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For me (Stevo), this was the crux of the West Buttress Route. It wouldn't have been all
that bad it it weren't for the heavy packs. It was taxing physically, and I was definitely
running on overdrive. It is my understanding that each year the guide services put up the fixed ropes on both the headwall, and the area by Washburn's thumb. In any case, there were two sets of fixed ropes for us to use on the headwall, one for going up, and the other for coming down. In each direction, we had to climb about 8 full rope lengths of 45-50 degree ice. We did this with 60-75 pound packs, and because we were carrying 2 loads to 17,200', we had to go up and down the headwall twice. Each of the eight ropes are anchored separately, at both top and bottom. So, as you reach the top of one rope, you need to unclip your jumar from one rope and attach it to the next rope. As a extra safety measure, we would first clip in to the second rope with a separate sling connected to our harnesses, before removing the jumar from the first rope. So, at each junction, you would need to pause, get yourself in a stable position, plant your ice axe, and go through this little routine. All three of us would be doing this at each juncture. This made for a lot of stopping. Another thing to note, is that the rope diameters are not all the same either! My jumar was useless on a couple of the larger diameter ropes. |
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