Moogie737 - Sep 2, 2023 8:53 am Date Climbed: Aug 30, 2023
CMC route
With Lana (Yadahzoemtn) and Max Tepfer, Exum guide, we climbed this beast in unrelenting SW winds which had kept us awake throughout the night at CMC camp (9,600'). 4 am start. In spite of the 25-30 mph winds (with gusts to 40) Max found a way to work with us and we stumbled to the summit 6 hours after leaving our camp. I say stumbled because the winds nearly knocked us over on the final flat walk to the summit. Other than the ferocious winds it was a bluebird-sky day. Good cell service at our camp and, of course, on the summit. They say that when you reach the summit your work is only half done. Never was that sentiment so salient as it was today. The return to camp was taxing not only by virtue of the difficulty but by the fact that our bodies were tiring of the exertion and the "stinking" wind! But that's part of the thrill, right? Hats off to Max Tepfer for his expertise and his people skills. Lana and I are a bit older than the average person on this mountain and Max, with whom we had climbed in Oregon, was patient and encouraging the entire 3-day adventure. As a side note, the canoeing experience was unusual but enjoyable in as much as the lake winds on the approach were only light and on the return only occasionally bothersome. Our caution to those planning this mountain is to not underestimate it, respect it and have your ducks in a row.
jfroehling - Aug 21, 2020 10:58 am Date Climbed: Aug 20, 2020
CMC in a day
This one was unfinished business. We tried the summit perhaps a decade ago and got turned around at the top of Drizzlepuss. This time we started paddling at about 1:00 a.m. and were on top of Drizzlepuss a little after sunrise. As others have mentioned, there are some route-finding difficulties between CMC camp and the top of Drizzlepuss but if you read the comments carefully here and on Mountain Project, you'll figure it out - even in the dark.
At the top of Drizzlepuss, we chose to downclimb from the notch and then rap from the anchors into the notch between Drizzlepuss and Ensoeld's needle. Once on the face, we climbed the whole thing in one long simul-climb pitch. I think I only put in one piece of gear per rope length and that was mostly to keep my partner happy. If you're at all competent on rock, you'll find it almost 4th class. Nevertheless, we put the gear away about 400 feet from the top and scrambled the rest of the way to the summit.
It actually took us longer to descend than it did to climb. We only brought one 70-meter rope, which was sufficient for the climb and the descent, but there's a fair amount of downclimbing to find the rap stations. Some of them have cairns but some don't. I think the ideal route off the top is to start towards the dike and follow the cairns as they head down and then skiers right away from the glacier. As the route meanders to the right, keep your eyes peeled for a cairn on the extreme right of the face. That's the first rap station. After that, you have to downclimb a fair amount before you reach another one (which, when we climbed it was NOT marked by a cairn) and then it's four more single rope raps down to the bottom of Ensoeld's needle and again, from Ensoeld's needle to the notch. If you decide to bring only one rope, make sure it's at least 70 meters. It was actually a bit short for one of the raps with probably 20 feet of sketchy downclimbing to get to the next rap station.
For me, the crux was the climb back up drizzlepuss. I was pretty fried mentally and physically and I only took cams up the pitch. A number one fits shortly after the start, but without chocks or webbing to wrap the natural chocks I ended up basically free-soloing back up to the rap station. It would normally be a pretty easy climb but after some 30 hours without sleep and a full day on the rock, it was much harder than I wanted it to be. The rest of the hike back down is tough on the knees and toes; I fell a lot and threw a temper tantrum maybe a thousand feet above the lake, but the dip in the lake at the end makes it all worth it.
In total, it took us about 9 hours to get from the canoe put-in to the summit and then about 10 to get from the summit back to the car.
Brutal climb, but glad to finally knotch it!
WayneFry - Jul 18, 2018 10:03 am Date Climbed: Jul 10, 2018
CMC
Beautiful water approach and a stellar view from basecamp. Weather threatening we managed to climb to Drizzlepuss but got stormed off shortly after that. If you do this route this time of year don't forget your bug spray. The mosquitoes followed us up to at least 10500 ft. We also noticed the route still had a large cornice above the face.
wyomtman - Aug 19, 2013 11:59 am Date Climbed: Aug 17, 2013
Classic!
Canoe, raspberries, beautiful camp (just a trickle of water), amazing sunrise from Drizzlepuss, great view from the summit with a good friend all to ourselves... Did it in 3 enjoyable days. Fantastic Mountain!
seano - Jun 28, 2013 6:25 pm Date Climbed: Jun 23, 2013
Bushwhacked around Leigh and down Skillet
Bushwhacking around Leigh Lake is bad, but the Skillet descent rules. Climbing the West Horn on the way is well worth it. Trip report.
