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Sherman Climb (3)

Statistics

  • Date - 01/11/2020
  • Elevation - 11,000'
  • Route - Sherman Climb
  • Miles - 2.0
  • Elevation Gain - 1,000'
  • ACME Mapper - Link
  • CalTopo - Link
  • Partners - Anthony Marusiak, Kevin Smith

Description

Kevin has been wanting to tick the Sherman Climb off his list for some time.  When we saw low avalanche conditions, he thought it would be a great opportunity to give it a shot.  Unfortunately, I didn't think we were going to need my double ropes and didn't bring them with so we ended up borrowing a rope from a Western Colorado University student to pair with the one Kevin brought.  Although Tony had no multi-pitch climbing experience, he did really well on the climb and appeared to have a great day.

The approach to the climb is short, but it was difficult due to breaking trail in snow that was often to our upper thighs.  Positively, we were able to follow some elk tracks to near the base of the climb, which actually helped a lot.  Kevin led pitch 1 to a tree anchor behind the boulder that has bolts on it.  Tony wallowed up more snow as we moved the belay to the base of pitch 2.  Kevin also led pitch 2 to bolts in the rock wall on the left.  I got to lead pitch 3 to a large tree above the ice to the left.  Pitch 1 and 2 can be kept at WI3 while I felt like pitch 3 had a 30 foot section of WI4.  To avoid the traverse from the bolts below pitch 3 to the crux pillar, I would suggest the leader of pitch 2 to aim towards the base of the steep section and simply use an ice screw anchor.  The bolts in the wall are handy for rappelling, but not super convenient for going up.

We did three double rope rappels to get back to the base of the climb as the sun was setting.  We hiked out in the dark as we didn't get a super early start as we wanted the day to warm up a bit.  Due to trail-breaking and having a party of three, it was an eight hour car-to-car day.  We stopped for a pint at the brewery and then had dinner at the Lake City Cafe while watching NFL playoffs.  I've really enjoyed this climb every time I have done it, but it does have avalanche risk with a large bowl above the route.

Photos

Sherman ClimbBreaking TrailSherman ClimbBreaking TrailTony gearing up.Kevin leading pitch 1.Kevin leading pitch 1.Kevin leading pitch 1.Kevin leading pitch 1.Kevin near the top of pitch 1.Tony moving the belay to the base of pitch 2.Tony with pitch 2 and 3 in the background.Kevin leading pitch 2.Kevin leading pitch 2.James and Tony following pitch 2.James traversing out to the crux pillar.James rappelling from above pitch 3.James, Tony, and Kevin after rappelling pitch 3.James rappelling pitch 2.Kevin rappelling pitch 1.Dinner at the Lake City Cafe.