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Last month a group of 7 friends and I went on a trip out to the remote Icefall Brook. An otherworldly cirque in the mountains north of Golden BC, housing likely the highest concentration of big ice routes in North America. While out there we climbed several of the classic ice lines and one new mixed route that we think was pretty classic. The new route we climbed parallels Fossen falls for five pitches up to M7 WI5+ with an A1 roof crux that we did not have time to try and free. It probably goes free somewhere around M8 or 9. Overlay of the route. You can see Doug near the bottom of Fossen falls for scale. P1: Our first pitch followed an obvious chimney system up into a cave below the beginning of a steep flare. Protection was decent, but the rock quality wasn’t the best. The cruxes consisted of a few bulge pulls with poor feet and decent snice sticks. P2: The second pitch was absolutely classic mixed climbing. The ice on the right wall was barely thick enough for good sticks, but stemming, chimneying and good rock gear eased the stress as the ice got steeper and fatter. A tunnel and a bunch more rock gear protected ice took us up to what is essentially the top of Fossen falls second pitch. P3: From here, I stepped out right and tiptoed my way up a barely-there smear aiming for a short but steep pillar above. Again, gear was hard to come by, but when I did find something it was usually good. More incredible ice and mixed took me to another protected comfortable belay stance in the back of the main cave. A scary, but spectacular pitch. Kurt said following it was one of the best pitches of mixed climbing he’s done. P4: Now under the crux, it was Kurt's moment to shine. He started by trying to climb some thin glassy ice out to the right in order to skirt the roof but backed off when the rock above looked downsloping, loose and generally really hard. Instead he opted to take the roof straight on, tagging up the drill and placing 3 bolts with a few pieces of intermittent gear. Once at the lip, he sent the drill back down and started free climbing again. As he climbed out of sight things got slow and quiet. Standing in my cave I watched rocks rain down into the abyss as a combination of snow and down plumes floated in the air from Kurt's shredded down jacket. Eventually he called off belay and I also aided my way through the roof to save time. The climbing above proved to be hard, grovely, runout and wide. The upper part of this pitch was bone dry and entirely chossy. A less classy crux than we had hoped for. The first attempt going out right that we backed off of. Kurt approaching the roof, I'm hiding in the back left corner. P5: One more pitch up a slick ramp took me up to a pedestal just above the top of Fossen falls. With no suitable cracks for an anchor, I hammered my tool into a deep pocket and tagged up the drill, drilling the only bolted anchor on the route. From there we rapped onto Fossen and took that the rest of the way down. Slogging down to the hut, we were welcomed by some cold dinner and the rest of our group already asleep upstairs. We called our route “Jumping for Joy” (M7 WI5+ A1). A phrase that Kurt's late father used often, for the simplest things in life. Rack: Double rack .2-4, handful of pins and ~10 screw including several stubbies. 2 70m ropes for rapping, but 60's are fine for the route.

Trip: Kauai North Shore - Kalalau Trail Trip Date: 03/28/2025 Trip Report: Went to Kauai for spring break... no climbing... what a bummer. At least I got to hike some cool terrain. Would highly recommend. Only had the morning so I went light and fast. Only made it 9 out of the 10 miles out before my turn around time... I had to meet the family at a beach (tough life)... but this did get me to the ridge overlooking the Kalalau Vaslley, which is where the end point is. Trail was very rough and couldn't run very much. Once the sun was higher, heat stroke felt like it was just around the corner. Last 2 hrs were rough and once I reached the Ke'e beach I stood under the rinse shower for 5 minutes with all my clothes on and chugged a liter of water much too fast. The permit system is a little difficult to navigate, you can book 3 months out and need an overnight permit to go past Hanakapiai creek. I lucked out and snagged a pass a month out. The permit system does make it very nice once you're in, as there are very few people around for such a known and beautiful trail. There are lots of tour boats and helicopters showing the wealthy and lazy around this side of the island. It's pretty annoying in general. However, it was ego tickling when I was running a particularly exposed section of cliff and some guys in their boat tour a 100m off shore started cheering and chanting. Here's the pictures... Big plants Big cliffs Exposed trail... still nice and shady on the way out Wild goats... combined with the vegetation and the volcanic rock and it's basically just like the Cascades. Count the tour boats More big cliffs Looking back, rugged terrain More big cliffs, oooh pretty light And even more big cliffs Looking back out / big cliffs redeux Kalalau Valley Exposed scramble section... felt very chill but there were some seriously sketched out hikers Beach recovery... water was too warm to ice bath... pity Gear Notes: Trail shoes, snacks, lots of water and electrolytes. Approach Notes: Ha'ena State Park shuttle from Hanalei. Book your permit online 3 months out.

