5.9 Muti-pitch bolted climb: White Mountain on Rusted Goat Wall

Close view of the Rusted Goat Wall and the thin red line is Soleil de Soiree

Climb:             

Soleil de soirée, 120 meters (4 pitches)

Location:      

White Mountain, Rusted Goat wall

Route setters and first ascents:  (2012)

 Alain Dallaire, Michal Dorociciz and David Benton

Complete view from the highway(Atlin Road) of White Mountain West Face

Approach:

 Drive south on the Alaska Highway from Whitehorse and turn right at Jake’s Corner (72 km). A kilometer farther, a left turn takes you towards Atlin. Drive about 4km on this road and park at the first boat launch on your right (an outhouse is available there). Start hiking from the parking area towards the Goat Wall on White Mountain. Take the most direct line toward the wall, or follow these GPS coordinates (NAD 83): N 60 18 13.4 and W 133 58 01.6, which is the base of the climb. The Rusted Wall is west facing on White Mountain (see attached picture). It has an obvious large rusted spot on the left side of the climb, which can be seen from the road. The steep and non-technical hike will take you about an hour. Avoid wandering too close to the base of the wall early in your approach as it can be confusing. Going across and slowly up the hillside seems to be the best approach. You will know you are close to the climb when you cross a small (~10 meter) rocky gulley. The route is a 2 minute walk from this gulley, or on the left side of a slab wall followed by a short steep wall. The first bolt is about 15 feet high and the line with the bolts is easy to see. If you lose sight of a bolt, keep a direct line and it will appear quickly.

Technical information:

 Soleil de Soirée is nice mix of slab climbing and face climbing. The limestone rock is fairly solid on the route. You might have some loose gravel in some short sections (2nd and 4th pitch). As there are goats on this mountain above the route, helmets are highly recommended.

All belay stations have rap rings and fairly comfortable stances. You can rap down the route with a 60 meter rope. Pitches 4 and 3 can be combined with 2 sixty meters ropes, as well as pitches 2 and 1. Leading two pitches at a time might lead to some rope drag, and a 60 metres would make tigh to reach the second pitch.  A 70-meter rope is recommended if you intend to combine pitches on lead.

 Pitch 1, 5.9, 32 meters, 8 bolts

The first pitch is fairly consistent 5.9 from bottom to top. This might be the hardest of the four.

 Pitch 2, 5.6, 25 meters, 4 bolts

Some small loose pebble rock possible on this pitch, but can be easily avoided.

 Pitch 3, 5.9, 30 meters, 6 bolts

The second half of the pitch has some good 5.9 moves, before getting to the sidewall on your left.

Pitch 4, 5.9, 32 meters, 6 bolts

The crux of this climb is located on the last 2 bolts of the pitch.  A little bit of spice at the end!

Advice:

 The summer sun starts to heat the wall around noon, and you will get the sun for the rest of the day as it is west facing.  Bug spray might be useful if there is no wind.

Enjoy the climbing and bring a camera, the scenery is breath taking up there! Have a safe climb.

Alain Dallaire