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Trip: Mixup Peak - East route Trip Date: 06/10/2025 Trip Report: First day of summer break was yesterday for me. What I’ve learned from summer breaks is they pass fast, can’t just sit around. I’ve got a lot of things to get to but figured I’d set myself a standard by getting out the first day, even if my partners were busy. Spent Monday night at graduation for the old seniors and the mounties gear grab so got home at 9:30 and talked to my parents. Originally wanted to do an overnighter and bag magic too but couldn’t take a car on wednesday so I settled on just mix-up. Slept through my alarm by 30 minutes but was driving by 3:30 and and at the TH by 6. Later than I would’ve liked but wasn’t gonna do anything better with my day so figured I may as well give it a shot. Biked up the road in an hour and tossed it in the alder. 2 hours later I was at cascade pass with a lot of cobwebs in my face. Followed some goat tracks on the traverse over the cliffs and was soon moving up towards the U notch. There was one old track continuing to cache col but nothing super fresh. The gully towards the U notch was more melted out than I’d seen in any photos. Brought two ice axes and was glad to have em. Very doable with one tbh but if snow conditions were harder I would’ve definitely wanted both. Traversed around to the V notch and made a few 5th class moves before being on steep 4th class until I gained the hump. Was glad I brought a rope to rappel that. From here I was onto the slabby ledges and had a fun time working my way up. The summit was intimidating but I found a low 5th path onto the ridge. The final move pulling onto the ridge was steep and airy but I felt confident in my holds so took a lil breath and everything was okay. Summited around 12:30 and was very glad to see some rappel anchors with fresh-ish tat. Summit register was full but of the few random pages I flicked through, I found Jeff Wright, Fred Beckey, Martin Volken, and most notably, my freshman science teacher. Took a photo and he was pleased to see my find. Enjoyed the summit until 1 and then figured It was time to get off that god forsaken rock. Ooh but the views were pretty cool. First time looking at the middle cascade glacier, I could even see all the way out to dome. Gotta do the ptarmigan this summer I guess. Anyways, a couple rappels brought me off the summit block, then a lot of down scrambling, then 1 more to the V notch by 2:00. Wrapped around to the U notch and made a rappel down through the top section since there was an anchor already there. Was also this insane cornice thingy that seemed to be precariously balanced. Tried to stay off to the side because I didn’t wanna get killed by some goofy looking snow glob. Once at the bottom of the gully, it was a nice stroll with good views back to cascade pass. Saw a group of four goats at cascade pass which kinda scared me. 1 idiot teenager vs 4 mountain goats, I don't think the odds were in my favor. Lucky for me they ran up towards Sahale as I was taking off my crampons so it was a nice pleasant walk to the pass, where I arrived around 3:30. Saw my first humans of the day as a party was finishing the hike towards cascade pass and headed towards Glacier camp on Sahale. A nice stroll down the trail got me to my bike at 5, and by 5:15 I was at my car. I buzzed a hiker too fast on my bike which he was very unhappy about at first but then we made up and he turned out to be a reasonable guy. A bell on my bike might not hurt. Usually its cars buzzing bikers so was funny to be bikers buzzing hikers. Anyways, Twas’ my bad and we seemed to make up for it. I learned from it. Heres da photos for the populace Gear Notes: Rope nice for rappels. Crampons 'n axe ofc Approach Notes: aint so bad. Just walk n keep walking

May 31, 2025 Cutthroat Peak: South Buttress - West Ridge (Shoulder Season Attempt #2) This was my second shoulder-season attempt of the South Buttress - West Ridge of Cutthroat Peak, and my second time bailing due to conditions. The first was back in October 2023, when we turned around after climbing the chimney in icy conditions and finding snow blocking us high up in the notch. This time, an incoming rainstorm shut us down. Alex and I had a lazy start, leaving the trailhead at 8 a.m., thinking we had plenty of time and daylight. The forecast called for partly cloudy skies all day. Since I’d been on the route before, I figured it was a perfect re-attempt to ease into alpine season. Alex was also getting back into trad climbing after a summer or two focused on running, so we thought this would be a great way to get her back in the saddle. We bushwhacked a bit trying to find a creek crossing, then made our way into the meadow and started the climb toward Cutthroat. Such a cool area, it really has that mini-Alaska feel. But it was hot heading uphill in my thick climbing pants. About halfway up, I started overheating badly. I ended up stripping down and hiking in my underwear... a first for me. We reached the gully, which was still snow-filled. After a snack break, we strapped on crampons and pulled out our axes. The snow climb was straightforward and fun, with a snow bridge and a bulge/bridge midway up for a little added spice. The bridge probably won’t last more than another week or two before it turns some rock/snow shenanigans. Off the snow, we roped up and reached the ridge crest by 11. From there, it was mostly mellow ramp scrambling with a few low-5th class moves. The wind was noticeable along any exposed sections, and about halfway up, it started getting colder. Low, dark clouds began to roll in. We checked the inReach forecast, moderate rain was expected by 3 p.m. Still feeling optimistic, we decided to keep going for a bit, knowing we might have to bail. Alex led the chimney and chockstone pitch and started getting comfortable on lead again. I took over for Pitch 6, leading flakes and cracks, which was super fun climbing. But as I belayed, I looked south and saw the nearby Southwest Cutthroat Peak getting swallowed by clouds. By the time Alex joined me at the belay, the clouds had drifted in below us. With visibility dropping and no knowledge of the West Ridge descent route, we decided it would be more fun get beers in town with our friend rather than get caught in bad weather. Descending the South Buttress was a bit of a mess. Lots of faffing about to find rap anchors through snow and brush. Visibility kept getting worse and it started lightly snowing. In trying to rappel as far down as we could to avoid the snow gully, we got the rope stuck and had to leave some gear behind. And we still ended up above the snow gully. Classic. Eventually, we put crampons back on and used our axes to downclimb the gully in light rain. The hike out went quickly, despite a fat marmot on the trail looking like it wanted to fight us. The rain picked up as we moved down, and the upper half of Cutthroat vanished into the clouds. At the creek crossing, we were soaked and tired and just walked straight through the water instead of finding a better route. We got back to the car around 5:30 p.m. All in all, it was still a fun and engaging day in the mountains. Maybe this route’s just saving itself for a mid-summer send. Gear: Single rack, slings, crampons, axe. Captain underpants Up the gully Bailing Downclimbing near the snow step/bridge AK vibes (sans road) Who needs a log? Bailed

