Pickets Range Topos

Published on 2004-8-7 by Michael Stanton

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Here is a detail of the lower section of Mt. Fury's North Buttress. It can be approached from the left or the right. We chose to use the right approach, having heard that 5.9 chimney and face climbing could be required on the left. Our route may have been a little easier, but we did encounter some scary rockfall from "The Mudslide" above us, and climbed a pitch of honest 5.8 face and crack climbing once on the buttress crest. We had so many ideas about the best way to gain the crest that we invented a whole vocabulary of the region. Unprotected slab climbing below the Snowfinger was a mental crux for me!

This is a great shot of Mount Terror's North Buttress. We called the snowfield "The Kitty Cat," and our route was chosen by whatever looked easiest. I got another "mental crux" pitch getting across a moat onto the rock, then Aidan led two long simul-climb pitches to the "clean dihedral," where Theron took over, leading us up the crest. Eventually, the crest became too steep, and the "5.8+ crux traverse" provided the creepiest moves of the trip for me. Theron climbed that section a bit higher, finding an easier way. We think maybe we stayed on the buttress crest for too long, and veering leftward earlier might have been the ticket. After that, 4 more long simul-climbing pitches got us over the false summit where we could unrope, drop packs, and enjoy solid scrambling to the top!