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Trip: Mount Constance - South Chute & Finger Traverse & FT Bypass Trip Date: 08/03/2019 Trip Report: SummitPost wasn't kidding saying Mt Constance is one of the most challenging peaks to climb in the Olympics. Its the peak seen from Seattle that has the biggest prominence on the horizon. We did a "Leisurely" 3-day trip (24 miles & 9400ft gain) to climb Mount Constance in the Olympics. We figured it would be a 20+ hours of hiking and climbing and pushing bikes up the approach would only make the hot day hike in harder only to shave maybe an hour off the whole thing. In the end we were just fine having not brought bikes. Its a quick enough and easy hike out they really aren't needed. That said the rangers did warn us if we were taking bikes to hide them as people even 5 miles in will strip bikes of parts and just leave the locked frame behind. After picking up our permit we did the 8 mile hike and 3rd class tree root scramble on Friday to get to Lake Constance in 5 1/2 hrs. Maybe a bit slower than usual but it was hot and humid so we took our time since we really weren't in a hurry. Great campsite right at the lakes edge and not a bug to be seen. 6am start on Saturday, returned to camp 6pm. 6.5 hours up and 5.5 hours return. Great to not feel rushed trying to pack it into 2-day or even car to car. This would be a 20+ hour day trying to do it in a day and with it mostly melted out its a huge amount of boulder, scree and loose rock scrambling which would probably added some hours vs if it had been more snow covered. Did the Finger Traverse Bypass route on the way up which was some interesting navigation around a hidden ledge and chimney system around the backside of that block of rock. If you find two tiny rock bivy site rings near the start of the Finger Traverse you are pretty close to finding the drop down to a ledge that looks like it cliffs out, but if you work your way down a narrow 10ft chimney you almost have to wedge yourself into it drops onto another ledge that works its way around and spits you out on the other side of the Finger Traverse. No running water on the route once we left the camp but were able to refill water bottles from snow patches along the way and wound up with plenty of water. On the way back we soloed the first half of the Finger Traverse then broke out the rope to lead around the corner considering its a literal finger traverse with not much in the way of foot holds if you are short with a monster runout over a cliff. You can setup a belay about halfway across in a nice alcove with a boulder to sling. Then sling a horn on the way over, place a #1 cam, then around the tricky corner there is an easy to miss rusty piton as you angle back up to where you can setup a multi-point gear anchor. A solo climber we passed planning on doing the route in a day on our way out was planning on soling across the Finger Traverse but wound up turning back once he saw how exposed it was. We also saw a pair on our way out around 8:30am still an hour from the lake who were carrying light day packs planning on doing the route in a day but they were hours behind where they should have been to get out of the technical terrain before dark. If you like scree surfing coming down was a fun run down 3 long scree fields. I wouldn't want to do this route in wet conditions. We had great weather and everything was dry. I think this one set the bar for the most amount of scree, loose rock and boulder hopping we've ever done in a day. And a lot of twists and turns navigating a complex route. While it wasn't high on the technical scale its a beast stringing the whole thing together. Over 20hrs moving time between the climb and hikes in and out. Gear Notes: ice axe, crampons, light alpine rack (#1 and a couple smaller cams & a few nuts), 40m rope (the one that used to be 60m before a snaffulhound on Mt Cruiser chewed through it...) Approach Notes: boulders, scree, more scree, boulders, scree, little bit of snow patch, more scree.... don't under estimate the amount of scree, loose rock scrambling and boulder hopping once its melted out.

Trip: Boston Basin - Torment-Forbidden Traverse in a day Trip Date: 08/03/2019 Trip Report: This was a big day for us! My legs are still aching and I've been sleeping like a dead man. I love the North Cascades. Check out the full trip report on my site: Spokalpine Gear Notes: Single rack .2-2, a few nuts, 60m twin rope Approach Notes: It's not bad, really