Just one person’s perspective: I don’t want to hear or see a drone in what is my church. Not that I go to church nearly enough. super sorry your tr got derailed with this stupid ass conversation about drones, and I also understand people who are just “past it”. But for me it’s a line too far, and I feel like the more people that break the law and get adoration on YouTube, the worse it will get. So I piss in their Cheerios. all that aside thank you for the incredible trip report and I hope us Guardians of the Galaxy haven’t dissuaded you from sharing mor TRs here. You have a knack for storytelling and I’d love to hear more.

@Michael Telstad RE anchor ripping, are you talking about this TR?

There are lots of fun adventures to be had by choosing a class 2, 3 or 4 route in a Beckey Guide. Keep an eye out for the 'obvious gully' and prepared to be humbled. Thanks Fred!!!

It totally depends on conditions. In my mind it was totally chill, but last year when I took my son and friend there was 30+ degree bare glacial ice and we only had lightweight shoes and micro-spikes. We had axes, but I didn't feel there was enough margin of error in the event of a slip, so we pulled the plug. If it had been 30 degree snow with bootprints we would have been fine.

Anyone got any trips or goals for the summer season? Let's share and get stoked! I'm going to spend a week 2nd half of June with a good partner. We're going to see what the weather does before we pick a location... Rogers Pass, Canadian Rockies, Tetons, Cascades are all on the radar. Then hoping to either go to the Sierra or Darrington for some (very different) granite climbing later in the summer. Hopefully a couple family trips with at least some scrambling, kid TRing, and hiking too.

Other than something @JasonG and I are gonna do I’m just planning on repeating some classic scrambles/ridge hikes in the cascades and Olympics. Probably do some bike packing if I can get to it, and canoe the Bowron in October and hunting in AK in November.

A couple views from the other side looking down into Kalalau Valley from the lookout are up on the mountain. It was a fantastic and also mildly exciting hike out the ridge from the lookout on the “closed” trail to look down here. Made more exciting by a toddler in a backpack. Thanksgiving 2023. I certainly thought about doing some more remote/off trail stuff. Too bad those cliffs are so crumbly!

Also went here twice in the pre-Instagram era. Beautiful and quiet out there. Wonder how different it is now?

That is a cool hike. Did it too. People were scared of the "cliff area". I didn't think that was that bad. I thought the red dirt area AFTER the cliff area was the most dangerous part, because if that area was wet, it would be very very slippery. Make sure when you do this trip take running shoes with good tread!

OK @emilio taiveaho pelaez , @JasonG @bedellympian @OlympicMtnBoy @psathyrella They are mailed off to you guys. I'll be dropping some off at Feathered Friends in Seattle, and probably more places as I can get to them. Additionally I just mailed the below stack to our site sponsor @AAI , so you should to to their gear store @AAIEquipShop up in Bellingham and get one there. They should be on the counter or whereever they put them, when they get them in a day or two. Address is: Address: 4041 Home Rd a, Bellingham, WA 98226 Open weekdays 10-6, closed on weekends.

One of my favorite hikes ever, so great!....spent five days out there in the fall of 2002 on our honeymoon....what a magical spot! Too bad about all the boats and helicopters these days, I don't remember many at all. I've been thinking about going back for our 25th anniversary in a couple years and this TR is good motivation! If you went a little further, dropped down into the valley and then scrambled up towards the SW end of the Kalalau beach, you would have seen this view of those cliffs in a couple of your photos:

As you may know my goal is to change this site into an official non-profit entity. to promote and support climbing in the northwest , to preserve the stories and legacies of those that have passed through here, maybe even do some charitable stuff if it can be put together. But I know nothing about this from a legal or organizational standpoint. And with a new role at work I don’t have time for much. so I’m looking for help. Help with everything including running the site from a technical standpoint. I know I’ve asked for this before and some have even answered. I just need to meet you and maybe we can have a working session. so this is a call for help. Help to get us to non-profit status if possible. Help running that. technical side I need *nix skills, upgrading MySQL, upgrading php, that kind of thing. was even thinking of reaching out to the UW Discord channel, anyone here on that? just looking for people who will protect this site, help run it as a nonprofit,keep the lights on.

ivan lost in the recount - too many hanging chads...

Yeah, it isn't very crevassed or steep, but you could still slip and slide a long ways. I usually haven't roped, but crampons will sometimes be needed depending on overnight temps. It is a very scenic outing, but somewhat crowded (likely to be multiple parties on the route).

Good point on the summit blocks of the two mountains. But Black can have some steeper snow to deal with lower down, depending on the snow year. I guess I figured the OP knew his way around 4th class rock. Sahale isn't too bad to downclimb.... if you don't fall. I guess I should say the same for Corteo. A slip would be very bad.

