High quality alpine rock climbing with a stonking 60m corner pitch to finish the technical climbing.
This route climbs the furthest right buttress that can be seen from the basin below the NE face, easily identified by the striking sawtooth ridge section in the lower third.
New snow and ice on the route despite it being late January made for a fair bit of battling indeed. The first attempt was aborted due to thick snow flurries and more ice than desirable on the route. However after a council of war that evening at a cold campsite, a fresh assault in the morning proved successful despite frozen rock shoes and a good honest dose of suffering - memories of which were well erased by the value of the climbing and the quality of the rock!
"That was the best winter trip I've had all summer!"
Descent via N ridge and snow couloir. Accessed from Rock Burn, exited via basins to the SE of Somnus and creek NE of Momus (skirmishes with scrub, slab and rapids in the canyon : take-no-prisoners terrain during proper rain) to rejoin Rock Burn track.
- P1
- 19
- Alpine (Technical) 5+
- 400m
The route starts at the large triangular face below the sawtooth ridge. Scramble or pitch up the first buttress to meet a ledge, which can be very easily traversed climbers left to reach the start of multiple corner systems. Ascent was made via the large corner on the climbers right (see photo topo), then traversing left two corners across due to ice and lack of gear, estimated grade 19 (note cold and sad, gräy, wintery conditions made estimating grade difficult - dissension in the ranks!) Multiple options may exist via the other corners, or more easily the crest to the right. On pitch 2 (60m), a small roof to the climbers R led to a long open corner pitch to belay near the start of the sawtoothed ridge. A couple of pinnacles were able to be bypassed, some were up-and-over jobs. A good piece of alpine faffery dispatched with simul climbing and one abseil. As the sawtooth eases, the route trends left on easy rubbley rock to a ledge below a clean right-facing corner. This full 60m, highly memorable pitch at approx grade 17 (heading climbers L at the very top of the corner) leads you to easier ground. Pause to admire the commanding views of Amphion, Minos, Nox and the gorgeous Rock Burn out to Park Pass before following your nose up lower angled ground to the summit. A single rack from 00 to #2 was used with doubles in #1, 0.5-0.2, a half set of nuts, two large slings for belays, and a (mostly) positive attitude. Approx 270m of roped climbing, plus scrambling to the base of the first corner and after the top corner.
