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Trip: Arrigetch Peaks, Brooks Range - Arrigetch Trip Date: 08/15/2020 Trip Report: I know this is WA state, but I wrote up an expedition report about my recent climbing expedition to the Arrigetch Peaks of the Brooks Range of Alaska. Might be of interest to folks planning trips up north! I don't have the typing strength to reupload/retype the entire report, so gonna be lazy and post the link: https://www.natexploring.com/alaska/arrigetch-peaks Here's a couple pics to showcase how unf*cking incredible it is up there. Gear Notes: Double ropes, double rack, helluva lot of other shit Approach Notes: 4 days of swamp bushwhacking. Get psyched.

Trip: Twin Sisters - Obscurities Redux Trip Date: 08/23/2020 Trip Report: It's been a long time since I posted a trip report and even longer since I've gone explorer-ating in the Twin Sisters Range. Twelve, twelve! years ago Dave and I pushed, pedaled and slogged our way into the basin between the Twin Sisters to climb some nice rock on the obscure Block Tower. Obscurities The block is split clean through by a hand size crack, and while we had climbed the very short east face, the west side was much larger and steeper. I always wanted to go back but the approach-to-climbing ratio is pretty excessive and that logging road is just a soul sucking grind, particularly loaded down with a full rack. But in twelve years the world changes and e-bikes, well if not invented, at least became far more ubiquitous and I reached the point in life where one ended up in my garage. Plenty nice around town but it fundamentally transforms the experience of these long logging road approaches. The dreaded grind now feels like a casual ride to Sunday Farmers Market. Once you ditch the bike your legs are still fresh. Climbing the North Twin has become a casual afternoon jaunt. Highly recommended! So with a different friend we rolled in less than 45 minutes. The path into the basin seems far more beat in than it was ten years ago and people were scattered around in ways I had never seen. Really it's rather insane how busy everywhere has gotten, but I digress. As for the climb. The west face of Block and Arrowhead Towers are somewhere between 350'-400' tall and the rock quality is generally very good. We climbed two pitches (red) of low 5th-class ramps leading up and right to the much steeper upper half of the route. The first pitch was marred by a very chossy and unavoidable 3rd class gully. A far better start would be up clean north-facing slabs to the right of the tower (blue) to where you could scramble back left to below the headwall. The head wall was probably slightly less than 200' tall. You could do it in a single pitch but there's a perfect belay ledge at the base of the final splitter if you want to share the goods with your partner. The third pitch started out easy and a bit brittle. Fortunately rock quality improved as the angle increased. I stayed left of a very large detached block and climbed slightly overhung jugs with intermittent gear into the left of two parallel crack systems. It was heady but adequately protected. The final pitch is probably 40' in length but has absolute hero jamming through overhanging bulges. Both were maybe 5.9? Good stuff. A short rappel (make sure to TR the rap line) and a steep but easy scramble led down onto the glacier. From the col a series of 3 well-established raps led back down to the base of the climb. A nice climb, I'd go back. Other potential still abounds. Pitch 2 Pitch 4 From the Basin - Arrowhead Left & Block Tower Right Gear Notes: Doubles of small cams, single set #1=#4 maybe an extra #2 Approach Notes: E-bikes

We did it in 9 hours back in the stone age, but got benighted on the descent. Grade IV states that "some parties my bivouac", and complete N Ridge on Stuart still gets a IV; it's a comparable amount of work albeit a very different route and kind of climbing. I'd stay with IV, that is, if I had a vote.

Sixteen years later we went back. Sixteen years is a long time. A lot has changed and a lot hasn't. That southeast buttress is still as good as ever.

In mid July 92 did the left most route (1963 ridge/rib) in 15/16 hrs round trip and found the route really good, with the upper 3-5 pitches on the rib being great rock in the 5.7-8 range. And the bonus of NO bush! I recommend the route and I have never figured out why climbers choose the brushy 57 route. Maybe do it in winter