Ice Climbing near the Tooth

Published on 2004-2-14 by Michael Stanton

The Tooth, Feb 14, 2004

I will move this to a larger page when I get pictures. Theron, Peter and I had an adventurous day near the Tooth. First breaking trail up there, then climbing a steep gully to the notch (Theron's fingers froze painfully as he led the way near the end), then the first pitch of the Tooth. I climbed with crampons and ice tools in a cold wind and snow. About 40 feet up I came to an impass I could only protect with a #3 Camelot, but I didn't have the gear. The moves (torqueing my tools deep in a crack) felt sketchy enough that I couldn't do it without some protection. Without the requisite rucksack full of courage, I was spent. Theron and Peter were cold standing in the wind, so we rappelled down the gully and went for some ice climbing on the other side of the bowl. Peter led a great pitch (WI3+ by his lights) up vertical bulges of yellow ice to an awkward snow/brush topout. We all top-roped the pitch once or twice, it was really fun. On the way down, Peter set off a small but scary slab avalanche. We saw the slope crack all around him and the top layer slid down. Luckily, he wasn't caught in it!

Here are the pictures for now:

A cold Peter and Theron on the Tooth
Descending from the Tooth
Peter leading an ice climb
Michael following the great pitch
Theron on his first ice climb