A friend and I climbed the right-hand North Peak Couloir last Saturday, Oct 4,
along with TEN other people in other parties. Talk about social climbing... The
ice is good and it takes screws well. There was dinner-plating on some
sections. Most rock & icefall can be avoided by staying on the right side.
The 'schrund goes on the left, but this takes you directly into the path of
rock & icefall, so this was the most exciting part of the climb. Very skilled
climbers (i.e. more skilled then myself) or climbers equipped with a pair of
aiders should be able to go straight up the 'schrund towards the right,
avoiding most of the rock & icefall.
Or better yet, just climb it when there's no one ahead of you. From the amount
of stuff coming down from some parties above us, I'd swear they were trying to
climb using their hammers, not their picks!
I saw an old piton 10-12 feet above the current ice level.