Trip: Big Chiwakum and Snowgrass - via Grace Lakes Trip Date: 07/06/2019 Trip Report: The weather of the early summer was often not exactly bomber. Which means it was perfect for the scrambly peaks that are on the B (or Smoot) list. On this particular Independence Day weekend that meant Big Chiwakum and Snowgrass. We opted for a two day trip, camping at lower Grace Lakes. We were surprised to run into a pair of USFS backcountry rangers out of Leavenworth who were also camping up there. Given the mayhem of late in the Enchantments, it would seem that they were on an R&R assignment. One of them reported that the peak count at the Colchuck TH last summer was 800+ with over 400+ counted at Colchuck lake itself! Damn. We felt fortunate to share the lakes with three other parties (which still seemed like a lot for this obscure locale). But nobody was gunning for Big Chiwakum nor Snowgrass, despite the very non-alpine start @Trent and I got after accidentally consuming 750ml of whiskey the night before. These things happen in the alpine. Nevertheless, we pressed on, climbing the surprisingly engaging north side of Snowgrass in the mists, only to pop out in the sun on top. Well, how about that? Next, we backed down into the mists once again, and swung over to Big Chiwakum for the double Smoot. All that was left was a long slog back to the car, swatting bugs and planning our next adventure. The A plan, of course. There would always be Smoots for when the weather failed. Gear Notes: Helmet, axe, crampons Approach Notes: Decent trail to the lakes from Whitepine/Wildhorse creeks. Good camps at the lower lakes. We went to ridge north of lakes then up to upper terrace where upper Grace Lake is. From upper Grace Lake you can link both peaks easily. Best in early season when the North side of Snowgrass holds snow. Pretty steep in places, to about 40-45 degrees

Trip: Mount Shuksan - Fisher Chimneys Trip Date: 08/04/2019 Trip Report: Kyle and I climbed Shuksan via the classic Fisher Chimneys route + SE rib on Sunday. A memorable climb: we had an open bivy on the little ridgetop in great weather, the glaciers and snow were in good shape for casual travel, we added two people to our party at the summit, we added two more on the descent at Winnie's Slide, we came across an accident in the chimneys and watched all the helicopter action, we swam in Lake Ann, and finished the day off with Chair 9 pizza and beer. I was able to secure the last permit (or so they said) for us at 8:30 AM on Friday morning in Glacier and we slept at the trailhead that night. We got a leisurely start on the day Saturday and made it up to the bivy spot in good time to claim the high spot with amazing views of Baker, American Border peak, Slesse, and friends. Views from the trail from Lake Ann of the Lower and Upper Curtis Glacier, Hell's Highway leading up to the Sulphide in the center-left of the photo In the chimneys Sick bivy view of Koma Kulshan Kyle presented me with a surprise tallboy of imperial IPA as my reward for getting the permit. We did a couple rounds of z-pulleys and then added a c to it to make a 6:1 system, which I'd never done (thanks, Kyle!). Wow, we really had tons of time to chill up there! I enjoyed it, listening/watching pieces of the Curtis fall off. As the afternoon progressed, the hordes started showing up (a total of 11 climbers ended up in the vicinity) and two of them were people Kyle knew, and one of them I had run into at the Burgundy Col in June! Z-pulleying at the bivy, Upper Curtis Glacier behind The breeze was just right for an exposed face cowboy camping and the stars were fantastic. We got up at 4 AM, I even got to drink a cup of coffee, and we started onto the Upper Curtis around 4:45 with no other climbers yet stirring. We roped up above the steeper slope, and made our way up Hell's Highway and onto the Sulphide with the sunrise. So great, very type 1 fun! We got onto the SE rib and scrambled up with just a few moves of low 5th class. Kyle topped out the summit with a heel-hook, and it was at that moment that I hit something on my phone to make it sepia-toned?? Mandatory heel-hook move onto the summit On the summit, we met two climbers who had come up from the Price Glacier ( their account sounded as ultra-spicy/sporty as everything else I'd read/heard and only added to my desire to never go up that way) and after Kyle impressed them with his peak identification, they got our phone numbers and they asked to hop on our rappels (they only had a 30m rope). Lots of other climbers were on the summit, but we were the only ones in the gully on the descent, thankfully. Kyle opted to downclimb everything which looked fine, the other guys and I rappelled with no incident. Made our way as now a party of 4 down Hell's Highway, back up and around and step over a crevasse or two, down the steeper section, packed up our stuff (I changed into approach shoes and shorts), and at the top of Winnie's Slide, ran into Kyle's friends we'd camped with the night before, rappelling. We rappelled too, and we made our way down the chimneys.... Making our way back across the Upper Curtis (photo by Kyle) We came across a party rappelling down one of the gullies and saw they'd forgotten a backpack -- we communicated with them and Kyle rappelled with their backpack on their line. Then we found out that one of their party members had slipped and rag-dolled down the gulley approximately 200 feet, had some head lacerations, and that a helicopter was on the way (an InReach SOS was activated, and then a 911 phone call went through). They had been able to move the patient out to a grassy knoll away from the cliffs/rock. Our Price Glacier summit friends were both ER nurses and I think their conversations were useful to the rest of the party. The party reported the patient to be conscious and verbally responsive, PERRL, and not showing signs of decompensation/ICP/other scary head trauma signs. The six of us took some of the party's gear to drop at their car at the trailhead, and continued down, periodically stopping to watch the helicopter action. I had never seen a helicopter rescue so close up and the precision and skill involved to drop the medics so gently was impressive. We continued on our way, it was hot AF, and we stopped for a good swim in Lake Ann. We continued on our way up seemingly endless sunny switchbacks, trying to be fast to ensure we got the climbers' stuff to them before they left the trailhead. At the parking lot, we heard that the patient seemed to only have the head lacerations and not any skull/brain damage... we were so relieved. It was a really good reminder that even "easy" class 3 terrain can have dire consequences. This person could have easily died from this fall. It also put lesser injuries into perspective: what is a broken leg, compared to a head injury? Scary stuff, good reminders to always have in mind. We had a mini-smorgasbord with car-warmed bubbly water, we took our Price Glacier summit friends and their bike back to their car, and we all met up at Chair 9 for a good final chat and dinner. Gear Notes: We each brought a picket and two screws; did not use any of it. Brought and used a 60m half/twin rope + crevasse gear for the glaciers. Light axes. Steel crampons. I carried my light mountaineering boots to the bivy, as my crampons wouldn't work on my approach shoes -- I was unsure about the carrying an extra set of shoes, but in the end I was happy with that decision. Approach Notes: Follow the trail and scrubbed rock.

