Jump to content

Lowell_Skoog

Members
  • Posts

    2524
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Lowell_Skoog

  1. After climbing this route a few days ago based on the Snoqualmie Rock book, I thought to look here for info. We should have done that before heading out for the climb.

    We found the climb to be much as described in the book, with long runouts and sparse protection. The rock on the slabby section has few cracks, and those you encounter are sometimes associated with fractured rock and don't inspire confidence.

    The guidebook suggests carrying doubles to 3" but I don't think we ever found enough placements to use up even a single set of cams during a pitch. (Ok, maybe in the initial cleft. My memory of it is vague.)

    The thing that confused us most was the book's description of the descent. It begins: "Make four double-rope rappels to the south, starting from a large tree in a gully and continuing down clean granite slabs. Descend the gully below the face, making rappels as necessary."

    Having looked at Rad's pictures here, it seems that the first ascent party began their rappels to the SOUTHEAST, not the south. If you descend to the south, you can scramble down a forested gully to the saddle south of the summit. (We started rappelling from a tree shortly above the saddle, but I think you could probably scramble down to it.)

    Because we went south (as suggested by the guidebook), not southeast, we never encountered the "clean granite slabs" described in the book (and shown in Rad's photos here). We found relatively low-angle terrain with lots of brush and trees. Based on Rad's photos, it looks like the clean granite slabs are steeper and more exposed than what we descended.

    After four or five full-length rappels down a highly vegetated gully, we switched to single rappels as the light began to fade. In darkness, I lost count of the number of rappels we made, but the total must have been over a dozen, and the gully was steep enough that I would not have wanted to down-climb. Initially our anchors were all trees and bushes, but lower we found a few old anchors made of cord. We didn't leave the gully until we were quite low.

    So, if you go for this route, take note of the descent.  If you get benighted like we did, it takes a long time and, if you stay in the gully, a lot of rappels.

  2. Doesn't seem like I'm able to edit my original post here, so I'm adding a note with the revised location of the films mentioned above.

    The 1922 Mt Rainier winter ascent film can be found here (on my website):

    http://alpenglow.org/mountaineers-history/notes/movie/perryman-mt-rainier.html

    The Perryman newsreel collection can be browsed here (on the Mountaineer Archives wiki):

    https://mountaineers.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ARCH/pages/525057/MTR.2011.2+Mountaineers+Film+Collection+Charles+Perryman+Newsreels

    I'm currently writing about this stuff for my long-delayed ski history book, so it's back on my radar for the moment.

  3. Thanks JasonG and G-spotter for letting me know about these addition routes.
    I've added them to the NWMJ inbox:

    Slesse Mtn, Navigator Wall, winter ascent
    Labour Day Horn, Labour Day Buttress, winter ascent
    Station D Peak, East Ridge, winter ascent
    Mt Prophet, SW Rib ("Jacob's Ladder"), new route
    Station D Peak, NE Face ("Jupiter Shift"), new route
    South Illusion Peak, Chinese Puzzle Wall, two new routes (2016, 2018)

    http://alpenglow.org/nwmj/inbox.html

     

  4. CSkoog-19910705-091-Traversing-Klawatti-

    This is the time of year when I review notes I've collected during the past 12 months and update the chronologies on my ski history website:

    http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/

    I'm also continuing to update the Northwest Mountaineering Journal new route "inbox" on the following page:

    http://www.alpenglow.org/nwmj/inbox.html

    The NWMJ inbox now has 244 candidate routes awaiting publication in a future issue of the journal. The routes have not been fully vetted by editors, so the list may change eventually.

    Most of the new routes I've posted were completed in 2018. But a previously unreported ski traverse from the Canadian border to near Lake Wenatchee was completed by Peter Dale and Aaron Mainer in April-May 2016.

    If you find errors or know of unreported routes that are missing from the list, feel free to drop me a line (lowell.skoog@alpenglow.org) or post something here.

    Thanks!

  5. I came back to CC.com after months away and found this great story....

    Congrats on completing your dream. But yikes about the car!

    Your story stirred memories of my climb of the same route in 1985 with Mark Bebie. We also climbed the couloir to access the upper buttress and we did Beckey's rappel to avoid the final difficulties. According to my journal, we replaced the original Beckey/Fielding piton with one of mine, then did a couple rappels to broken ledges. Three more pitches led to the summit ridge.

    I still have the Beckey/Fielding piton (or at least, that's what we assumed it was at the time). Here's a picture of it. It has a diamond C stamped on it (but not really visible here).

