Trip Report
Basic Rock Climb - The Tooth/South Face
A rainy jaunt up the Tooth. Some efficiency on the snow slopes and navigational issues resulted in a long day.
Kelly Ryan
- Sat, May 31, 2025
- Basic Rock Climb - The Tooth/South Face
- The Tooth/South Face
- Climbing
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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Some snow on the Source lake trail (trail to Snow lake junction was pretty snow free), after turning onto the approach route was on snow, with two small boulder fields. Our creek crossing (that we missed later- more on that) had a stable snow bridge, which looked substantially weaker on the way down when looking up from below. The snow up to Pineapple pass was firm and allowed good kick steps in just boots. The "finger" snow bridge at the final part (notch) of the snow slope that leads to the base was 1.5-2 feet wide and probably won't be passable on top of the bridge much longer- both sides are steep, but doable with someone to kick in/cut steps to get up and stem from the rock. Base is snow free and route snow free, rappel anchors are reasonably solid, but all from the previous season at least, with the lowest one needing replacement sooner.
Thanks to Barb for pulling this data- my phone died and also my watch... turns out my usb adapter is not working.
The approach was a little slow as our students adjusted to moving on steep snow after a fairly quick hike in on the snow lake/source lake trail.
The steep slope near the top of Pineapple pass was tricky both up and down, we had one slip
The snow bridge in the notch gully giving everyone a moment to pause and move carefully.
We reached the base, taking the middle route over to avoid too much time on the stiffer north side snow, which involved a bouldery move or two that everyone handled well. At the base the first signs of the forecasted weather appeared, but we'd agreed to start the climb if it wasn't on wet rock, and it was dry. The climbing was straight-forward, the third rope team allowed another team of two to pass them, which put them a little behind as the weather rolled in around around 12:30. Once the second group came up the fourth pitch, I set up rappel and the third team agreed it was time to turn around as the rock was becoming wet. I opted to set all four rappels to reduce stuck rope potential with a double. Everyone got though the rappels pretty efficiently and we layered up and packed up to head down.
At some point my cell phone must have had it with the rain and died, leaving me without a good track to follow back precisely when I most needed it (yes, paper maps, yes), and I ineffectively communicated this fact and its significance. We were following our tracks back until we overlapped a skier/dog track and followed them off of our track, missing the narrow passage through the trees that lead to the snow bridge crossing.
We cliffed out on three sides and I consulted Barb for the route, which we could see directly below us, standing above a small waterfall. I queried the students, who expressed reluctance to backtrack again and offered the option to setup a rappel, inspired by the obvious rappel anchor I could see someone else had setup below where we were. Barb and I setup an anchor where we were, giving everyone a break from the rain in the trees and a chance to rest.
The rappel down a (tiny) waterfall was likely a new experience for most in the group, but it wasn't like our boots weren't already wet. Barb previously made a joke about us being canyoners. This diversion cost us twoish hours of wandering and rappelling onto a snow field, but we were on track and horses to the barn after that.
As this was a mentored climb for me, I am duly self-chastised for failing in the navigation department. I knew when we came up that our crossing was narrow, and I should have turned around and noted some landmarks to find it again as a bare minimum.
A big thank-you to Barb Motteler for her ever impressive patience and fortitude in the face of newbness. I did my best to convey to the students that this isn't a typical Mountaineers experience while also introducing the concept of type two fun.