Upper Tellot Glacier Camp 2004

Jia Condon at the bivouac.com.

Jia Condon setting up a rappel of the South Ridge of Serra II.

Jia Condon on the 3rd pitch of String Fever.

Janez Ales on the 2nd pitch of String Fever (Jia Condon Photo).

Jia Condon on the 1st pitch of Guess what?

Dragonback Southast Face: Guess what? (blue) and String Fever (red).

Range Hierarchy: Pacific Cordillera / Coast Mountains / Pacific Ranges / Waddington Range
Region Hierarchy: BC Coast South / Fraser Plateau / Mount Waddington
July 15, 2004 (14 days)
Calculated Length: 2 km 92 N/06
Participants: Jia Condon and Janez Ales
Equipment: Glacier travel and standard rack
Difficulty: D 5.10+ 200m / D+ 5.11- 120m

Abstract: Dragonback Southast Face, with two (new) routes by Jia Condon and Janez Ales climbed in July, 2004: Guess what? and String Fever.

Due to the lack of good weather we were mostly camp bound at Dragon's Tail. A couple of sunny half-days allowed us to climb two (new) routes on the Southeast Face of Dragonback Peak. We called the first route "Guess What?". The name of the route refers to the weather we had. The answer is: "It is snowing again!" Here are the specs:
Guess what?, D 5.10+ (5.10, 5.10, 5.9, 5.7), 200m, FA, Dragonback Peak, Southeast Face, Upper Tellot Glacier, Waddington Range, BC, Jia Condon and Janez Ales, July 2004.
P1, 5.10, 50m: Start to the right of a big cave and follow cracks slightly to the right.

P2, 5.10, 50m: Angle right and traverse into the big left facing corner.
P3, 5.9, 50m: Continue up the corner to a ledge with some big blocks.
P4, 5.7, 50m: A few moves around the blocks and a lot of scrambling brings you to the top.
String Fever, D+ 5.11- (5.10, 5.11-, 5.10+), 120m, FA, Dragonback Peak, Southeast Face, Upper Tellot Glacier, Waddington Range, BC, Jia Condon and Janez Ales, July 2004.
P1, 50m: Climb cracks to a slab below the big roof.
P2, 50m: The good news is that the roof will surprise you, the bad news is that the off-width above will also surprise you :)
P3, 20m: The final little wide crack.

Plans were again big but the weather was not right. During our planned 18 day stay we had less than a handfull semi decent weather days. One of the storms cought us on the south side of Serra II. Due to my slide on the slope and consequently a lost tent, the storm night bivy did not look like a good option, but it was the only one. Not knowing how long will the storm last we did not use our sleeping bags during the wet night when we were covered only with a small tarp stretched over our tent poles. Luckily we were able to return to our camp the next morning. Snow accumulation was big enough to prevent any rock climbing and yet small enough that allowed us an escape accross the notorious south face slope of Serra II.

Due to an interesting discussion we overheard on the radio we had to work hard not to name one of the routes according to the quote: "... a pound of a butter and a cucumber..."

Waypoints:
51:24-125:11=Dragon's Tail Camp (3100 m)
51:24-125:11=Dragonback Peak (3288 m)
51:24-125:13=South Ridge Serra II (3605m)