Route:  S Brother/S Coulior
Climbed:  May 13-14, 1995


Party: Jeff Bergman, Kristen Hamilton, Patrick


Caught 6:20 ferry to Bainbridge island.  At trailhead around 9 am.  At
base camp around 12:30.  Snow level about 100 ft below base camp.
Returning parties reported soft snow so we decided on an early start.

Started walking at 5:00 am.  Clear climber trail stays near N bank of
river until 3560 ft where it enters gully (3rd stream coming down from
S Brother).  Ascended gully, then open slopes to W of gully to about
4950 where it is possible to ascend E to ridge line.  Continued up
ridge another 300 ft. then worked back into the large gully to the W.
(Can't stay in gully because of cliffs.)  We mostly followed other
parties firm up tracks.  The upper gully has a weak crust which, just
below the summit, became strong enough to support our weight.  At top
of upper gully turn E and ascend one of several small chutes to
summit.  We took the S most chute.  The N most gully may not go.  On
summit at 8:45.

Start descent at 11:15.  The upper 200 ft are still a little too
crusty for easy glissade.  Kristin and Patrick glissaded down large
gully first and were followed by a wet snow avalanche which came from
the upper W slopes.  Kristin avoided the avalanche while Patrick made
a heroic leap out of the cascading snow.  This was witnessed by
another party who decide to _not_ climb the peak that day.  They
reported that avalanches have been coming down the gully at regular
intervals.  Fortunately, it seems that most of the avalanches have
come down.  Further down we see signs of significant amounts of new
avalanche debree, accumulated from slides that swept the full length
of the gully.

We continue glissading down the ridge then back into the gully for a
long fast ride down the fresh avalanche tracks.

We drive home around the S end of Hood canal and catch the Bremerton
ferry.  Bremerton is an abysmal place - there is nothing to recommend
this route over going N over the Hood canal bridge.


Notes on the Brother's traverse:

There was another mountaineer party doing the Brother's traverse (N to
S) the same day: Route starts the same as the S. Brother.  Possible to
camp at 5000 ft on the ridge.  From the ridge, traverse to the NE
toward the E ridge of the S Brother.  Ascend the Right gully (trees at
top of gully?) to cross the ridge at 58000 ft.  They appear to have
crossed the great eastern basin high, near cliffs.  Could not see how
they climbed the N brother - assume it was some SE gully, not the N
gully that the intermediate climb guide talks about.  Traverse is on
steep snow above cliffs.  All of us watching from the S brother
convinced ourself that we need never in our life do this climb.  Party
seemed to be having route finding difficulty as they approached the S
Brother.  Did not stay around to see outcome.  Route may not be as bad
as it appeared from a distance.





[Route description written by Tom Unger]