Trip: Gothic and Del Campo - Standard Routes Trip Date: 05/17/2025 Trip Report: Took a solo stroll up Gothic and Del Campo in the rain on Saturday since I had nothing better to do. Scrambling was entertaining, summit register of Del Campo was a fun read. If anybody is going up, Gothic summit register could use a new zip-lock and notebook. Sun peeked out in the morning but by the time I was descending Del Campo, rain was coming down. Forgot to buy snacks on the way in and didn't really eat breakfast so did the whole thing on 350 calories which I'm sure my body loved. 6h45 c2c. Nice morning and got some overpriced lunch in granite falls. Oh and I think I had mold growing in my boots because I forgot to dry em out after last weekends mother's day gift of getting home at 11pm on a school-night. Gear Notes: wet feet Approach Notes: trail runners are nice

Trip: BULLEN! - via Squire Creek/Bullen Lakes Trip Date: 06/01/2025 Trip Report: "I felt as if we had joined Sisyphus and his rock in Hell." - HERMANN F. ULRICHS on first ascent of Mount Bullen I mean, who hasn't read the passage above in the Green CAG and decided that they just had to climb Mount BULLEN? Or, maybe I should ask, "Who has?" No matter, @sepultura and @therunningdog were not asking many questions, and that was a good thing for me, since otherwise I am pretty sure we would have diverted to a more "normal" destination on Memorial Day weekend. And by "normal" I mean a mountain with more than one TR on the internet. Which means, after this TR, BULLEN will be officially "normal". Glad we got that all squared away for the masses sure to descend this summer As it was, we didn't see another soul the entire way in or out of the mountains, not on the Squire Creek trail and certainly not in the brush. But we did find several routefinding challenges on the timbered rib above Squire Creek to keep us entertained. And some head scratching to get from the ridge down to Bullen lakes. And some wandering and wondering to find a suitable campsite. But this is what we came for, right? Right guys? I won't spoil the adventure for you, and smooth out the rough edges of your trip to Mount BULLEN!, don't worry. But just know that you can do it without a rope! Which is good, since we didn't have one. Sometimes the crux of these North Cascades blue collar adventures isn't above treeline. But what BULLEN! lacks in technical climbing it makes up for in ...uhhhh... fun? Just make sure you go with partners as entertaining as I had. If you play your cards right, you'll laugh, you'll drink some whiskey, you'll banter like old times, you'll marvel at your luck finding such solitude on a busy holiday weekend, and you'll come out to toast your success at the Red Top. Because, is there any more to the Chossdawg life? @sepultura and @therunningdog on the Squire Creek Trail. Let the good times roll!: It is important to get in touch with your feminine side before caressing the choss: We were pretty excited when the snow covered the brush: Then less excited when our feet began to squish: The prominent couloir on the left is the ticket in early season, or so it seemed to us. We camped on these large boulders near Bullen Lakes: @therunningdog on an interesting section rounding the south shore of Bullen lakes. @sepultura does his best to stare down BULLEN!: We paused to watched this avalanche roar down the North side of the North Finger of Three Fingers: Dakobed and Pugh: SE to the headwaters of the South Fork Stillaguamish and the Monte Cristo Range: Whitechuck, and our tracks coming up and over from Squire Creek: @sepultura eyeing the last bit to the summit. No brush, no problem!: Cumbre!: Three of the OG Choss Dog Millionaires on the summit of BULLEN!: Heading down: @therunningdog is always ready for his glamour shotz: @sepultura prefers his to be action shotz: Suffer together!: If you climb BULLEN! you really must celebrate at the Red Top in Darrington. To do otherwise is just poor form: I'll get some captions in later this week.... Gear Notes: ice axe, crampons, leather garden gloves, helmet (though we opted not to) Approach Notes: Squire Creek for awhile and then follow your choss urges upwards and then downwards to Bullen Lakes, then around the lakes to the south, and then up. Retrace your steps back to the car, since you won't figure a better way most likely than they way your choss urges guided you in originally. It seemed better in snow, but I'm sure without snow would feel more blue collar.

Trip: Mount Wow - Via Lake Allen Trip Date: 06/02/2025 Trip Report: Climbed Mount Wow with Dwayner today. Very enjoyable hike to Lake Allen up the very steep boot path, then mostly snow to the short ledge. Bare there and above. Flowers are starting to show everywhere the snow isn't hanging around. About 4000' gain/loss in only about 6 1/2 miles round trip. Steep. Gear Notes: Mountain boots still helpful. Ice axe too. Approach Notes: It's a boot path to the lake.

