Mount Deborah, West Face. During late April and May of 1980 Charlie Sassara, Robert Frank and I attempted Mount Deborah’s northwest ridge. After reaching 10,000 feet, we were turned back by extremely sugary snow on a knife-edge. It was during the all-night rappel down the west face that the idea came to us of climbing directly up the face farther over. Unfortunately the weather socked in for the next week and we were unable to attempt it. Further investigation revealed that in 1979 Omar Hansen and company had already climbed part way up the direct west face before they switched to the south ridge. (See A.A.J., 1980, pages 528-9.) Consequently we decided to try a line to the left of the direct route, up a funnel to the base of the rock face, across the central rib and on to the summit. In 1981 the group was made up of Rex Simenson, Vern Tejas, Howell Powder and me. We flew to 7000 feet on the Yanert Glacier on April 26 and dragged our sleds two miles to Base Camp, where we regrouped and immediately headed up the left side of the steep Yanert Icefall. We climbed 1000 feet up the icefall with loaded packs and camped on top. The next morning we headed up the upper portion of the lower icefall to the questionable safety of a large ice boulder which was the end of much avalanche debris at 9000 feet. The following day we ascended to the bergschrund at 9500 feet, where Powder and I started a snow cave while Tejas and Simenson began to fix the first 300 feet. The next day’s bad weather prompted a run for more food and supplies to Base Camp and back up. The following day we stashed the tent and extra food and gear to move up to the snow cave. Then we climbed the 45° snow-and-ice slope up to the rock band, using 300-foot 9mm ropes and screws every 100 feet for running protection. At the rock band darkness overtook us. Faced with steep snow-covered rock, no rock gear and storm conditions, we retreated to the cave during the night. We rested the next day. That night the weather improved and we left at four A.M. At the rock band we veered left, avoiding the obstacles of the two nights before and reached the upper slopes of the funnel. Tejas then traversed 300 feet out of sight across a 50° to 60° snow-covered amphitheater. He climbed a steep pitch of frozen rock and ice and then through sugar snow he reached the top of the central rib and belayed the rest of us across and up. It was early evening when Simenson took over and led through the night, chopping huge holes in the slope to get to the ice two feet down on the 50° slope. At 5:30 the next morning, May 3, he led between the gargoyles on 70° ice to the summit (12,340 feet). We located a flat spot out of the wind and watched the sun rise. We rappelled down the west-face-direct route with 300-foot rappels to the bergschrund. The whole climb took 36 hours up and down. After gathering our gear, the next day we headed down. That evening in Base Camp we shot the bull with a group from Girdwood, Alaska, who had flown in the day before to complete the west face direct. Both the west-face routes are really great ones.

Brian Cannard, Ptarmigan Climbing Club