Climbed the CMC. We didnt acutally rope up more that a couple times (Drizzlepuss mainly). The view from the top was unreal and we had perfect weather. One of the most fun climbs i have ever done!
GrumpyJohn - Aug 30, 2010 9:49 pm Date Climbed: Aug 18, 2010
Drizzlepuss!
Very nice climb, though the climb out, up, and over Drizzlepuss was the best. There were 4 other parties on the rocks with us which made it a bit crowded at times.
MichaelJ - Aug 24, 2010 11:04 pm Date Climbed: Aug 24, 2010
7.5 hours k2k (kayak to kayak)
Fun paddle and hike. Didn't really find any climbing.
michellen - May 9, 2010 2:25 pm Date Climbed: Aug 2, 2008
CMC
Beautiful mountain--canoe, hike and climb--fun stuff.
dfrancom - Oct 18, 2008 12:29 pm Date Climbed: Aug 11, 2008
CMC
Amazing, loved the whole thing,, canoeing, drizzle puss, and nearly getting swept of by a falling cornice on the CMC face. Great weather
jvarholak - Sep 4, 2007 5:39 pm Date Climbed: Jun 18, 2007
2nd attempt
2 day "surf and turf"....gotta love the tetons (especially with a water approach and fantastic climbing)
I thought it was great. The tricky part is getting the ropes down from the rappels (as did sampage below.) The driz adds some complexity to the route as well. Slow chess.
rasgoat - Jul 9, 2007 12:54 am Date Climbed: Jul 5, 2007
Fun
Great fun although the tech pitches are short and alot of the face has class four.
Just an awesome mountain!
dcurless - Jun 29, 2006 6:21 am Date Climbed: Aug 17, 2005
CMC Route
Fun climb. Canoed across Jenny Lake (ran into a little weather on the way) then hiked up to camp. Climbed the route the next day.
Tracey Silberman and I climbed this route over three days. A friend canoed us to the base and we slogged up to the CMC camp on the first day. On the second day we climbed the delightful route, but were delayed on the descent by stuck ropes. We planned to rendezvous with our friend, and most importantly his canoe, at the end of the second day, but got back to camp too late. So on the third day we had to bushwack back. Ugh. Overall, an awesome experience.
Moogie737 - Sep 2, 2023 8:53 am Date Climbed: Aug 30, 2023
CMC routeWith Lana (Yadahzoemtn) and Max Tepfer, Exum guide, we climbed this beast in unrelenting SW winds which had kept us awake throughout the night at CMC camp (9,600'). 4 am start. In spite of the 25-30 mph winds (with gusts to 40) Max found a way to work with us and we stumbled to the summit 6 hours after leaving our camp. I say stumbled because the winds nearly knocked us over on the final flat walk to the summit. Other than the ferocious winds it was a bluebird-sky day. Good cell service at our camp and, of course, on the summit. They say that when you reach the summit your work is only half done. Never was that sentiment so salient as it was today. The return to camp was taxing not only by virtue of the difficulty but by the fact that our bodies were tiring of the exertion and the "stinking" wind! But that's part of the thrill, right? Hats off to Max Tepfer for his expertise and his people skills. Lana and I are a bit older than the average person on this mountain and Max, with whom we had climbed in Oregon, was patient and encouraging the entire 3-day adventure. As a side note, the canoeing experience was unusual but enjoyable in as much as the lake winds on the approach were only light and on the return only occasionally bothersome. Our caution to those planning this mountain is to not underestimate it, respect it and have your ducks in a row.
jfroehling - Aug 21, 2020 10:58 am Date Climbed: Aug 20, 2020
CMC in a dayThis one was unfinished business. We tried the summit perhaps a decade ago and got turned around at the top of Drizzlepuss. This time we started paddling at about 1:00 a.m. and were on top of Drizzlepuss a little after sunrise. As others have mentioned, there are some route-finding difficulties between CMC camp and the top of Drizzlepuss but if you read the comments carefully here and on Mountain Project, you'll figure it out - even in the dark.
At the top of Drizzlepuss, we chose to downclimb from the notch and then rap from the anchors into the notch between Drizzlepuss and Ensoeld's needle. Once on the face, we climbed the whole thing in one long simul-climb pitch. I think I only put in one piece of gear per rope length and that was mostly to keep my partner happy. If you're at all competent on rock, you'll find it almost 4th class. Nevertheless, we put the gear away about 400 feet from the top and scrambled the rest of the way to the summit.
