Climbed Threshold Extension on Foster – 5.9 – John Relyea-Voss & Josh Overdijk
Starting at 1:00 PM from Campbell River with Josh Overdijk. We drove to ETR and hiked to Berg Lake to set up for the climb the following morning.
Setting alarms for 3:00 AM, we began our ascent from the camp towards Doubleshot Pitch One at 4:00 AM. We climbed Threshold Extension, originally ascended in winter by Ryan Van Horne and Hunter Lee. This route leads to the top of the South Northeast Couloir and connects to the ridge crest of the Foster summit traverse. It was an incredible day; we spent 11 hours climbing back to Berg Lake down the GWC. Afterward, we hiked out and returned to the car, making it a 22.5-hour day! Here is some route information.
Summer Route Info:
Pitch 1: Climb up the slabs and move off snow into Doubleshot Pitch One and finish at the horn belay.
Pitch 2: Low fifth class - climb straight from the belay to a large horn for 70 meters. It’s a rope stretcher, and the route trends slightly right with minimal protection. After a scramble, trend left to a gully with a chokestone at the top, where you can start a belay.
Pitch 3: Protect the chokestone and execute a 5.9 move that leads to more fifth-class climbing with moderate protection. This pitch is 70 meters long and leads to another horn for the belay.
Pitch 4: Scramble up right-trending ledges that lead to a steep and narrow right-trending ramp. Belay from this point and climb a 5.9 move from the start on another steep chokestone. Continue up the narrowing and exposed right-trending ramp, avoiding the easier but insecure flake to the right of the chokestone. Moderate gear. Climb to a large horn and continue past it to a flat landing on the climber’s left. There is a snow patch here, and the pitch is 70 meters long.
South Northeast Couloir (450m): Once you enter the upper couloir between the Northeast Peak and the Northwest Peak, follow and choose your route over good rock with varying difficulty. There are occasional short steps up to 5.9. Once in the upper couloir, trend right towards the top-out of the Northeast Tower and connect with the ridge crest of the summit traverse.
Finish the route to the main summit and chose your descent route. We chose to descent via following a partial summit traverse going south to the GWC.
