On the first
ascent of King
Cobra on
Mount Barrill
in Alaska7
How did the systems work and the climbing go?
We started working the route in two teams of two in 12 -hour
shifts. Thanks to 24 -hour daylight at this time of year, we could
rotate teams and make continuous progress fixing ropes or haul-
ing, although after a week of this our body clocks became quite
out of sync. Once we established our portaledge camp halfway up
the pillar, John became very sick and had to f ly out, at which point
Dan, Kim and I climbed as a team of three for the upper half. On
our final push to the summit, we were halted by the sheer quantity
of wet snow threatening the top section of the mountain and chose
to bail from about 200 metres below the summit.8
Who picked the name and why?
Joll picked the name of King Cobra, sticking with the theme,
and ref lecting our biased opinion that the sensational line of split-
ter offwidths in the centre of the face is the king line on the pillar.9
Did anyone take a big whipper?
Yes, Joll was packing up his portaledge one morning when
suddenly the entire ledge f lipped upside-down, shooting him head
first towards the glacier. He credits his dynamic rope tether for
saving his pelvis and back from an even nastier shock.10
Did you spot many other new routes to do?
Our other alternative idea for a new route was up the large
smooth wall to the left of Ham & Eggs on the Moose’s Tooth. The
hardest part of finding a new route in the Ruth Gorge would be
finding one safe from overhead avalanche hazards, but also with
easy enough access from the glacier across a gaping bergschrund.
We think late June to early July would be the best time of the
season for balancing those two factors.—Gripped