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My wife and I both have the Khamsin 30, and have used them quite a bit this winter. You'll love it. Put your crampons inside or on the outside between your axes. Go get it!

Colin declined my offer of a beer, and opted to sleep in the back seat as he did on the way over from Seattle. I tried to keep him awake with my music, but I believe he slept right through the noise. Not even Iggy Pop could wake him up.

Are you guys sure that tree didn't fall during the Great Earthquake of '01? I heard things were really comin' down at Index Town Wall.

For the benefit of anyone thinking about the Colchuck/Dragontail area right now, here is a brief report. Yesterday morning (4/22), Colin Haley, Tom Breit, and I drove from Seattle to Leavenworth with the intention of climbing Colchuck Peak, preferably by the N. Buttress Couloir route. We found the gate at the campground still closed, so walked the road three miles to the trailhead. The road is dry for the first half, then partially to completely snow-covered for the last portion. The 4.5-mile trail to Colchuck Lake is obvious though snow-covered, and easy to walk without snowshoes. Ski poles are helpful. Colchuck Lake is still frozen and we crossed it twice. Be careful on the edges, though, as we punched through to water a few times. The glacier and surrounding snow fields bear witness to the relative lack of snow this year. The std. Colchuck Glacier route to the col looks fine, and the snow should be plenty firm right now. However, the N. Buttress Couloir contains about three feet less snow than it did at the end of last May. At that point last spring, it was an easy romp requiring no pro or rope assuming one is comfortable on 45 degree snow. By contrast, the lower sections of the gully are revealing much more rock this year. To our dismay, surmounting a chockstone part way up (on the extreme left side of the gully) requires either a few awkward rock moves in a narrow slot with a thin ice tongue for your feet (left side), or climbing a slightly wider ice hose that may or may not be solid (right side). Above that, the going should be easier as the angle kicks back, but it is difficult to say how the upper portion of the route looks right now. You won't know until you get to the N. Buttress itself, exit the couloir, then head up and left for the top of the mountain. Having climbed the upper portion twice last year, I suspect it will be fine now, but may involve short sections of low-angle mixed climbing in places. Having found such easy conditions last year, I prevailed on my partners to skip the rope, rock and ice pro, second tool, and more aggressive steel crampons. Alas, with the conditions we found, we couldn't convince ourselves that the moves around the chockstone could be safely made with our light-duty equipment and no means to belay each other. A uncontrolled fall at that point on the route could be ugly as the lower gully is steep and narrow. In addition, the hour was late, it was snowing, and the tops of Dragontail and Colchuck were cloud covered. So we bailed, hiked 7.5 miles back to the car, drank some very cold beer, listened to rap music, and dined at Gustav's. Our advice for any of the routes up there would be to: (1) consider waiting (at least if you're planning a day trip) until the road opens, which should be soon; (2) take a little more gear for all but the easiest walk ups as the conditions appear to be more like Nov. of a typical year than early spring. For example, a second tool, short rope, a few ice screws, and a bit of rock pro would greatly increase the margin of safety on the route we attempted. It could certainly be soloed, but better tools and crampons would be desirable. We saw plenty of small ice formations all around the lake and surrounding peaks, which suggests that this last month has made for excellent mixed conditions. Get it while it's cold. On behalf of Team Spearhead, John Sharp

I very rarely simul-solo on rock with anyone less experienced than me, nor do I simul-climb on rock with a rope but w/out pro with less experienced partners. I agree that this is asking for trouble. If I have to explain to someone from behind how to do a simple rock move, then I believe they should be on a rope and belayed from above in the first place, especially if the move is exposed as in your example. I frequently simul-solo and simul-climb using running belays with people of equal or greater skill. N. Ridge of Stuart, N. Ridge of Forbidden, etc. are examples of where this seemed appropriate.

I'm pretty much in lambone's camp, though I don't typically make less experienced partners go first unless we're going downhill. There are certainly many, many cases of people being roped, one or more of them falling uncontrollably, and everyone being taken down. However, aside from Pete Schoening's famous K2 belay, there are also plenty of instances of people being saved by others while roped up, despite a lack of pro. On my first climb in 1985, I was involved in one such minor mishap after a friend tripped on steep snow. More recently, a friend of mine literally saved a husband and wife from what could have been a death fall while descending steep snow in the Monte Cristo area. They were very lucky, but it was Bob's quick thinking and a solid snow arrest that determined the outcome. In the final analysis, we must all decide how best to protect ourselves and those in our party. Sometimes it's with a rope, sometimes without, and sometimes by picking an easier route or even staying home.

