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West Gully (4)

Statistics

  • Date - 12/20/2017
  • Elevation - 11,400'
  • Route - West Gully
  • Miles - 8.0
  • Elevation Gain - 2,200'
  • ACME Mapper - Link
  • CalTopo - Link
  • Partners - Mike Slavens

Description

I had met Mike once before when we climbed All Mixed Up together a couple of years ago.  Mike moved to Texas for his employment and was back in Colorado for the holidays.  As I was searching for someone to climb with, one of my primary partners told me to reach out to Mike since he was around and also wanted to go to the mountains.  After getting his contact information and exchanging a couple of texts, we opted to go for a relatively big day and climb West Gully.  Mike had not done the route before and thought it sounded good.

I don't remember when we left or how long the day was.  I do remember Mike was fairly worked at the end of the day due to the altitude since he came from Texas and also because he doesn't have the opportunity to climb much in Texas.  Nevertheless, it was a good day to get out with him.  I led pitches 1 and 2, and Mike led pitch 3.  Pitches 1 and 3 were straight forward; however, I remember pitch 2 had formed a little weird and I had to make a couple awkward moves to pull the lip of the main curtain.

Photos

Glacier GorgeWest GullyWest GullyJames at the top of pitch 1.Mike following pitch 1.Mike leading pitch 3.Mike leading pitch 3.Longs PeakMike on rappel.Pitch 1 and 2 from the base of the climb.West Gully from Black Lake