It actually took us longer to descend than it did to climb. We only brought one 70-meter rope, which was sufficient for the climb and the descent, but there's a fair amount of downclimbing to find the rap stations. Some of them have cairns but some don't. I think the ideal route off the top is to start towards the dike and follow the cairns as they head down and then skiers right away from the glacier. As the route meanders to the right, keep your eyes peeled for a cairn on the extreme right of the face. That's the first rap station. After that, you have to downclimb a fair amount before you reach another one (which, when we climbed it was NOT marked by a cairn) and then it's four more single rope raps down to the bottom of Ensoeld's needle and again, from Ensoeld's needle to the notch. If you decide to bring only one rope, make sure it's at least 70 meters. It was actually a bit short for one of the raps with probably 20 feet of sketchy downclimbing to get to the next rap station.
For me, the crux was the climb back up drizzlepuss. I was pretty fried mentally and physically and I only took cams up the pitch. A number one fits shortly after the start, but without chocks or webbing to wrap the natural chocks I ended up basically free-soloing back up to the rap station. It would normally be a pretty easy climb but after some 30 hours without sleep and a full day on the rock, it was much harder than I wanted it to be. The rest of the hike back down is tough on the knees and toes; I fell a lot and threw a temper tantrum maybe a thousand feet above the lake, but the dip in the lake at the end makes it all worth it.
In total, it took us about 9 hours to get from the canoe put-in to the summit and then about 10 to get from the summit back to the car.
Brutal climb, but glad to finally knotch it!
WayneFry - Jul 18, 2018 10:03 am Date Climbed: Jul 10, 2018
CMCBeautiful water approach and a stellar view from basecamp. Weather threatening we managed to climb to Drizzlepuss but got stormed off shortly after that. If you do this route this time of year don't forget your bug spray. The mosquitoes followed us up to at least 10500 ft. We also noticed the route still had a large cornice above the face.
wyomtman - Aug 19, 2013 11:59 am Date Climbed: Aug 17, 2013
Classic!Canoe, raspberries, beautiful camp (just a trickle of water), amazing sunrise from Drizzlepuss, great view from the summit with a good friend all to ourselves... Did it in 3 enjoyable days. Fantastic Mountain!
seano - Jun 28, 2013 6:25 pm Date Climbed: Jun 23, 2013
Bushwhacked around Leigh and down SkilletBushwhacking around Leigh Lake is bad, but the Skillet descent rules. Climbing the West Horn on the way is well worth it. Trip report.
PanamaRed - Sep 29, 2012 9:38 pm Date Climbed: Sep 9, 2011
CMC epicClimbed the CMC. We didnt acutally rope up more that a couple times (Drizzlepuss mainly). The view from the top was unreal and we had perfect weather. One of the most fun climbs i have ever done!
GrumpyJohn - Aug 30, 2010 9:49 pm Date Climbed: Aug 18, 2010
Drizzlepuss!Very nice climb, though the climb out, up, and over Drizzlepuss was the best. There were 4 other parties on the rocks with us which made it a bit crowded at times.
MichaelJ - Aug 24, 2010 11:04 pm Date Climbed: Aug 24, 2010
7.5 hours k2k (kayak to kayak)Fun paddle and hike. Didn't really find any climbing.
michellen - May 9, 2010 2:25 pm Date Climbed: Aug 2, 2008
CMCBeautiful mountain--canoe, hike and climb--fun stuff.
dfrancom - Oct 18, 2008 12:29 pm Date Climbed: Aug 11, 2008
CMCAmazing, loved the whole thing,, canoeing, drizzle puss, and nearly getting swept of by a falling cornice on the CMC face. Great weather
jvarholak - Sep 4, 2007 5:39 pm Date Climbed: Jun 18, 2007
2nd attempt2 day "surf and turf"....gotta love the tetons (especially with a water approach and fantastic climbing)
seth@LOKI - Jul 9, 2007 6:07 pm Date Climbed: Jul 5, 2007
ClassicI thought it was great. The tricky part is getting the ropes down from the rappels (as did sampage below.) The driz adds some complexity to the route as well. Slow chess.
rasgoat - Jul 9, 2007 12:54 am Date Climbed: Jul 5, 2007
FunGreat fun although the tech pitches are short and alot of the face has class four.
Just an awesome mountain!
dcurless - Jun 29, 2006 6:21 am Date Climbed: Aug 17, 2005
CMC RouteFun climb. Canoed across Jenny Lake (ran into a little weather on the way) then hiked up to camp. Climbed the route the next day.
Sam Page - Feb 14, 2006 4:30 pm
CMC RouteTracey Silberman and I climbed this route over three days. A friend canoed us to the base and we slogged up to the CMC camp on the first day. On the second day we climbed the delightful route, but were delayed on the descent by stuck ropes. We planned to rendezvous with our friend, and most importantly his canoe, at the end of the second day, but got back to camp too late. So on the third day we had to bushwack back. Ugh. Overall, an awesome experience.