The Spiral Route on Notchtop - 23 August 2005 (5.4, we climbed a variation on the final headwall, 5.6 or 5.7)
Here is the troubled story of our triple attempt to climb the Spiral Route (5.4) on Notchtop mountain, in the Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. We first try to climb it on the 9th of August. We leave Boulder at 4.00 in the morning. By 5:30 we are at the Bear Lake parking lot and we set off on the approach trail. Whe weather is nice and we climb at a steady pace, taking some breaks to take pictures of the sky at dawn.
The beautiful sky at dawn from the Fern Lake trail to the base of Notchtop. It's about 6:15 am now and the weather still looks nice...
As we keep hiking up we reach Lake Helene and the weather has definitely turned murky... It takes a long time to decide to give up..the mountain is there, and as we get closer and closer it looks less and less intimidating and we start to see the route and more and more features. But it is freezing cold and we are not ready to brace for a climb in snowy weather. So we give up and turn back to the paring lot....
Weather is no more as nice as at dawn. We can see the mountain but we are forced to leave by freezing winds and drizzles. We meet another party of climbers that decide to turn back to the cars.
If the first attempt was unlucky, the second did not even see sunlight...I receive a telephone call from Chris at 3:15 in the morning. A sad sad voice announces me that his car does not want to start...going to Denver to pick him up would be too time expensive so we have to go back to sleep.
Now comes the story of the third, finally succesfull attempt! Again, we leave Boulder around 4:00 am and we are at Bear Lake by 4:30. Sun has not come up yet and we need our headlamps to prepare backpacks and sort gears. But the dawn is glorious....
The dawn from Bear Lake parking at 4:30ish in the morning of Aug. 23.
For the second time we set off on the Fern Lake trail and take pictures of the clouds. Much more friendly this time!!!
The pink clouds from the trail in th morning of Aug. 23
We keep going stopping only to admire some natural wonders like the big porcini mushrooms and amanite that grows in the park
Porcini and amanite grow in big numbers in the park. They are a beautiful sight.
Going up and up we start to see the rock again. The enchanting presence of the almost full moon adds excitement as we get closer and closer!
An enchanting moon is perched on top of Notchtop. The sky is blue. Nothing is going to stop us this time!
It may sound like a warm day...but the wind is blowing and the west face is cold. We wear everything and we start the climb. FINALLY!
Even if the sun touches us, the wind is chilly and we have to put many layers. I have 2 fleeces under my hardshell! Not to mention the alpaca hat unde the helmet. And I'm shivering!
As we climb we gain more exposure and the scenary opens under our eyes.
The view from the first belays makes up for all the cold and wind!
Chris reaches the third belay, on the sunny and wind protected east meadows ledge! We are getting more relaxed!!
As
we reach the headwall below the notch, after simul-climbing the east
meadows, route finding becomes more and more difficult. We think the
easy way is on the left, but we decide to try going up a nice looking,
lichen filled crack in the middle of the headwall. It does not seem
climbed by many people...but turns out to be a fantastic pitch. Chris
leads it and I envy him!! We decide at the end that is feels like a
5.7, but given the extra fear of facing an unknown climb, it may be a
5.6.
The crach we climb on the headwall...
...and Chris leading it up.
Problem is the weather is
deteriorating and, as soon as I top up the final pitch, hail and a
thunderstorm is approaching. We decide not to go to the top of the
spire and head immediately for the "real summit". It's a good decision
because we are hailed on along the whole traverse (exciting!!) that
leads to the west gully for the descent. We decide to take the traverse
(class 4) unroped to
be fast, but with wet rocks we are somewhat emotional...
Too bad this pic is out of focus...but that's the end of the climb, and my wolderful hanging belay. There is a meadow in front where I could have set up a sitting belay, but I'm like that...
As we walk down to reach the car and go home, weather improves (of course!!) and we have time to take a pic of the North Ridge of Spearhead (5.6), our next goal. It is a somewhat troubled story again...