Any snow left on Black or Sahale in late August or early September will be hard and not easy for someone without snow experience to travel across. You will need ice axe and crampons and know how to use them. You might be able to avoid the snow on Black, but not on Sahale. Roping up on either peak usually isn't necessary for those that are comfortable scrambling exposed 3rd or 4th class rock, but steep snow is no joke if you aren't familiar. I would stay away from anything with snow, unless it is very low angle. A slip usually ends very badly if you don't know how to self arrest. Thanks for the offer Rob, looks like some cool scrambling down there!

Trip: Baker River to Ross Lake in Technicolor - Mystery-N.Despair-Pioneer-Swiss-Spectre-Challenger Date: 7/25/2017 Trip Report: Walking out of the tent each morning on this trip, it seemed like I was still dreaming. Versions of this trip have been in the works for years, but weather and vacation schedules had always conspired against us. Thanks to the record dry spell of 2017 (luckily before Smokeageddon), we had perfect weather and an even better team. The views were pretty OK too. But the price of admission is carrying 7-8 day packs (unless you're seano ) across some of the most rugged terrain anywhere. I had just purchased a new full-frame dSLR a few days before the trip and I felt its weight every step of the way. Still, it was worth every bit of pain (though unlike Tom, I probably won't be back anytime soon). Following is a short breakdown of the trip, with many photos to illustrate (but I won't provide much detail). The trip was remarkable for me in how wild this area still feels. Part of the fun is puzzling the route out, not following paths worn in the heather. When the way forward is unlocked, the rewards are great. Day 1: A long dreaded and not-surprisingly soul crushing day spent hauling 8 day packs up to Blum Lakes. We had aspirations to carry on past the lakes to the col between Blum and Hagan, but then swimming and napping took precedence. Big thanks to my parents neighbor Greg, from Marblemount, who shuttled us from Ross Dam TH all the way to Baker River at the start of the day!! Mount Blum above lower Blum Lake: Day 2: Up and over the col, down past Berdeen, up onto Mystery Ridge (climbed Mystery), then off the ridge to avoid difficulties. Finished the day back on Mystery Ridge with a great view of N. Despair (Infinity Camp). Day 3: North Despair! The final snow arete is worth the long walk and we enjoyed every step with light packs. Returned to Infinity, dropped to Jasper Pass, up around Pioneer, climbed Pioneer (a bit tricky to get off glacier), dropped to Pioneer/Crowder Col, then up bit to nice camp just above key gully on the west side of Crowder. Long day. Steve and Tim check out the classic route on N. Despair: Triumph: On the N. Despair snow arete Northern and Southern Pickets from N. Depair. The head of Goodell Creek is wild!: Summit of Pioneer: Jasper Pass: Day 4: Leisurely start moseying up Crowder (non-technical), enjoying the views and our light packs. Dried out the register entries and added our own. Not a lot of traffic up there as you'd imagine. Back to camp to pack up the pigs, then down and around Crowder using the gully to the west. Some shenanigans, though not as bad as the other ways Steph and Tom have explored. Much thanks to the 1967 party for figuring this out! Up to Pickell pass and jaw-dropping views. Despair above Steve and Tim: The haunted wall of Spectre!: Shuksan in the upper left, above the headwaters of the Baker River: Tim admiring West Fury's Mongo Ridge from Pickell Pass: Day 5: Rest day! Sort of. At least we didn't have to hoist the pigs this day. Up to Swiss and Spectre for the day. Swirling mists mostly, which made for good ambiance, but hard to tell which spire on Spectre was the tallest. Climbed a bonus peak we dubbed "Shrundy", but not for the reason you might think. Both Schrundy and the real Spectre had a bit of 5th and one 30m rap to get off. Wild country for sure. Inspiration (L) and Terror ® in the distance: Approaching the summit of Swiss Peak: Twin Spires in the mist: Naptime on the summit of Swiss with West Fury in the background: Spectre via the easy way: Phantom: N wall of Southern Pickets from descent to Pickell Pass: Spectre, Haunted Wall from Pickell Pass: Crowder from Pickell Pass: Southern Pickets from Pickell Pass: Day 6: We were getting tired. Steve was all for Crooked Thumb, but Tim and I convinced him for a low stress day going up Middle and Main Challenger then camping on Eiley Wiley. Tim and I were hoping to get out in 7 rather than 8 days. I'm just not the choss dog I once was and I had just about had my fill for the week. Still, Middle and Main Challenger were hardly boring (Middle esp. is aesthetic) and Camp Friendly on Eiley Wiley ridge was right up there with Pickell Pass. Longest day, though. West and Middle Challenger from the south: Challenger summits from Main peak (Tim is on Middle Peak!): Fury North Buttress (note huge crown line!): Challenger: Baker, Shuksan, and Whatcom lined up from west end of Eiley Wiley Ridge: Luna: Challenger from Camp Friendly: Day 7: The perfect weather continues (though we can see the Diamond Creek Fire growing by the day to the east). Doing the math on the bash to the trail and hike out to the lake, we start pretty early. This is painful for me since we are long out of whiskey. Some steep side hilling to get off the ridge, but overall fairly straightforward and quick travel to reach treeline. The brush down to Beaver Pass is not horrible, but not great either. The trail to Ross Lake started out glorious feeling (if buggy), but gradually pounded our feet silly. The jump off the dock never felt so good. The hike up from the water taxi landing never felt so bad, but much better looking than the fully loaded canoes was saw being drug down the trail. Beer at the car, Pizza at Annie's, shower at home. Fin. Camp Friendly: N. walls of Fury and Swiss: Luna: Note the bugs around Tim!: Big Beaver Valley: Picket Pants, day 7: So much better than walking 7 miles: Gear Notes: Light rack, 60m half rope, aluminum crampons, helmet, axe. 1lb cheese minimum. Approach Notes: Fisherman path to Blum Lakes then good luck. Stable weather is key. No easy options for bailing once past Pioneer or Mystery Ridges. Key to getting around Crowder is gully to the west that tops out at 5700'. Drop to ~5300' then contour N. Side of Crowder until you can climb easily to Pickell Pass. Raps and cramponing steep heather may be required. Recommend gully to be snow filled. Don't be a cheap bastard. Hire the boat.

