An incredible line as a whole, but some sections of wet and loose rock to add to the excitement... Eyeing up what we thought was the best line, we noticed rappel slings up to about the 400' mark. It was obvious the first 4 incredible pitches were done by a previous party...(?) At that point, we tried to climb left, then tried to climb right only to turn back as other parties had. Dave Medara took the rack and tackled the ominous offwidth crack straight up. About 30' up with our only #4 Camalot tipped out to the max, Dave hauled the hammer and hand drilled a 1/4" hole on the sidewall of the large, acute corner! Wedged there with a full, contorted body cam, he was able to pound in a buttonhead(only bolt on the route) to give him the confidence to continue. If we had some larger cams, it could have been a fun lead. It was quite dramatic and a job well done by my very strong partner!(I had denied taking the lead due to lack of gear...) This was the link to the upper pitches of New Mother Nature! 5 more long pitches brought us to the summit at about midnight. We decided to wait for the sun to brighten the sky so we'd have more light to descend. At about 4 am, six 100-foot and 7 long rappels brought us back to the base safe and sound.

New Mother Nature

Directly opposite from Mt. Barille, The Gargoyle guards the the entrance to the Ruth Gorge from the north(Don Sheldon Amphitheater) on it's eastern flanks. Realistically, it is the toe of the most north/western shoulder on the Moose's Tooth Massif. The Gargoyle stands on it's own as a 1800' granite wall capped by a snowfield.  It's western exposure allows for the wall to be bathed in the sun until dropping down behind Mt. Dickey. There are many crack lines on this buttress, but many wide, wet and loose sections don't encourage a plethora of classics. The only complete route I've seen recorded is a line Dave Medara and I established in July 1997. "New Mother Nature".....

Description

Protection

Routes in The Gargoyle