North America, United States, Washington, Molar Tooth, North Ridge and Two East Face Routes, 1991-2

Publication Year: 1994.

Molar Tooth, North Ridge and two East Face Routes, 1991-2. The Molar Tooth lies a mile north of Cutthroat Peak. Only when viewed from Cutthroat Lake does one see the nearly vertical 1000-foot east face. The first ascent of the Molar Tooth was made up the middle of this face by Alex Bertulis and party in the 1970s. On October 11, 1991 Eric Moeller and I made a new route, the north ridge. We began in a little notch below the north ridge and followed a full pitch of airy skyline to a broad shoulder (5.8). The second pitch followed the shoulder at fourth class for 130 feet to where the ridge steepens again. The third and final pitch climbed the ridge for 50 feet and traversed left onto the edge of the east face, where a rising traverse found the summit (II, 5.8). On October 28, 1991, Dave Suslo and I started up a chimney 100 feet to the right side of the huge cleft on the east face. Two pitches of 5.6 chimney brought us to a ledge. Pitch three was a rising fourth-class traverse towards a huge, light-colored water streak to the right. The last three pitches are easy, exposed face climbing up the broad water streak to the summit (III, 5.7+). On July 31, 1992, Keith Henson and I climbed a steep, deep, 600-foot ice couloir splitting the left side of the east face. We followed the couloir into the bowels of the peak and out the back onto the south face. Pitch five ascended a 5.7 crack and dihedral system for 100 feet toward a lone pine tree. The next pitch was up a discontinuous crack system to a wide chimney (5.9). The 5.6 chimney brought us to the summit (II, 5.9, rock and ice).

Fletch Taylor, Unaffiliated