NEWS

Mammut athlete Will Mayo sends two first ascents on Huntington, one solo

Mammut athlete Will Mayo and partner Chris Thomas made the first ascent of the sub-peak of Mt. Huntington (ca. 10,700') on May 9th, 2005. Their route, which they named "The Mini-Intellectual", climbed to 10,000' on the Harvard Route of Mt. Huntington, traversed downward and southward under the Phantom Wall of the southwest face, and into the gully below the col separating the sub-Peak from Mt. Huntington. After a 200' ice bulge and 100' of snowy rib-cresting, the gully proper was attained and simul-climbed for 600' during which four pieces of suspect gear were placed amidst crumbly loose rock. Following a full pitch of ice, the pair gained a beautiful “bobsled run” couloir that arched for 1200 ft. at 70 degrees before reaching the summit. The route was descended by way of the climb, requiring 23 hours round trip from basecamp (total net ascent of ca. 4,600' vertical). Thomas and Mayo dubbed the peak "Idiot Peak", once realizing they’d risked their necks in the face of significant rock fall hazard to gain a relatively insignificant peak. On May 17th, and also from Mt. Huntington basecamp, Mayo soloed a new line on the north face of Peak 11,520', which lies between Mt. Hunter and Mt. Huntington. A striking ice couloir bisects the face below an enormous "hang ten" cornice and active seracs just left of the climb. Reknowned alpinist Jack Tackle had warned Mayo about the routes objective hazards, citing that Jay Smith had deemed the line "The Shining" for its reflective qualities of its ice and aspect. (Smith had viewed the line from the Phantom Wall and left it unclimbed). Mayo ascended the 2800’ face from bergschrund to cornice in just five hours, involving a short 80-degree step of exceedingly thin ice/mixed terrain at 400' and a short 85-degree step of ice at 1,200', describing the rest of the route as “ mostly 70 degree ice with an easing angle at the top” and adding, “the seracs do in fact threaten the couloir unequivocally”. On the descent Mayo stuck a rope after about eight rappels, cut what he could off the end, and continued for another 16 or so 100' rappels before the final descent back to basecamp.