Build My Own FeedBD employee Corey LaForge goes choss-oneering on massive limestone face
One of our QA Managers, Corey LaForge, headed out to one of Utah's greatest adventure walls, the 1800-foot north face of Notch Peak for some high-quality choss climbing on Book of Saturdays (IV 5.11- R) a week ago. Below is the email Corey sent us last Monday morning along with some photos from the adventure. Fun for the whole family!
From: Corey LaForge
Subject: Book of Saturdays
Date: July 6, 2009 09:39:45 AM MDT
Rob Trauscht and I did the Book of Saturdays on the north face of Notch Peak in the House Range of Utah’s West Desert this past weekend. It went pretty well. We got ‘er done in fine style after a little hiccup at the start...
We botched the approach, having never been there, arriving there in the dark the night before, and starting off in the dark. We went up the wash past the closed for wilderness study sign like the book says. Without noticing in the darkness, we went up the drainage with the granite (Sawtooth?) and didn’t realize what we had done until 45 minutes or an hour up the thing. We couldn’t see the peak (which was a bad sign) and I had a feeling it was well south of where we were. We ascended to a notch in the ridge between the two drainages. From there we had an impressive view of the face that not too many people get.
We realized what we would have to do. We found the only weakness and descended down a loose 5.4 chimney and probably 1000’ down a steep, terraced gulley to the proper wash. We still had over an hour to the base of the route. In total, I’d say we added abut 2 hours to the approach with this major bone-job. I was so pissed because I was concerned that we may have blown our chances for the day…Later I would realize, looking back at where we had come from, that we had completely lucked out and found maybe the only place on the entire ridge where it’s even possible to descend to the proper drainage. In almost any other place along the ridge a descent would have been much, much more heinous, and potentially impossible without a bolt kit!
We finally got there to the left-handed 3 Wood marking the start of the route and were climbing by about 9:30-9:45 and then we did well. I knew if we could turn the momentum around we would have plenty of daylight to get it done. Rob linked the first two pitches to get us going. It was a great shot in the arm to get us going for him to do on of the 5.10 pitches, followed by the technical crux pitch in a single fast pitch. We really cruised a lot of the route. I found the climbing to be mostly not too bad. The 5.8-and-under stuff actually tended to be the scariest, just as you had indicated. We generally put down the 50-55 meter 5.10 pitches as quickly as a 35-40 meter 5.8 pitch. The “Visa Pitch” (pitch 11, 5.10b) felt like the nastiest R-rated stuff of the harder climbing. It had real 5.10 climbing a ways out past any pro. The gear on the 10c pitch was spaced pretty well too, but was not too bad. The 10b “Adventure Pitch” had a little of everything, but was quite well bolted using every draw and sling we had. There was never too much scary loose stuff that you were worried about pulling off on the actual climbing. It is more just the stuff laying around on ledges and ramps.
There was rockfall from time to time randomly. There was also a time period of 15-30 minutes where we heard voices above and there was a lot of rockfall, including some massive trundles. We almost got nailed by some briefcase size choppers from above. I am honestly pretty sure there were idiots on the top that had hiked up and were throwing stuff, including what sounded like a waterbottle, off of the summit! Unbelievable! Apparently any redneck can get up there in about an hour or so from the back?
We summited at 4:55 PM. We were back at the truck at 10:25 PM…a BIG day, largely due to the blown approach. The 10 double rope raps took us 3 hours. It is hard because we were forced to be super careful of where the ropes run and we were going slow because most of them have points where you are free hanging. I would say around 6 of the 10 raps had free hanging portions. We had a brand new 9.7 and an 8.1 ice line, so shit was slick.
It was a good day to test the latest round of fieldtest gear. We had a bunch of 10mm dynex draws and slings with prototype Hotwires. I was also using a sample Shot pack on the route and a sample Demon pack for the approach. Everything worked well. Generally, we needed only the gear recommended in the guide. I would recommend Red and Yellow C3’s, .4-1 C4’s, a small handful of medium nuts, and 15 draws (half of those being tripled shoulder lengths).
It was a great day and I am glad we got it done, despite such a terrible start. I am psyched to have done that thing. At the beginning of our alpine start, we both had delusions of getting done at a reasonable hour and making it back to SLC after the climb to spend the night with our respective lady friends. The blown approach and general magnitude of this thing had us eating cold cans of Chef Boyardee, drinking a couple PBers, and sleeping another night in the West Desert. The lady’s wouldn’t be worried. They didn’t expect us to pull something off smoothly enough to be back to SLC that night…It turns out we have a penchant for making approaches a little longer than necessary. This would lead Rob to say, almost prophetically with regard to our history, in a spray email earlier this year: “Twice the distance, three times the fun!” So true…
Attached are some photos. Sorry there are not more, or that they are not better. You know how it is when you are just trying to get a route done—you’re not so inclined to be in tourist mode.
-- Corey
United States / English 
15 Feb 2010, 7:21PM
Yeah Coreshot! Montana boys love the choss.