The east face of Notchtop Mountain, formerly known as " The North Face", is one of the premier alpine ice and snow routes in Rocky Mountain National Park. Due to it's potential for dangerous avalanche conditions and need for good ice, this classic is typically in best condition in early winter each year before the snows of winter arrive.
Notchtop Mountain, East Face
III M1 WI3+
First Ascent: |
Tom Hornbein and and Bob Frauson, 1952 |
Type: |
Traditional alpine multi-pitch |
Difficulty: |
M1 WI3 50 degree snow |
Length: |
3-4 pitches of ice, 1200' total from base to summit |
Season: |
autumn and spring (November is typically best) |
The east face of Notchtop in November, 2007 conditions with minimal snow and maximum ice on this alpine route.
Description
The East Face route on Notchtop Spire is one of the more accessible of the classic alpine ice and snow routes in Rocky Mountain National Park. It is primarily a steep snow route that includes about 500' of water ice in the center of this imposing face which is followed by another 400' of snow to the summit. The shape of this large east face on Notchtop Mountain is a funnel so that most falling material (snow, ice, or rock) comes down into this route and thus in warm or avalanche prone conditions, this route might be reconsidered as this area can be a danger zone for much of the year due to unfavorable conditions.
Standard route options on the east face of Notchtop Mountain
Location
The approach to the Notchtop Spire starts at the Bear Lake trailhead at 9450' in the heart of Rocky Mountain National Park where the trail heads north towards Lake Helene in the Ptarmagin Valley. The Ptarmagin Valley has the Ptarmagin Glacier at it's head and the north face of Flattop and the Ptarmagin Couloirs. Notchtop guards the valley entrance on it's north side. The base of the route is at approx. 10,800' and tops out just above 12,000'.
Rescue services will take some time to reach this location and contacting "911" resources could be the crux of an adventure gone bad. Winter conditions can quickly kill an exposed and immobile person, especially one who is bleeding or broken. Emergency and bivy gear should be considered along with communications equipment in any alpine winter backcountry adventure. Tell a responsible person where you are going and when you plan to return so that they might initiate a search for you and contact the National Park Service who coordinate all rescues in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Approach the route from Lake Helene by either traversing high across the top of the bowl above Grace Falls as if approaching the Notchtop Spire Spiral Route, but leave the climbers trail before Notchtop and head towards an obvious ramp that accesses the left side of the face. When avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE or higher, it can be best to drop down into the Odessa Gorge for a few hundred feet towards Odessa Lake and then traverse across the valley bottom staying just left of the "guide's wall" and gain the route from it's far east (right) side.
A close-up of the left-side approach past the "large boulder" and into the chimney with trees above and below a short 5th class section.
The right option is a bit safer in higher avalanche danger as it stays clear of the face as much as possible. The left version is much more direct but puts one in the middle of avalanche terrain for a longer period of time. All of this terrain is avalanche prone so the danger level should ideally be LOW or MODERATE and conditions should be thoroughly reconnoitered before getting on the face.
An overview of the two approach options. The left approach goes uphill at Lake Helene, eventually up a rock rib and then traverses around small cliff bands to reach the big boulder and the approach chimney. The right-hand approach heads downhill here on either the old or new trails into the valley bottom where one can also access the challenging ice routes: "New Beginnings", "Grace Falls" and "Hot Doggies".
This route can be one of the most avalanche prone aspects in Rocky Mountain National Park due to it's steep and lee nature which features many unsupported slopes, a cornice threat and it's an east aspect which can warm-up quickly in the morning to produce heat-related avalanche danger. As a result, this route is rarely in "safe-enough" conditions to be ascended and careful consideration should be paid to avalanche danger and the weather forecast. In the spring this route may need to be climbed in the night to attain cold-enough snow for safe-enough ascension.
Route Information
From the left or more western approach to the east face which is most ideal is moderate or low avalanche danger, approach as for the Notchtop Spire Spiral Route, but break off the climbers trail before Notchtop and head towards a large boulder at the bottom left (SE) of the E face. Find a short chimney behind the boulder and climb through a couple of low 5th class moves to gain a ramp with trees. Traverse on low angle rock or snow up to 40 degrees up and right into the center of the bowl towards the hopefully obvious ice.
The lower rock steps in more snowy conditions
Looking up at the ice section of the East Face of Notchtop in perfect 11/07 conditions (photo courtesy of Mike Soucy)
P1- 40m (WI2) Climb WI2 or M1 up to a fixed anchor on the right that is somewhat sheltered from falling ice on the next pitch.
P2 - 30m (WI3) Climb the ice step which can also be protected on the left side with #1 & #2 Camalots and belay immediately above from a rock anchor.
Above this pitch climb steep snow (50 degrees) for 60m to the bottom of the next ice flow.
Jonathon spitzer launching into the second (WI3) pitch (photo courtesy of Mike Soucy)
P3- 45m (WI2) Climb the water ice and belay in the rock or with screws at the top of the ice.
Once again, it can help to do a short pitch on snow for 30m up and right to the side of the next flow to provide enough rope for the pitch and to keep the belayer out of the way of falling ice.
P4 - 45m (WI3) Finish up on this hopefully fat flow and make a rock anchor at the top on the right.
Above here aim for the ridge crest taking the path of least resistance by either pitching, simul-climbing (with protection) or soloing to the ridge crest by heading left after reaching the obvious rock island in the middle of the upper bowl.
Above the crux difficulties heading towards the ridge crest
Descent
From the top of the route, the goal is to cross over the ridgecrest in to the descent gully on the opposite (west) face of Notchtop. To locate the descent gully, climb up to the obvious rock island in the middle of the bowl, then left to the ridge and descent gully. If avalanche conditions are problematic in the couloir or if you are looking for a non-technical but longer walk-off descent, climb up to the ridge crest then up towards the summit of Knobtop but slightly left to connect together snow gullys to the upper plateau. Be careful in this area to avoid potentially loaded areas as this entire area along the east face is lee and cross-loaded terrain. Reach the Knobtop spur then head west towards the Continental Divide and Ptarmagin Point to join the Flattop Mountain trail for an easy walk down to the Bear Lake parking lot.
The descent couloir on the west side of Notchtop showing the rappels down the Notchtop Spire for Spire routes and the Spiral Route in yellow.
Equipment
A small rock rack including #3 and #2 camalots would be helpful and 6-7 screws should be adequate to protect these pitches and to set-up adequate belay anchors. A single 60m rope should be enough unless there is a chance that the route will be rappelled (not ideal), in which case a "tag-line" or other two-rope system will be necessary to make the rappels long enough to reach the few fixed anchors in place and the few bands of rock where anchors would be possible to build.
A typical rack of equipment for the East Face of Notchtop
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