mneagle

The last exit 38 thread I mentioned some cool climbing above the Peanucle and about a 1/2 mile past the back side of the Peanucle (faint trail marked by surveyor's tape) but nobody chimed in. Has nobody been there or is nobody talking?

I was denied on a solo attempt up the Corkscrew route in late season a few years ago by the moat at the top of the glacier, just before getting onto the upper ledge system. I went back a few weeks later and took the Bedal Creek approach and was successful. It's a much more straight forward approach and avoids the danger of the nasty glacier. Some of the climbing to get up to the upper ledge is airy class 4 though.

There are 2 areas I've found that aren't in the guide book: #1 As you go around the back of the Peanochle (or however it's spelled) and enter the forrest there is a steep trail going up the hill. There are some cool spire like rocks up there that seemed to be 5.9 to 5.11 and well bolted. #2 Instead of heading up the trail, continue past a few bolted lines and under the overhanging wall and just keep going. There's a poorly marked route with surveyors tape past a whole bunch of moss covered rock and fallen trees. Eventually you come out with an awesome view across the valley and down onto the highway with some of the steepest and most solid rock I've seen at 38. There was even a thin crack that wasn't even bolted! The bolted line we climbed was stiff 5.11 and it looked like the rest were the same or harder. Does anyone know anything about these areas?

My opinion is to go with a Stephenson 2R tent with a large door and side windows. Mine weighs 3 pounds and has survived some huge windstorms in Patagonia and Bolivia. I just keep a camp towel handy to wipe down the condensation which has never been a big problem.

You can get your Canadian federal tax back (not provincial tax) for purchases of merchandise or lodging as an incentive to spend your $US's there. Each individual receipt must be for $50 (Canadian) or more before tax. When you have a total of over $350 in receipts you send them in or cash them in at the border for about half of the total tax back. You can save up receipt over as long as you like and send them back together in the future. You have to get the receipts stamped at the border before you leave and show them that you are taking the gear out of the country. If you are flying out, I think you can just send in your boarding pass.

Check this out... http://home.primus.ca/~dooley/climbing/squamish/grandwall/grandma/grandmom.html

Last time I was up in Canada, MEC was carrying Biblers at a considerable exchange rate discount. Don't forget to get your receipt stamped at the border to get your tax back.

The folks at Stephenson have a religion based around vapor barriers. For the scoop, check out their website: www.warmlite.com

During my internal medicine residency I worked in the adult medicine clinic at Harborview, which I think is a great place to get medical care. Although residents haven't had a ton of experience, they go that extra mile for their own training as well as because it's the right thing to do. Also, because they aren't under the gun from some HMO businessman to see 30 patients a day they are able to spend a lot more time with each individual patient. They have excellent supervision from great attending physicians and the referral resources are top notch. Their number is 206-731-5865 unless it has changed in the last 3 years. If you mention to one of the attendings that Mark Neagle told you to go there you're likely to hear some outlandish stories, none of which are true at all.

Can anyone give me some advice on small digital cameras?

Here's my TR from last year: http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=000058 What I left out was the approach from Barkley Lake. What I remember is heading off to the right just before the lake, over a bunch of downed trees towards the heavily vegetated slope. The slope it full of holes and prickly brush and we eventually found it easier to climb along the right side through the trees. There are several rock bands that we skirted underneath, generally trending up and left until we hit the slabs I mentioned in the TR. If you go too far, you will come out of the trees and have some views down a few gullies. The snowpatch we found was on the right side of the first step and may be visible from the lake with bino's. If it's not there, take lots of water. Make no mistake, from Barclay Lake to Dolomite Camp is classic Cascade bushwhacking horror, but the bivi/views are awesome and the climbing from there on is great all the way to the summit. Good Luck.

Sorry, mistyped that website: it should be www.tugclimbing.com not www.jugclimbing.com.

My wife and I moved here (to SLC) a few months ago and I can tell you that all the recommendations are good ones but fail to take the temperature into account. It's freaking hot here and going to Zion, Indian Creek, Bryce Canyon and anywhere south facing in the canyons would be pretty psycho. Lone Peak would be dry punishment as well. There is good potential for shade chasing in the big and little cottonwood canyons, but the best place to go when it's hot are the High Uintas. There is some very well protected sport climbs there, many of which are north facing. The climbs above Ruth Lake are in the shade from morning until 3:30PM and range from 5.7 to 5.12 for the most part. There are a few trad routes mixed in. Joe's valley is good for bouldering, but it's a good 2 1/2 hours away and the bouldering in LCC is just as good (some may say, anyway). You can get a cheap photocopy guide of the High Uintas at the Black Diamond gym and the LCC bouldering guide is free on www.jugclimbing.com. The best guide to the Wasatch is not out of print (they lost the plates), so you'll have to borrow one. From the topos it's pretty obvious where and when you should be climbing. If it's super hot, check out Industrial Wall in BCC, it's got a stream through it that creates a natural air conditioner and has some good 5.10 to 5.11 routes.

