Iowa Mountaineers Expedition

United States, Wyoming, Bighorn Range
Author: James Ebert. Climb Year: 1970. Publication Year: 1971.

The Iowa Mountaineers held a summer climbing camp in the Big Horns from August 7 to 22, based at the west end of Spear Lake. There were 342 man-ascents made by the 93 participants during the camp period. First ascents included Shipsprow (12,000 feet) on August 15 and 16 by Roger Wiegand and Pete and Rozanne Cleveland via the prominent buttress that rises 500 feet on the rim of Penrose Canyon between Penrose Peak and the Seven Brothers, 6 pitches, NCCS IV, F10, A2, and the first, second and third pinnacles of the Seven Brothers on August 16 by Doug and Henrietta Gale, NCCS I. Many new routes were established. On August 12 Harvey Carter, Pete Cleveland and Wiegand made a direct finish to Bill Pirmak’s west face route on Hallelujah (12,600 feet), NCCS III, F8. Hallelujah was also climbed on August 17 from the Hallelujah-Buffalo Back Col by Carter, Paul Jones and me in four 150-foot leads, NCCS II, F6. Pete Cleveland, Wiegand and Patricia Armstrong climbed the north ridge of Woolsey (13,000 feet) from the Woolsey-Blacktooth Col. It involved five pitches and a traverse onto the northwest face to avoid an overhanging section of the ridge, NCCS II, F6. Starvation Peak (11,600 feet) was climbed on the northwest side by Patricia Armstrong and Tony Peeters, who followed the slabs up the right side of the open-book for nearly 720 feet and then entered a gully which led to the summit, NCCS II, F5. On August 19 Carter and Robert Drzyhkowiski started on the lower arête on the northwest corner of Starvation Peak, followed the yellow banded rock up easy ledges to a 60-foot V-crack which led to the top arête, then crossed a gully and proceeded up the face for 250 feet and entered a series of cracks that eventually led to a large gully near the summit, five leads, NCCS III, F8. On August 11 Carter and I climbed the northwest face of Buffalo Back (12,200 feet) on friction slabs on the yellow rock just east of the large red walls, NCCS II, F4. Blacktooth was ascended by the north face ice couloir by Carter and party. New routes were also placed on Little Goose Spire and Penrose Peak but details are unavailable because of misplaced climbing records.

James W. Ebert