Torment-Forbidden Trip Report, 31 July - 3 August
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Chris Simmons
Aug 3, 2017, 8:04:26 PM8/3/17
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Hi Team,
Came home last night from a 3 day Torment-Forbidden climb with a strong client.
Approached via Boston Basin, over the Torment Saddle to bivy in Torment Basin. Observed that there is a LOT of snow on the traverse! But the couloir from the Taboo Glacier to the South Ridge is completely melted out, and the West Couloir on Forbidden has several big cracks that closes it for the season.
Along the way I punched through the snow into some boulder, and gave myself a 6" gash across my shin. Anywhere closer to the road and this probably would have resulted in a visit to an ER for stitches, but I knew I was at least 5 hours away from any hospital. So I cleaned it out, applied three knuckle band-aids as butterfly bandages, and wrapped it up. Looking at it today, that seemed to do the trick. Its healing up nicely.
The bivy site in Torment Basin was still 25% in snow, but we were able to hack it out with ice axes and sleep comfortably.
On Torment, someone keeps nicking the first rappel sling off of the big horn to descend the SE Face. I re-established it and three raps went uneventfully.
There was so much snow in the SE corner/gully, that I decided that the late summer alternative to the north side snow was not feasible. We did the north-side rap and barely made it across the moat - I don't think it will be reachable in another week, and that moat is DEEP. If I could do it over again, I'd take the south side alternative and figure out a way over the high snowpatch instead. Exiting the north side snowfield required 45 meters of dirty, loose, sandy 3rd class that I short-pitched out, then 5 more 30 meter pitches and a 15m down climb/rappel to reach the V notch. A high snowfield just after the U Notch gave us water, and the rest of the traverse to the West Notch went uneventfully.
The West Ridge of Forbidden was uneventful. Passed Jeff Ward and Larry Goldie with a group of 4, and an AAI guide named Seth with 1.
During the descent from the West Notch we had to be careful of the first rap due to a team climbing directly up the gully, despite the obvious rockfall hazard that route is exposed to. They moved to the rib at the second rappel station just as we were leaving, and we continued our descent. Just before my client reached rappel station #4, they called out "ROCK"!!!! A watermelon sized rock bounced down the rib and remarkably not into the gully to either side - but straight for us. My client was well protected in an overhung corner - all I could do is take two steps forward and hug the wall. The missile exploded on the ledge where I had been standing a moment earlier, just a few feet away from where I was crouching. It would have killed me - I knew it, my client knew it. I screamed a bit of profanity up at them, and got nothing in response, not "Sorry!" or "Are you OK?" My client referred to them as the "fucking idiots" until I asked him to stop.
So be careful out there. Even when you do everything right things can go wrong. That's why its called "an accident."
The rest of the descent was uneventful. The heat and the blackflies were horrible - the flys were the worst I'd ever encountered.
That's that.
Chris
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