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Chianti Spire Rebel Yell (5.10, 7p), Silver Star Silver Star Glacier (3rd), Vasiliki Tower North Ridge (3rd)

3 Climbs from Burgundy Col

Routes:

- Silver Star Mountain, Silver Star Glacier (3rd)
- Vasiliki Tower, North Ridge (3rd)
- Chianti Spire, Rebel Yell (5.10, 7p)

Silver Star + Vasiliki Tower = Two fun and easy climbs that can be linked with a climbing trip for Burgundy or Chianti Spire.

Rebel Yell = Seven pitches of solid and sustained climbing to an exhilarating summit!

Region: Colorado
Elev: 8,876 ft (Silver Star); 7,920 ft (Vasiliki); 8,380 ft (Chianti)
Rock type: Granite
Type: 
Date(s): August 11&12, 2010 (Wed&Thu)
Partner(s): Jason Schilling

Route Overlay

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Chianti Spire, Rebel Yell. Aerial photo by John Scurlock.
Chianti Spire, Rebel Yell
Vasiliki Tower, North Ridge
Silver Star Mountain, Silver Star Glacier

Map

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Intro

THIS TRIP REPORT IS STILL MOSTLY IN THE EMBEDDED HTML FORMAT OF MY OLD WEBSITE.

It was the point in the summer where Jason and I were ready for some solid rock climbing minus any bushwhacking. So, we decided to climb Rebel Yell (aka East Face) of Chianti Spire, a route that is quickly becoming a North Cascades classic line. First climbed in the 80's, this route features perfect rock and great climbing. The crux pitches are both offwidths, so be warned! Jason and I thought this was a challenging and stellar climb. Thanks Jason for another fun climb together!

Since the approach for Chianti Spire is the same as the approach for Silver Star Mountain, we decided to camp at Burgundy Col and climb Silver Star Mountain via the Silver Star Glacier the day before climbing Rebel Yell. Silver Star was a short and easy glacier climb, so when we arrived back in camp early in the evening, I decided to scramble up the North Ridge of Vasiliki Tower. Vasiliki Tower is the towering rock on the north side of Burgundy Col (an interesting fact is that I think Fred Beckey named Vasiliki Tower after his girlfriend at the time). The next day, we climbed Rebel Yell and hiked out. Three summits in 2 days and a beautiful place to spend the night. What a fun trip.

This page contains an overview and photo trip report for each of our three climbs.

Trip Report for Each Route

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Climb 1: Silver Star Mountain

General Overview Silver Star Mountain
Route Overlay

Map



Summit panorama
(Taken from the summit of Silver Star Mountain.)
Route Info
Summit: Silver Star Mountain
Location: Wine Spires, just E of Washington Pass
Route: Silver Star Glacier
Difficulty: II, Class 3
Summit Elevation: 8,876 ft (East Peak)
Elevation gain: 4,626' from the car, 1150' from col
Approach: A climber's trail begins off HWY 20 at elev. 4250' and heads eastward up to Burgundy Col; the Silver Star Glacier is just off the east side of the col (to col: <5 miles, 3500' up, 3-4 hours) (Note: alternate approach is via Silver Creek from HWY 20)
Descent: descend route
Time: 1-2 days (can be done car-to-car or from a camp at col)

Elevations
HWY 20 Parking: 4,250 ft
Burgundy Col: 7,720 ft
Silver Star Summit (East Peak): 8,876 ft

Gear
Ice axe and crampons for Silver Star Glacier

Permits
Silver Star Mountain is located outside of the North Cascades National Park, so permits are not needed.

Time stats
Parking to Burgundy Col: 3 hours
Burgundy Col to Silver Star summit: 1 hour 15 min
Hike out to car from Burgundy Col: 2.1 hours

Photos from the Climb of Silver Star Mountain
After dropping our extra overnight gear at Burgundy Col, we headed up towards the summit of Silver Star via the Silver Star Glacier. This was a short, easy, and enjoyable glacier climb. It took us 1 hour and 15 minutes to the summit. Below are some photos from the climb.

Climb 2: Vasiliki Tower

General Overview Vasiliki Tower
Route Overlay



Map



Route Info
Summit: Vasiliki Tower
Location: Wine Spires, just E of Washington Pass
Route: North Ridge (Note: there are also some 5th class  routes on Vasiliki Tower, such as the South Face or the NW Dihedral.)
Difficulty: Class 3
Summit Elevation: 7,920 ft
Elevation gain: 200' from the col (although have to go down first)
Approach: The north ridge is on the opposite side from Burgundy Col. From the col, I traversed around the tower on the west side on Class 4 rock. It is also possible to descend further to Class 3 terrain on the west side.
Descent: descend route
Time: 1 hour round trip from Burgundy Col

Elevations
HWY 20 Parking: 4,250 ft
Burgundy Col: 7,720 ft
Vasiliki Tower Summit: 7,920 ft

Gear
Nothing special needed for Vasiliki unless you climb a 5th class route

Time stats
 Parking to Burgundy Col: 3 hours
Burgundy Col to Vasiliki Tower summit: 1 hour
Hike out to car from Burgundy Col: 2.1 hours

Photos from the Climb of Vasiliki Tower
We got back to camp early from climbing Silver Star, so I decided to scramble up Vasiliki Tower, which towers above the north side of Burgundy Col. An interesting fact is that I think Fred Beckey named Vasiliki Tower after his girlfriend at the time. This was a fun and easy Class 3 scramble. It took me about 1 hour round trip col-summit-col. Below are some photos from the climb.

