Zack Attack

8) I strolled up to Zack Attack with Doug Chabot on Sunday and for those looking to experience Hyalite in all its potential, the value of Zack Attack is hard to beat. By value I mean the diversity of adventure and experience. There are two varieties of rock in Hyalite canyon. Rock that accepts some rock protection, has cracks and edges, overall feels mostly solid, and therefore resembles what I typically think of as rock, and the other stone. The other stone is famous in Hyalite and I would liken this type of stone to frozen kitty litter unless the stone isn?t frozen and then its just like kitty litter, usually this is the rock that makes the most challenging of mixed routes just a little spicier. Not many routes allow the perusal of both types of stone giving ZA a great span of difficulties that need to be addressed from both qualities of rock to pillars of ice and all in that fine Montana style of ground up. It?s good for the mind. Kristoffer Erickson

After climbing Zach Attack with Pat Callis on Friday, I re-evaluated what I wrote in "Winter Dance" about the route. Quoting Pete Tapley it reads, "it is a recommended modern-day classic." I now know Pete was being modest. I'd call it one of the best routes in Hyalite. Period. Even with the nice trail we had (thanks Kris, Doug, Whit, Thrasher, and anyone else who might have been up there) now buried, it's very much worth the slog once the avy hazard mellows and the rock clears off. Here is a little more beta to go along with the guidebook description: About half way up the first pitch, you can bust out right onto easier ground but the "nasty-looking" slot going straight up the corner is anything but. On steep, featured ground with some of the nicest rock in Hyalite, it is a five-star mixed pitch. Take plenty of slings and don't put gear everywhere you can - you'll run out. 60 m ropes required. The second pitch also has two variations with one up the mossy groove to the right of the ice drip through a chossy chimney and stepping right to a kitty litter corner (now with a fixed pin at the base, I couldn't get it out) to finish. The easier alternative starts at the lower right-hand side of the small bowl and climbs up wide corners directly to the piton. The rock is loose and one needs to be careful but it's far from bad and there is just enough gear and moss to make it straightforward. The second belay isn't fixed and requires a little ingenuity using thin ice and rock gear. The ice pitches above are great ice with good short screws. The descent is three 60 m rappels - two trees and a fixed station.