I looked back at my TR of the South Face from last year, where I wrote that there was a cairne marking the path at the bottom of the repels about 40 feet below a single red runner. Have fun. Don't slip.

The SE buttress is a really great route with consistently difficult climbing most of the way. Getting on the route can be a little confusing from Becky's topo. Head up the ravine between the buttress and the monk and start on top of the table sized boulder into the slightly left facing corner crack. From there it's mostly straight forward, following good cracks with a few sections of class 4 and low 5th stuff. On the last steppe, the 5.8 is pretty stiff and ends at a hinging belay just left of the off-width crack. It was wider than I had anticipated, needing a #5 camalot to be done safley, so I was glad to find a sweet 10a finger crack about 5 feet to the right. After 15 feet of good finger locks, there is a good hand jam to the right and up to where you can traverse back to the top of the offwidth. The descent is straight forward, just follow the Cairnes. Good luck.

If you are interested in reading my TR from last year, it's still on CC at: http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=000642 There was supposedly a ton of snow in the Condoriri region which should have firmed up by now making for some great climbing. On Sajama and Illimani we both wore down coats for the entire round trip on summit days, which were blisteringly windy. Jill wore a Feathered Friends Front Point. I used more layers: long sleeved polypro, Patagonia Puffball pullover, Feathered Friends Volant Jacket and a MH gore-tex jacket. Despite wearing Koflach Artic Expe's we both had to stop periodically and shake feeling back into our feet before the sun came up. On the sub 5000 meter peaks in Condoriri I got away with a lot less, polypro shirt, +/- fleece and a gore-tex jacket. Most of the climbs near Condoriri can be started at 5-6AM and you'll see sun pretty soon. Cabeza del Condor is the only one we got an alpine start on at 2 AM. As far as gas goes, you can buy canisters at Condoriri on Sagarnaga for 35 Bolivianos (as well as cool chalk bags). The white gas is supposed to suck, so we bought kerocene. I would definitely use Adolfo Andino (on Sagarnaga, across the street from Bolivian Journeys) for transport and info. Adolfo is a great guy who speaks english well and will cut you a good deal. Have a great trip.

Just got back from a month in Bolivia and I thought I'd serve up a little beta. There was a decent amount of snow during the wet season and most of the higher mountains are well covered. Although we didn't go to Condoriri, from the air it looked like most of the rock bands on Ala Izquierda and the Cabeza are well covered. Could be a good year for Ala Derecha and Huallomen. A week before we left a team of 2 climbed Huayna Potosi's West Face in a day. The road to Quimza Cruz totally sucks. It was totally rutted out/eroding with 2,000-3,000 foot drops and no guard rail. You know it's bad when the Aymarans start crying from fear. You can get to Caxata by bus and trek in to the San Luis base camp in a day (that's how we got out) or rent a Jeep, which would be much safer and allow you to get out and walk if things got too wierd. Glacial retreat has been pretty bad here and even with a decent snowfall most of the routes have a whole lot of loose rock to negotiate. Sickness, storms and team dynamics limited us to only one attempt on San Luis, where we got turned around 200 feet from the top due to weather. Overall, I'd say only go to Quimza Cruz if you want to do rock or hard mixed climbing (e.g. 3rd ascent of Gigante Grande). After a break to get well, check out Titicaca and do some trekking, we got back on track and climbed Mururata, Illimani and Sajama. Mururata is a long (5 km) low angle glacier climb to 19,280 feet which is aesthetically stunning, acclimatizing and virtually un-visited. It cost us $170 for round-trip Jeep transport from Adolfo Andino on Sagarnaga. The snow never got deeper than mid-calf and only 2 or 3 open crevasses in sight. It won't get you in a magazine but it's a nice climb. The normal route on Illimani's pico sur turned out to be much harder than we expected. The climb to Nido de Condores is on some loose, exposed rock that is much worse on the way down. High camp is on rock/dirt. We left about 2:30 AM which was good as it took us 5 1/2 hours to summit. Most of the route was very firm neve which required a running belay protected by pickets and a screw on the steep upper section just below the ridge. My second tool made it feel a lot more secure. Two weeks after we did the route, 2 Frenchmen slipped and fell to their deaths from the same section. The details were just coming in as we left but there's a possibility they were only using ski poles and left their axes in camp. We went round-trip in 3 days, but 4 is probably better. We went to Sajama by public transport. The best way is to take a 7:00 AM bus from the terminal in La Paz to Oruro and get off in Patacamaya. Then find a bus waiting to go to Sajama Village. It will take a few hours, but by 11 or so enough people will have signed up to get the bus on the road. We made it to Sajama Village by 3:30 PM. Find a guy who lives there named Abel Mollo who can arrange porters, mules and Jeep rides if you need them. High camp is still on snow and be sure to park your tent on the leeward side of the rock. As snow conditions were good, we took the 1st gully in which all of the infamous loose rock was completely covered by steep neve. The ridge walk is exposed but didn't require protection. The upper glacier was easy but freezing with no open crevasses. We made it from high camp to the summit in 4 1/2 hours. Don't leave too early, it's fucking cold until the sun comes up. Hope that was helpful.

