7,807 feet
South Arete Grade II; 5.4
- Gear Used:
August 5, 2008
7,807 feet
The Approach
The drive to South Early Winter Spire, although beautiful, can be way to long! If you plan efficiently you can get there in about 3 hours. It usually takes me about 4 hours. Abe and I lucked out and after a quick stop at the grocery store we rolled into the Blue Lake Trail head in about 3.5 hours.
One of the great things about this area is ease of access. After the long drive you have a short 1.5 hour hike to the base of most routes. Start by hiking a very well maintained trail for about 1.5 miles. The trail walks you along the highway for awhile and seems to take the longest possible route. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the fork that leads off into the meadows. The trail gets steeper and more strenuous as you take a more direct path to the towers. Watch for a second fork that goes right and towards South Early Winter Spire. It took us a little less than 1.5 hours to get to the base of the route.
Breaking into the meadows on the approach to the spire.
The Climb
The original plan was to pitch out the first pitch and possibly the chimney pitch with simul-climbing in between. So we packed a rope and a rack. After realizing that Abe brought a gri gri and doesn't even own an ATC we decided to change plans. Once we made it to the climb we ran into a couple who just came down from the route with no ropes. After chatting with them for a little bit Abe and I decided that a solo climb would be the quickest way up and we wouldn't have to deal with rappels without an ATC.
The hardest part of the climb came right off of the ground. The book says 5.4 but I feel it is more like 5.6. Is there even a difference in the two rating? After playing around for a bit on the first move we both just decided to go for it. After that the climbing is really easy.
Abe climbing the crux of the route, 10 feet off the ground.
You follow a gully and eventually reach the chimney. I was thinking that this would be the more difficult part of the climb but it ended up being really easy and secure climbing.
Abe climbing into the chimney.
Somewhere on route.
One of the highlights of the route was the traverse near the summit. It was pretty airy on both sides of the ridge but there is no need for the single bolt on the route.
Abe on the traverse.
After a good 30 minutes on the summit we decided to climb back down. I was a little worried about the climb down as it is always harder. The climbing is so easy on the route though and we had no problems.
Hiking back to the car with SEWS in the background.
What a great route to solo!
Leaving the meadows behind.
- Car-Base: 1,870 vertical feet - 1:25
- Base-Summit: 460 vertical feet - 0:30
- Summit-Base: 460 vertical feet - 0:39
- Base-Car: 1,870 vertical feet - 1:02
-Useful guide books-
