Trip Report
Slippery Slab Tower/Northeast Face
Smoky air but otherwise great trip up SST.
Paul Brown
- Sun, Aug 19, 2018
- Slippery Slab Tower/Northeast Face
- Climbing
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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Road, approach, and trail are all in great shape. Frequently used belay tree close to the summit has one rotten/dead trunk out of two. Used a few nuts and smaller cams (.4, .75, 1) for pro on the way up. There is a good crack for a gear anchor (#1 and #2) beyond the top rap station that makes a better belay than the tree and gets followers all the way to the final boot path to the summit; be sure place a redirect to avoid awkward rope drag.
Around 12h car to car with group of current Intermediate students and Basic grads. Lots of blueberries and huckleberries along the trail. Some water from snowmelt available near the base of the tower. Pitched out the climb from the base because not all climbers were comfortable with scrambling up to the scrubby pines. Installed a hand line at the summit.
Looks like lots of other routes up the tower and nearby Thunder Mountain are possible.