[rstoddard24]

~UPDATE~ Thanks all for helping me solve the mystery. Here is an annotated photo that clearly shows the change. The only remaining question is for other climbers who climb the new variation comment on if they think the grade changes from 5.4

Case Closed!

~ORIGINAL POST~ This TR is just because I am a naturally curious person, and I would like to solve the Great Dorado Needle Summit Block Mystery of 2019 Basically, we climbed last weekend and found the crux of the climb to be on the summit block (past the au cheval, what is supposed to be class 3/4). I think that there was a serious rockfall event and some critical blocks are gone. If this is true, then the summit block would now be hardest part of the climb, which would increase the technical difficulty of the NW ridge "standard" route up the peak. However I could be wrong! Maybe I am just a rock baby or maybe I am very confused about something. If you have climbed Dorado Needle recently (or previously) and have any information to corroborate or rebut my account, please speak up! I don't have that many photos of that section, so I will try to be thorough in my account. The section in question is after the au cheval brings you to the false finger summit. Just to make sure we are on the same page, here is how you get to that point: Pitch 1: "the snow pitch" climb 30m pitch up a snow finger to a notch. I passed a lower anchor and ended at the second anchor for a full 30m pitch. ~30m, moderate snow Pitch 2: climb left around a corner, up a dirty class 3/4 gully, then finish this short 15m pitch with a 5.easy move and belay at tat once the famous dorado needle finger thing comes into view. ~16m, 5.easy Pitch 3: traverse toward the finger, up one 5.4 step then finish this ~27m pitch with the famous au cheval. ~27m, 5.4 After pitch 3 you find your self at the "Finger False Summit" (FFS). See annotated photo to make sure there is no confusion about what I mean by this. The climb up until this point was nothing unexpected or different than the beta.

The part of the route in question is after pitch 3, or after you get to the FFS

After this point, the beta says there is any easy class 4 step up a block then a short class 3 traverse to the summit. I guess some parties do this unroped. However, we saw something completely different and this is where I think the route may be different now. We looked directly at the true summit from the finger false summit, and blocking us was a ~9' step with no face features but split with a leftward slanting crack. I am a bad crack climber, but I think climbing this would be 1-2 moves of 5.9 crack and would be hard for any parties climbing in boots. We are rock babies and brought rock shoes, but still didn't really wanna climb it ha. A shoulder stand/boost or jump/mantle may be a good option; we didn't consider this in the moment. I first looked left of the crack-block and that was not an option - there is a leftward leaning detached flake over big exposure. You could fathom squeezing in between the flake and the big rock, but that would be difficult for a normal sized human and besides the flake looked like it would fall if you put entire body weight on it. I looked right around the step and saw a viable option - this is what we took. The right option around the step has good feet but no hands (or Rebecca and Philip found an undercling but I just smeared hands). It was just 1-2 moves and I protected it easily with a nice BD C4 .75 placement. Exposure was present, and we would rate this sequence 5.7. After the exciting 1-2 move traverse moves its easy class 3 to the true summit. We didn't want to downclimb that sequence since you cant see the feet from above so it would be quite difficult. We saw some tat on the summit itself around some chockstone, we reinforced it than did a ~12m rap back to the finger false summit. At first the rap was horizontal, aligning with the "class 3 traverse" beta. Then the rap takes you over the 9' crack step, which I believe was the "easy class 4 step" previously in its previous state. Here is the evidence that makes me think some blocks fell: Look at Damon' video from July 2018, You see Trace downclimbing some blocks. at 24:09 he steps down on a block. You can't see the block in the video, but he is definitely standing on something. That block was not there for us. At that same moment his hand is touching the top of the 9' crack step. See photo of Rebecca rappelling. The photo and video are taken from opposite directions, but the rock that traces hand is touching at 24:09 is the same rock Rebecca is rapping over in photo.

Rebecca rappeling the ~9' crack rock step that looked hard to climb

Annotated photo that gets to the heart of the mystery

can anyone help me solve this mystery? If anyone has a photo taken from the finger false summit up to the true summit (same perspective as Rebecca rapping photo) that would help. tl;dr - maybe I am confused about something, or maybe Dorado Needle summit block is harder now. Go right and look for the undercling if you are a bad crack climber like me. If I am correct then add P4 to the beta: Pitch 4: from the FFS (Finger False Summit), traverse right of the 9' rock with leftward slanting crack, find a .75 placement on the floor, then a 2 move exposed traverse across on good feet with undercling hands, then class 3 to the summit. ~12m, 5.7 Thats all! This happened on our Eggplant climb on 7/13-14. Eggplant was the main objective (obviously), but my partners were tolerant enough to help me clean up the inspiration icecap Bulgers (eldo and dorado needle). A couple more shots from the trip:

Tepeh towers during a sun break

thanks Kim/Liz for the BD Mid!!

The FFS (Finger False Summit), which is commonly labeled as "Dorado Needle Summit" in some photos

Rebecca thinks the Au Cheval is NBD

summit!

another summit

I can't remember where this was taken

No caption needed

Huge stoke after finally getting The Eggplant

Looking at one of the lesser peaks we climbed on this trip

Forbidden!

Philip sets his eyes on the J-Berg false summit

strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/2533341801

[Brushbuffalo]

[rstoddard24]

@Brushbuffalo I noticed the differences in rock color too and was thinking the same thing!!

[Stephen B]

Scott Braswell and I climbed this in a whiteout (C2C, with fog from P1 on up) maybe 3 years ago. I can't tell unfortunately how different your finish was. I do remember that after the au cheval it was quite simple though - even in a whiteout, there was no routefinding and no hard moves. We were roped up still, of course, but I recall it being easy peasy from then on. So, sounds like something broke loose.

[Michael Lewis]

I just reviewed Gimpilator's video of when we were up there on a bluebird day and I can be seen clearly mantling a block in front of that crack that would have been where that light colored face is. There's no doubt in my mind that it did indeed fall away and the climb is more challenging now. Thanks for sharing this.

[rstoddard24]

Thanks @Michael Lewis. For anyone else interested, I believe this is what he is referring to, which clearly shows the missing block. Thanks!!

[Stefan]

Yep, I have been up that move several times. I can see something is missing. First ascent!!

[iron]

[puzzlr]

Darn, I took at least 20 photos in all directions from the Au Cheval to the summit but that is one view I didn't get. I can only think that it was unremarkable after getting past the false finger summit. Thanks for the detailed write-up, and good beta for future climbers.

[gb]

[Brushbuffalo]

That the block is gone is 100% confirmed by the video of Michael Lewis climbing it. Now, who has pictures of the summit of Dome before the top fell off, I don't know, maybe about 15 or so years ago? Maybe that's a new thread that could be fascinating, such as Trigger Finger at Peshastin Pinnacles before and after ( for us old- timers), etc.

[rbuzby]

[Jake Robinson]

Bob Bolton has a good one on the Dome Peak peakbagger page.

[iron]

^ must've been one deep glacier!

[Matt Lemke]