It's still in. Be aware that you have to lead the route and it cannot be TR'd.

Don’t let the facts muddle this

Snowshoed up Star Peak (formerly Squaw Peak) above Hwy 200 this last Tuesday with my neighbor and his 12 year old son. Cold and windy and one of the coolest outhouses I've ever seen.

Trip: Whitepine - Iced Beef Trip Date: 01/25/2025 Trip Report: Kevin Alexander and I climbed a snow/ice gully behind Whitepine main wall on 1/25. We think this is a new route. I’ve heard of some ski lines on this face, anyone been climbing up there in the past? Here is a view of the upper portion of the route: The approach to the base of the gully is a short hike from the road and then it’s moderate snow for ~1,000 ft until the gully forks with steeper ice up the left side. The ice up to climber's left was discontinuous and thin but could form an excellent climb once it's filled in. We found a slide path below the gully that made booting up super easy. P1-2: From the fork we pitched out two longer ice steps separated by sections of steep snow to a low-angle stance. P3: The crux. This pitch starts with about 20m of WI-3 followed by lower angle ice and then snow to a belay at a tree climber’s right. A 60m rope got from the base of the ice to the tree belay with only a couple meters to spare. P4-5: From the tree belay we simul-climbed sections of steep snow, with more WI-2 ice steps. Eventually the gully flattened out around some trees. We put away the rope here and climbed a couple hundred feet to the ridge, more steep snow with some short ice steps. We left the road at 8:30 and topped out right at sunset. Walked off and around the back to the NE and then back W along the train tracks. Ended up being 12 hours car-to-car. We’re naming the route after Kevin’s favorite alpine snack: “Iced Beef” Gear Notes: Screws and runners to sling trees Approach Notes: Leave the road 1/4 mile past the bridge on Whitepine Road, eventually enter the slide path below the gulley.

Saw this a day or two ago https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/200589906/ north-face-a5-double-portaledge-great-condition-brooks-range-puffy-size-m-sterli