My daughter and I were the pair that you met on Sunday on your way down. All day in approach shoes, no ice axe or crampons, I had a 30 meter rando rope which we did not have to use. We left Olympia at 4:20 am, a little before 6 am we started up the road, we had bikes. At 7:15 started up the trail, at 9 am at the lake. We went up the North Chute, continuing with the Finger Traverse, on the summit at 1 pm, we spent an hour there. On the way down we took the Terrible Traverse. We could easily avoid the snow just below it and then climbing up the little buttress on the left. We had to go on snow to the notch in the east-west ridge but by that time in the afternoon, with eastern exposure, it had softened enough for comfortable step kicking. Then down on the South Chute. Back at the lake at 4:30 pm, down to the road at 6:05 pm, at the car at 7 pm and back home at 8:35 pm. We didn't see anybody else the whole day which was a very good thing. I believe now that the road closure and the access "trail" are critical for that mountain, to keep people away. For much of the route, being there with teams above you, would be suicidal!

Trip: Mix Up Peak - East Face Trip Date: 07/22/2019 Trip Report: The weather was too nice on Monday to spend it working for the man, so I ditched work and headed out to the alpine. The east face of Mix Up is a fun moderate climb with a couple pitches of low fifth and some of the best 3rd class scrambling I’ve ever seen. Good times! Views from Cascade Pass and Mix Up arm. First view of Mix Up East Face. Go through the lefthand U notch and circle around back to the righthand V notch. The moat was fine on the left. I self belayed a short low fifth class 10m pitch directly up from the V notch to a rap anchor, then scrambled up to the top of the east face shoulder. Surprisingly I ran into a party of 4 out-of-staters climbing the route right before the infamous white staircase. The staircase looks intimidating from afar, but the rock is clean, grippy, and FUN! And mostly only 3rd class despite the exposure down to the Cache Glacier. A final low fifth class 20m pitch at the top brought me just right of the summit. The summit register was a fun read and I spent some time snacking, enjoying the views, and chatting with the other 4 climbers as they made their way up. One of them “Ram” was making his fifth ascent of the peak. Fred Beckey June 25th, 2006, age 83! Two raps off the summit block and two raps down to the V notch got me off the technical terrain and a nice walk back to the truck ~10 hours after leaving. Overall a very worthwhile climb, I can understand why Ram was making his fifth trip up there. Gear Notes: 60m rope and light rack to 2" worked well Approach Notes: Easy peasy

We climbed Magic and Mixup to celebrate our first wedding anniversary ( we did an entertaining corkscrew girdle traverse of Magic, that was...loose) and as I recall the summit registers on both peaks made for great reading. Lots of local history in there.