THIS TRIP REPORT IS STILL MOSTLY IN THE EMBEDDED HTML FORMAT OF MY OLD WEBSITE.
Colchuck Balanced Rock (8,200 ft)
via NW Ridge (5.6)
DATE: June 26 ROUTE: Stuart Lake trailhead --> Colchuck Lake --> Gully up to NW Ridge
of Colchuck Balanced Rock --> NORTHWEST RIDGE OF COLCHUCK BALANCED
ROCK --> Gully back down to Colchuck Lake --> Stuart Lake
Trailhead TIME: 12 hours car to car, relaxed pace ELEVATION GAIN: 4760 ft from trailhead to summit WHO: Doug, Steph |
Our route: Approach from the E side of Colchuck
Lake, ascending the obvious gully to the notch above Jaberwocky Tower.
Climb toward the NW Ridge (Class 3) and move along the sharp ridge (5.6)
to the summit. The final balanced rock on top is a boulder problem.
Descent: single rap down the east face, then scramble talus and broken
rock slopes around to the saddle on the south side and back to
Jaberwocky Tower, then back down to Colchuck Lake. The climb was a fun
adventure with more great views! |
Colchuck Balanced Rock (you can see the balanced rock - a super-exposed boulder problem - perched on top) as seen from Colchuck Lake. Due to the fact that the peak juts right up from the lake, from here the balanced rock looks so tiny and distant. | Ascending the gully to the NW Ridge. We came through the notch just south of Jaberwocky Tower seen behind Doug in the photo. | View of Dragontail and Colchuck (which we had climbed 2 days previous) from the approach up the gully. |
The dead snag marking the beginning of the steeper climbing (5.6) just below reaching the NW Ridge. The NW Ridge was a few more pitches of low Class 5 to 5.6. | Climbing around the west side from the NW ridge just under the summit. | The boulder problem on the balanced rock on the top. We did the math and came to a startling conclusion: COLCHUCK BALANCED ROCK - BALANCED ROCK = COLCHUCK. Hmm….looks like we climbed the same peak twice!(When I climbed the West Face route in 2016, we surmounted the Balanced Rock by throwing a rope over the top and belaying from the other side.) |
Sketchy anchor just below the balanced rock on the summit. We made a single 25m rappel off this anchor down the east side of Colchuck Balanced Rock before scrabling the rest of the way down. | Rapping down the east side of Colchuck Balanced Rock. | Dragontail, Colchuck, and Stuart from near the summit of Colchuck Balanced Rock. |
The descent involved a single rap down the east face, then scrambling talus and broken rock slopes around to the saddle on the south side and back to Jaberwocky Tower, then back down to Colchuck Lake. |
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