Trip: Mount Harvey - North Face Ramp Trip Date: 01/25/2025 Trip Report: What a nice spell of climbing weather we had to start off 2025! I'm glad that @geosean suggested the NF ramp of Harvey, a climb I had done a couple of times before, but not for a long while. Last time I was on it, it was quite thin and sporty, but the word on the street said it was in fine nick and so plans were hatched to make a trip north and see if Canada was still allowing Americans to enter. @BrettS and Mike rounded out our team and we all met early in Bellingham Saturday morning. I think it only took about an hour and a half, including border crossing to make it to the TH from Bellingham- it is easy to forget what great options exist just a little bit north. The Trailhead was already filling up when we arrived a bit before 8 and we quickly paid the parking fee and started up the dry logging road at something like a dispiriting 650' elevation. It is a bit of a grunt up to the start of the route, but you get good views early on the hike in: In the 13 years since I'd last climbed it, the route has gotten mildly popular and there were several teams in front of us and at least one behind. A steady stream of ice and snow chunks rained down the ramp as we geared up and started off simul-soloing. We had the gear and rope ready, just in case, as @Don_Serl recommends in the link above, but they stayed packed away as we climbed higher and higher with perfect conditions and ample steps to draft off of. I was reminded what a great and pleasant climb it was, in a fine position! But almost too soon, the angle mellowed and we were at the top of the ramp, looking across the steep traverse that guards access to the easy ridge that finishes on the summit. Some times this portion is a crux, but not this day. It was practically a sidewalk and we enjoyed posing for some photos with dramatic views of Howe Sound below: And then we hit the final ridge, sun and views. @geosean walking just below the top: We stopped just short of the summit to eat lunch, take off the technical gear, and admire the excellent views all around. The Standard route on Harvey (our descent) is quite the popular outing on a nice winter's day and we didn't want to be in the scrum on the actual summit. This was a good call on busy Saturday, and we could look south to Baker, Puget Sound, and the Lions in peace: To the west were the endless Coast Mountains, Howe Sound, and Anvil Island: But, a winter's day, even a perfect one, is over too quickly, and we had to begin the descent before we tired of the views and position. The good thing is that the first quarter of the descent is almost as spectacular as the climb: And then it was back to the road, the car, beers, and chips. I think it was less than 7 hours car to car and was entirely one of the more pleasant winter climbs that I have done in years. I hope that it isn't another 13 years until my next visit! Gear Notes: helmet, axe, second tool, steel crampons. If it is in thin shape you may want a rope and some snow/ice pro, but it is also a comfortable solo for a lot of fatter winter conditions. If you need snowshoes it is probably not in great shape. Beware avy danger! Approach Notes: The Lions Trail. Arrive early to get a spot and don't forget to pay!

Hey @Lucas Ng! @geosean@therunningdogand I climbed Lincoln today and were able to bring down 3 rap stations including a couple pickets. I'll shoot you a PM with how to get the stuff... thanks for the added inspiration to get it done.... it's been on the list too long!

Trip: Illumination Rock - West Ridge Trip Date: 01/18/2025 Trip Report: Damon and I went up the West Ridge of Illumination. We got to the West Gable quite easily but the rime mushrooms along the ridge were uninspiring. Here are some pictures... Gear Notes: Not much was useful. South side routes would take rock gear. Lots of rime on North side. No ice sufficient for screws was observed. Approach Notes: Standard

Trip: Mt. Olympus - Blue Glacier Trip Date: 07/22/2024 Trip Report: Report attached as a PDF. 2024-07-22 Wait, I Thought the Olympics Were in Paris_.pdf Gear Notes: Two half ropes (one per team for the glacier, combined for the rock). Approach Notes: Three different GPS watches found this to be more like 21 mi each direction, not 17.5 mi.

Happy you guys made it down in one piece. That was quite the epic. Good to see the old guys giving you some solid advice here and I hope you take it and maybe throttle down the objectives to more moderate terrain until you have a good base of knowledge and experience in the mountains. As an old guy, I remember Marc Andre on here many years ago doing moderate objectives around Vancouver, posting TR's and being completely stoked to get advice. You should try it. The harder stuff will come with time, or you'll run out of time with horrible results. I've been on here long enough to see too many people get in over their heads and never come back. Don't let that be you. Climbing those kind of routes in winter adds another level of complexity. Try some longer summer alpine routes to get "The Dance" worked out. And a space blanket lives in every one of my packs without leaving. Even better, a lightweight bivy bag or tarp. Canadian Rockies guides don't climb without one. Found that out the hard way after our own epic up there, and I was seasoned even back then! Cheers and good luck!