    Beckey-piton-from-Bear-Mtn-1985.jpg

    • Like 1
  6. This is the time of year when I review notes I've collected during the past 12 months and update the chronologies on my ski history website:

    http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/

    I'm also continuing to update the Northwest Mountaineering Journal new route "inbox" on the following page:

    http://www.alpenglow.org/nwmj/inbox.html

    The NWMJ inbox now has 236 candidate routes awaiting publication in a future issue of the journal. The routes have not been fully vetted by editors, so the list may change eventually.

    Most of the new routes I've posted were completed in 2017. But a few earlier routes have come to light. These include:

    2016, Supercave (aka M&M) Wall, "Golden Age"

    2016, Supercave (aka M&M) Wall, "Maple Glazed"

    If you find errors or know of unreported routes that are missing from the list, feel free to drop me a line (lowell.skoog@alpenglow.org) or post something here.

    Thanks!

  7. Here's a question for the CC.com admins....

    Would it be possible to provide some sort of tool to translate old CC.com thread/post URLs to a URL that accesses the same thread/post through the new bulletin board software?

    You may recall that I've been capturing links to new route information since NWMJ went dormant in 2010. Here's the NWMJ Inbox page again:

    http://alpenglow.org/nwmj/inbox.html

    With the change to the CC.com software, all my old links to CC.com trip reports are now invalid.

    It would be great to have an online tool, or something, to translate old CC.com URLs to the new forum structure. It does appear that all the old threads are still around, but the old links are broken.

    Is there any way to help with this?

    Thanks for any help....

    --Lowell Skoog

  8. Climbed MHC with a couple friends yesterday and enjoyed it greatly. We were amazed by the friction offered by this unusual rock. The stance at the top of P5 (the money dihedral) felt pretty darn airy with three people there. The intermediate rap anchor on P3 had a loose nut on the left bolt. Lacking any tools, we just finger tightened it. Probably a good idea to carry a small wrench on this climb.

     

    The exposure of this climb reminded me of the SW ridge of Delago Tower in the Dolomites, a route I did many years ago with my wife. MHC was more technical, but not quite as scenic. ;) Thanks Rad and Darin!

  9. Thanks Wayne and Mikey for this information.

     

    I've added "Slave to Liberty" to the inbox.

     

    Regarding "The Circumvention," I'm less inclined to add this because of the guideline we used for climbing routes in NWMJ. We called it The Beckey Rule.

     

    The basic thinking was, "Would Fred include this route in his Cascade Alpine Guide?" If so, we'd run it in NWMJ. If not, we wouldn't.

     

    It appears that "The Circumvention" is an ice route that goes partway up Bryant Buttress but isn't a complete route on the peak. Seems like it's not the sort of thing that Fred would put in his books. More like something that would appear in a guidebook specific to winter ice climbs. I'm open to your thoughts on this.

     

  10. CSkoog-19930909-186-Alan-Kearney-coiling-rope-on-Mt-Baker.jpg

     

    This is the time of year when I review notes I've collected during the past 12 months and update the chronologies on my ski history website:

     

    http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/

     

    I'm also continuing to update the Northwest Mountaineering Journal new route "inbox" on the following page:

     

    http://www.alpenglow.org/nwmj/inbox.html

     

    The NWMJ inbox now has 204 candidate routes awaiting publication in a future issue of the journal. The routes have not been fully vetted by editors, so the list may change eventually.

     

    Hopefully we'll find a way to publish short reports of these routes in NWMJ when someone has more time to devote to it. For now, the raw list is a handy reference.

     

    Most of the new routes I've posted were completed in 2016. But a few earlier routes have come to light. These include:

     

    2006, "Black Widow" (Peak 7440+ east of Spider Mtn), First ascent

    2014, Kitling Peak, North Face ski descent

     

    If you find errors or know of unreported routes that are missing from the list, feel free to drop me a line (lowell.skoog@alpenglow.org) or post something here.

     

    Thanks!

     

  11. Nice work Matt. Now does anyone ever climb one of the NE Face routes? Don't think I've ever seen a TR for it. Based on the Beckey guide it almost seemed popular BITD.

     

    My brother Gordy and I climbed the 1963 NE Face route in August 1983. Took about 12 hours round trip. No brush, but my notes record some steep brittle rock high on the face before we reached the crest of the NE Rib. That part was a bit nervous but most of the climb was not too bad.

