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Trip: Mount Adams - Adams Glacier Trip Date: 06/11/2019 Trip Report: Went for a night out to the Adams Glacier for a go at things. Just wanted to share a few notes. The road between Divide Camp TH and Killen Creek TH is nearly melted out and has one rutted snow patch passable with a decent clearance ride. There's still decent snow cover for most of the second half of the approach to High Camp. From the base of of the Adams Glacier we noticed a disconnected block above the left traverse exit out the top of the route. As the sun rose we saw light shinning through the sides and underneath the block. So we opted for climbing ice in some crevasses instead. There was a decent amount of ice fall and rockfall activity while we hung out on the glacier yesterday until about 1300hrs. If anyone heads out here over the next year for the Adams glacier any notes on the block above the left exit traverse would be appreciated. Gear Notes: Pickets, ice tools and screws, rope, harness, no snow flotation devices, suncreen, hot tub. Approach Notes: Walk trail to snow and then find your way.

There are a number of lovely Seattle neighborhoods that I personally like; Queen Anne, Freemont (Adobe, Google, Tableau and the center of the universe), U-District (University of Washington), Mount Baker (easiest access to I-90 and the mountains in Seattle), Montlake, Ravenna, Ballard, Wallingford, Green Lake, Phinney Ridge, Laurelhurst (Bill Gates Sr.), Madison Park (Tom Skerrit), The Seattle Highlands, and South Lake Union (Amazon). All of these neighborhoods have a different vibe than each other and you could find one that appeals to you but unless you earn a fuck ton of money you will not be able to afford to rent a house with a yard. Also, access to the mountains is more difficult than the east side (of Lake Washington), but there are a number of climbing gyms throughout the city and some nice parks for trail running. Traffic is as bad as the media makes it out to be. Renting in Bellingham is tough because it is a college town, but certainly less expensive than any of the Seattle neighborhoods. If you can work anywhere, somewhere like Preston, Fall City, Carnation, North Bend (Twin Peaks fame), Wenatchee, or one of the smaller towns near Bellingham like Ferndale or Mount Vernon would offer better affordability and great access to the mountains while being plenty close to climbing clubs and guide services. I live in Issaquah, which in addition to being an easy 20 minute bus ride into Seattle is a great location for all outdoor recreation: world class trail running from my front door (the Issaquah Alps), 20 minutes to rock climbing in North Bend (Exit 32 and Exit 38), and 40 minutes to Snoqualmie Pass for lift serviced skiing, back country skiing, ski mountaineering, alpine rock climbing, and very accessible winter mixed alpine climbing due to the proximity to the ski resorts. It is, however, very much the 'burbs. Think Mercedes, Lexus, and BMW SUVs, families with young children, good schools, and no singles scene to speak of. It is more affordable than Seattle or Bellevue, but not inexpensive either. If I were not tied to a job in Seattle I personally would look hard at the Mazama/Twisp/Winthrop, Leavenworth/Peshashtin/Cashmere/Wenatchee, and Bellingham/Ferndale/Mount Vernon/Anacortes metropolitan areas.

Olympia is a good area, though with the same cost increases afflicting much of the west coast. Similar to Bellingham as a city, but further from the Cascades, and for the most part further from good rock climbing. I do like living here though.

Both Whatcom and Skagit counties are getting pretty expensive, unless you are on the outskirts, but I think that is just true for the entire west coast at this point. Bellingham area is a pretty amazing place to live; I wish I had moved here much sooner. There is a lot of construction going on in northern Bellingham which I'm hoping will eventually decrease the cost some.

For Wenatchee and Leavenworth: do you have the money to buy a house when you move here? If so, you'll probably just have to wait until the right house comes on the market. Inventory is crazy low. If you're planning on renting, just know that the rental market in Wenatchee/Leavenworth has incredibly low inventory, as well, and everything is pretty expensive (for not being a metropolitan area), especially if you have dogs. If you can swing it, it's a great place to live with no shortage of learning opportunities.

Gene and I went to school together in Bellingham (along with Justin Sjong, Dberdinka, Jason Martin, and many other strong climbers) and yeah it is pretty awesome. Unfortunately, the cost of living has increased dramatically since we were in college 25 years ago, but so the Seattle metropolitan area in general For some perspective, I went to high school in Washington D.C. during Reagan's first term 1980-1984. Seattle, while having grown dramatically in the last 10 years, is very different than metropolitan D.C. Similar to NYC, it is a city of neighborhoods, most of which are not affordable for me, and I work as a software developer, my wife as a civil engineer. We live in the 'burbs with a very convenient commute via mass transit. I also agree with Jason regarding Wenatchee/Leavenworth. I know people who work in Seattle and rent apartments but have homes in Leavenworth. There is an excellent guide service in Leavenworth, so if by education you mean climbing, you would be covered there. I also know a number of Microsoft employees who live in Mazama and telecommute. Mazama would be pretty awesome and is more affordable than Seattle, Leavenworth, or Bellingham. The downside is that is remote, particularly in winter with Wenatchee being the closest city of any real size.

bellingham. damn I love me some bellingham. you can find careers there. Educational clubs courses? they have a bellingham mountaiineers club. for solid internet remote location crew, there are lots of them in mazama. damn fine place that mazama. What about requirement for winter skiing/boarding? that could make the choice easier.

I have friends who really like Wenatchee. But that is further from the classical mountaineering photos that has likely drawn you to the PNW, and I'm not sure if they have much in the way of clubs or instructional courses. Or, there is always Bellingham, because they're looking for people to support the baristas who have graduate degrees but can't leave the town they went to school in. And they have lots of mountain guides who could use your instructional $$.

Very cool!

Nice work, thanks for posting!