OK, i fixed some MAJOR errors (i was REALLY REALLY drunk when I 1st wrote this trip report), but i'd like to tighten this up to 500 words. any good ideas. i am a very bad editor. Fecal Hoarding on Cuttroat Peak: Well I'm totally wasted on tequilla from from a post-climb depression/celebration of a succesful ascent of that E.Face Coulior on Cuthroat Peak. I think it's called the Cauthorn Wilson or something. Since I'm totally fucking drunk, I'll give this trip report from the perspective of my feces which I hoarded througout the day: I forced my master to awaken at 2am and hypnotically sugested that he quaff his regurgitated coffe vile he brewed hours earlie to help coax me out of my early alpine start slumber. Well it was to damn early and the coffee wasn't strong enough, and as each crunch from the hard snow sent parastalic waves of anger through me. I knew my time was near as each jolt tried to jostle me from me moorings. Unforetunately as dawn broke below the route, my arch nemisis "Pinchy" kept me at bay as my master haphazardly climbed well above his so called "partner". Sending showeres of ice and snow onto his cursing belay bitch, Pinchy held me from my destiny. Alas! My master hast forsaken me!! Thoughts of imentent death were all my master could think of as he manged to live through the rapidly melt and delaminating crux pitch of ice. Where was I during this insane fight with potential energy, gravity and mortality? I was lurking in the bowels, biding my time, and waiting for pinchy to lose control. Master's so called "partner" led a easy WI-4 pitch and belayed Master and I from a tied off shrub and sunken ice-tool. I was begining to force my way into Master's concsciousness until the sight of that belay, and master's next lead all but destoyed my will. Pinchy quickly regained control. My master prayed to his god as he pinched Pinchy tighter and tighter as his death fall potential increased with every sketchy, shaky, sugar snow over slabby step, slipping, but somehow gaining ground. 60, 70, 80 degree slush and powder snow barely held his feet, nary his useless ice-tools. Every inch was a mile, every step was a step toward the grave for yours truly. Would I ever experience the taste of freedom and witness the sweets smells, sights, and sounds of the outside world that I have only experience my previous existance as a jumbo steak burrito? Master could not use his tools on the near verticle slush-mare! He punched the snow with his hands and packed in more snow until it became dense enough to swing his tool into. Instead of pushing down on the snow, Master would bear hug the snow to keep it still attached to the mountain. Master was looking at a 400' whipper onto the none-to-secure belay, as the sun's pulsing rays oscillated down upon the ever-softening snow pack. At last, a cam, a pin! Master was off belay! Such relaxation caused my power to become almost overwhelming as my noxios gas of joy escaped from his churning bowels. The oppresive heat almost overcame him, as master looked across the sweeping range of the North Cascades. But Master's attention was quikly divered. "Fools!" my master thought when he saw two climbers approaching the entrance gully to the climb below him. I knew that this late in the day would be foolish, even to a turd worming his way to freedom. Master hoped they would turn around or perish. The climbers realized their error in timing, and turned around. Master smirked and brought up his partner. On the summit my master tried with all his might to keep me at bay. There was little room and he was emabarrase to show me to this climbing partner of his. I was writhing and screaming with indignity. To "top-off" the summit is the greatest honor one of my charcter can possilbe have, and my horrible master would deny me this fate. Oh! Cruel Master! Many stupid rappels later led master to a 1,000' long down climb which he downclimbed just fine. His partner however, took about 45 minutes longer, all the whilee cursing masters good name! His partner called him reckless for descending so fast un-roped! But this was my doing. Master would finally have to stop and wait. Master did just that, and squatted while looking upon his downclimbing partner. The sun was blazing. The time was at HAND!!! Pinchy was exhausted and had no power over me anymore. I leaped for freedom into the new world which my tribal leaders of yore told me of during my rite of passage through Master's G.I. tract. I steamed and coiled upon the snow, all the while his partner downclimbed slowly. I was buried this day upon the southern flanks of Cutthroat peak, but i exist still as part of everything. I have become the soil, the water, the air, and the animals. I speak now of a universal tale of battels between man vs. mountain and, my kind vs. Pinchy, gatekeeper of the underworld.

