Bronco

When do these guys reveal themselves to be the crappy team they're supposed to be? Right after the all star break like last year? I just looked and discovered the only other time the M's have started out 6-1, was the legendary 1995 season where they saved baseball in Seattle, winning their first AL West title and making a run to the ALCS. This could be the year they go to the World Series!

That's great you found something that fits so well, six miles with no problems is pretty successful out of the box. You may already be aware of this but, it's I believe it's really important to take your boots to the shop and try different crampons on them to make sure they fit the welt and width of your particular boot prior to purchasing. Anyone who has much alpine climbing experience can attest to the importance of this being a secure fit. I've been that guy who buy's the new sexy crampons on-line only to find out they don't really fit my boots when they start rattling around on a climb where a loss of traction is going to have some consequences. You should REALLY like the way the crampon hugs your boot. Anyway, I hope that helps!

Whoops, that was DPS' list, for some reason I though it was yours. Carry on -

You don't need the stove or the rope. RMI will provide those and will probably be annoyed if you show up with them. You might add gators to your list, it seems like that was a requirement in the olden days. I'm sure they'll send you a very detailed packing list once you register.

Welcome to CC.com! I'd suggest getting your pack weight down (80 lbs!) and do some steep snow hikes if you have access. RMI should have some other recommendations for your gear (don't bring more than what they list) and training on their website. I was able to climb the DC route with RMI in the year of 2000 so keep that in mind. The RMI bivy shack at Camp Muir is a smelly place that I wouldn't depend on getting a lot of sound sleep the night before summit day. You're in one room with a bunch of other strangers farting and snoring. I think they get you up at midnight anyway so it's not like you're trying to get 8 hours of sleep. On summit day, you'll be teamed up on a rope with people who don't have as much experience/fitness and some folks who have more than you. RMI may turn around folks who aren't comfortable or able to continue at certain points. When I climbed with them (a long time ago) on summit day I switched rope teams 3-4 times as folks dropped off. So long as you have ok weather and you're able to physically keep up, you should be able to continue on to the summit. The DC route in prime climbing season is a circus but interesting enough terrain to keep your attention. Hope that helps -

Salewa has some great boots out as well. Ascent Outdoors shop in Ballard has one of the best selections of boots around and pretty knowledgable folks working there.

Black diamond Bod and Alpine Bod appear to use the old style buckle.

I watched Free Solo and then Dawn Wall the next night. Interesting contrast even thought both we filmed on El Cap. I was touched by Caldwell choosing to help Kevin work through the crux for a few days instead of just finishing the climb. I thought it was a much more enjoyable film than Free Solo.

Amazing you guys were uninjured in the fall, sounds pretty hairy! Thanks for positing, I'll have to add this one to the list (minus the detour into the 'schrund).

Thanks Jon, that works just fine!

Howdy - The "Trip Report Search" link at the top of the page isn't working for me. I get an error that says "can't connect to the server at cascadeclimbers.com" I turned off my ad blockers and popup blockers and accepted cookies. Any other ideas? I'm trying to research some extreme climbing routes for the upcoming hardman season!

I say save it in case you run out of webbing to rap off of.

Yeah, I don't think the park staff is to blame. I've been responsible for clearing roads in the mountains and if they don't get addressed frequently, it's a major problem to get them opened up again. I'm impressed that it looks like they'll get it opened up soon!

Probably get it open just in time for the pending shut down on February 15.

Dovetailing Jason's comments, I was reminded on Saturday how much a slight change of aspect can also significantly impact snow quality. Went from boiler plate to breakable crust to 3" of hoar frost and facets as I went from SW-S-SE facing terrain. The hoar frost was pretty fun to ski. Happy Monday from Captain Obvious!

So now that the shutdown is over, will they re-open the road to Paradise? Fortunately it hasn't snowed a bunch in the last 34 days but probably enough that they might consider leaving it closed until it melts out.

Thanks for the excellent write-up and glad you didn't have to wait for the rescue. Could have been a cold night out.

Trip: Green Mtn Lookout - South Slope Trip Date: 12/02/2018 Trip Report: After arriving at the trailhead with no snow to be found, we agreed to hike for a while to see if we could find some. I believe we hiked a couple of miles to approximately 5,000' before finding enough snow to start skinning. By the time we reached the south face, there was 12" of boney (but solid) base with 3" of semi-bonded fresh snow and grauple. We took a short break at the top and had an unexpectedly fun 1,200' run. We continued to push our luck down to 5,000 where the brush put an abrupt end to my run with a fabulous digger into some rocks. Except for Kit, he managed another 500' of tremendous brush and rock skiing. We didn't see anyone else out, which always makes me wonder what I'm doing wrong. Remarkably satisfying first ski outing of the season. Where are we supposed to ski? That's better Does it count if you don't skin all the way? That's what we came for - Gear Notes: rock skis & helmet Approach Notes: road is in good shape

Can someone tell me how the environmentalist lobby is reconciling the removal of hydro-electric dams? Seems like a pretty good source of clean electricity to this unsophisticated bonehead.

Yep. Hopefully we can keep this open. It's not like there is ever a crapload of snow at the old gate, maybe 2-3' in early spring? Don't they need vehicle access to the Ross Lake Dam and resort? I have to imagine Seattle City Light signed off on the additional closure. Seems kind of crazy!

They added this statement to the top of the blog post: Thank you to everyone for your feedback. We heard you. Here are the changes we’re making in response: We will close the gates on SR 20 at milepost 134 just as we have every year when the avalanche risk increases. We are committed to keeping the western closure point at that location through at least Jan. 2, 2019. After Jan. 2 we will continue to keep the road open to the gate at milepost 134 until there is significant snowfall to the west, to alleviate concerns about large patches of bare pavement beyond the new closure point at milepost 130. We have heard from many snowmobilers concerned with the change in our operation. We are working with local snowmobile groups to attend/plan a meeting next month to discuss your concerns and talk more in depth about the issues we face on SR 20 while accommodating winter users.

See here: https://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2018/11/change-means-more-room-to-roam-for-sr.html?m=1 This adds 8 miles round trip (probably a lot of it will be road walking) to the standard Ruby ski tour and sled access will be pretty limited with the new closure at 1,400' elevation (not much snow). What chaps my hide is the way WSDOT is spinning it as some sort of great accomplishment for recreational users.

That's a lot of info. Thanks for pulling it together and sharing it!

Yes it would be more difficult to roll over into self arrest with skis on your pack in any configuration. You could probably attempt this at home on the living room floor. If you find yourself in any situation where arresting a fall would be beyond your skillset, you should rethink your route, setup a belay or turn around.

This was a great lineup on Saturday, Scurlock had everyone cracking up, he has a great sense of humor. Videos are up on the NWAC youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXKN3Cu9rnnkukkiUUgjzFQ