The Tormentor

After the first obvious "difficult" ice move in the narrow gully, go up a few feet and immediately look right. You should see a very large granite slab and some chossy rock forming a dihedral. This is the first pitch of the climb. I'd say it's a good 30-40 feet of mixed climbing with terrible protection. It's extremely chossy, but doable. Try and keep your right foot on the slab as much as possible, it offers the best rock quality. For optimal safety have your partner belay you as if you were climbing ice or any other mixed route. WARNING, the amount of rockfall you will set loose here can and will kill your partner if you're belaying it the conventional sport climbing way. Another option for belay is you have your partner hide under the obvious rock overhanging at the bottom, it provides adequate protection. Avoid belaying too far into the snow as ice and rocks fly down the narrow gully often. This first pitch is the hardest. After getting to the top, look for the obvious large boulder. Directly underneath the boulder there's a smaller boulder propping it up with perfect anchor placement for a long 240cm dyneema sling. Belay your second from the right via the "knife" edge. Like all of the protection and rock in this first pitch, use extreme caution. Do not whip, fall, or commit to anything before testing it out. Do not by any means shock load the anchor. It seemed very secure, but I'd be reluctant to try and test out how secure it is. The second pitch is easier but still difficult to protect. It runs about a full rope length for a 60 meter rope. This second pitch is mostly covered in hard snow or ice with some easier 5th class climbing, up to 5.3 moves. However, again, use caution. There were several sections where the snow and ice had a hollow sound to it, making it unsafe. In any case, there's adequate room to avoid these hollow sections, or simply climb up rocks. Placing pro in this second pitch requires some thinking and creativity. The pro placement in this second pitch is far better than the first and there's little to no choss. Shoot for the farthest rock visible from the top of the first pitch, that is where you'll find good anchor placement. We used a sling, nut, and cam for this second anchor. After you reach the top of the second pitch, simply walk out towards the obvious snow field. You'll end up at the top of the bowl with another 700 feet or so to reach the summit.

We decided to call it The Tormentor because if you're belaying and seconding the first pitch the constant onslaught of rockfall and ice-fall is absolute torment.

Again, gear placement here is not bomber, it's the opposite of bomber. I wouldn't trust any gear you place with your life. Test everything before placing gear and test the anchors.

This route starts at the bottom of the narrow gullly and ends up climbing and traversing the rock formations from the top on the right hand side.

60 meter rope, totems black-orange, 1 #3 C4, a rack of off-set nuts, several slings ranging from 240cm to 30cm, and 5-6 alpine quick-draws. Or replace the nuts with a rack of micro-cams, or if you have infinite money, many black totems.