Tooth Fairy + Edge Of Time

Trip Report

Disclaimer:  I've copied this report to both the Tooth Fairy and Edge of Time listings. Feel free to skip to the relevant climb heading.

The Data

Stats: 9.2 miles, 3.3k gain, 13.5 hours car to car, 13 pitches, 5.10a (debatable, discussed below)

Gear: 70m rope, 16 draws (half alpine, some double length nice, a few more nice fork linking pitches), normal climbing kit, 2L of water for the climb, 1L stashed.

GPX: https://www.peakbagger.com/climber/ascent.aspx?aid=2988611

The Approach

We got a "late start" from a quiet Alpental parking lot at 7:30am. There was a heavy fog/mist layer  that gave us pause, but the forecast of a ~4k foot cloud level was spot on and we broke through to a beautiful sunny day near Source Lake! Neither of us were that excited about the boulder field from our previous experiences on the Tooth with punchy snow, but we were both pleasantly surprised to find a relatively easy path through up into Great Scott Basin. Following the Gaia/GPX lines helped a lot, and most of the climbers trail is on dirt rather than the boulders.

The last water source were some trickle streams just before the basin. Given our plans to link two routes, we chose to carry our packs the entire time, but we stashed some extra water in the basin to drop some weight and save time on the descent. The rock looked amazing in the early morning light, and our stoke was high. We continued along  the on and off path through the boulders to the base of The Fang in 1h45m.

The Edge of time arete - 7 pitch, 5.10a

This route has INSANE aesthetic appeal. It's jaw dropping as soon as you see it from the basin, and the route really does closely follow the arete all the way up.

Finding the start

The bolts blend into the rock well which made it tricky to find the start of the route, but thankfully there was a group ahead of us that had packs at the base. Check GPX and mountain project photos, the first bolt isn't that high off the ground.

Started climbing at 9:50am.

Route Summary

Fun mostly easy climbing, with great exposure and incredible aesthetics.

Jaclyn and I swapped leads, I led 2,5,6, she lead 1,3,4,7. We linked 3-4 and 5-6. I think any two pitches can be linked just fine with enough extension, except maybe 4-5. Next time we'd link 1-2 as well. The route is well bolted. We skipped some, and back cleaned others for drag and to not run out.

With the exception of P2, most of the climbing is in the 5.4-5.7 range with single "crux" moves. P2 is consistent 5.8-10a however. All the belay ledges (except maybe the top) were big and comfortable. 

3hr up, 50m down (some break time, some faffing with the rappel). Off route at 1:30pm.

Pitch Breakdown

This is only our opinion on how the pitches felt to us, relative to our primary "soft" North Bend sport grades.

P1 - 5.6: Easy ladder like climbing on big hands and with a couple non ladder moves. 

P2 - 5.10a: Best climbing pitch. Despite the mountain project downgrade, I stick to the original 10a, even at 6' tall. Consistent fun movement, some stemming, some edging, some exposed steps, and some jug pulling. Definitive crux bulge 2/3 of the way up is definitely 10a IMO, and then it doesn't let up much until you get to the chains. This is a long consistent pitch with some rests, and the alpine exposure definitely adds to the challenge and may make it feel harder if you're not confident at the grade. 

P3 - 5.9-: One crux move at the second bolt moving around the arete, there's jugs waiting though and then it's back to the ladder, followed by some FUN arete crawling. 

P4 - 5.7: Long consistent ladder climbing. Pretty much always a good jug and feet to be found.

P5 - 5.8+: The aesthetic money pitch. Crux move pulling onto the arete (particularly for the follower), followed by more mostly easy juggy ladder climbing. Grab your photos here from above and below.

P6 - 5.3: More arete crawling/scrambling. It's just so fun to be on the edge, even if it's easy. 

P7 - 5.7: Awesome exposed moves jumping back on the arete and more consistent fun climbing to the top. The top anchor is positioned facing away from this pitch making for a somewhat awkward belay.