     

    The C-J couloir was probably in much better shape back then than it is now. We backed down the couloir in a couple hours. I think getting onto the rock during the ascent would probably also be harder now than it was then.

     

  12. On a trip to Koolaid Lake last July with my wife, I noted the poor condition of the Red Ledge route. It appeared to me (from a distance) that you might be able to descend a few hundred feet below the west shoulder of Arts Knoll (below and west of the Red Ledge) and climb over it from this lower elevation. This was a distant view and I didn't try it, but it looked promising to my eyes.

     

    Worth checking out sometime if you're skunked by the Red Ledge route.

  13. The NE Couloir/upper snow field on Argonaut that Daniel Helmstadter skied in 2009 was skied by Ryan Laurie in February 2004 or 2005.

     

    Thanks Dan. I went back to my records, and I've already accounted for Ryan Lurie's 2006 descent. You can find it on this page of my ski-history website:

     

    http://alpenglow.org/ski-history/chronology/snoqualmie.html

     

    The page refers to Ryan's short report in the 2006 NWMJ:

     

    http://alpenglow.org/nwmj/06/061_Shorts4.html#r4

     

    As you can see, Ryan's descent included a rappel and two down-climbs. After Dan Helmstadter made a continuous ski descent in 2010, I decided to document it as well. You can also find it in my ski-history chronology.

     

    I just now added a note to the NWMJ inbox mentioning the continuous nature of Helmstadter's descent. Hopefully that will clarify things a bit.

     

    One thing to keep in mind is that the NWMJ inbox contains only routes that I've learned about since the NWMJ ceased publication. It appears that the 2010 ski descent of Argonaut occurred just after we stopped compiling new reports for NWMJ #7, which was the last one published.

  14. CSkoog_IceClimbing_Lg.jpg

     

    This is the time of year when I review notes I've collected during the past 12 months and update the chronologies on my ski history website:

     

    http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/

     

    I'm also continuing to update the Northwest Mountaineering Journal new route "inbox" on the following page:

     

    http://www.alpenglow.org/nwmj/inbox.html

     

    The NWMJ inbox now has 182 candidate routes awaiting publication in a future issue of the journal. The routes have not been fully vetted by editors, so the list may change eventually.

     

    Hopefully we'll find a way to publish short reports of these routes in NWMJ when someone has more time to devote to it. For now, the raw list is a handy reference.

     

    Most of the new routes I've posted were completed in 2015. But a few earlier routes have come to light. These include:

     

    1998, Dragontail Peak, "String Theory," new route

    2005, Little Tahoma, Lower NE Face, ski descent

    2009, Mt Stuart, "Mixed Blessings, Right," new route

    2009, Red Mountain, West ("Painted") Couloir, ski descent

    2011, Black Buttes, Thunder Glacier Headwall (Pt 8704ft), ski descent

    2012, Rocky Peak (Olympics), SE Face ("The Dragon's Tooth"), ski descent

    2013, Sherman Peak, Talum Glacier, ski descent

     

    If you find errors or know of unreported routes that are missing from the list, feel free to drop me a line (lowell.skoog@alpenglow.org) or post something here.

     

    Thanks!

     

  15. To be published in the Seattle Times on Sunday, August 16, 2015:

     

    Stephanie Jeanne Subak, 58, died August 5, 2015 in a fall while hiking in the Sierra Nevada of California. She was accompanied by dear friends Annette Frahm, Martha Gluck, and Suze Woolf, of Seattle, WA, who fortunately were not injured.

     

    Steph was born on December 13, 1956, in Minneapolis, MN, where she graduated from St. Anthony Village High School and briefly attended the University of Minnesota. She moved to Seattle to continue her studies at the University of Washington. Steph earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from UW in 1979.

     

    Around 1980, Steph joined John Fluke Mfg. Co. Inc. of Mountlake Terrace, WA (later Fluke Corporation) as an Electrical Design Engineer. At Fluke she met and secretly courted Lowell Skoog, another Design Engineer and UW graduate. They were married on September 17, 1983. With a few short breaks, Steph worked at Fluke until September 2014. Her career spanned several technical and management levels to become Director of Engineering for the Industrial Products Group. Steph was a leader in the company and a mentor to younger engineers, universally admired for her warmth, intelligence, humor, energy and generosity.