Trip: Dragontail Peak - Triple Couloirs Trip Date: 05/09/2025 Trip Report: All epic photos by Alexei May 9, 2025 11 years and 5, yes five, attempts later … Dragontail Peak North Face via Triple Couloirs on the 6th attempt … done on 5-9-2025 with Alexei Smirnoff (Boulder, CO) The Framework If soloing Pinnacle Gully to Mount Washington this year was my Everest then this was my K2 (technically, physically and mentally challenging to a whole different level) - think stacking PG of Mt. Washington on top of the North Face central line of Gothics in ADK, including both approaches on a single push … from NY flew into Seattle by 10am (May 8), then to base of DTP by 12 midnight, brew stop for 3hrs (that’s eat/hydrate/boiling snow into 6L water) sleep haha/change socks lol … climb TC to summit by 6pm and then on the descent … dehydrated/delirious/dark … the cherry on top … got lost in the woods for a few hours trying to get back to the tent 😂 … finally catch a red eye flight back to NY (May 10) The Technical Climb DTP has 3 loooooooong steep snow couloirs (nevé and consolidated snow on this date) separates by 2 Ice Runnels. Base of Entrance Couloir at 8:30am Temp 38°F Simul-Solo and Simul climbed all the couloirs C1 C1 higher End of C1 - Alexei built anchor at bottom of R1 Runnels Runnel 1 has 3 pitches Runnel 2 has 1 pitch R1 P1 (45 m) - anchor was 2 small cams, climb protected by a 13 cm screw, a small nut, and another cam and Alexei brought me up to the right facing corner on fixed gear (someone’s bail point) to the rock/mixed variation exit to try to gain P2 R1 P1 looking up R1 P1 Right Corner Variation, Traditional R1 P1 to left R1 P1 Corner Variation - Alexei bringing me up R1 P2 (corner variation) - he attempted the sparse unbonded ice on steep slab with chossy, loose rock was a no go. Decision to bail vs. rap/downclimb (10ft) just below us and to our left to attempt the traditional steep traverse on thin ice over exposed slab (where I couldn’t get across in 2018) vs. goto the “Bypass Runnel Route” which would drop you into the 2nd couloir … we opted for the “Traverse” (it looked thicker than 2018 at least … not by much 😂) R1 P2 looking up Right Corner Variation - attempted but would not go R1 P2 (traverse, the crux, full 60 m) - rap/downclimbed 10 ft, anchor was a 120 cm runner slipped around with the aid of a nut tool through a gap between two gigantic bomber compressed boulders. I led out - placed a picket 10ft out to protect anchor … traversed monkey-hang left 15 m on “1/2 finger tip length” ice, placed a “mental protection” screw 😳 in a small blob, then up another 15 m of “1 finger-tip length” ice in the entry slab ramp to P3, where I finally got a 13cm screw in large blob and continued just up to the end of P2 where I placed a picket to bring Alexei up. R1 P2 downclimb/rap 25 ft to anchor to begin traditional R1 P2 Traverse R1 P2 Traverse : first 45m, looking back at Alexei, 1/2 fingertip thin barely bonded ice, hollow at times, no pro R1 P2 - one piece of mental pro, 10cm screw sticking out lol R1 P2 Traverse, looking up towards at R1 P3, another 45m to go video-11976_singular_display.mov R1 P2 Traverse video “ice screw not worth shit” video-11976_singular_display.mov R1 P2 Traverse Video “Ice gets better” R1 P2 Traverse - final 30m ice after traverse and heading up thicker ice to base of R1 P3 R1 P2 - looking down the Traverse and Up pitch, bringing Alexei up to snow picket anchor at end of P2 R1 P3 (the aesthetic runnel, full 60 m) - Alexei styled this WI3, which involved a heady choke point mid way up with 2 x 13 cm screws, a piton and a small cam and brought me up on a anchor on the very far right wall of 2nd couloir R1 P3 - Alexei leading in style up the beautiful WI3 line R2 (the deceivingly short and tight one M2-M3, 60 m) - Alexei took the immediate right after the end of 2nd couloir … small nut, small cam, brought me up on 2 cams at a rock outcropping at base of 3rd couloir R2 - Alexei leading the beautiful mixed pitch, looks deceptively short Entering C3 Iconic shot of Fin by Alexei from C3 looking down at me … slow lol Topping out of TC we then headed diagonally right for the summit proper through waist-deep slush postholing and then chose to climb the rock to summit (6pm) vs. taking the circuitous hiking path. Alexei topping out of TC Summit of DTP Descent followed the hiking path down summit to notch on right then down-climbed/plunge stepped the steep snow towards Asgards Pass where mostly we glissaded (really fast) down to Lake. Gear Notes: 2 pickets - used extremely frequently 4 ice screws (2 x 10, 2 x 13) - used all 3 pitons - used 1-2 1 set of small nuts - used 1 set of small cams to 0.2-2 - used frequently 8.5mm x 60m Beal Opera single Approach Notes: Gate closed, dry and dusty 4 miles to Stuart Lake TH, trail proper to lake -> boots only no flotation, no spikes, some patches of deep consolidated snow, wet muddy, lake is not frozen

Yeah that was a great trip guys. Classic Choss Dog Millionaires! It’s important to realize that you can still have lots of remote flavor in the Cascades and not be that far from the road, but with that said it’s certainly a chore getting into BULLEN. Seems like good potential for Repulsive 69 list- lots of Brush, Wet Slabs, Loose rock, Steep snow with dirty moat moves, and uncertain creek crossings. What’s not to love on a JG trip? I see the glorious line in picture 7! Forget the Internet, FB, Trip reports and Gaia tracks, pick up the Beckey Guide and find yourself an adventure.