I agree with the above, but might be more inclined to use a rope with no intermediate pro than some others. By way of example, Bob Davis, Jim Nelson, and I tied in to a single 50m 9mm rope for two days on Johannesberg N.E. Buttress. We used it going up when bushwhacking and tree climbing, then climbing steep exposed heather. On that lower, vegetated portion, we slung some trees and used a piton and a few chocks. Then we rapped into the narrow snow gully that leads up to the snow arete, and Jim placed some rock pro in the gully walls as we went up. Once on the arete, we stayed roped up, but as can be seen in the write up of this climb in the new Nelson/Potterfield book, we weren't concerned at that point about slack in the rope. We were tired and plodding up easy ground, wondering how and when we were going to get off that massive, crumbly mountain. What was supposed to be a day trip became a two-day trip. On the way down during the early evening of the first day and most of the second day, we were roped as we downclimbed loose 3rd and 4th class terrain. We also did some rappels before reaching the CJ Col. At that point, we opted to downclimb the CJ Couloir, which was certainly the most dangerous part of the trip. We stayed roped up and kept the rope fairly taught between us. I went last as I had the biggest boots. We had no snow or ice pro, and wouldn't have used it anyway. There was no need or opportunity to place rock pro. The snow was quite hard, though not yet icy, and our progression was very slow and tedious. We faced in for almost all of the 3,400' to the bottom of the couloir, and rocks zoomed by all afternoon. In a word, it sucked. It made sense to us at the time to be roped, and I'd do it that way again. But some people have expressed surprise that we stayed roped without pro, especially in the couloir. Obviously, it's a judgment call to be made by the team, and I don't think there is a right answer. For us, it seemed like the way to go. John Sharp

By worst, do you mean most dangerous or simply the most difficult to wade through. Or both?

I want to thank all of you for your sage advice on this route. This kind of "give and take" is one of the great advantages of this website. I'll take brother-in-law Don up the std. S. Side route, and save the Leuthold for another day. Cheers, John Sharp

Here's a question for you two and any others who've done the Leuthold: I've been up the S. Side route several times and think of it as a fun and relatively safe conditioner with the luxury of a beautiful lodge if you choose to eat, drink, and/or stay there. Among other things, the hot tub is great. I've now agreed to take my brother-in-law down to climb the mountain (weather permitting) in mid-May. He is a total beginner. Big and strong, but not super fit, no experience walking on snow to speak of, and no technical experience with rope, axe, crampons, etc. I think he does fine at altitudes of 10,000 based on his skiing experience. If he feels spry if and when we get near Illumination Saddle, I'd like to drop over and try the Leuthold. However, the point is to get him to the top of the mountain and down in one piece by any route with a smile on his face. The question I have is simply whether the Leuthold would be a bad choice for a beginner lacking snow skills and who may run out of gas before topping out. What do you think? Thanks for your thoughts, John Sharp

Aidan: In the interest of helping America's future leaders such as yourself, you might make this mental note: The word is "prey." As in, you better pray you don't become the ice cliff's next prey. Your pal, John

Boy Scout: I would have e-mailed you separately, but your e-mail address is not listed. Depending on how much you want and whether the generous raffle idea works, I might be interested. How much would you charge a card-carrying Eagle Scout? John Sharp Troop 430 Medina, Washington

Will do Dru. Thanks for the report. Can't wait for one of them big stanky burgers! Johnny Be Good

Unfortunately, no sister. BUT she has a big, good lookin', reptile-breeding, dope smokin', tobacco chewin', beer swillin' brother who lives nearby. Anyone want his number?

Thanks, Erik. Luckily, Kirsten is very strong (mentally and physically) and game for almost anything, but there are a few places I've been where I wouldn't take her because of high objective danger or really ugly travel (Pickets, J'Berg, and Goode, for example). By comparison, N. Face of Shuksan sounds fine. That said, I'd love to hear other opinions on the route. John

As long as everyone is thinking about summer routes, here's another one to discuss. My wife has wanted to climb Shuksan for years, and this should be the summer. Rather than take her up the Sulfide or Fisher Chimneys (she would be bored on the Sulfide, and I've done Fisher Chimneys), I'd prefer the N. Face route. I understand from previous threads that the approach is a real bushwhack. Although some people do the route in a day, we'd probably bivi in the traditional spot below the face, then carry over and descend the White Salmon. Target time frame is mid-July. My question is simply whether the approach is truly dreadful or just a typical Cascade grunt. Put somewhat differently, is this any place to take a lady? Thanks, John Sharp

I have Beta LTs too and love them. They cost about $265 with tax.

This is very helpful and I appreciate your taking the time to report. I called Der Ranger in Leavenworth yesterday, and she fairly bristled when I asked about the gate. She said it's closed until they decide to open it. So there. I think I'll take snow shoes in the car then probably leave them. Thanks much! John Sharp

I have taken slab sliders on a 9mm, but no long falls completely in the air.

Mike: You clearly need the structure of a 9-5 job. You are way too blissed out. Juan

Mark: This is relevant, and I appreciate your comments. When my friend and I went in late last April, we ditched our snow shoes just after the first bridge, and got lucky that we didn't need them all day. If I go this weekend, we'll probably take them because it's no fun to get caught without them. But maybe we'll get lucky and someone will come forward who has been up there very recently and can give us an idea. Thanks, John Sharp

Has anyone been up to Colchuck Lake in the last two weeks? I imagine there's a pretty good trail by now, but wonder whether snowshoes are needed. They weren't last year in late April. Any thoughts? Thanks, John Sharp

I concur with Forrest on several of his points. As he points out (and Nelson/Potterfield noted in their first book), you have to be realistic about how many climbs you're going to do. I wish we had done three, but we only had energy for two. Build in rest days if you can, and if people at home are expecting you at a certain date and time, make sure they are aware that you may be a little late. Also, we found a few of those cliffs and gullies on the way down. We eventually hooked up with the trail, which as Forrest notes is better as you get closer to the car. But we were using the compass and some colorful language at several points. Have fun!

P. Eth.: Thay it, don't thrpray it! It's unthical!!!

Yeth, of courthe.