"North Summit" Lavender Route 5.7+

Intrigued by Dwight Lavender's proper account of the failed attempt he made in August 1932, alongside Charles Kendrick and Bob Scott, on the rugged north summit of South Lookout Peak, Jonny and I hiked up Paradise Basin once more to see if we could retrace their hobnailed footsteps.

From the basin we climbed to the saddle between South Lookout and North Summit, then began to descend the major Y-couloir to the west. Based on Lavender's report, we were looking for a "box couloir" which could be used to effect a traverse onto the north side of the mountain, to a "ledge about ninety feet below the highest point and perhaps half a dozen yards to the west" of the summit. The only perceptible non-technical weakness on this side within striking distance of the top was a prominent gully about 150 feet down from the saddle. After scrambling up through some boulders into a distinctly parallel-sided couloir, we knew we had the scent.

From the chockstone wedged atop the box couloir we surveyed the "loose and difficult traverse" leading eastward to nowhere apparent. As hoped, we turned the heinously loose and exposed corner to find a sloping ledge. Here we too roped up, and Jonny led up a headwall of questionable flakes into a "moderately respectable chimney" and the first piton placed by Dwight Lavender 5 days and 94 years ago. The second piton was a bit farther up the funnish chimney, then a bench where the third piton lay among broken flakes.

Of the original climbing party only Lavender had reached this point, and it was from the adjacent gendarme he retreated. Thus they did not discover the peak to which they aspired was in fact a false summit, one of a handful of disintegrating buttresses clustered tightly around the true highpoint. Jonny, being a youth, wanted to "jump from the gendarme to a four-inch crack in the perpendicular wall" of the false summit, but I didn't feel like initiating a body recovery in a thunderstorm, so we snagged the loose piton and moved along, down into the notch between Lavender's highpoint and the false summit.

Jonny led out left (east) through this notch and up to the false summit. Other routes may be possible. Jonny's involved an awkward, grungy sequence through a slight overhang onto a pile of choss in a passage on its east shoulder, followed by a tenuous downclimb into the notch between the false summit and the true highpoint. I was glad to have changed from pavement runners into rock shoes for it.

At this point there are a couple options to gain the summit. Perhaps the easiest way is to circle around to the east side by descending the chute to the left (east) 30 feet, turn right (south) and scramble up a horrid-looking chute to the eastern notch, then climb enjoyable cracks and ledges to the top. We opted instead to climb directly from our position. Again Jonny took the lead, up a detached pedestal, through a tight constriction onto the west face, then left up a slabby headwall to a final bulge and the summit.

We descended our East Face route just in time, and the skies broke as we began the final rappel.

What a great day out. Although this peak is choss, just pure choss all the way down to the quantum level, the climb was considerably less gripping than most of my outings with Jonny. Semi-fun, unhurried adventure climbing with a compelling historical connection, three excellent leads by Jonny, and all before the weather turned ugly.

Notes:

• Much thanks to Joe Kramarsic for producing the 1932 report that inspired this trip!
• 1930s hand-forged pitons are as gnarly as loose, outsloping, wet 5.5 flakes in nailed boots with a hemp rope tied around your waist, fiddling in protection that will scarcely hold body weight, then rappelling off the same by Dulfersitz. The retrieved piton should be bound for historical society or maybe descendants of the original climbers.
• Found a modern blue/white rappel sling west of the notch between the northern false summit and the true summit.
• Red cord we left on the summit in 2024, which had previously served as Clint and partner's rap anchor on Gray Needle, was still in place, but severed. We collected the accursed tat destined for some obscure ice climb in the Cimarrons.
• For the summit rappel we used the same neon green cord found there by Alex and partner on their climb a few weeks ago. Obviously people are doing this thing.
• All three pitches were 80-90 feet, climbed on a doubled skinny 70m, which was nice for positioning belays when the range is hot. Oddly, despite the large quantity of terrible rock, there was pro aplenty with parallel cracks everywhere. Jonny hauled up and largely utilized a double rack, including one nut placement. I'd probably just bring singles of Camalots 0.2 - 4.
  
  P1 - Moderately respectable chimney - 5.5
  P2 - False summit northeast face - 5.7+
  P3 - West face of summit - 5.7+