Return of Climber Kyle (ROCK)

After some good evening sessions exploring the awesome new climbing in the Middle Fork Snoqualmie, Rio and I wanted to return to some alpine climbing together. Rio has become far too skilled for me, but he was still graciously willing to do some moderate alpine rock with me. The rainiest August week I can remember chased us to the Enchantments, where we set our eyes on the (relatively) new climb, This My Friend (5p, 5.10a).

The Enchantments are an area that was very formative in my alpine career, but I have not visited much as of late. In fact, this was my first time on the Colchuck Lake trail in 5 years! We got a casual start, hoping the route would dry out after a day of heavy rain and even light snowfall.

Over the years, I’ve climbed four different routes on Dragontail: Pandora’s Box, Triple Couloirs, Serpentine Arete, and the NE Couloir. The standard descent adds a fifth. This My Friend climbs the left hand skyline, topping out on the eastern most summit of Dragontail, far from the true summit. To access this climb, we hiked nearly all the way up Aasgard Pass before cutting over to the right.

The sun peeked in and out of the clouds, but the rock was pleasantly dry at the base of the route! A bit of fresh snow dusted the upper reaches of the peaks, but the route looked good to go. I was impressed, considering it had rained about an inch in the last 24 hours. Nearby Acid Baby was wet, we later heard. We were able to climb with jackets on and I never used chalk in the cool temps. It was quite pleasant!

Most of the hype is for the second pitch, but the first pitch was definitely the crux (5.10a). Rio had climbed the West Face of Colchuck Balanced Rock (5.11) the weekend before, but struggled to figure out the insecure, flaring crux. The climbing felt rather desperate, but I surprisingly followed it without a fall.

The second pitch is the money pitch: a long, splitter corner (5.9). This was one of the most sustained, enjoyable pitches I have ever climbed in the alpine! It reminded me of the first gendarme pitch on the North Ridge of Stuart, but longer and a bit harder.

I took the easy third pitch up to the base of the upper headwall. The fourth pitch climbs a splitter hand crack up the steep headwall – one of the most aesthetic cracks I’ve seen on an alpine climb. This pitch is proud, beautiful, and enjoyable.

The fifth and final pitch was a wandering, moderate pitch to the left side of the ridge high point. We took a break at the top, satisfied with five long and mostly quality pitches of granite climbing.

We walked off the backside down to Aasgard Pass. I had never been on the backside of Dragontail with so little snow. Since my first time up here, the Snow Creek Glacier has shrunk to a few discontinuous patches of ice.

This My Friend has received a lot of hype in the climbing community since its establishment. Rio and I agreed that the second and fourth pitches are 4/4 stars, and the pitches are long and straightforward. But the views are not anything notable, and the climb overall felt more like a multipitch climb in the alpine than a true alpine rock climb. Overall, I’d give it 3/4 stars.

As we navigated the long, annoying descent back down Aasgard Pass, I had some time to reflect on my abbreviated, but quality little climbing season. I climb rock hardly a dozen times a year now; my friends joke that I should change the name of this blog from “Climber Kyle” to “Cardio Kyle” or “Sidehiller Kyle”. Without a baseline of climbing fitness, it’s hard to see any notable progress . But this summer, I’ve managed to find joy in the simple movement of climbing, rekindling something that used to be a much bigger part of my identity. Most of all, I am proud that I am able to have a healthy relationship with a sport where I’m not progressing, and in some cases, cannot do things that I could do when I was stronger. Contrary to my blog moniker, up is not the only way. I want to be an athlete that enjoys the up, the flat, and the down.

Thank you to “Rope Gun Rio” for a fun day of climbing!