alpenho

price change $175

$175 Pretty well-used, but definitely functional for slackcountry or short tours. Naxo NX21 Bindings Line FX7.3 skis (175cm; 110/73/98) BD Ascension Skins pic shows the setup and closeups of the worst of the wear and tear. PM me or email ljt2alpental@gmail.com if you want to check them out

then there's this story from MT, which didn't work out so well for the trundler's in question: September 25, 1994, a Butte climber named Tony Rich was killed not far from where Earnest Bruffey landed decades earlier. Rich died under a cascade of huge boulders while ascending Granite Peak by way of the snow-covered north face. His climbing partner, Fred Donich of Ennis, said that the two frantically tried to dig themselves into the snow in hopes that the rocks might skid over them. But Rich’s helmeted head was crushed by a truck-sized boulder that rolled down from the summit above. An investigation followed, and ultimately three young climbers who were on the peak above Rich and Donich were charged with negligent endangerment relating to the incident. Evidence indicated the threesome had pushed tons of rocks and debris off the summit without knowing there were climbers below. Each defendant ultimately pled guilty to misdemeanor charges.

Sorry to hear about missing the weather, its a great climb. Myself and 2 buddies just got back from doing the NE Ridge in perfect (maybe too hot) conditions. Of note: Probably the best bivy site is that knoll at the bottom of your last pic - Much wider views and liquid water can be had by digging at the edge of the snow to make a little puddle. The snow crossing is great, but getting soft in spots. There are a lot of stressed areas in the snowpack where gliding is pulling it apart. One of the guys in our group took a plunge to the hip, so gotta watch the weaknesses in the snow. Nice snow ramp leading to the ledge to the base of the climb so no real sketchyness to get to the start, but no good place to bivy until your at the top of the first step. With 3 on one rope we were pretty slow and were doing about half the descent after sundown. We also went back around to Triumph Pass to make a go for Despair but got weathered out. The approach to the pass is rugged. Ample evidence of a very large bear with cubs inhabiting the vicinity of the pass. Good luck if you have another go at it!

Our plan is to get to the Mystery Ridge traverse via Triumph and Despair. We really want to do the NE ridge climb on Triumph, and if possible take skis for the rest of the traverse, taking advantage of the outstanding snowpack up high. My thinking is that carrying skis over the summit might be slightly ridiculous (or would it?), so instead we would ascend and descend the NE ridge, then drop into the north cirque to traverse over to Triumph pass vicinity and on to Despair. I can't find a lot of info about dropping from the base of the NE ridge into the north cirque, so I don't know if that would be feasible or sane.

Anyone have info and/or recent photos of the North Face/cirque of Mt Triumph? Particularly interested if it is possible to descent from the col at the base of the NE Ridge and continue to Mt. Despair from there. Much appreciated!

Trip: Shuksan Circumnav - White Salmon Date: 5/1/2009 Trip Report: We had some incredible weather on day one (Friday 5/1) and for the first half of day 2. We started from the White Salmon Lodge at about 4am under clear skies. The skiing sucked to put it mildly. Wind and sun baked crust or mush, not much in between. From Mt. Baker Ski area the descending traverse to the bottom of White Salmon cirque is on its last legs - gullies are getting steep and deep, and not in a good way. Lots of huge frozen avy debris filling the bottom of the cirque, and we kept ski crampons on the whole time we climbed. Some sections necessitated boot packing, notably at the toe of the White Salmon and the transition from White Salmon to Upper Curtis. Hells Highway was skin-able the whole way. Summit Gully was filled in all the way to the top, and we managed to ski descend it from a side entrance about 30 ft from the summit. Camped on the edge of the Crystal, right where the easterly winds were the strongest. Fortunately the breakdown of the high pressure ridge happened as forecast and it was dead still from the middle of the night through the next day. We crossed the Crystal, checked out the Nooksack Glacier, then headed over to the upper Hanging Glacier for a very chattery icy traverse over to the Upper Curtis where the snow became barely perceptibly softer. The skies were growing ominous and we decided to get the hell out of dodge. It was at this point that we encounted some "firm corn" and definitely the best skiing of the trip. As we approached the bottom of the White Salmon glacier, we stupidly decided that it would be cool to do a high traverse over to the Shuksan Arm and ski along the top of the ridge, coming out at the top of the ski area. The non-fun aspects of this decision are shamefully too numerous for me to describe. All in all, it was a great weekend adventure outing despite the snow conditions, and a cool tour of some amazing high alpine glaciated terrain. Summit Pyramid from our camp at the Sulphide/Crystal divide: On the final section approaching the summit. Our ski entrance is to the lookers left of that guy in the photo: Ski descent down the summit gully: Camp at sunset: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIcOceGjPn4 Approach Notes: We saw a huge icefall avalanche come off the Hanging Glacier when we were high on the White Salmon, right about the time the sun just started hitting the upper mountain. Start early...

These are some great stories and gives me some perspective on what a messed up trip really is. I've been lucky in having relatively sane climbing partners so far...

Trip: Coleman Pinnacle - West Ridge Date: 11/16/2008 Trip Report: Started from Heather Meadows, walked clear road until about 100 ft beyond Lake Ann TH, whereupon we were able to skin to Artist point. Beyond Artist point, a few short carries and/or creative skinning all the way out along Ptarmigan ridge. Snow was soft slush on top of a hard consolidated layer, so sidehilling resulted in some slippage, but I think we have laid down a good track. Skinned up to the W Ridge of Coleman, ditched the skis, and scrambled to the top, slightly tricky with ski boots, encountering intermittent snow drifts but mostly dry rock and vegetation. Coleman Pinnacle (foreground) from the east: We dropped to the saddle with the intent to ascend the West subsidiary summit and ski off the north side, but when we got there encountered bulletproof ice. So we had some lunch, and dropped down along a big snowdrift on the southeast side. It was great soft corn. Our route up in green, down in red: we skied down to the snow feature informally known as "goat throat", dropped down to the bottom and skinned back up and out just as it got dark. Lot of melt during the day but the ski out was essentially the same as in.

Trip: McClellan Butte - South Ridge Date: 11/15/2008 Trip Report: Not too notable as a summer climb, but there haven't been a lot of recent TRs in this forum, and I think I have a French Bulldog First Ascent. On the summit: Approach Notes: trail is muddy but clear of debris. Very little snow.

That's awesome - I've wondered about some of my climbs with my French Bulldogs, they've been up several summits in the Cascades and I've never seen any others out there. Here's one of em on the top of Yellow Aster Butte:

Trip: Vesper Pk. - E Face and Vesper Glacier Date: 8/23/2008 Trip Report: for anyone that doesn't lurk on the TAY site year round and interested in some August snow, here's a TR for Vesper Peak by yours truly. Gear Notes: you do not need plastic mountaineering boots, crampons, or an ice axe for this climb in August!

Nice! Such an incredible area - Gannett is next on my list for the Winds. Great idea with the raft too!

That would be an honor, thanks! Also, forgot to mention this, but I came across some twisted metal on the north side of Newhalem Pk that looked like it came off of an aircraft, with some black and orange paint. Just curious if that was part of a known wreck or something. Couldn't find anything else that looked man-made, just this piece of metal about 10" X 12".

just sitting right on the very top. Let me know if they are yours.