It's not the NORTH SIDE OF CHIEFSHEAD. It's the South Face of Chiefshead. I'd like to call it Thurmond's Wall, if there are no objections. The Southface has a cool wall that I fell in love with while staring at it from the east face of Mt. Alice. It has a little gendarme just left of center 50'?  The first route I did is on the lower right side of the wall. A small roof of the ground leading into a right-facing dihedral. The crack system is pretty much straight up for 2 pitches. There is a nice belay under a spectacular roof, vibrant with most of the colors in a rainbow. These cracks are a sprt (sic) climbers dream if they are looking for splitter 5.14 and up roof cracks. Plus, there is this big sloping ledge under the roof that makes bailing a snap. I aided several of the sickest free cracks I have ever seen, just because leap-frogging Friends through those colors was irresistable. But the free route goes straight over the belay. DANGER!!! Large stone!! is loose above the belay. As you step out over the belay to get through the roof, you want to stand on it. DON'T! It's easy to avoid. Just be careful PLEASE. Who knows? Maybe it fell? The last pitch is kind of a spire. Easy climbing up its south face leads to a pointed to out (sic). Walk down east through the scree slopes.  I give it 3 stars, because it is so remote. It's south-facing. The views are out-of-hand gorgeous, and you can spend the whole day naked, because nobody ever goes there. Plus, the big horn herd hangs out here. You can bivy at Mt. Alice, but not here. Check with the Rangers about the rules to this area.  It's a little piece of Eldo in the park. Jim Thurmond.

Thurmond/Levine

South Spur

Route 1

Arete Variation

Ramp Route

Hot Brownie

Into The Great Wide Open 5.10c *

This route ascends the prominent spur or arete on the south side of Chief's Head Peak, almost opposite the Central Rib on the north side.  It could have a more inspiring name than "South Spur," but nothing has come to mind. The line is fairly obvious from the southwest.  I first noticed it a few years ago from the North Ridge of Isolation Peak.

Hike the Wild Basin Trail to a junction at 4.8 miles, go right to Lion Lake #1 and onward to Snowbank Lake, about 7.5 miles from the trailhead.  Continue northwest past the lake, then scramble up moraine to the bottom of the spur.  The first 200 feet are quite vertical, so go up and right, and cut back left on a ledge that leads to a cave under a little waterfall.  Just left of the cave, climb a short, vertical wall to a higher ledge (5.7). Work up and left to the ridge crest.  Climb the crest or right-facing dihedrals on the right for 1000 feet.  Obvious cracks lead up a final buttress (5.7) to hiking terrain, about 300 feet southeast of the summit.

This is a good ridge line that holds with other park standards, such as the South Ridge of Pagoda,

North Ridge

of Spearhead,

Blitzen Ridge

on Ypsilon,

Keyhole Ridge

on Long's,

Ripsaw

on Arrowhead, et cetera.  That there is no record of prior ascent follows considering the route's deep obscurity and long approach.

Jam the obvious hand crack 30' left of

...Wide Open

.

Rappel from fixed gear.

Climb the crack left of the arête to a huge, detached flake, then join

Hot Brownie

to the top.

Climb the dihedral and into the ramp. Exit the ramp into a fine hand crack (crux) to the top.

Stem and jam the obvious, right-facing corner system to the top of the wall.

Rappel with double ropes.

Climb thin cracks through the roof system and on to the wide cracks above, pass the small roof, and climb on to the top.

Rappel with double 70m ropes.

Description

Protection

Routes in Chiefshead South Face