goatboy

I agree with Jmace. Too early to worry! Be happy that you have time off and just go where conditions dictate. I climbed N Face of Fury and N Face Bucker, both in September, over the last 3-4 years, so I trust that there will be something to do in August if one looks in the right places. Good luck!

FYI, I got a message from Mike King that prices have gone up quite a bit (probably due to increasing fuel prices) from what is listed in Don Serl's guidebook. More like $2880 (Canadian) + tax versus the $1600 listed in the guidebook...

Any of you old-timers remember 1976 when WA PASS apparently didn't close at all over the winter? Any good stories of winter ascents that year???

Funny observations from FIVE NINE CLIMBER.COM about the camping scene at Red Rocks: The camping scene: Both good and not so good. The good is that there IS camping here and it is clean and safe and convenient. The not so good is that it is too clean, too safe and too convenient. The 13 Mile Campground is a compound, a gated community guarded by overzealous retirees. These RV dwellers are volunteers for the BLM, and they take their job seriously, some may say a bit too seriously. what you get is elderly conservatives reigning over the young and the restless. Bad setup. If you act extremely mature, and follow a number of clearly spelled out rules your stay at 13 mile will likely be less aggravating, but, alas, much less fun too. And you're on vacation after all. Or just fed up with the rules and regs of an overcrowded world. Well, here at Camp 13 Mile straight, upstanding behavior is the standard against which all is judged. TRUE! TRUE!

Great photos of a great area. Any kea encounters? Did you descend "the Ramp" or go all the way down the NW Ridge? Cheers! - "Handle of Speights, mates?"

Noticed this yesterday: LINK TO SLIDESHOW DESCRIPTION REI Bad , but Pickets? Good!

Climb: Tour of Moderates - Red Rocks, Nevada- Date of Climb: 3/21/2006 Trip Report: No photos to add while on the road, but here's a quick update of routes and weather for Red Rocks... DAY ONE: Went to Cat in the Hat, but it was (predictably) crowded as hell, so we climbed "Cookie Monster" after starting up the wrong route (to the left). Fun, three-pitch 5.7 which joins Cat in the Hat higher up. Due to huge crowds there, we descended Cookie Monster instead of the regular descent. DAY TWO: Climbed a great route called BIRDLAND (5.7+, 6 pitches). Very fun and kinda spicy for the rating. It's in the new red book by Roxanna Brock. Highly recommended! It looks a lot harder than it is, but feels more like 5.8 or so here and there...probably pretty hard for a 5.7 leader, I would imagine. DAY THREE: Geronimo (5.7), an excellent and direct route featuring several very long pitches (i.e 180-200 feet). DAY FOUR: Rest day, friends went sport-climbing DAY FIVE: Cat in the Hat in a snowstorm At this point, weather turned to shee-ite so we went to friend's house in Cedar City, UT and went skiing at Brian Head... Heading back to Vegas tonight and flying back home tomorrow. Generally, the spring breakers were abundant, 15-passeneger vans all about, the campground was very full and the so-called "campground hosts" were on full alert, patrolling, busting people constantly for minor offenses, and generally making folks feel less-than-welcome. Weather: Bleak at the moment, but supposedly improving later this week to nice again. My evaluation of the routes, best to worst: 1) Birdland was excellent and sustained 2) Geronimo - great long pitches! 3) Cat in the Hat - probably not the 5-star route its hyped to be, but very fun when not crowded 4) Cookie Monster - good alternative to Cat in Hat Gear Notes: Was excited about my new "Link Cam" from Omega, but the damn thing broke after being placed about 5 times. Trigger attachment is super-weak and fragile -- DUMB!

Hmmm, my sense is that this route has been climbed regularly... sounds like you might be thinking of a different route than the Kiwi Route?

The NE Ridge route ends via some steep, heather-covered ledges (described as slippery when wet!) which provide some unsavory downclimbing on the descent....what I didn't know is you can avoid all that by walking to the prominent point overlooking the NE ridge (from the summit area) and finding a rap station there which drops you back onto the notch (just above the "crux" pitch). This would save time and needless vegetable-belaying on the heather section....

Great info, Don -- thanks so much for the details. - Goatboy

Hello, I'd appreciate info from folks out there who have climbed or attempted to climb the Kiwi Route on Waddington, as well as the Great Couloir Route on Combatant. Please reply here or PM. I'm curious about rock pro versus snow/ice pro that you took, time en route, and any general impressions of the quality of the routes. Thanks!!!

Great Pictures, thanks for the report!

Sounds great, Scott - thanks a lot!

Please post a photo showing "the Lead," as well as any beta pertinent to this amazing accomplishment. Long live the Lead!!!! Thanks for the photos and entertaining trip report. Nice work, even if you're both male.

Have you climbed Decafe lately, Scott? Thanks for the great info.

Is the Torment-Forbidden Traverse "over-hyped?"

Very helpful shots, Chad -- thanks! Still too early for Triple C, it sounds like..... Did you ski up to the lake? Snowshoe? Grovel? Thanks for info....

I don't think anyone would post massive congratulations, or be anyone's hero, for climbing This House of Sky....but for what it's worth, I enjoyed the route for what it is -- a long, rambling, fun ice climb in a beautiful wild setting....

Congrats! But this post would have more meaning if there were some context -- like what source did the original partial sentence come from, and who gave the award???

Tex, Perhaps starting a new thread questioning why people congratulate others would be a useful way for you to spend your time. Your insistence on hijacking this thread is tired and inappropriate. Just stop now. Congratulations on a great climb, Hannah.

What's interesting about this presumptuous and sad attack is that Tex is accusing Pandora of bragging when she hasn't actually posted a thing here -- it has all been from others who are rightfully inspired or congratulatory of her accomplishments. Unfortunately, this is the type of embarassing crap that happens all the time on this otherwise useful, interesting website. Tex, if you're trying to downgrade or belittle the significance of a winter ascent of Rainier, solo, then you'll have to try a lot harder. It's impressive, and a lot of people seem to be proud of her accomplishment. What are you proud of?

So, Dru, what's your practical suggestion for improving the situation at UTW -- other than not installing more signs?

Are we talking slides or digital photos or both?

I just received a copy of this issue from powellsbooks.com. Delivered to my house for $13.50. If anyone wants to read it, let me know. - Steve

Thanks, fellows! I searched for "White+Salmon" and got nothing....must be using the search function like a dummy. I would be excited to check this route out sometime if anyone wants to go....in good conditions, hopefully! Going up the NF and down the WS sounds like the best plan....