Whirlwind, Baseline Direct and Evergreen State
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methuselah
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Whirlwind, Baseline Direct and Evergreen State
On Friday, I climbed what I thought was Whirlwind, but now, after consulting various guidebooks, I am confused about the first pitch, and whether I actually climbed part of Evergreen State. I'm hoping that someone can explain the distinguishing features (or history of variations?) for Evergreen State, Whirlwind, and Baseline Direct.
What I did: from the start of Whirlwind, I headed up past 2 (3?) bolts into a rising traverse left across slab to a right-facing corner/overlap; then face climbed up through a steep overlap past a bolt, and then straight up slabs on white rock past 3 close bolts (hardest part), then straight up a ways to a final bolt, and a short traverse left to anchor chains (total length ~45m).
While climbing up the face through the overlap, I did notice another route (at least a bolt or two) to the left, passing the corner/overlap lower down through a smooth scoop on black rock. At the time I assumed that this was Baseline Direct having diverged from Whirlwind.
Later, according to the route photo in McLane (2005), it seemed clear that I had followed Evergreen State, and that the route I'd seen to the left was actually Whirlwind/Baseline Direct before divergence.
However, this interpretation seems inconsistent with other facts.
1) the rating seemed incorrect - the crux of the route I followed was considerably harder than anything on the second traversing pitch of Whirlwind (rated 10b), which seems consistent with the 10c rating given for Whirlwind and Baseline Direct.
2) My old Squamish guides (Ouram 1980, Campbell 1985) clearly indicate that Evergreen State (at least the original route) follows the overlap all the way round to the right, then traverses almost horizontally left on 10a slab to the anchors that I used, i.e., clearly not the route I climbed, and inconsistent with the picture in McLane (2005).
So, was I on Whirlwind, or a modern (harder, bolted) variation of Evergreen State? If the latter, does anybody know the history?
Thanks
CW
What I did: from the start of Whirlwind, I headed up past 2 (3?) bolts into a rising traverse left across slab to a right-facing corner/overlap; then face climbed up through a steep overlap past a bolt, and then straight up slabs on white rock past 3 close bolts (hardest part), then straight up a ways to a final bolt, and a short traverse left to anchor chains (total length ~45m).
While climbing up the face through the overlap, I did notice another route (at least a bolt or two) to the left, passing the corner/overlap lower down through a smooth scoop on black rock. At the time I assumed that this was Baseline Direct having diverged from Whirlwind.
Later, according to the route photo in McLane (2005), it seemed clear that I had followed Evergreen State, and that the route I'd seen to the left was actually Whirlwind/Baseline Direct before divergence.
However, this interpretation seems inconsistent with other facts.
1) the rating seemed incorrect - the crux of the route I followed was considerably harder than anything on the second traversing pitch of Whirlwind (rated 10b), which seems consistent with the 10c rating given for Whirlwind and Baseline Direct.
2) My old Squamish guides (Ouram 1980, Campbell 1985) clearly indicate that Evergreen State (at least the original route) follows the overlap all the way round to the right, then traverses almost horizontally left on 10a slab to the anchors that I used, i.e., clearly not the route I climbed, and inconsistent with the picture in McLane (2005).
So, was I on Whirlwind, or a modern (harder, bolted) variation of Evergreen State? If the latter, does anybody know the history?
Thanks
CW
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thebigchin
- Junior Member
- Posts: 98
- Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2005 8:29 am
Good question about those routes, it's certainly confusing. Here's what I know... or I think I know...
Whirlwind takes the leftmost line through the right-leaning overlap, same as Baseline Direct. What the guide calls Evergreen State takes the central line, sounds like the one you climbed. Good climbing, I thought about 10b or so. The line off right as it appeared in the old guidebooks was indeed the original pitch 3 line of Evergreen State. It is now hopelessly overgrown and still has its original quarter-inch bolts, and not many of them at that.
The reason the line you climbed is shown on the page 318 topo as on Evergreen State is because it was Robin Barley's way of making a better route out of the original line of EState. He revamped many pitches in that area in 2003, but cleaning up his old line was seen as less worthy than creating a new (and better) pitch. I climbed it with him a couple years ago, and it seemed a good solution to me.
The text description on page 313 is a bit terse about the details there, and the original pitch 3 line of Evergreen State is deliberately not shown on the topo to avoid adding even more confusion in such a tight space. This is unfortunate for those want the full story, but the guide is so crammed for space that it's just no longer possible to fit in as much as could once be done.
I hope this helps...
Kevin McLane
Whirlwind takes the leftmost line through the right-leaning overlap, same as Baseline Direct. What the guide calls Evergreen State takes the central line, sounds like the one you climbed. Good climbing, I thought about 10b or so. The line off right as it appeared in the old guidebooks was indeed the original pitch 3 line of Evergreen State. It is now hopelessly overgrown and still has its original quarter-inch bolts, and not many of them at that.
The reason the line you climbed is shown on the page 318 topo as on Evergreen State is because it was Robin Barley's way of making a better route out of the original line of EState. He revamped many pitches in that area in 2003, but cleaning up his old line was seen as less worthy than creating a new (and better) pitch. I climbed it with him a couple years ago, and it seemed a good solution to me.
The text description on page 313 is a bit terse about the details there, and the original pitch 3 line of Evergreen State is deliberately not shown on the topo to avoid adding even more confusion in such a tight space. This is unfortunate for those want the full story, but the guide is so crammed for space that it's just no longer possible to fit in as much as could once be done.
I hope this helps...
Kevin McLane
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methuselah
- I'm New Here
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- Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 3:07 pm
- Location: Vancouver Island
Thanks Kevin!
Having climbed many of the original Apron routes back in the early 80's, I am always intrigued by how routes have changed over the years. It would be nice to see a more detailed topo version of the Apron that captures this for posterity, maybe as two figures (old and new), or one that uses several frames at a larger scale.
The new routing of Evergreen State was definitely an appealing pitch. Seemed harder than 10b, but that might just have been the rope drag.
Chris
Having climbed many of the original Apron routes back in the early 80's, I am always intrigued by how routes have changed over the years. It would be nice to see a more detailed topo version of the Apron that captures this for posterity, maybe as two figures (old and new), or one that uses several frames at a larger scale.
The new routing of Evergreen State was definitely an appealing pitch. Seemed harder than 10b, but that might just have been the rope drag.
Chris
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tattooed_climber
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