Trip: Austera & Klawatti - Scramble routes Trip Date: 05/24/2025 Trip Report: Went out to Cascade River Road over the weekend. The goal was to bag Klawatti, Austera, Primus, and Tricouni, then return back to the Eldorado Trailhead. With a late sunset, we got a relaxed 6am start and made decent work up through the Boulder Field. By mid-morning, we were skinning up the Eldorado Glacier, watching people post-hole through the slush. Soon we were below Eldorado and I talked to Climber Kyle & crew for a little bit. When I went up Eldorado last year it was in a near whiteout, so looking over at Moraine lake and Forbidden was stunning. Lots of parties were out as you’d expect from such a beautiful weekend. Once we started the traverse over to Klawatti, we were alone. The sidehilling was tiring, especially on a splitboard, but the surrounding terrain made up for it. We put on trailrunners and scrambled up the South ridge of Klawatti. It was fun scrambling and we were at the top around 2, albeit now with wet feet. We descended back down and made a nice traverse over to Austera. With the hot sun, we skinned in the shade below a big rock. Our skin track probably looked a bit stupid to other parties once the sun moved. Anyways, some shenanigans of snow in trailrunners eventually brought us to the Austera summit. On the rappel through the gully, I had an awakening when a carabiner unclipped itself. Luckily we had two opposite and opposed but it definitely shook me up for a second. We set up a nice bivy on the ridge below Austera and watched an avalanche pour over the cliffs on the McAllistar Glacier On Sunday, we started the morning at 6 by skiing the Klawatti Glacier to get over to Primus and Tricouni. At the bottom of the ridge the snow was already mush, over crevasses and cliffs. Knowing that this was our only exit option and that we’d be coming back out in the middle of the afternoon, we took a pause to think through our options. Wanting to make our parents proud, we decided to put skins on and head back out. Another ski party also followed suit. The climb up the Klawatti Glacier was definitely nerving. The glacier was very smooth, but big whoomphs reminded us of the cracks we were walking over. I think it was just the recent snow settling under our weight, but it still wasn’t fun feeling the snow around me dropping an inch or two. The way out was just a lot more traversing. I thought about going up to ski the northeast face on Eldorado, but Cole just wanted to get out. I wasn’t feeling super stoked about it anyways, so off to the Eldorado glacier we went. A few thousand feet of slush got us to the boulder field where it was a toasty hike back to the car. Went out to a college tour at UBC on monday and then skied Emmons/winthrop yesterday. For those wondering, the snow conditions are much better than the ranger blog makes it out to be. Nice corn to 1000' above the prow. Nice edgeable chalky to the saddle. Sastrugi Above. Skinnable snow at the switchback before the camp. Traverse to saddle or snowbridge which we saw a party belay across. Might add a TR eventually to my blogspot but got some school and other life to catch up on right now. (TR now here) Gear Notes: belay devices are nice for the rappels in addition to normal glacier gear Approach Notes: snow above boulderfield

Transition between glaciers was just a steep lil snow step. Doable, just annoying. Had to take ski's off for it but still snow-covered when we did it. klawatti wasn't fully skiable(photo below)

I too will take beers over being stuck up in bad weather. Thanks for the TR!

They just ran the skimo race up there. A few weeks ago we could drive within 2 miles of the trailhead before snow. Access is probably perfect for skiing right now, and I believe the snowmobiles are still going up there (so >3 ft at Schreiber's). I would recommend flotation.

Trip: Grand Canyon Rim to Rim - Down South Kibab, Up Tonto and Bright Angel Trip Date: 05/07/2025 Trip Report: Finally saw the Grand Canyon. Intended to do a South Rim to North Rim--but the highway up north was still closed. Day trip. Gear Notes: High top Merrels Approach Notes: Nice trails blasted out of cliff bands

Trip: Warrior - NE ridge Trip Date: 06/01/2025 Trip Report: After talking about it for several years, @olyclimber and I finally got out in the hills together to climb Warrior. It started, like all good Olympics trips, in the rain, wondering if the forecast for fair weather was ever going to materialize. Thankfully it did and @olyclimber and I headed out into the dripping forest along the Dungeness, marveling at how green everything was and how beautiful the waters were. It was going to be a good trip! Boulder shelter: Within a few hours we were at Boulder Shelter, one of the CCC era structures still in use today in the Olympics. @olyclimber , as his name suggests, has a long history with the range and regaled me with stories of his youth, scouting trips, and other entertaining adventures and misadventures in the Olympics. Before I knew it, we were under the cirque on the west side of Warrior, ready to leave the trail and head upwards to a scenic camp perched next to a tarn still buried under winter's snows. It was clearing off nicely and we decided to sleep out in the chilly breeze to admire our surroundings. It got cold during the night and dawn brought a hard freeze to everything, but thankfully our water was only slightly iced. It would be a very firm ascent to the col separating the two summits of Warrior, but thankfully the day was clear without much wind. @olyclimber ascending to the col: Inner Constance and the Rotten Rockenspiel: At the col we started the traverse NE on steepening snow, barely getting the frontpoints of our aluminum crampons into the hard neve. I offered to head on up and "have a look" while @olyclimber hung back. It never got really very dad friendly and I contemplated turning around at nearly every weird snow/rock transition. The abundant snow/ice on the summit rocks made it much more challenging than expected, but for better or worse I continued upward. @olyclimber wisely stayed back and enjoyed the sun at the col while I hemmed and hawed my way to the top. Constance and Inner Constance from the summit: The view west to Mystery and Deception from the top: The summit rocks. The easiest route starts left of the photo and works up and right. The direct route is supposed to be low fifth? We had some miles to cover and driving to do and so I didn't linger on the summit long, and we carefully descended the still rock hard couloir back to camp: Admiring Constance along the way back to camp: along with Mount Mystery as we descended from the high country and out the Dungeness trail: Thanks to @olyclimber for keeping the dream of Warrior alive for me these past few years and making the trip happen! We are quite fortunate to have so many adventures waiting for us just a few hours away. Gear Notes: ice axe, crampons, helmet Approach Notes: Dungeness trail past Boulder Shelter then up into cirque by small tarn, west of the summit. Climb prominent couloir NE to saddle between Warrior summits and then traverse steep snow to the NE until you can ascend up and right to gain the NE ridge. Follow up and right via exposed and steep scrambling. Best if snow free, which is likely by late June.

