Ben

Been a few years, but we avoided the col proper. Instead, head up a gully to the right of the col (snow), and then about 2/3 of the way up, head up and left on a gray-ish rock band. This will take you to a notch where you can downclimb about 10 feet to the snow.

Wayne sorry i wasn't being very clear. I have done both the N Ridge and the NW Face/Rib and both times came in via Sharkfin col. I remember it being a pretty flat glacier walk both times. Getting to the NW side is a bit longer, but the crossing over the N. Ridge was easy. It did take a bit of zigzagging while heading up on the Forbidden glacier to reach the rock on the NW Rib.

Nice report. Interesting to hear about the west ridge approach. I've heard it was doable but never gotten any details. Having done this climb, I'd put in a plug for approaching via Sharkfin col. From a bivy in Boston Basin, getting over the col, around the mountain and up and over is really quite doable. (I'm sure someone's done it in a day.) The walk over the Boston Glacier and over the N. Ridge seems really cruiser compared with your description of rapping down from the W. Ridge...

Great report! I've long wondered about this area. Does it seem feasible to continue the traverse westward, say all the way to White pass and then out the white river trail? Also, is it any easier travel to head along the north side from Clark -- connecting the Clark to Butterfly glaciers?

I used the Deuter Kid Comfort 1 with both my kids (just sold it, sorry). I found it well made, reasonably comfortable, and the kids liked it. We took it to Mexico, which was nice, because stollers are pretty useless down there. Did a lot of dayhikes, but nothing overnight. The sun/rain shade is nice/useful. The gear compartment is small -- it holds some snacks, water, and a few diapers, which is fine for a day hike or round the town. The internal harness (to keep them in place) is pretty fiddly -- we stopped using it pretty quickly. I found that you can put them in there young as long as you include quite a bit of padding -- just pack them in there with blankets, etc. As for overnights, I capitulated early and gave up on the entire concept, and settled for car camping or day hikes... Anyway, I'd recommend it, I see the models have changed somewhat, so not sure if they've gotten better or worse...

SOLD

Camp Brenta hammer, like new: $20. Various pitons: $30 for the set of 10. Includes lost arrows #1-#4, Lucky right angles #1-#2, two Stubai stilletos (similar to knifeblade), and one Stubai soft leaver piton. Most of these are in new or like-new condition. -- SOLD SMC crampons with Scottish-style straps: $20 PM or ben dot dugan at gmail dot com

Silvretta 400 bindings, 180cm skis (buyer takes skis), and G3 climbing skins. Skins have been used less than a half dozen times. Skis are old but work. $100 for the set. PM or ben dot dugan at gmail dot com

I tried it (a traverse from Lundin to PCT) years ago. Here are my notes: (Early September, 1997). Climbed Lundin (alone) via W ridge (3 hrs to summit). This being late season, it was a mistake to leave the trail at ~4000 ft. I should've used the higher approach. Descended the E ridge (short rap). Then I followed a trail to the pass above the small pond. Then I took the trail down for a short distance, before picking up a faint tread going up the SW face of Red. The W ridge looks really loose. (2 more hrs from Lundin to Red, largely due to backups at the rap station on Lundin.) Then I decended the E ridge (loose) in an attempt to get all the way to the PCT but was stopped by deep notch (5400 ft). A couple of raps, or checking out the N side might get you down here, but I descended the rib on the S all the way to the basin. At this point, it is smarter to head up the talus back to the PCT. Instead I bushbashed (bad, at this time of year) down meet the Com. trail (best to take the stream, probably). Took the Com. trail back to the car (quicker than the pct). Total time 8 hrs. Took a 50m 6mm rapline and harness.

It's not clear to me that the NEB is actually easier in all conditions -- it seems like you'd have to do some digging in winter-time to find the anchors. Rapping the gully in winter conditions certainly seemed pretty straightforward by comparison. And in case anyone cares, it's of course also really easy just to walk off (just keep heading south and then circle around the subsidiary peak back towards thumbtack basin). I guess that would be too easy though -- no ropes required...

It's not as direct as taking Leroy creek, but certainly a nice option. A few years back, I climbed Maude (via the regular route) by hiking up Leroy creek (which is steep) and after Maude, I traversed along the high route until it meets the rock creek trail, which takes you back to your car. This makes a beautiful loop trip. Rock creek has lots of switchbacks so it might be easier on your knees on the way down. As I recall, the high route was pretty easy to follow. Don't expect a formal trail the whole way -- it was mostly just game trails and open country. It used to be a sheephearder's route, I believe...

In my experience, you can often still get better deals for international travel if you talk to a human. It might be worth spending an hour checking with some of the consolidators or bucket shops. When faced with a similar situation, I landed a ticket on a charter flight out of Vancouver to Berlin for $500 (instead of $1000). Also be flexible about not flying into London. Within Europe, there is crazy price competition for regional flights. So you can get a cheap ticket to the Netherlands, Germany, or France, and then pick up a regional flight to London. Last summer I flew from Rotterdam to Berlin for 9 Euros (plus 20 Euros airport tax!) These regional airlines aren't available on expedia or orbitz -- check out something like: http://www.thebigproject.co.uk/budget/

I've stayed at the Gite Chamoniard Volant (they have a website now, www.chamoniard.com) twice. It's about a 10 minute walk from the train station (up valley). The manager is friendly. Bunks are probably around $15/night, depending on how far down the toilet the dollar has gone. You can cook your own food. I've stored stuff and left a car with the manager for several days without hassle.

Sharkfin col isn't that bad if you know the trick. It took us about 5 hours from a bivy in Boston Basin to reach the route (probably futzed around for an hour crevasse wandering to gain access to the rock). I imagine you might be able to shave a little time off the approach if you went over the West ridge, but the walk around the N ridge is actually quite pleasant. Personally, I liked the route better than the E, W, and N ridges. Here are a few pics from our climb (a few years back): pics

I've always headed up the trail towards Red Mtn pass to about 4800 feet (small pond). Here you can traverse NW brush free along bluffs and gain access to the slopes directly S of Lundin.