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- Jul 31, 2013
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Perfect Weather on the Torment Traverse
Over the past three years Amy has racked up an impressive list of expedition climbs and treks, ranging from snowboarding from the summit of Elbrus, to Everest base camp treks with her kids. Recently like many mountaineers, Amy decided to learn to rock climb in order to apply rock craft to the mountains. She was a quick study, and soon found herself wanting to experience the realm of alpine rock climbing.
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FImage_1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=910d73b4ec62c5d34bbfe62db85cb88c 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FImage_1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=f414dbce0afebfba2314114cbe2fc190 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FImage_1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=6186fac364c1ddd57f521b733214ecbc 700w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FImage_1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=7e6569e85216d2c781158f3fbb1c965c 800w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FImage_1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=c2a9289f80ee9c639494bfccd4f4c005 1000w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FImage_1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=d9a4e24863cccbffc6d8189465fe2e77 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FImage_1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=4618b250e3e418f3055be15691b2bb4e 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FImage_1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=2ecce68778fe04a61bec59d5639f11ef 1024w)
Climbing Mt. Torment — Photo by Amy Godfrey
Given Amy’s high fitness level and newly acquired proficiency on rock, (and she is a Seattle local) the Torment Forbidden Traverse seemed like an ambitious yet attainable objective. So we set off with three days to try and get it done! We started off in light rain showers, but stayed optimistic due to an increasing high pressure the forecast promised. By the time we reached the Taboo glacier below Mt. Torment skies were clearing, and we decided to push onward to a nice little bivy ledge 5 pitches up the south ridge of Torment.
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FImage_4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=c69a16529ee677d7d787849d4ef13dca 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FImage_4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=c8dc669a64efa9f8bfb279aba8db6de3 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FImage_4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=5ce6a0b3c921c81dac26f92f25147ede 700w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FImage_4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=b1b68d1ec860e7f28540944a87fc9b4e 800w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FImage_4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=9e6b2495fb0743584fcb6d88daac20cc 1000w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FImage_4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=676708374318918c2d7ba22c461be9e1 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FImage_4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=d17abf44376f3c18885d88800a6eb191 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FImage_4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=a69c82918c224567cd0e94b101378ede 1024w)
In the midst of the traverse — Photo by Amy Godfrey
After a surprisingly good night sleep on our small perch, we awoke at the civilized hour of 6am packed up and set off for Torment and beyond. The day was perfect, 65 sunny and not a breath of wind. We made steady progress through the rock towers, and steep snow. Around 4:00pm we hit the W. ridge col of forbidden. We found another great bivy site, dropped our overnight gear, and took off with light loads for an evening climb of the W. Ridge of Forbidden Peak. We enjoyed climbing with light packs and not feeling time pressure for the first time that day. After a leisurely 3.5 hour round trip on the west ridge we settled in for some dinner and a beautiful sunset after 12 and a half hours on route.
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fimage_7.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=f2ecc35e9fbc6e0db234176d1c255f87 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fimage_7.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=7fe14c77359b22a053df5fbb6815ef03 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fimage_7.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=b77df9fd9bd74ae061b194a10901f2de 700w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fimage_7.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=a34b9b750ff604237f80f766c0a05a94 800w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fimage_7.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=7d71cfc9666115c0661775acf9371e6a 1000w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fimage_7.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=b74c8a84b1b70af8cace4c6d73f25d6a 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fimage_7.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=aa8e34f201802d1eca0c64df017e696e 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fimage_7.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=632885b9e4e4bd09c0cf8359441ca9b4 1024w)
Boston Basin — Photo by Alan Rousseau
The next day a handful of rappels brought us back into Boston Basin where we had great views of the mile worth of technical terrain we had climbed over the previous 2 days. After a couple hours of sharing stories while descending the trail we arrived back at the car, and headed back onto the grid.
Thanks for a great trip!
Alan Rousseau