Tasty Talks

Tasty Talks is a recent addition to the "chossaneering" routes being put up on Campbird Road. Anybody used to climbing solid granite will be horrified, but most choss hounds will find it good adventure to a pretty cool summit. It is similar to

Bird Brain

in dry conditions but longer and looser.

1st pitch. Scramble to base of obvious chimney, ascend for 70m to a ledge. 5.8.

P2. Keep following chimney and belay below a ominous looking slot. 5.8, 60m.

P3. Climb the slot with surprisingly good hooks and gear. Stop and belay on nice ledge after 50 feet or continue up chimney system. M4/5.

P4-5. Continue up rambling, easy ground and belay on ledge system before final headwall.

P6. Climb up the steep slot on good rock that gives way to choss all too soon. It is perhaps the technical crux. M5, 60m.

P7. Continue up chimney on nasty, yellow rock. Where the chimney becomes overhanging, traverse left on a rotten ledge to belay in a corner. This is the cerebral crux. M4, 40m.

P8. Although it would be possible to go straight up, we traversed to the next corner/ fist crack. Climb this and then angle up and left on slabs to belay at a tree. M5,70m.

At this point, we unroped and scrambled about 300 feet to the summit.

The route is located downriver on the large, imposing buttress above and left of Fall Creek. Park at the campground, cross the river, and hike straight up hill aiming for the center of the buttress. The route starts in the left hand of two prominent chimneys. For the descent, we did a single rope rappel off a small pine tree about a 100 feet below the summit. From here, we and followed the ridge straight back a ways to game trails that descended into the Fall Creek drainage. This is probably not the best way down during high avalanche hazard.

Doubles to 3", 1 #4. A #5 is useful. 5-6 knifeblades, LAs, baby angles, spectres.