The Cascades offer an amazing array of options when it comes to different mountain sports. And Spring is the..
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Toprope soloing is the fastest and easiest way to maximize climbing with limited time at the crag. This week I..
Stop going cragging. It’s an inefficient and overly-elaborate process if your primary goal when heading to the cliff is to..
Have you ever come up short on a rappel when you remember that you’d managed to make it before? How..
I’d like to start this article by just mentioning a thing or two about my intention in writing it. I..
As climbers and climbing-gear buyers, we are accustomed to wading through marketing claims, weeding out hearsay, and determining the facts..
Unlike ropes, shoes, and harnesses, our climbing protection will last through years of use and abuse. I still regularly climb..
The northwest climbing community experienced a string of tragic accidents in September of 2014, when three veteran climbers were killed..
While climbing do you often feel irritable, moody, or wracked with pain and uncomfortable pressure in your crotch and lower..
Six common pieces of gear and why you’re better off leaving them behind.
Blake Herrington rappels in the Mendenhall Towers, Alaska. He and partner constructed this rappel line and each rappelled it 3 times in the course of a week, using just 6mm cord and no rappel rings.
Backpackers cut the handles off their toothbrushes to save weight. Alpinist just don’t brush. But while we meticulously save grams for multi-day trips, many of us carry far too much gear around on our harnesses for a day at the crag, attempting a hard lead, or an afternoon of multi-pitching. Before leaving the car or tieing into the rope, analyze your gear and strip off the items that aren’t vital. You’ll climb harder and have more fun.
- [TR] Cowlitz Chimney - Standard 08/01/2020 August 8, 2020Trip: Cowltiz Chimney - Standard Trip Date: 08/01/2020 Trip Report: Seems like it's been nothing but a summer of Smootin'. Save a solo trip in the Teanaway, I've strung together a contiguous streak of getting me lots of Smooty (and following in the footsteps of the Choss Dawg Millionaires). This past weekend I set my […]
- [TR] South Sister - Up-Down-Swimmin' Around 08/05/2020 August 8, 2020Trip: South Sister - Up-Down-Swimmin' Around Trip Date: 08/05/2020 Trip Report: Tyler and I had a really fun day out on and around South Sister, full of: walking, trotting/cantering, scree pawing, scree skiing, boot skiing, serious-ass-abrasion glissading, lake swimming, shoe-emptying, and only a small amount of shivering. We went up the south side trail in […]
- [TR] Slesse, BC, Canada - NE Buttress - *Descent update* 08/07/2020 August 7, 2020Trip: Slesse, BC, Canada - NE Buttress - *Descent update* Trip Date: 08/07/2020 Trip Report: Some bivis are better than others! August 2019 A trusty Subaru Forrester got us into the Memorial Trail where we bivied before the long day ahead. While climbing the NE Buttress, Slesse shed ice from a hidden hanging pocket glacier […]
- Buttress on south side of Ruth Creek along Hannegan Pass trail? August 7, 2020What’s this buttress called? Routes? Topos? Beta? It’s on the opposite side of Ruth Creek from Mamie Peak. It descends off of the north side of Nooksack Ridge between Ruth and Sefrit (not the similarly named Nooksack Ridge which is nearby between Nooksack Tower and Shuksan’s summit).
- [TR] Mt Triumph - NE Ridge 07/17/2020 August 7, 2020Mt Triumph, NE Ridge (5.7), North Cascades July 17-19, 2020 Back in February, I emailed Nancy, Kari, and Karen a list of Cascade climbs to consider for the summer. But as the months went by and COVID-19 numbers increased, a summer climbing trip started to feel harder to pull off. We wanted to climb, so […]