Forest service full accident report. Confirms presumed failure of single anchor point. https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/kxly.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/44/844567ae-de1f-463b-9ba0-3c157259fb33/6848c7bac1406.pdf.pdf

Sounds like a certain type of fun!

I've always wanted to head south of Cinderella, nice work that is a lot of terrain. I never knew him but it seems Dallas touched a lot of lives for the better. Here's our story from a couple years ago:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14792543/amp/Michelino-Sunseri-Grand-Teton-national-park-mountain-strava-court-trial.html 😂😂. Damn imagine getting cited for cutting a switchback based on your Strava track!

I just want them to arrest and incarcerate people who cut in line during my commute home from work. String them up, tar and feathers.

Stellar wordsmithing! 😂 https://amp.bellinghamherald.com/news/state/washington/article307907125.html dang, Helena!

Idk if they would do this but please check out the sponsors of this board. American Alpine Institute.

WA taxes are high enough. It's all about what the politicians in Olympia prioritize - and it's NOT wilderness recreation and access!

Thanks both! Chicken fried steak and a Methow Blonde at Three Fingered Jack's is hard to beat!

Great TR @Grant789! Please keep them coming this summer. And, everyone, this is a good example that sometimes the attempts are just as compelling for the eyes as the successful. Even if there was no summit (and no party), we still want to cry in our beers with you!

I climbed Mt. Rainier in September 1969 with Phursumba as one of our guides. He was newly arrived at Rainier Mountaineering, as I recall. I worked at the front desk of Paradise Inn and lived in a dorm nearby so I was used to the altitude. I was in college, and other employees and I used to go up to Camp Muir every now and then. Phursumba was a bit of a hit with the girls who worked at Paradise, he was tall, handsome, kind and sweet. He made many summit ascents leading climbers. The day we employees climbed I don't remember any other climbing parties. It seemed we had the mountain to ourselves. We slept at Camp Muir and rose at 2:30 a.m. because we needed to be on the summit by 12 noon. This was to avoid avalanche danger from the warmth of the afternoon sun. Phursumba went up the mountain with ease. For me, it was the most strenuous thing I've ever done, but so worth it. Thanks to Phursumba and the other wonderful guides.

Whether there is a God or not, or whether one's view of God is different from another, I think there are some fundamental principles we should be able to agree on. We don't let children buy guns, drink alcohol, or drive cars. Making permanent decisions like sex-change operations seems pretty obviously to fall into the realm of inappropriate for young, undeveloped minds. And a gov't dictating that parents must support such decisions or lose their children seems blatantly wrong. I don't need a concept of God to know that.

Proud! Nice work man. Love to see that the persistence paid off!

I respect your religion though I can’t say I share your god. You’re believing for both of us I guess. Is your god in the Constitution of the USA? Isn’t there something about separation of church and state?

Whose God? Ours. The One proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance, and most State Constitutions--including Washington State's. Kids, we agree. I don't even think parents should have the right to alter their children--much less their public school teachers. Adults? Like you, I don;t really care--until they start stealing my granddaughter's trophy or scholarship and make absurd demands that I "properly" gender them. I choose to not participate in a fantasy. Sorry, O'Brien, but two plus two does not equal five. Men cannot become women. They don;t menstruate. They can't have children. Re Yosemite NP, well, what's bizarre is hanging a giant banner proclaiming that "Trans is Natural." But my complaint is entrenched government meting out different responses to different interests. The first amendment doesn't include defacing national parks--or impersonating a federal LEO.

You're in the right spot! It has been a few years since I've traversed from Luna Col to Fury but I have done it a few times, including one-way coming down from Fury on a traverse and don't remember it being very difficult to figure out on the fly. I remember sticking fairly close to the ridge and then bypassing a steep section on the west side, on a prominent ledge. Here is a view looking toward Luna Col:

they should stick to cutting bolts on Forbidden, and keeping the cat scratch gully rappels as dangerous as possible. priorities, people!