Thanks. Just to save you a click, here's the update : This is Scott's first summit of Dragontail. He's been close, but never touched the top. We left the car at Bridge Creek CG at the late hour of 6am. It's nearly 4pm and the light is waning in the gloomy overcast. We snap a couple shots and click into the planks to make the first couple exposed turns just below the summit to the exit notch of the Triple Couloirs. However, for us it will be our entrance notch. I look down the 3rd couloir and can't see beyond a couple hundred feet. I tell Scott it's not too late to bail on the plan and ski our line of ascent. He says he's fine with TC's, so I guess we're committed. The 3rd couloir is in fantastic shape. All the rocks are covered, and the snow consists of stable soft powder. We make methodical turns down to the transition point of the 2nd and 3rd couloirs where there's a flat bench. Here, we talk. It's now almost completely dark. We weigh the merits of continuing vs. booting back out and descending the safe side. There are no cracks for pro here, so we'll have to chop a snow bollard to make the rap. I ask Scott what he wants to do. He says he's good for continuing, but sounds a little more ambivalent this time. So am I. Scott mentions that he's fine with skiing in the dark. Me too, I guess. We decide to set up the rap to see if our single 60m rope will reach the snow below. We thread the rope around the bollard and I toss the ends into the misty void. I weight the bollard and descend to see the ends are just barely visible, sitting on snow of the 2nd couloir. I tell Scott that once we make this rap, we are locked in to finishing the route, since I dont have the tools to reclimb this step. Scott gives me the green light and I continue down out of sight. As im waiting for Scott to rappel, the cycle of spindrift starts. The sound reaches us first, then a small waterfall of sugar snow that exploits every weakness in one's layering system as it flows over us. This pattern continues for the next 7 1/2 hours that we're in the dark bowels of this mountain. Scott touches down beside me. I very slowly and carefully pull our rap rope. I give Scott a bite of it as i pull to ensure it doesn't go flying down the mountain without us. I say that I will be slowing down from here on out to make sure no mistakes are made in worried haste. Scott says he's cool with this, stating, "It's not like it's going to get any darker at this point." I could hug this guy! Apart from a small rock constriction partway down that requires some careful side stepping, the skiing in the 2nd couloir mirrors that of the 3rd couloir. Joyous, steep powder by the small orb of a headlamp. But I know the dry runnels, steep exposed slabs of granite, loom in the blackness somewhere below us. It's impossible to tell with the misty fog that fills the air around us. Scott follows on his homemade board behind me, wielding his ice tool in front of him with both hands, like he's holding an assault weapon. I pull up next to the rock and dig out the snow and find a good crack for a cam and lost arrow piton. I pound in the pin, and the ringing of iron tells me the placement is most likely solid. The cam is good too, though I never fully trust cam lobes against snowy rock. I equalize the gear placing more emphasis on the pin, with the cam more as a backup. We place boards on packs and rap to a small alcove out of the way of the constant spindrift. Bad news is that there aren't any cracks worth a damn for an anchor. We decide to chop another bollard and this works swimmingly. Being 30 lbs heavier than Scott, I rappel first. I also have the all the gear with me to build each additional anchor. I slowly descend on rappel below the alcove, out of sight of Scott. The walls above the small cave are aglow in LED light from Scotts headlamp. I am able to dig out a nice crack for a .5 first generation camalot and a large stopper, which I weld into place with my single BD Viper ice tool that I have holstered on my harness. Solid! This is going easier than expected. I call up to Scott that I'm off rappel and he's good to come on down. Rappel #4 starts. In the dark it's impossible to estimate how many more raps will be necessary to reach the snow of the Hidden couloir. But so far, it's fine smooth and I'm confident in my ability to coax anchors in crappy rock. I can't wait to get to the bottom safe and sound. I suppress my imagination that is trying to distract me with visions of triumphantly exiting the final couloir out onto the slopes of Asgaard Pass. I'm near the end of the rap line, knots tied into the ends of the strands, and there are no cracks available for gear. I scrape the sugar snow from the rock for what feels like hours. I'm a little nervous, but not rushed. There's boot top snow to stand on, and I have a sling brake on the rap strands so that I can remain hands free looking for pro. I move from margin to margin of the narrow snow runnel but still can't find a crack. Meanwhile, more spindrift comes streaming down over my head, one slough with enough volume to threaten my stance. I lower more and continue scraping snow off rock, and notice I'm leaving small streaks of blood on the pink granite. An inspection of my right glove reveals an exposed middle fingertip where the glove material used to be. Ive worn a hole in my glove already. The tip is red and oozing blood. It's so cold and the circumstances such that I can't feel the pain anyways. I think to myself, wow. That should hurt right now, but it doesn't. Weird. I take out my viper and continue excavating. I concede on finding cracks and announce to Scott that we will have to build another bollard. United again, we chop a hasty bollard and thread the rope. Oh well, I tell Scott that at least we save our gear with this bollard. I'm about 40' below the snow anchor, half rapping, half downclimbing towards the steeper rock slabs when I get a feeling of sudden weightlessness. It tips me upright where I catch myself. Scott yells down that the rope had cut through the bollard, which is painfully obvious with the entire rope coiled at my feet. I tell Scott he'll have to downclimb the snow to my stance and we'll continue looking for pro. More begging ensues as we clean snow off rock. Time ticks slowly by. It feels like this one rap is running up on the 3rd hour, and we're no closer to finding