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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

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: 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

Saw on Facebook, no more snowmobiles for the season

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.... 💩

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.