Bronco

Poor Juan, at least he looks extreme in gorts. Nice TR!

Great writing and photos!

Great TR and photos. It's funny how most of us have our nemises mountains that, despite multiple attempts, don't allow us to set foot on the summit. This caught my eye and I'm a little curious. Was the left crampon in this photo detached at the toe? If not, what did you determine was the cause of the crampon issue? Regardless, that's a scary place for a tumble, glad he was able to self arrest.

Sure is a lot more snow than usual.

With apologies to Mattp, I think this is one of the funniest threads ever -

While checking in at the Marblemount Ranger Station, I overheard that they've done away with the climbing registration book. Now you should leave your itinerary with family/friends along with the phone number for the climbing rangers. Speaking of that,there were a couple of rescues this weekend: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/4-injured-climbers-rescued-from-N-Cascades-National-Park-162531766.html Juan: I thought those blue bags the rangers give you were for storing food. Remember we found some full of Baby Ruth candy bars and napkins in the creek up on Mt. Baker?

According to Beckey's green CAG, 2nd ed., "Weather in the Cascades is actually highly predictable: either it is raining or will be shortly"

What the heck happened?

Finding a route up onto Torment could be tricky. There's a bunch of rap stations coming down the SE Face of Torment, but it is a chossy place to be pulling ropes. Not sure I'd want to descend that way. You might be able to down climb the South Ridge with one rap.

Photos of me catching my breath? Here’s a longer version – Jonathan and I met in Everett Sunday afternoon intending to climb Torment and descend to the first bivy site at the Torment Col and then complete the traverse to Forbidden on Monday. With a clear sky, and wanting to pack light, we only brought sleeping bags and pads, no shelter. Upon arriving at Boston Basin less hydrated (it was hot!) and not as early as we’d planned, we prudently decided to camp there overnight and make a 3 am departure for Torment. Thunder and lightning started just after dark, putting on a show over Johannesburg and reinforcing the intimidating nature of that mountain. Rain started pelting our down bags sometime after midnight and continued until 4:00am. While snuggled into my damp bag, I thought the day was shot and we’d probably slog out after dawn or at best, salvage a climb of the West Ridge of Forbidden if the weather had improved. At 4:30 we realized the sky had completely cleared and after a quick breakfast, were on the approach to the ridge. We chatted about the potentially revised agenda and talked through the different factors, (route conditions, team, did our wardrobe match, weather, etc.) eventually deciding to stick with our original plan despite concerns of a late start and not having matching gaiters. We reached the head of the Taboo Glacier at about 6:30 am and Jonathan launched over the schrund and up the South East face of Torment, reaching the summit by 8:30, setting the prompt pace for the rest of the day. With the register quickly signed, we carefully down climbed to the Col and made the rap onto the north side of the ridge. Jonathan improvised a fireman’s rap for me so I wouldn’t have to attempt the dyno tool stick that he skillfully performed to snag the lip of the glacier from the overhanging rock face. I don’t consider myself a complete slouch but my partner for this climb was incredibly fit and competent, graciously allowing me to draft behind him and really enjoy the route. From there, the route is pretty straightforward, there are a lot of options that seem feasible, some just more efficient than others. We made a lot of snow/rock transitions and with the soft snow, crampons weren’t really necessary for much of the climb. I sure appreciated the security of two tools on the “steep snow traverse”. The quality of the rock improves as the traverse progresses and eventually the intermittent snow gave way to pleasant ridge running on dry rock. We reached the West Ridge Col sometime around noon and after a quick break, continued climbing (incorporating a sit start) up the enjoyable west ridge, keeping one or two pieces between us, flipping the rope behind horns and flakes, only stopping when Jonathan ran low on gear and to give me a formal belay at the “crux” 5.6 move. Encountering two other parties on the West ridge that graciously allowed us to squeeze by; we summited and returned to the Col by 2:30 pm, down climbed the West Ridge Couloir and back to Boston Basin by 4:30 pm. We gladly drank a bunch of water upon reaching the slabs above camp as I had underestimated my stove fuel and had only consumed about 3 liters of water each throughout the day, attempting to augment hydration by eating snow while on the move. I estimate that I lost 7-8 lbs of water weight during the day and experienced crazy old man cramps in my hands like never before. If Jonathan was hurting, it never showed. As reputed, this is a very enjoyable route that is reasonable to do in a long day from Boston Basin although I can see why most prefer to bivy on the ridge. It’s a great position, ample of water sources and plenty of good platforms. We finished the day at the BBQ Caboose in Marblemount, good food after an awesome day with a great partner in the North Cascades.

Same with me -

Nice job Jay, remind me never to loan you my good chisels.

Looks like an intervention going on in that final picture. Ejoyed the rest of the TR, looks like a fun trip!

That does remind me of something that took me some time to figure out, I tend to keep my lower boot buckled very snug while skinning and if detecting a hot spot on my feet, will buckle even tighter. If you can ski Adams (that's a lot of vert) with no blisters, you're doing pretty good. I have a lot of ski partners who'd be pretty happy with that.

Thinking of picking up this shovel just to prank my ski partners. http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/spo/3092287512.html Ever have a partner show up with questionable gear?

Better than the alternative, it's already fire season in the Rockies: http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/environment/article_0fbe52e6-bf47-11e1-87e0-001a4bcf887a.html

Did she forget to call you? What is it about holidays that bring out the crazy in family relationships?

This looks like a good compromise http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0035EJMTI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

My first pair of AT boots were too big and I fiddled around with new liners and various fitting adjustments while enduring horrible blisters almost every time I wore them. Went in to a boot fitter who informed me those boots just didn't fit my foot. I was able to pick up some new boots over that summer and never regretted it. I'd suggest you start with a boot fitter. I would think that it's pretty rare for someone who just started backcountry skiing to not go through this process of refining boots. Hope that helps.

That reminds me, is the 2011 NWMJ going to be published soon? I've sure enjoyed reading it and appreciate all of the work you guys have invested.

Which camp does a deskjocky who climbs soley to serve as a warning to others fall into?

Anyone lose a Metolius PAS and two lockers at Peshastin on Saturday?

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The new Dynafit TLT series boots would probably save more weight than changing your bindings and greatly increase the ROM in your ankle allowing for much more efficient skinning. They ski great too.