Rappel

We did a single 70m rap off the backside, trending hard skiers right, but still below the ridge line. Definitely saddlebag this rap and be very careful about rope routing. The optimal route is relatively clear, just keep going right. 70m reached the ground with only a few feet to spare, 60m would NOT work. Careful pulling the rope, there are trees and other things that can catch it. I tied a prussik to the rope and my belay loop and scrambled down to the trees with it which gave a much better line to pull with less friction.

The Tooth Fairy - 6 pitch, 5.10c, 5.9+ A0

Getting this out of the way early, but that the "+" in the original grade of this route does some HEAVY lifting. This is just my opinion, explained more below.

Finding the start

From the backside of the Fang, we accidentally followed a climbers path that took us up to a gulley between the Fang and the Tooth. We backtracked and found rough climbers trails through the woods several hundred feet until we could cross the rock fields to the base of the Tooth Fairy. I could not find the first bolt from the ground, but turns out the GAIA and GPX point is spot on. Either start at the base, or scramble up to a decent belay below the first bolt.

Started climbing at 2:20pm.

Route Summary

Fun diverse movement, and far more consistently engaging climbing than edge of time. Sandbagged crux (relative to the area), though it is probably possible to aid it with less, but still some challenge.

Jaclyn and I swapped leads, I led 1,2,5,6, she lead 3,4 and we walked P7. We each linked our pitches, though if your follower isn't confident on P5, I'd not link it as the anchor is well positioned near the top to assist and remove rope stretch. P1-2 is LONG and P2 bolts are wack. I skipped many, extended lots, and back cleaned a few. All the belay ledges were big and comfortable. The top out scramble wasn't exposed IMO.

Pitch Breakdown

This is only our opinion on how the pitches felt to us, relative to our primary "soft" North Bend sport grades.

P1 - 5.7: Fun climbing for the grade! Thoughtful movement.

P2 - 5.9+: Awesome pitch with lots of consistently fun movement, but woof those bolts are scattered. When in doubt extend once if not twice, skip or back clean to avoid a drag nightmare. This made for a spooky follow with bigger swing potential too.

P3 - 5.7: Easier climbing, not memorable.

P4 - 5.8+: Easy climbing to a few tricky moves near the anchor.

P5 - 5.10c, 5.9+ A0: What a fun pitch of climbing. 5.9+ movement off the first ledge followed by a slabby traverse into a corner. Be very mindful of extension/back cleaning here to avoid mega drag for the crux. The crux is right off the ledge. A full on pull-up on two big chalked overhanging jugs with not great feet followed by an explosive move to a high side pull and high feet. It's possible there's better beta for this, but from how I read it, this is at least 5.10c. I personally found this move harder than anything on Goddess 5.10c at Little Si. It's well bolted which could probably make aiding it reasonable, but still. Dang. 

P6 - 5.6: Mostly scrambling with some climbing moves, stay right to find the bolts.

Top out at 4:30pm, ~2 hours of climbing.

Rappel

We rapped the South face in 4 single rappels + the two additional single rappels down the gulley. This is likely faster than the 6 down Tooth Fairy + the scramble out, but our ropes got caught several times when throwing that made me question it. Saddle bagging recommended.

Off route in the basin at 6:40pm

The End

Our exit was relatively uneventful. We almost made it through the loose boulders before darkness, but had to bust out the headlamps before we reached the smooth trail. Back at the car at ~9pm made for a full day! We were in the sun most of the day, so having the water was nice, but I probably would carry the full 3L next time as we had to ration near the end.

If you're interested in climbing both routes, I think the linkup makes a lot of sense. It's a lot of fun climbing in a day and you save all the raps off the fang! I don't think this would be particularly feasible on a weekend, but aside from the other party on the Fang, we didn't see anyone else all day which was great.

This wasn't our first multi-pitch, but we ran into several noob issues that probably cost us at least an hour. I'd definitely recommend being comfortable at the grade and feeling reasonably dialed to commit to the link-up, and be prepared for things to go wrong! Lots of opportunities for our ropes to get caught that would have lead to an epic.

Map