Bronco

I'm certainly a little more protective about where I expend my declining energy these days. Fighting on the internet is not as fun as it was in the early 2000s. Those were the glory days of spray. Now I spend my time trying to how to recover from training injuries. Spray now Spray in the 2000's

Mount Rainier National Park announces winter recreational access for 2024-25 season Paradise Road open to vehicles Fridays through Mondays starting November 12 Subscribe | What is RSS Date: October 30, 2024 Contact: Mount Rainier Press Information Line, 360-569-6510 ASHFORD, Wash. – Mount Rainier National Park announced updates today to the winter 2024-25 recreation access schedule. Beginning Tuesday, November 12, the park will open vehicle access to the Paradise area four days per week, Fridays through Mondays. The road will be closed to public vehicle access Tuesdays through Thursdays. Park staff will continue to revisit the Paradise access schedule should staffing levels change during the winter season. The Longmire area will remain open seven days a week barring any major storm events or emergency situations. Winter camping at Paradise will be available Friday through Sunday nights only, conditions permitting. The sledding runs at Paradise will not be open for the 2024-2025 winter season, as available staff members will be focused on plowing roads and parking lots to maintain access into the area. Sledding is not permitted elsewhere in the park. More information about Paradise winter access is available on the park website. Winter recreation access in the rest of the park remains unchanged. Annual winter season closures of State Routes 410 and 123 will be enacted soon at the northeast, east, and southeast park boundaries. The east side of the park is open for visitor use throughout the winter, including overnight winter camping with a valid permit. Information on the status of the gate to Paradise can be found on the park’s Alerts section of the website. The National Park Inn and Longmire General Store remain open daily for equipment rentals, food, and beverages. The park website provides information on winter activities within the park and at nearby areas outside the park. Staff and visitor safety goals are outlined in the 2018 document “Longmire-to-Paradise Winter Road Opening Matrix” on the park’s website. For more information about Mount Rainier National Park, please visit www.nps.gov/mora.

From FB: Rockfall Ragged Edge, Vesper Peak. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Spooky season is upon us! For anyone looking to climb Ragged Edge, take note that there was significant rockfall last weekend between Saturday afternoon and Monday morning that altered the route significantly. @alpine_captain shared this summary of the changes: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ A large amount of rock fell from the “edge” of the main slab, right where it becomes more of a roof (which the 5th pitch traverses above). The last 10-15 feet of the 4th pitch are now more difficult and the protection opportunities are limited. These moves are hard to protect for the second as they make the final moves to the belay and a fall for a follower here would likely involve swinging out into space. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The belay at the top of the 4th pitch is now hanging, and the bolts are only ~4ft above the edge of the new section of roof. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The beginning of the 5th pitch now sports a wide step-across move to small footholds, although the hands on either end of the span are good. This move is rather height/flexibility dependent. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ With more rain and drastic temperature swings expected this fall, keep those heads on a swivel! Rockfall events like this are hard to predict, but they often occur during or immediately after big weather events. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #climbing #rockfall #pnw #vesper #update #cascademountainascents

Nice work you two and great tribute to Dallas!

So we all have to go back up for the SW Rim now? 😃

Awesome, thanks for posting!

I feel ya, oof. 🙃

Bunch more roads and trails closed off of HWY 20 including Cascade River Rd: News Release: Cascade River Road Closure Park officials have closed Cascade River Road, Cascade Pass Trail, and Johannesburg Cross-country Zone to manage visitor safety due to the nearby Pincer Two Fire on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Cascade River Road is closed at MP 8 (Marble Creek) and there is no access to North Cascades National Park beyond the closure. There are multiple fires in and near North Cascades National Park Service Complex. Park closure information can be found on the park’s Fire Closures page. For more information and the full news release visit https://ow.ly/QzVm50SIg6H.

HWY 20 re-opened last night. Could close without notice so plan accordingly.

The N. Cascades are a special place this time of year for the bugs. Thanks for sharing the conditions!

Trip: Black Peak - SE Ridge Trip Date: 07/06/2024 Trip Report: Ended up with a free day Saturday and haven't been up Black Peak. Left the trailhead a little after 6:00 am after driving up from Mazama. No snow until the descending traverse from Maple Pass to Lewis Lake. Saw a pica. Looking at Corteo from Lewis Lake. Wing Lake still frozen but melting out. Lot's of running water on the approach which was great, I think I went through around 6 liters in the heat. Got off route a bit below the summit block and climbed some low 5th on ok rock. Great view of Goode, still pretty snowy looking. Probably 8 folks on the summit around 11:00 am, all were stoked to be out with great visibility. Quick glissade down to Wing lake. Took a detour on the trails around Lewis Lake that cost me some time and elevation. Back at the trailhead by 3:00. Great day to be out in the mountains! Gear Notes: Took an ice axe and crampons but didn't need them as the snow was pretty soft in the heat. Sun hoody was nice. Approach Notes: My GPS tracked 13.5 miles and 5,703' elevation gain.

I thought it was pretty fascinating. If anything, it paints a "less than flattering portrait" of the military's policies, not Fred.

This is the kind of stuff that makes me wonder what I'm doing sometimes. Awesome on one hand but 3am cougar encounter defended with a snowball to climb a frozen mountain sounds kind of nuts to most folks. Well done!

Alternative C was approved. It will be interesting to see this play out over the next decade. Joint Record of Decision With a Record of Decision signed in April 2024, the National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have decided to actively restore grizzly bears to the North Cascades of Washington, where the animals once roamed. The agencies will restore grizzly bears to the North Cascades ecosystem through the translocation of grizzly bears from other ecosystems in the Rocky Mountains or interior British Columbia. The decision is the culmination of an Environmental Impact Statement process that began in 2022. Under the decision, grizzly bears in the North Cascades will be designated as a nonessential experimental population under section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act. The designation will provide authorities and land managers with additional tools for management that would not otherwise be available under existing Endangered Species Act regulations. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will publish a final 10(j) rule in the Federal Register. GrizzlyBearRestoration_ROD_Final_Signed_ForPosting.pdf

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21 year thread bump to post a 7 year old complaint. Bravo!

Crazy story and even crazier that it's deleted the day after it was posted.

In the USFS proposal, it looks like all four huts are being proposed by commercial ventures. I'd like to know what access the public would have (if any) aside from hiring the guides.

Most likely due to bad weather more than anything. Summer alpine season is typically July-Sept. I have a fuzzy memory of the third week of August being the most reliable weather if you're trying to plan a trip in advance.

Awesome read, thanks for positing this! I was unaware of your project until now, that makes turning around on Everest all that much more frustrating I bet! Here's a link to Eric's climbing project: https://www.countryhighpoints.com

Kind of strange the text in the link says "jim-whittaker". Made me check the article again. Crazy they both made it to 95.

Honestly, people post TR's about cragging at Exit 38. I think any Himalayan trip is worthy here. Your writing style is fantastic for folks aspiring to attempt any of these peaks, lots of important details, no drama.

Looks like Jim's retiring: http://www.promountainsports.com I liked going in there as he always had the latest and lightest stuff and talk gear. Feels like the end of an era with the independent climbing shops closing down.

Thanks for writing this up and sharing the stoke!

The snow pack is strange this year, very thin further north, more normal in the south. We skied at the Mt. Baker resort on Sunday and it was shocking to see how thin it was below 4,000', there's hardly any snow. This could all change with a couple of good storms but there's not much hope on the long term forecasts.