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Agassiz, B.C
Canada
530 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2008 : 1:47 PM
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After making some last minute plans to do Yak, Reinhard picked me up in Agassiz at 6:00 on Friday Evening. We drove up highway #5 to the rest stop area below Yak Peak and hiked into the base of the climb. We set up a bivi right near the bottom of the route and hung out at camp then slept until 5:00 Saturday morning. We packed up and put our stuff we didn't need down near the trail where we would be coming back. We racked up and did the quick scramble to the base of the big dihedral that makes up the first three pitches of the route. As Dru points out in his "opinionated description' on Bivouac.com it is easier to go left and up to the base of Reality Check and traverse right to the base of Yak Crack to begin the climb. The first three pitches were all easy 5.6 up a cool crack just left of the dihedral. I led the first two pitches and Reinhard led the third up to lunch ledge. After lunch ledge the climbing starts getting a bit more serious with less protection and slightly trickier climbing and routefinding. I led up pitch 4 placing tiny gear behind small flakes and clipping a fixed pin near the top, pitch 5 was an easy 5.8 which involved getting over some overlaps then climbing crumbling flakes to a belay just left of some cool looking corners. Pitch 6 was evil, definitely the most serious pitch on the route. I started up by laybacking some really nice corners but then the rock starts getting crumbly and you have to pull some overlaps with 'oatmeal like' rock to the next belay. It didn't help that I had a lot of rope drag and needed a bathroom break. After pitch 6, however, the climbing became excellent again. Pitch 7 was my favourite, you get to layback underneath a flake, up the side, then back over the top before laybacking along a big flake and pulling over the top of the 'see through' flake and belaying. We walked over the top of the flake and then climbed a cool corner crack for a couple pitches and then I led the '5.10a' (read 5.9) face climb. It was fun but surprisingly easy, the only tricky moves are right near the second bolt and it is still pretty easy. The second '5.10a' pitch was barely more than a 5.8, but still fun. The last pitch was a fourth class scramble up the slab into the trees and top of the sub-summit. The descent is corniced snow at the moment so we rapped down near a gully on the right side of the east face and walked the snowy trail back to the base. I thought the route was excellent, the rock was good except for part of the 6th and maybe the end of the 5th pitch. The climbing was fun and pretty straight forward. The only bummer was that the 5.10 that I was stoked for was only 5.9- ... it was still lots of fun though! We took quite a long time on the route for a couple reasons, I led basically every pitch (except for pitch 3) so we didnt have the speed advantage of swinging leads and we just took it pretty slow as we got an early start.. a fast party could probably do it between 4-6 hours.. we took about 8 hours total. Dru's 'Opiniated description' on bivouac.com is a really good, detailed information source on the climb, bring it with you!
Approaching the mountain
Scrambling to the base of the route
The big dihedral, the route is over on the left, on the other side of the arete.
First three pitches
Reinhard at top of Pitch 3
My shadow, top of pitch 4
Looking up at pitch 5
Reinhard following pitch 4
At the top of Pitch 5
Me at the base of Pitch 6, im smiling because I have no idea what's waiting for me on Pitch 6
Me on pitch 6, still having fun at this point.
I didnt really get any pics on the upper section of the route unfortunately. But I got one pic.
Reinhard coming up pitch 11
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Edited by - marc_leclerc on 06/29/2008 2:09 PM
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Agassiz, B.C
Canada
530 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2008 : 5:59 PM
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This must be a terrible trip report... no comments at all  |
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 | Nis
Intermediate Member
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Langley, BC
777 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2008 : 7:02 PM
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| I think everyone is just out hiking and not on the computer....sigh |
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| cjb
Junior Member
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Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
376 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2008 : 7:50 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by marc_leclerc
This must be a terrible trip report... no comments at all
It's the weekend, Young Gun. A *LONG* weekend, and 35 degrees to boot. Hard as it is to believe, not every Tread member is lurking 'round their machine, just waiting to hear about your excellent adventure. Some might even be off on adventures of their own.
So, patience. Your infamy should be firmly cemented by midweek!
Nice pix and style, BTW. I don't think I could currently climb that, and I'm pretty sure I'm older than you. 
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Edited by - cjb on 06/29/2008 7:52 PM |
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Agassiz, B.C
Canada
530 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2008 : 8:06 PM
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| hahaha.. I was being sarcastic lol.. of course everybody is out for the weekend... im leaving to go climbing tomorrow but I was too wiped to climb today after yesterday. I was pretty pathetic today! |
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 Alberta-based choss climbin', flame throwin', rappel lovin', ass talkin' hater who doesn't like "Gumby" for a descriptor
6302 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2008 : 8:38 PM
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That's one I have been wanting to get on for a long time. The pics make me want to do it even more.
Good stuff. Way to get at it. |
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 Big pack hiker who sleeps with bears in tent and falls on slippery logs
Langley, BC
Canada
7647 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2008 : 8:47 PM
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| Nicely done! Enjoyed the report and pix. Must have been mighty toasty out there! |
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Agassiz, B.C
Canada
530 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2008 : 9:09 PM
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| We had a good brezze and I never felt too hot at all.. just perfect climbing weather actually! |
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Trail cuttin, GPS packin bushwhacker, wiki hike compilin, who is now Hope-less
2542 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2008 : 9:15 PM
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Nice climb!
How much snow was left in the area? I imagine Zoa was still snow covered? |
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Agassiz, B.C
Canada
530 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2008 : 9:59 PM
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| There is lots of snow still.. the entire descent was snow until near the base of the route... the col between the summit and false peak is still corniced. I didnt look at Zoa so I dont know if it was snow covered but it probably is.. |
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Hope, BC
Canada
7093 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2008 : 11:15 PM
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Nice report, I like reading the climbing reports.
Great pics, looks like a fun place to be. |
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Trail blazin', backcountry bushwackin', pine huntin', photo takin', long winded story teller
3838 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2008 : 06:59 AM
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Very good report and pictures. I like the detail in them and your description of of the climb.  |
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Agassiz, B.C
Canada
530 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2008 : 3:43 PM
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| wow... I thought he was in his mid sixties! I have no idea how old he is now.... hes still pretty good... he had no problem seconding any of the pitches. |
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Terminator shade wearing, summit questing, double Grinding, Gordo voting self annointed 'dumb ass' and Aconcagua Bagga who dreams of Robson, Teton, The Judge, and.....and....
Port Moody, B.C
Canada
2210 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2008 : 3:58 PM
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| Good trip, on the to-do list as well. |
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Peak bagging, bushwhacking, zamboni driving, snowshoeing, self portrait artist, and speed demon who loves to hang out on Mt. Seymour
3994 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2008 : 4:05 PM
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| Good set of pictures ml. Nicely done. |
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Happy go lucky, plaid wearin, postholin, safeway gaitor sportin, old-school film shootin, giver of many regards
Abbotsford, B.C.
Canada
13440 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2008 : 5:30 PM
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Report nicely illustrated with pictures, rock sure looks very clean.
K |
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bandana wearin', pole huckin', view lovin', dog herdin', 4x4 navigatin', lake huntin', butt-slidin' bridge crosser, who enjoys postholing with an overnighter pack
Surrey, BC
Canada
4646 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2008 : 7:27 PM
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Another great climb Marc! Way to go!  |
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Yak Peak - Yak Check