Trip: Davis Peak - South Route - Skiers Variation Trip Date: 04/23/2025 Trip Report: After reading this recent TR on a skiable route to Davis Peak in the NCNP we had to give it a try. My buddies and I had attempted Davis in January of '22 so we knew what we were getting into with the approach, but a skiable route to the summit that avoided the difficult scramble near the summit sounded awesome, plus it's always great to do a 3000' bushwhack with skis on your back. So the next time we were too sick to work but not too sick to go skiing we hit it up, Wed the 23rd. The bushwhack is bad, but not terrible, there is little undergrowth, just deadfall so it's mostly just navigating. Above 2600' it gets much better. The track Ryan Stoddard and Nick Roy posted is pretty much perfect, when we deviated from it by more than 30’ we regretted it. We hiked to the start of a boulderfield at 4200’ before we could start skinning, which was a bit farther than optimal, but not much, the 4000'-4200’ traverse below cliffs was postholing intermittently, so not ideal. Above 4200’ we cruised on firm snow, making great time skinning. The route up is straight forward hooking around to the west and up to the summit. We didn’t spend long on the summit as the snow was calling, naturally the skiing was over WAAAY too fast and we had to swap out for shoes and walk down, down, down. 12 hours after we started we were back at the car for a hot beer (not used to this spring thing yet). It was a nice route, rugged for sure, but an amazing peak in a spectacular position with views from an interesting angle into the Snowfield group and the southern pickets. Everyone should go do this! Ryan has a GPX on NWHikers No snow in sight, lets get it! Dylan and the Pickets. Gear Notes: Ski gear. Carried avy, axe, crampons. Dark clothes, the forest is sooty, I found work gloves to be nice for the deadfall and burned forest. Approach Notes: Park at the Gorge Creek overlook, at the east bridge abutment there is a trail up, go up.

Thank you! Davis has been on the list...this seems like the way to do it!

boot dryers are mankind's greatest invention. without exaggerating: better than the printing press, moveable type, and sliced bread.

I'm a member of the NW Glacier Cruisers group

Saw on Facebook, no more snowmobiles for the season

4/3/2025 with @lunger (who came up with the idea... some kind of Pyramid Scheme) and Eric Noll After a morning spent walking in steep forest and surmounting knobs of vertical snow on the ridge, we finally snow that was friendly for ski touring. A descending traverse West got us into a prominent slanting tube feature that descends from the shoulder of Pyramid. On this, we noted some shallow but sensitive windslab from recent E winds. Hopefully these wouldn't be found higher up on our intended line. Cascade climber Colonial We skinned upwards, peeked around the corner into the NW cirque, and saw imposing blue ice. To our surprise, a strip of snow pasted on a narrow ramp seemed to provide a weakness through otherwise unskiable terrain. The windslab had also gone away, winds slowed by the large buttress of Pyramid's North face. As we climbed, our excitement grew and we realized we would be able to keep the skis on and travel through this wild feature. The upper bowl even held deep powder (and tiring booting). Gaining the summit was a straightforward affair from the top of the cirque. The ridge is pretty low-angle. We chilled for a while at the ridgetop before moving to the summit. Wehrly likes it spicy Summit! The descent made for a neat line in a beautiful position in great conditions. Nowhere was it crazy steep, but we did feel the exposure especially as we made turns directly above the waterfall and sideslipped the ramp. With snow to 2000' this would make for a 5k descent! We had to make do with a turn-around near 4600', followed by an ascending traverse back to ridgetop and a multi-hour descent through the forest. Starting into the crux: Wehrly opens up the narrowest passage. "SO EXPOSED!" I heard him shout Noll followed: I went last: We sideslipped the ramp: Happy below the gnar! Avy debris, then some nice buttery pow Looking back towards the cirque with our skintrack from the morning blown in This was second attempt for me and Wehrly. We had tried in 2021 but turned around below the cirque when I didn't have a good feeling about the cornices. You are really going up the middle of a big avy path with a lot of overhead hazard. That day we skinned back up to the shoulder of Pyramid and did a long descent down the lower avalanche path. We stayed skier's left and had to negotiate a very steep section through smaller cliffs to reach the flat runout of the avy paths below. That year we skied to around 2000' among large alders and old growth. In retrospect, it might have been a good day for getting the complete descent. March 2021, typical travel on the climber's trail: March 2021, in the lower slide path: If you haven't enjoyed the Pyramid climber's trail in winter conditions, crucial beta is to pass the steep sections by traversing climber's right/West through trees on the ascent. This saves a lot of effort! We didn't have them, but it might be wise to carry a couple ice screws and a v-thread for this line in case you find icier conditions or are approaching it top-down, e.g. as the exit from the Isolation traverse. There are some options for variations. Also, it sounds like Erin Smart, Kurt Hicks, and Forest McBrian skied this cirque but likely traversed far skier's left to avoid the icy crux we skied (this looked passable to us but also thin and exposed) https://turns-all-year.com/trip-reports/march-23-25-isolation-traverse-plus. Skurlock photo with the line:

Missed this. Very cool. Its been too long since I've done a self propelled journey from home to the mountains.

Trip: North Sister - Thayer HW Trip Date: 05/18/2025 Trip Report: Went out to North Sister on Sunday 5/18 to have a look-see in mediocre weather. I was excited to see some ice hanging on and forming up from this past week of weather. I played on it a bit but most was sun rotten and delaminating. It will all be gone quick once the sun comes back out. Skiing conditions were pretty terrible due to wind packed pow over old frozen sun crust and wet slide debris and some rock sharks too. Though I did talk to two splitboarders who went over to the SW side of the peak and found consistent wind-packed powder in a bowl. Here's some pictures... Thayer HW area Cool little pillar... bigger than it looks and solid but the top out was pretty terrible. Second pitch above the pillar... gross delaminating ice... downclimbed and did some gross scrambling up snow covered choss to the L Looking down on the Thayer Cirque from near where I was able to traverse to the main gully and descend. Storm cell over Broken Top on the hike back to the car. Gear Notes: Sneakers for the approach, skis kinda pointless in the conditions I found, tools and pons for ice, bringing a rap cord to escape via bollard would have been smart. Approach Notes: Pole Creek TH

We need a TR!