     

    Always active and athletic, Steph deepened her love of the outdoors through adventures with her husband Lowell. She became an alpine ski instructor, achieving PSIA Level 3 certification. She climbed and/or skied hundreds of peaks in the Cascades and Olympics, including all of the Cascade volcanos. In 1991, she learned to fly paragliders, becoming one of the earliest women in Washington to take up that sport. With her husband and friends, she traveled to India, Nepal, Peru, New Zealand, Central and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Canada, and beyond, to tour, climb and ski.

     

    In 1996, Steph and Lowell were blessed with the birth of their son Thomas. Steph was a loving and devoted mother, always engaged and supportive as she guided (but never pushed) Tom to discover new skills and activities. She savored family trips throughout the world, but especially to her birthplace in Minnesota, where she enjoyed snowy winters in Minneapolis and crystalline summers on Lake Vermilion with her extended family. In 2014-15, Steph took a sabbatical from Fluke to spend more time with her mother and to volunteer as chairwoman of the Roosevelt High Jazz Boosters during Tom’s senior year in high school. In the process, Steph deepened her friendships within the wonderful Roosevelt parent community.

     

    Steph was preceded in death by her father Nick Subak of Minneapolis, MN. She is survived by her husband, Lowell Skoog, and son, Tom Skoog, both of Seattle, WA; mother, Barbara Subak, brother, Brad Subak, and sister, Laura Subak (husband, John Moore), all of Minneapolis. Steph was a loving sister-in-law to Lawrence Skoog (deceased), R. Philip Skoog (wife, Jan Skoog), Anita Skoog Neil (husband, Bill Neil), Gordy Skoog (partner, Kim O'Farrell), and Carl Skoog (deceased), all of the greater Seattle area. She was a cherished aunt to Courtney Cross (Philip), Wendy Gerber and Julie Iriondo; Dana Skoog Questad and Erik Skoog (Gordy), and Nick and Rose Moore (Laura).

     

    A celebration of Steph’s life will be held Saturday, August 29, 2015, at 1 p.m. at The Mountaineers, 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to United Way of Snohomish County (http://www.uwsc.org/).

     

    Stephanie-Subak-2004-passport.jpg

  16. Stephanie Subak is my wife. We were married in 1983.

     

    I posted the following message on Facebook yesterday, and re-posted it on turns-all-year this morning. Seems like I should post here as well....

     

    LSkoog-20130827-0017-Family-at-Wolf-Bay-Lodge.jpg

     

    Stephanie Jeanne Subak, 12/13/1956 - 8/5/2015

     

    As the news spreads, I sense in those who knew Steph a desire to reach out, but a reluctance to overwhelm her family. Maybe this forum can help.

     

    On August 5, my wife Steph died in a fall during a cross-country backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada of California. She was with her friends Annette, Martha and Suze, who thankfully were not injured. Husbands Jens, Mike, and Steve have flown to California to support their wives. We are working through the logistics to bring Steph home.

     

    Tom and I are well, we are strong, and we are working through this. Steph was dearly loved in several circles--by her outdoor companions, her friends in the engineering world, the parents we've come to know through Tom's school, and her family. I want to reach out to all of you, and let you know how much we appreciate the friendship you have given to Steph.

     

    I am certain there will be a gathering in Seattle to celebrate Steph's life. No details have been settled yet, but we'll definitely be doing that. I'll pass the word when we know more.

     

    In the meantime, you are welcome to post your thoughts and memories of Steph here. If you would like to send a private message, I recommend that you send me an email. (If you can't find my email address, send me a CC.com private message, and I'll reply with my address.)

     

    Steph was our rock. Tom and I have been blessed.

     

  17. I climbed the NW Face three times between 1978 and 1986. Back then, in July, it was generally possible to climb the glacier for several hundred feet on the right side of the NW face rib, then work left onto the rock. This avoided the more difficult lower toe of the rib. I haven't been back in almost 30 years, so I don't know if that is still possible. Once on the ridge, the "chimney" on the left side (where the rib merges into the face) was the crux. We thought it was 5.7-ish.

     

    It's a beautiful route, probably my favorite on the peak. We usually bivouacked on the lower north ridge. I don't recall using rock shoes on the climb.

     

  18. Where were you when the mountain blew?

     

    7th pitch of Liberty Crack with Mark Bebie.

     

    We heard the explosion and thought it was a sonic boom. Didn't hear about the eruption until we pulled into Marblemount late that evening. Businesses were open later than normal because people were fleeing eastern Washington, I guess.

     

×
×
  • Create New...