Recently, Hans Johnstone, Sam Lightner, Jr., and I headed over to Mt. Moran to climb the South Buttress Right. As Richard Rossiter says in Teton Classics, “This is a very steep route with ever engaging climbing on solid, fine-grained granite. The exposure is from a different reality.” Pictured is Johnstone on the “Great Traverse” pitch.
Canoeing across String Lake at dawn. Can’t argue with a canoe approach. Well, maybe you can, if one of your partners — okay, me — leaves his pack at the String Lake – Leigh Lake portage and doesn’t discover the error until you’ve already crossed Leigh Lake and are pulling the canoe up at the shore under Mt. Moran. We went back and got it, so our backs and shoulders were well warmed up by the time we actually started the bushwack to the base of the route.
The route is in the shadowed area to the left of Mt. Moran. Eight pitches, eight rappels.
Johnstone leads the first pitch, 5.9
Sam Lightner on the crux undercling pitch, 5.11a.
Somehow, we got off route on the rappels and had to resort to a series of extremely dodgy rappel anchors. In this video still, Lightner reacts to pulling out an anchor piton with his fingers. He used a rock to hammer it back in.
Canoeing home. A stellar day.
FYI, I think the fair rating for it is 11b or c… certainly c when wet.
Website is really cool.
Thanks, Sam!
Great pics, looks like a fun day, the new site is awesome!
Awesome work on the Climb, Awesome work on the new site! Love IT.