The Tooth Northeast Slab is one exposed route, difficult to find with acceptable conditions. Last year we approached and bailed due the bad snow conditions and this time we did another try and we got it. We started hiking from upper Alpental parking lot at 6:30. We used snowshoes for the approach and arrived at the base of access slope after 8:00.

 

Entering the approach couloir

We stared the route at about 8:40 and summited around 3:30pm, it is not a route to run and it is important to take precautions and try to fix suitable protection and that is what we did right, the time was not the important comparing with a progression in the safer possible conditions. Typically the face is in Scottish conditions, thin ice in the slabs and exposure in the progression thought the face, now it was not different. The first pitch Alex climbed, we progressed by the right next to the rock, securing with two short ice screws, one piton, two small cams to the rock and two pickets before to get under the rocks with fixed gear, which is the end of pith one.

 

First pitch

The second pitch we had to think the best way to take it, as the ice was thin on the slabs to progress in diagonal to the obvious tress on the left. We secured with a piton on the right rocks, before doing a horizontal traverse, 10 meters up from a belay station. From there we traversed horizontally on insecure snice to the snow fin and then up to the obvious tree that we made our second pitch, securing the progression with two pickets.

 

Second pitch

The third pitch should take us to the ridge and we took straight above the tree, looking for the better snow conditions, with some exposure and securing with two pickets and to a tree. From here the ridge is obvious and four more short pitches should take to the summit. First pitch on the ridge was aerial, on thin snow, setting some rock gear (small size cams).

 

First pitch on a ridge

Second we did going by the right until a rock step that we saved around also finding the way by the right which made a third pitch. On the fourth pitch we climbed a short wall using one pin and one cam for protection and then moved to the west side of the ridge until the summit on easier terrain.

 

Fourth pitch on a ridge

Summit was immaculate, good views and acceptable weather.

 

On a summit

We knew that we will finish at night, which was not important; the important was to try finding the rappel stations on the south, now covered by snow. We downclimbed until the first obvious tree under the summit in the south, were we did our first rappel to the obvious trees below, almost full 60 m rope. From there in a fading sunlight we found the next rappel station on a tree to the right facing south and at about 30 m the third station in the rocks that took us to the notch. From the notch we fixed another rappel to the right towards Denny's Creek, but we really didn't need it as the slope was not too steep. We traversed to the left and up and through another notch got back to the Tooth basin. We came back to the car at 8:30. It was great satisfaction to finally complete this route!

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