After last weekend's dose, Dave wanted to see a bit more, so we left Seattle early. We were a bit worried when we arrived to Snoqualmie Pass in a cloud bank, completely obliterating the view, but we trusted the posted forecast and sure enough, we were having lunch in the sun, part-way up the face. The Improbable Traverse pitches went past quickly, and by early afternoon we were on the summit, enjoying the view. After clearing the summits we were able to put away the rope, and follow the steep scrambler's trail back to the Alpental Valley.
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| Low clouds completely obscured the mountain, and we certainly slowed down - I wanted to make sure we didn't miss the entrance couloir to the route. |
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| The view above made the initial route finding difficult. This is the first pitch. |
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| 300' and three pitches later, the clouds had burned off and this was the view of Snoqualmie Pass. |
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| Trying to look back down at pitches 1-3. |
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| Dave taking a moment to relax at the Lunch Ledge, half way up the pitches. |
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| Looking across the 150' Improbable Traverse. |
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| The traverse is broken into two pitches for rope drag. Dave's belaying me from the Lunch Ledge (top of p3) - I'm at the anchor of p4. |
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| The last two pitches are low 5th and 4th class. |
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| A few hundred feet of 3rd and 4th class climbing lead to the summit. |
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| On the hike back to the car, we finally got the view of the face. The Improbable Traverse climbs the big corner immediately left of the white rock in the center of the face, and leads straight to the summit. |
Statistics: Guye Peak (5168'), West Face, Improbable Traverse (III 5.8, 9 pitches/900'). 31 August with Dave N.
