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Summary
Rabbit Ears (North on right) and Panorama Point.
Shirley and I drove out to the upper TH for Menagerie on Friday night (November 5, 2004) after work. Unseasonably warm night preceded a beautiful, spring-like day. After oversleeping, we altered our plans and decided to head for the Rabbit Ears. Climbed The Cave Route to the summit of The North Ear. The first pitch was OK though I did have to rest a few times. It’s steep but fairly juggy. Beautifully bolted. The second pitch was awsome in terms of exposure but much harder for me than pitch 1. The 10a face traverse followed by a burly entrance move into the easy final crack/groove was hard.
Watch for very interesting/loose rock “plates” as you move above the Cave on pitch 2! Pitch 3 was a trivial run up to the summit. Beautiful views!
PS As I was belaying Shirley on pitch 2, we heard what seemed to be a huge and prolonged (~3 sec) expolsion or series of explosions off in the distance to the south. We thought that either an airliner crashed or a meth lab blew up.
Photos
The ~300-foot North Rabbit Ear (South one is directly behind it) in the morning glow as seen from the trailhead at the end of FS road 856. This is looking approx. SE (November 6, 2004).
Shirley and Blondie on the overgrown forest service road in the upper Menagerie Wilderness.
Rabbit Ears (South is on left) and Panorama Point (on right) as seen from (east) FS road 850 overlooking the Turkey Monster. Both standard summit routes on the Ears (North Rabbit Ear – The Cave Route and South Rabbit Ear – Standard Route) start in the notch and climb to top mostly on the opposite side (November 6, 2004).
Shirley and Blondie eating some fresh bread in the Menagerie (Nov. 2004).
…it’s not that Blondie normally enjoys dry bread normally but there was just something about being in the Menagerie in November of 2006 that made dry bread highly appealing to the mutt.
Shirley gearing up at the base of North Rabbit Ear – The Cave Route. This is the notch between the North (left) and South Rabbit Ears. The Ears are actually Siamese twins joined through a non-vital organ near their base (background in photo). The big a.. rack on the ground is NOT what you need for this route!! Our plans changed en-route to the base and so we ended up hauling in all this gear for nothing (Noveber 6, 2004)
Blondie at the base of the Rabbit Ears (Nov. 2004).
Shirley in the notch between the Rabbit Ears (North one is on the left; Nov. 2004).
Leading P1 of North Rabbit Ear – The Cave Route. The light-colored rock directly above me is the ceiling of the cave. South Rabbit Ear is also in the shot (November 6, 2004).
Almost to the cave atop pitch 1 of The Cave Route (Nov. 2004).
Shirley belaying me (& admiring a large spider) from the (namesake) cave on The Cave Route of the North Rabbit Ear. This is looking back from the start of P2 (October 6, 2004).
Looking down from the lead of P2 of The Cave Route on North Rabbit Ear. Beautiful exposure – nothing but air for ~140 feet. Photo taken from just below the .10a traverse crux (October 6, 2004).
Shirley topping out on pitch 2 of The Cave Route. All that remains is one easy pitch to the summit (Nov. 2004).
Looking back at Shirley from the start of the third and final pitch of The Cave Route on North Rabbit Ear.
Shirley topping out on the summit of the North Rabbit Ear (Nov. 2004).
Shirley on the summit of the North Rabbit Ear with the South one in the background (Nov. 2004).
The Turkey Monster Group as seen from summit of North Rabbit Ear. Turkey Monster is the off-blanance looking, 400-foot pillar in center of photo (standard summit route is the North Face a.k.a. Dod Route at III 5.11a or III C2F). To its left is Turkey Point (buttress) followed by The Beast (another hard to summit spire…though shorter than Turkey; October 6, 2004).
Yours truly on the summit of the North Rabbit Ear (Nov. 2004).
The Royal Arch Group as seen from the summit of North Rabbit Ear. The largest formation (Royal Arch) is in the center – note the awsome-looking tunnel through it (November 6, 2004).
The 350-foot tall Turkey Monster (on the right) as seen from the summit of the North Rabbit Ear (Nov. 2004).
The rolling hills of Oregon Cascades as seen from the rappel down the North Rabbit Ear. The South one frames the photo (Nov. 2004).
Panorama Point from the rappel down the North Rabbit Ear (Nov. 2004).
Shirley on the first rap off the summit of the North Rabbit Ear. This is the view up the last/third pitch of The Cave Route (Nov. 2004).
Shirley on the second and final rappel down the steep face of the North Rabbit Ear (Nov. 2004).
Shirley arriving at the base of the Ears (Nov. 2004).
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