Dragontail - Triple Couloirs
April 20, 2003
Eric Hobbs and I climbed the Triple Couloirs route in a long 17 hour push, starting from the 8-mile lake trail head. We spent 7 hours on the route, which was in good condition. Along the route two really nice guys, Dan and Chris, caught up with us and we all had a fun time climbing the route together.
Dragontail's North Face. The Triple Couloirs route connects the three
couloirs from left to right up the face.
Eric in the Hidden Couloir on some perfect step kicking snow.
The runnels that lead to the 2nd couloir. The first pitch climbs up the
neve, up left on thin ice by the small rock spur, then back right to belay
at the big rock.
Dan Smith leading the first pitch on the runnels.
Dan and Chris at the end of the first pitch. Our belay here was a #2 and
.75 camalot.
Eric starting the second pitch. I tell him it looks "easy above."
It turns out to be the crux.
A beautifully iced corner forms the WI 3 crux of the route.
Eric just after the 55 degree neve step atop the 2nd couloir.
Detail of the runnels that connect the hidden and 2nd couloirs. First
pitch was 50m, second was 70m, belays in pink.
Small cams, knifeblades and baby angle sized pins works for most of the protection on the route. The biggest piece we brought was a #2 camalot, and we used it on the belay atop the first runnels pitch. We brought 3 ice screws, which seemed about right considering the conditions. Pickets ended up being useful too as pro in the neve. What a great route!