Buchannon Ridge - Swedish Gully

Buchannon Ridge - Swedish Gully
Originally uploaded by cgoble72.

A couple of years ago I wandered up the narrow gully with a Swedish exchange student. As it was late winter there was a lot of post holing. We made it up past the notch before avy conditions started to get worse. It was quite a nice, though low angled route. The gully narrowed quite a bit, making stemming the best option for getting around bulges.

Right now the top face doesn't look to be in shape. The bottle neck also looks a bit rocky. However the lack of snow means the upper face isn't the avy hazard it usually is. Also the early season means the cornice up top is not present.

The approach for this climb is pretty easy. We went down through the trees just past the Lineham turnoff. There is an old cut there. Cross the creek and scramble up by the small creek. There really isn't much brush to worry about. The snow at the base of the route did take a while to ascend. We bailed off to the climber's left to descend through the thin trees.