and set up a belay station there. Stopping at the piton is the recommended approach as the crack system allows for easier anchor building than the ledge system above.

P2 was a great quality climb and was uneventful with all parties setting up the belay at the crack system on the ledge just before the exposed traverse.

P3 is the exposed traverse pitch and was exhilarating!

P4, the final pitch is a scramble to the top. There is one section of this scramble that has some loose rock, so our teams opted to stay roped up and set up a hip belay for that short section.

Upon reaching the summit we were treated with exceptional views and glorious warm sun.

As some other trip reports have noted, there is an exposed section on the summit to scramble in order to reach the rappel station. Our group opted to set up a short belay for the most exposed portion of this scramble.

The first rappel is an airy sit and spin that can be accomplished using a single 60M rope. The second rappel can be taken to the base of the climb if a double rope rappel with 2 60M ropes is used. During this trip, there was significant traffic at the second rappel station, with one party of 2 following us down on rappel, and one party of 2 climbing up to this station from below. This added up to 10 total climbers at a very crowded ledge.

The hike back to the cars had to be done carefully from the notch to mitigate rockfall hazard. Once clear of the notch, the hike was straightforward and took approximately 90 minutes.