Page 39 - 2015 AMA Autumn

our chances at climbing the Cassin ridge during the time we had available. It was now or never.
I was very sure that I wanted to have already summited by the West Buttress route and stored the route on the GPS before we attempted the Cassin. This would not only help our acclimatisa- tion, which would be crucial in our plan to climb the route in a single push, but also help us get off the mountain safely in the case of bad visibility. Clearly that meant that we’d have to be very careful how we used those four days! So we decided that the first day we would leave as much gear as possible, including the rope and go fast and light from 14,000ft to the summit and back in a day. Then we would be able to use the second good weather day to rest, eat and dry out any gear. The third day we could then use to approach the base of the climb down the West Rib and Seattle ‘72 cut-off route, and then on the fourth day we would climb the Cassin. A tight schedule but possible... so we decided to go for it.
Our first climb to the summit on the West Buttress went very smoothly. Most people on the route seemed to be waiting for the middle of the good weather window and so very few people summited on the first day of this period – which meant we had the summit practically to ourselves. We were back in the 14,000ft camp for dinner that night, feeling a little tired but both having felt good at the summit with no acclimatisation problems.
Two Austrian aspirant Guides who were camped next to us had left that afternoon to walk into the Cassin and we knew that by the end of our “rest” day the next day they should come back from their climb and we’d be able to get lots of info about conditions from them.
An immensely enjoyable lie-in the next day followed by an easy day in the sunshine and relative warmth of a 14,000ft camp without wind followed. Finally at around 8pm the Austrians returned, tired but happy with a successful 20hr ascent of the Cassin under their belts. They reported a good track in place and several of the bivvi
sites (at the base and at the end of the cowboy arête) already dug out by a team engaged on a four day ascent and currently at the cowboy arête camp. This was great news and very reassuring. With good conditions and a track we were more confident that we could climb it relatively fast. My two remaining concerns then became how difficult the down-climb of the West Rib and Seattle ‘72 ramp would be and if the bad weather would come in early...
Midday on the third good weather day of our 4-day window, Sunday 3rd May, Roeland and I left 14,000ft camp with light sacks and a weather forecast that confirmed we had until 10am local time Tuesday 5th May to be down before another storm would hit the mountain. In addition to our technical climbing gear we took sleeping bags and a sleeping mat each, 2x250g gas canisters, an MSR reactor stove and pan set, and 2 de-hydrated main meals each. No tent, no bivvi-bag... and a bigger sense of commitment than I’ve ever had on any of my big Alpine North Face routes in the Alps.
By 4.30pm we were relaxing in the sunshine on a bivvi platform at the base of the Japanese couloir. Relaxing.... hmmm.....
The base doesn’t go into the shade until about 9pm, when some of the sun’s heat is blocked out by the West Rib, but the light remains. Roeland had planned to set off at midnight and sleep for a few hours at the base, but once I was there, at the base of such a famous route... I started to feel the nerves that so often accompany an endeavour where you are taking a calculated risk. I have several very talented friends who have climbed the Cassin Ridge before and I knew that it had taken them several long days and bivouacs to complete the climb... here I was with Roeland daring to try to climb it in a day. I confess to feeling too nervous to sleep. I insisted we set off earlier... as soon as the couloir was properly in the shade... at 9pm. In hindsight it would have been better to wait. Without sleep we effective strung two days together and hit a tiredness barrier later in the climb which was worse than just physical fatigue. We’re both convinced now that a few hours’
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