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will avoid disagreements). Most racks in- Elephant’s Head crack before the first ascent was scooped by Adi Joerg. The first free
clude some or all of the following: ascent was picked up by another climbing legend, John Bouchard,

Cams and tricams in 1973. Be aware that there are scary loose blocks at the top of
Wedge nuts or hex nuts By Travis Peckham
the second pitch. There are numerous, antique fixed-belays on the
Cordelettes
route. P.1 Climb the obvious crack in the middle of the front of A
Runners Elephant’s Head. 5.8 100’ P.2 Climb the crack as it steepens and number of guides have been written to help climbers find
Alpine draws of varying lengths shoots out an overhanging, bomb-bay, offwidth chimney with a climbs in their area. Travis Peckham is the author of Tough
Carabiners (locking and sport varieties) hand crack at the back. Wild! Tiptoe up over scary stacked blocks
Schist, a climbing guide detailing over 500 routes and varia-
Nut tool (useful for cleaning in deeper to the big ledge. 5.9+ 100’ There is no good fixed anchor on the tions, 23 climbing areas, 11 boulder areas and topographical ap-
cracks, opening beer, etc.) big ledge, so be prepared to tie off blocks and improvise. P.3 John proach maps. The following is an excerpt:
Gear sling
Bouchard climbed the final face to the top of the buttress on scary Elephant’s Head looms like a huge tower over Route 108. Its
When it comes to buying, keep an loose rock with little or no protection, but most choose to rappel position, exposure, and history make it not only a Vermont clas-
eye out for deals at your local gear shop from the big ledge atop pitch 2. 5.9 X 30’ To descend, rappel from
sic, but a truly unique cliff. While the rock
and you’ll quickly fill missing gaps.
the ancient piton and fixed gear anchor on
quality here is not the best, the routes here
“Throughout your climbing career, the left end of the ledge (scary), or traverse are amazing adventures and can be climbed
you accumulate gear and you’ll learn to the right end of the ledge and boulder up, safely with good judgment.
what you like and what you don’t like,” without protection (also scary), to a bolted
Conroy says. “It’s not like there’s a stan- anchor on the True North rappel route. FA APPROACH
dard list of things you bring every time, Adi Joerg, circa 1964 (narrowly beating
Park a hundred yards down the Stowe-side
it depends what your preferences are and Fritz Wiessner, who had tried it at least once of the top of the notch at a small pullout
what you’re doing.”
before this). FFA John Bouchard, Fall 1973
on the Mount Mansfield side of the road.
It’s also possible to buy some equip- Walk steeply downhill a few hundred yards
ment used. Hard goods, like a carabineers 2. TRUE NORTH 5.11C 200’
and turn left into the woods. If you miss the
or belay devices have a longer life than A continuously engaging route up the turn into the woods, you’ll come to the ob-
soft goods like ropes or harnesses, but it’s main face and right arête of Elephant’s
vious hairpin turn in the road with a great
best to go by what the manufacturer rec- Head. A great route with many challeng- view of Elephant’s Head and Ragnarock.
ommends. And don’t buy used ropes or es. At the moment, the third pitch is fairly Tiptoe through the stinging nettles and lo-
harnesses.
dirty and could use some traffic. Rack a cate a very steep trail in the gully coming
few medium nuts for the first pitch and down from the left-side of Elephant’s Head.
TOPPING OUT
a few 2-4” cams for a 20-foot fist crack Hike this until you come to the base of the
By the end of the day, I had practiced all on the second. P.1 Climb the first few feet
Elephant’s Head Gully ice climb, which is
of the basics, building mock-anchors, of the Elephant’s head crack. Step right on the left-side of the buttress.
rappelling and even ascending a rope to and follow bolts up the arête. Finish to
retrieve the climber I had previously been the right at a two-bolt anchor. 5.10b 80’ STILL IN RAMADI 5.10D 110’
belaying. My face was sunburnt and the Move the belay, with difficulty, behind Scramble cautiously up the first pitch of El-
skin on my fingers screamed, but it was the gigantic leaning block on the left to
a great day outside the gym on the rock. another fixed anchor. 15’ (very hard if you’re a large person). P.2 ephant’s Head Gully (per the winter route)
to reach the obvious right-facing corner and hand crack on the south
In a few weeks, Matt and another cli- Climb the crack formed by the left-hand side of the block. Con- side of the gully. Climb steep, broken rock, past a bolt, to reach
ent would take the skills they had prac- tinue up the bolted face, pulling a difficult roof, then continue up a large ledge beneath the roof. Jam the perfect hand crack above,
ticed to Cannon Mountain in the White easier rock to a two-bolt anchor. 5.11c 100’ P.3 Climb straight traversing right underneath the roof. Step around and continue on
Mountains of New Hampshire. Cannon up the prow, through the gritty, pocketed headwall, then right to a thin hand and finger crack. It may be necessary to belay here to
Cliff is argued to be the only “big wall” the arête. 5.11c 80’ To descend, climb the final pitch of Ganesh
minimize rope drag. When the crack ends, pull through a bulge on
on the east coast, with a wall roughly and do a 2-rope 60M rappel into the gully. Otherwise, make good edges, passing a bolt and pin, to a huge ledge and two-bolt
1,000 feet high and a mile long, making a short rappel down the ramp (skier’s right) to another bolted anchor. Bert Severin: “Well worth the nasty approach”. From the
it a suitable challenge for any experienced anchor. From here it is possible to reach the start of the route anchor, two 60M ropes will bring you all the way to the base of
climber looking for remote and challeng- in three awkward 30M rappels using a single 60M rope. Dave Elephant’s Head Gully. Rack double cams to 2”, quickdraws, and
ing multi-pitch climbing.
Furman spearheaded the route with a number of partners from long runners. FA Dustin Dearborn, Bert Severin, 2006
I still need more practice, but until 1998 to 2001 including Ralph Tursini on P.1, Ian Howatt on P.2

then, I decided an introduction would and Travis Peckham on P.3. Dave Furman and Travis Peckham 1. ELEPHANT’S HEAD CRACK 5.9+ 200’
serve me well.
completed the first continuous free ascent of the route on Sep. A venerable adventure-classic of Smuggler’s Notch. The legend-
15, 2001.
ary Fritz Wiessner made several unsuccessful attempts to climb the

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