Fabulous! I was in this area coming off the Isolation in April, what lovely country- Thanks for writing it up!

I was wanting to see this report! Thanks for putting it up and wow, what a cool trip.

About that Washington state budget.... 💩

This is really intense climbing. I'm grateful that you could be composed enough to get these amazing pics. And thanks for writing up the account here. About the "atmospheric displays": What Olyclimber wonders about: it is not a sundog. Sundogs are white spots either side of the sun, slightly higher in elevation when the sun is high, and sometimes a bit reddish at the outer edge. Those colors are most likely part of a "circumhorizontal arc", a very beautiful display. Happens when the ice crystals are quite small and hang in the air perfectly stable, like a hexagonal plate on a table. I can't tell from the pic, but I'm guessing that the arc should be about 50 degrees below the sun. The above two pics by Priti: The top one is also a circumhorizontal arc. One of my favorite ice displays. The bottom pic is really amazing though. The oval around the sun is a "circumscribed halo". Rare to see it so distinct. The line arcing through the sun is the parahelic arc. It is due to reflections off the sides of ice crystals. Also rare to see it extended so much. Perhaps it went clear around the horizon to make one large circle? (I've seen it do that once.) And then there is that strange bottom "hump" below the sun. I've never seen it myself, but it appears to be an excellent case of a Parry arc. All of these are due to small ice crystals. So glad that you noticed it and took pics. Keep your eyes peeled and get more pics like that if you can.

BTW, I added a tag cloud to the lower right, so you can see what tags are there and explore by clicking on them....

Nice trip! I've been wondering what that area bounded by Easy Ridge, the Pickets, and Triumph is like, and your photos make me want to go tag Despair. I'm jealous of your clear skies, and your zoom lens -- you must have been carrying some serious glass. PS -- Be a cheap bastard. It's only another 7 miles ;-).