I agree, a very worth while non-technical glacier route, although the 3rd-4th class rock at the summit can feel a little exposed to inexperienced climbers. Aesthetically pleasing with an amazing view. If you want more of a challenge, take the direct route (AKA Autobahn) early season.

Here's a trip report I put in on the North Face of Baring a few months back. http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=000058

There have been several studies that suggested a benefit from glucosamine but have serious flaws in their outcomes measurments and manufacture affiliations with investigators. There have been however 2 well done studies that show symptomatic relief with glucosamine, one with the drug administered orally and one intra-articularly. Large trials are pending but there seems to be enough data to suggest a benefit and low risk of side effects to make it worth a try, while the jury is out. No study has shown benefit from glucosaminoglycan injections. There has been marginal data to show benefit from chondroitin sulfate, with larger trials pending. The best advise is to lose weight and undergo physical therapy, both of which have been shown to have significant benefits.

Quebec has been warmer than usual like the rest of Canada, but it`s still cold enough to form some great ice. And talk about access...at the edge of Quebec City there is a 100m tall waterfall called Chute Montmorency that has routes from WI3 to 5 and it`s lit up by a big spot-light until midnight. After that we spent 2 days climbing in Pont Rouge. There is some awesome mixed climbing as well as some 50-60 meter tall icefalls. The approach is about a ten minute walk and the routes are one after the other on both sides of the river. The area is pretty difficult with only a small WI3 area to warm up on and otherwise mostly WI5 and M6 or higher. The mixed routes are bolted but the sedimentary rock is flakey and held together by the frozen dirt. Because of the warm temperatures, most of the locals are top-roping the area. There are still a whole bunch of hanging icicles, but they won`t last long. Unless you`re coming in the next week or two, better to wait and come back next January or Febuary when things are in the best shape and safer to lead. There are also a lot of great wilderness routes that are an hour or two out of Quebec, that can be done in a day with the help of snowmobiles for rent. local beta: Taiga: great climbing store with employees that speak English and can give you good info on local conditions 418-658-2742 Festiglace: a big climbing expo that goes on every year in late Febuary (you might want to come when the festival is not there) www.campdebase.com: Quebec climbers` website, but only in French La Guide des Cascades de Glace du Quebec by Stephan La Pierre and Jean-Claude Maurice published by LÈnchanteur Press is the best guide book (in French) The last issue of Gripped, a very cool Canadian climbing magazine (English), has a good guide for the more popular parts of Pont Rouge If my pictures turn out, I`ll try to scan a few and stick them in.

I`ve tried the traverse solo in winter but was stopped because I had no rope for a obligatory rappel that is just down from the south summit, so bring a rope. Also, there was a fire a few years ago that closed the approach to the north peak. You might want to call the rangers and see what the condition of the north peak descent is now.

I've learned from past experience that usually not every person on a team is healthy every day. Diarrhea, sprained ankles, etc undoubtably occur and it's good to have a few extra people on the rope.

Well, I'm still looking for partners if anybody is interested. Please pass it around to your friends. I can't believe it's this hard to drum up a few climbers for some of the best alpine climbing around. We've only gotten a few replies and all of them from couples, which leads me to wonder whether people are scared away by the thought of climbing with a couple. We're not looking for a double date or partners to swing with, we're looking for climbing partners. I'd worry more whether you could keep up with Jill, sje's a real bad ass. So let's go climb. Also, we'll be trekking in Chile for the month of April. We're planning on doing the Torres del Paine circuit and wondering if anybody has any advice on side trips or getting back and forth to and from the park. Is the boat trip worth the extra time and is it reliable?

I picked up a display model of the Prophet before christmas at Second Ascent for $385. They had a whole bunch of other models for equally good discounts. May want to give them a call and see if they still have any.