Climb 3: Rebel Yell

General Overview Rebel Yell
Route Overlays





Map



Route Info
Summit: Chianti Spire
Location: Wine Spires, just E of Washington Pass
Route: East Face (Rebel Yell)
Difficulty: III, 5.10, 7p
Summit Elevation: 8,380 ft
Elevation gain: ~600' of climbing on the east face
Approach: A climber's trail begins off HWY 20 at elev. 4250' and heads eastward up to Burgundy Col; traverse through the col and onto the upper Silver Star Glacier; the route starts off the upper Silver Star Glacier (<5 miles, 3500' up, 3-4 hours) (Note: alternate approach is via Silver Creek from HWY 20)
Descent: rappel route with 2 ropes
Time: 1-2 days (can be done car-to-car or can camp at col)

Elevations
HWY 20 Parking: 4,250 ft
Burgundy Col: 7,720 ft
Start of route on Silver Star Glacier: 7,900 ft
Summit: 8,380 ft

Gear
Two 60m ropes (need 2 for rappels), slings, rack to 4" with doubles of #0.75, #1, #2, and #3 (actually we had a #3 and #3.5), ice axe and crampons for approach

Permits
Chianti Spire is located outside of the North Cascades National Park, so permits are not needed.

Time stats
Parking to Burgundy Col: 3 hours
Burgundy Col to base of route: <1 hour from camp and we were climbing
Climbing route: 6 hours (this includes some time we had to spend on a cam that got very stuck)
Descending route: 40 minutes
Hike out: 2.1 hours

Rebel Yell Pitch-by-Pitch
III, 5.10, 7 pitches, 500' up, 6 hours up, 40 min down
 Pitch 1: 5.8, 140 feet
Flakes and cracks to the base of the obvious offwidth in the dihedral. There seem to be several options here.
Pitch 2: 5.9, 80 feet
Short fist crack to wide offwidth. It's easier than it looks if you can find the face features and thin cracks around it. Belay on a small stance (horizontal crack for feet) just above.
 Pitch 3: 5.7, 100 feet
Easy climbing up a lower angle dihedral. Belay at a slung block on the right about 30 feet below a headwall in the dihedral. (We linked this pitch with the previous.)
 Pitch 4: 5.8, 70 feet
Slabs and cracks to an airy blind frictiony move to the left over an arete. Then traverse further left on good cracks to a sloping ledge directly below a steep thin hand crack (one bolt).
 Pitch 5: 5.10, 100 feet
Climb up the thin hands crack (steep and strenuous). The crack then opens up to cupped hands (#3 Camalot), and then even wider (#3.5 to #4 Camalot). Belay at a small but good stance below the final section of offwidth (bolt here).
 Pitch 6: 5.8, 140 feet
More offwidth climbing (dihedral and other features keep things 5.8 here). Finally, a ramp on the left leads to the base of the summit block.
 Pitch 7: 5.7, 20 feet
Fun moves on good holds lead up the summit block to the tiny summit. There's an old bolt at the top. Time for the rebel yell!
 Descent:
It's recommended to rap the route with two ropes. We did 4 double-rope rappels. The first rappel is off the summit block. The second is from the top of Pitch 5. The third and fourth (for us) were directly down from Pitch 5 on a slabby area to the climber's left of the climbing route. The fourth rappel brought us onto the snow. Some parties opt to swing over to the top of Pitch 4 on their third rappel instead of rappelling straight down as we did.

Photos from the approach and camp at Burgundy Col

Athletic parties often climb just Rebel Yell or just Silver Star in one long day from the car. However, we camped at Burgundy Col, climbing Silver Star on the day we hiked up and climbing Rebel Yell the day we hiked out. Burgundy Col is less than 1 hour from the start of Rebel Yell. We found a snow patch for water, but water here is difficult to find in late summer. Below are some photos from the approach and from camp at Burgundy Col. It was a great night for star photography and for photographing cars driving by far below on HWY 20!


Previous and Next Adventures

Bear Mtn (N Face Buttress), WA
Yoho NP (Yukness, Hungabee, Huber), BC

Comments Pertaining to this Page / Trip Report

Useful beta. Updated route information. Corrections. Historical notes. Interesting facts. No fluff please.
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