6:00 AM Myself and a first (and last) time climbing partner I'll call "Elmer" met up at the parking lot in Squamish to climb Diedre, a classic 5.7 on the Apron. He is a cc.com lurker who said he is a "safe, all around 5.10 leader" who's been dying to climb this route forever. I've climbed the route before and led all the pitches, so I agreed to let him do the leading. 7:00 AM We arrived at the base of Diedre. The approach took somewhat longer than usual because Elmer insisted we rope up for the steep approach through the trees. There was a festival-like atmosphere at the base of the climb, with people of all ages from around the world. We found ourselves waiting for the party ahead of us, which was waiting for the party ahead of them, who was waiting for the party above them, who was waiting for the party above them--who was apparently superglued to the rock. Or perhaps they were just a pair of immobile manniquins that some jokers hung from the anchors of the fifth pitch to create a traffic clusterfuck. 8:00 AM After an hour, nothing had changed, and I suggested we climb a different line up the Apron. "Hell no!" said Elmer, "I've wanted to climb this route forever!" 9:00 AM The top party showed some signs of movement, thus proving they were, in fact, not manniquins. Elmer started taping up (?) and racking his gear, which included a double set of nuts, a double set of cams to 4 inches, 4 tri-cams and 7 hexes. 10:00 AM The sun cleared the top of the Chief and the day turned HOT. Elmer set off on the first pitch up to the little tree. 11:00 AM Elmer arrived at the tree and put me on belay. I walked up to the tree. 1:00 PM We reached the belay at the base of the corner. Elmer was--as advertised--a very safe leader. I returned the 11 pieces of gear I cleaned on the pitch leading up to the corner where the fifth class climbing starts. 1:30 PM The parties ahead of us had moved up sufficiently that we were clear to climb with no one slowing us down. Elmer started up the dihedral. Judging by the severity of the sewing machine leg he had going, he appeared to be a little nervous. But he protected the pitch very well. 3:00 PM Elmer arrived at the belay. Shortly thereafter I arrived and handed him back the 19 (!) pieces of gear he placed on the pitch. The insufferably slow parties ahead of us had by now left us far behind. We had clear sailing ahead all the way up to Broadway! However, now we appeared to be slowing down the pack of anxious climbers below us. 4:00 PM The scorching day got hotter. We drunk all our water. Elmer was showing signs of physical and mental strain after leading the first three pitches of 5.6 or 5.7. A noticable tick has developed in his left eye. I offer to take a lead or two, but he responds with surprising vigor: "No fucking way, I've wanted to climb this climb forever!" 5:00 PM Elmer is still within spitting distance of the belay, swearing and sweating as he tried to fiddle in an RP, his 6th placement on the pitch thus far. There were approximatly 8 frustrated parties jammed up beneath us now. I was starting to feel like the stubborn turd that's clogging the toilet. 6:00 PM Elmer arrived at the fourth belay. The climbing was taking its toll on him. Our water long since gone, I started to wonder how long it takes an average person to die of thirst. After resting for a half hour, his twitching had subsided somewhat and Elmer started up the next pitch. 7:30 PM Inexplicably, Elmer was building a gear belay 3/4 of the way up the pitch instead of continuing on another 40 feet to the bolted station. Gently, I queried him about his intentions. All I heard is a stream of angry profanity echoing across the valley and something about running out of gear. "I'm fucking leading this fucking climb...blah...gear...blah...fucking forever blah...blah..." I wondered to myself how it would be physically possible to place all the gear he was carrying (enough to stock several small retail shops) on one 5.7 pitch. And as the sun cooked me like a worm on pavement, I wondered idly if he was afflicted with Tourette's or perhaps some sort of degenerative brain disorder like Mad Cow disease. 8:00 PM Elmer finishes building his anchor and brings me up. The tick in his eye has deteriorated noticably and his pupils are dialated in a worrisome way. I can't help myself and comment on his anchor, which is clearly a work of art--if you're a Celtic knotsmith or some sort of mad engineer. The anchor consisted of 4 cams and 3 nuts each qualized with double clove hitches and backed up with a secondary anchor composed of two tricams, a hex, two RPs, a cordellete and four slings. Granted, I'm a fan of bombproof anchors, but this one could have survived a direct napalm airstrike followed by a nuclear holocaust and still held a factor 5 fall. He didn't appreciate my kind comment. "Are you questioning my fucking abilities you goddamn pissant?" Judged by his full-body spasms and the way he kept grinding his teeth, he was physiologically unstable and psychologically unbalanced. 8:30 PM After his outburst, Elmer calmed down a bit and started apologizing profusely, weeping and blubbering like a schizophrenic on a bad acid trip. I didn't want to say the wrong thing, so I just wrung out my sweaty shirt into our empty nalgene bottle, took a swig and offered him a drink, which he accepted gratefully. 9:00 PM We were still hanging awkwardly from his armageddon-proof anchor. Elmer had stopped crying and appeared to be in some sort of meditative state, perhaps visualizing the sequences or protection on the pitch above. An angry mob of climbers hoping to get off the Apron before nightfall had gathered below us, wondering what the delay was. (I'm sure they were also curious about all the yelling and wailing.) While we hung stationary at his gear belay, several parties simply climbed by us, including a grandmother in flip flops who was soloing with her grandchild in one of those kiddie backpacks, two hikers who apparently got lost on the Stawamus Chief trail, and a surprisingly speedy team of quadriplegics who were aiding the climb by placing gear with their mouths. 9:35 PM I was hesitant to disturb Elmer while he was concentrating on preparing mentally for the next pitch. However I was getting concerned about our pace--we were only about halfway up the 7 pitch climb, and I had to be back in Washington by tomorrow afternoon. I nudged him and once again I casually offered to lead a few pitches for the sake of efficiency. This threw the previously-peaceful Elmer into a blind fury: "No fucking way, I've wanted to fucking lead this goddamn climb for fucking forever! What the fuck do you think I am, some sort of fucking incompetent?! If you ever again try to take one of my fucking leads on this fucking climb I will take this fucking knife (brandishing his Swiss Army knife), saw your fucking ears off, then cut you loose to plummet to your death you fucking miserable condescending piece of shit!!!!!!" He emphasizes each word by puching the rock until his knuckes bled. One of his eyes rolled eerily back in his head. He was foaming at the mouth. 9:36 PM Hmmm. Fight or flight? That was the question. I figured pacifying this maniac was perhaps the best approach to the situation--or at least preferable to brutal hand-to-hand combat while tied in to a common belay 500 feet off the ground. 9:37 PM I put on my most sincere smile and said "Sorry, Elmer--you're the leader, you're on belay, climb when ready!" I said as cheerily and nicely as possible. Meanwhile I casually repositioned my nut tool on my harness for easy access in case I needed to kill this raving lunatic before he killed me. 10:00 PM It was getting quite dark. Elmer was finally ready and headed up the next pitch of Dierdre. I breathed a sigh of relief as the rope ran out (very slowly) and he put some distance between us. 11:00 PM Elmer finally reached the next set of bolts. Once I saw he was safely anchored, I yelled up "You're off belay!" 11:01:30 PM In the fading twilight, I untied from the rope, tossed the free end into space, waved up at a perplexed Elmer, turned and ran down the Apron (roughly along the line of Sparrow) as fast as I could. 11:15 PM I reached the parking lot, quickly disabled the alternator on Elmer's car, gunned my van towards the border and never looked back. Epilogue: "Elmer" apparently survived, because he is back in the Partners Section looking for another poor sucker to attempt one of Washington's classic routes. The moral of the story? You never know what kind of psychotic you might get hooked up with when browsing for a climbing partner on cc.com...

Rick was a coworker of mine at The Everett Clinic, and a personal friend. He and I climbed Rainier via Gib Ledges in 2014. It’s hitting all of us very hard. We opened the walk in clinic a half hour late on Thursday so we could break the news to and give people a chance to process. Particularly painful at the Harbour Pointe clinic site which was his home base. Anytime someone goes this suddenly it’s traumatic for those left behind, but particularly so when the person’s body suffers catastrophic damage. My wife was never shy of telling me during my active climbing years how much this weighed on her mind. We are distraught for Rick’s wife, who spent two days in limbo waiting for the inevitable phone call, then two more waiting for his body to be retrieved. This, plus the sheriff’s report stating it appeared Rick fell hundreds of feet, make it clear just how difficult it’s going to be for his family to process this loss. It’s a terrible place for a family to be, one of the possible consequences anytime a climber who is not a complete hermit sets out to do something risky. I was never motivated to climb Triple Couloirs even in my most aggressive period. Questions for this forum: how many people would solo this route without protection? I only climbed with Rick the one time, but we talked about climbing fairly often, and I am fairly certain he was not the guy to set up a solo self belay. I conclude he was climbing a WI3+, fall-and-you-die route unroped. No one was there to witness the event, and Rick can’t tell us, but a lot of my coworkers and friends have questions and I’m interested in your responses. Thanks.