a safe solution. Maybe a bigger bollard this time. Another cycle of spindrift pounds us as we dig. I look up to see stars in the black sky. We dig out a bollard twice the size of our previous one and again thread the rope. The snow is on a 60 degree slope, and it's only about 2' deep and mostly sugar. There is no way in helll im going to commit to it without some healthy body weight testing. I lean on the rope, and the thin 6mm line easily starts cutting through the snow. Im still jittery from the last close call, and this rap will take us over steep rock slabs, so full commitment will be required for this anchor. No go, I tell Scott. We need to scour the rock more. And I want to do it anchored with crampons, so decide to climb back up to our last gear anchor which is still accessible by steep snow climbing. Now im getting tired. It's 9pm or thereabouts and the day's labor is catching up with me. I'm struck, however, by how unemotional Scott and I are about the present situation. We go about our tasks with a businesslike indifference. When one solution doesn't pan out, we let go and move on to the next possible option without any attention to ego. We are here, right now in the guts of Dragontail peak in the pitch black watching spindrift avalanches flow by. It's actually quite fascinating, and I think to myself that this will all be very memorable in retrospect. But for now I have to find a crack for pro. I choke down some salty food and prepare to rap again. With Scott's crampons attached I have better purchase to dig around in the rock. I choose a semi solid slab area and start digging at a weakness with my ice tool until I've scraped a thin canal that accepts a ringing lost arrow and stopper that I again pound into the crack like a head. I weight the anchor still tied into the rap rope and bounce test it a few times. Solid! Thank God! Off rappel! C'mon down Scott. On rappel yet again, I come across a fixed anchor 80' below. Finally! I whoop up to Scott our good fortune. I adjust the faded cordage so the stopper and solid pin are equalized better and tie in, relieved we don't have to burn more of our own gear. I still can't see how much further down the hidden couloir is. I look up. The stars are gone and it's starting to snow. Roughly 40' down the next rap I find another fixed anchor of two inspiring pins in solid rock and newish webbing. I tell Scott we should use this anchor too, to maximize the extra length. Finally, I think, this is coming together. Though there's still a black void below us, I reason that the Hidden couloir and glory skiing can't be that much further down. Except the next rap produces no more fixed anchors and the rope ends dangle against near vertical slabs still. Near the end of the rope I start the clearing and scraping process all over again. The rock quality seems to have worsened if that's possible. Again, I carve out a tiny seam and coax my final pieces of pro-a stopper and small lost arrow- into this horror story that is passing as granite. The piton gives no audio feedback that it is solid as I hammer it in place. It bottoms out with a useless thud. I weld the stopper in an adjacent crack with the tool's pick. On rappel still, I bounce test the anchor and it seems to hold. It's a mostly hanging belay, so I hold my breath, tie into the pieces, and call off rappel. Scott comes down and perches on a small stance about 3' above the anchor at my request, since I don't trust the gear to tolerate the weight of both of us. I thread and toss the ends. They land on snow, and I'm reasonably assured that this is the final rap to the hidden couloir. I prepare to descend and find my ATC has disappeared. What ensues is a comical attempt by two fatigued minds trying to recall how to rap on a munter hitch. After 10 minutes of trial and much error, I say F' it and rap with the dulfersitz method. I touch down and recognize I'm indeed in the hidden couloir. No more rappels!!! I yell up to Scott, and tell him to come on down. I've been climbing for 12 years. I learned to climb on gear first, and learned quickly how to build reliable, safe anchors. I've developed a lot of confidence in my anchors and rapped countless times without incident on cams, stoppers, pitons and V-threads. Anchor failures do occur, but not to me. Not on my watch. But you read that sometimes it happens, and that personal trust between you and the rock-a relationship you've developed over years-can be broken in an instant. It did when my anchor failed as Scott started to rappel. I remember hearing a short yell from Scott. More out of surprise than outright panic. I remember watching his headlamp go flying past me. Out of instinct I grab the rap rope that is zipping down the 60 degree snow and see him tumble further down the couloir in strange silence. There's another 800 feet of steep, rock lined gully left to the hidden, with a small cliff at the bottom. In short, Scott is screwed. Then the headlamp comes to a stop 60' or so below me. He's fallen easily 70' from the rock slabs to the powder snow. Scott has somehow arrested his tumbling fall and confirms that he is ok. When asked later, he says he doesn't remember how he stopped his death slide. His injury? A scratched elbow. Without any emotional response to what just occurred, we kick steps over to a small alcove and gear up for the rest of the ski down. We're not done yet. I make the final few turns out onto low angled Asgaard Pass, and yelp as loud as I can out of immense relief. I have my baklava over my mouth and ears, and my yell causes my ears to ring. I yank down the mask and yell again, and again, and again. Just because it feels so good. We sit down on the snow and I sincerely apologize for the anchor failure, and feel responsible for his NDE. Scott understands, and is gracious. We just want to savor this victory. It's snowing hard now and it's closing in on midnight. We're both cold and wet, but have to just sit and wind down and just enjoy what it feels like to be on low angled terrain again and not have to worry about another rappel. We stagger to the cars by 5am. I go to the CWH ER in Wenatchee to get my finger cleaned up, then rush off to a court hearing by 9am. My colleagues declare me a zombie and send me home where I sleep for the next 6 hours. Scott emails me later in the day to say he tweaked his knee taking out the garbage.