mattp

Are you saying Catbird should take parenting classes?

Kit Lewis and Charlie Hampson could make a real pubclub out of our little group of wannabees. It was good to see these guys there.

Fleb, last year.

Last year's event was May 8. It was light enough by then that we could have a barbeque in daylight, even though we started at 6:00 p.m. The we had a slideshow later. The old "Climber's Picnic" organized by Julie Brugger used to take place in Woodland Park. I don't know about power, though.

The North Ridge is a pretty good climb, no?

Yes, we'll be doing it again this year. March is a little early to plan an outdoor picnic on a weeknight, though. Think May.

I've taken the Seattle Mountaineers' MOFA course twice, and was favorably impressed both times. I have also taken a wilderness EMT course, and it was certainly a better course, but also cost five times as much and I had to spend a couple of weeks in Denver. I'm not really quarelling with any of the criticism offered here, but in my opinion MOFA is a fine choice if you compare the cost/effort involved to what you get from it.

I do think it is true that Washington Pass never receives the snowpack of, say, Stevens Pass or Cascade Pass, but I think Josh is suggesting that there is less snow there than an average year. Although the DOT guy reported that it was an unusually low snow year, he went on to talk primarily about the snow deapth in the avalanche deposition zones as opposed to the total snowpack on Washington Pass. It may in fact be the case that the unusual thing is that we never really had huge midwinter avalanche cycles this year. It looks to me as if we may be on target for an "average" or slightly early opening date, but nothing extraordinary. The historical closure section of the WSDOT page shows openings as early a late march, and as late as May, but mid April appears most common.

Allright, Paul. Here you go. This is the way I went. I thought it was OUTSTANDING.

Paul: It is NOT the one up the center in your photo. Beckey mislabelled it in his older guide, and his "correction" in the latest edition still has some confusion about it. I can't tell if you are joking or not, but I mean no criticism when I suggest that you don't need an annotated picture. If you DO get an annotation from Michael, bear in mind that he pointed out that you may not need to climb cliffs and belay a short section low on the climb as he did. If the snow is gone, I'd look for Josh's trail. If there is still snow, I'd head up the debris like Michael did. When, perhaps 1,000 feet up, the valley has a cliff right in the middle of it, I'd suggest looking for a detour either right or left. We went up on the left and came down on the right. I did not think routefinding was much of a problem.

Paul - I'm not debating the "it would be cool" part, but you won't need the annotated photo if you try this route and a photo probably won't help much. Just walk to the end of "Mine Road," and continue to the creekbed just beyond. Turn right. You'll climb the right-hand of the two major snowy basins shown in your picture. Don't try this after the snow/avalanche debris is melted out of the lower gully. I know you like brush, but it just wouldn't be a good idea.

Dima- If you really want inexpensive skis, go to the used sports equipment shops and even the Salvation Army. I've got a pair of old downhill boards with Silveretta bindings on them that I use for approaches when I'm not planning to actually ski very much. In addition to old skis, I bought older (used) bindings, and the whole rig cost $75. They're heavy and offer poor performance, but I tested them at Crystal Mountain before I took them into the real mountains, and I can get down what I need to get down on them. The gear works OK for approaching climbs.

With high-clearance 4x4 trucks, we were able to drive no more than a quarter mile beyond where you did. I was a little discouraged when we got stuck - miles from the crags. However, we dug out, turned around, and started walking. With all the snow on the road, we ended up going to the closest thing: Three O'Clock Rock. The sun was blazing and it turned out pretty well! Sorry to have missed you - had we been around when you got stuck, we'd have helped you out and invited you and your dog to jump in one of our trucks for that quarter mile extra ride.

I was taught the same thing, Dru. However, while it sounds to me as if MtnEagle is probably right in suggesting there is little chance of reviving your victim whose heart has stopped due to rapid blood loss or blunt trauma -- especially if there is not going to be an ambulance on the scene within a few minutes -- what can you do? Do you want to be the guy at Vantage who essentially "pronounces" the person dead? I don't know what to think about all the posts concerning the possibilities for becoming infected but, within the constraints of however we resolve that question, I think most of us will want to try to do what we can.

Yes, the cliff does get sun 'till mid-afternon -- even the North Butress. However, "blazing" does not describe the suntanning opportunities at Three O'Clock Rock. The sun is relatively directly shining on the rock in the morning, but tangential and then gone as the day wears on. "Blazing" DOES frequently describe the sun on Green Giant Buttress (Dreamer), however. [ETA: In over 25 days of climbing at Three O'Clock Rock, I have yet to get a sunburn there.] If you are looking for "blazing sun," Three O'Clock Rock is NOT where I would go.

I'm just saying that these fees add up. In my opinion, $45.00 is not trivial and it may indeed pose a real barrier in some cases. My main objections to the program lie elsewhere, as you point out.

If you want to go backpacking in Leavenworth for the weekend with two parents and two kids (one night out), and if you drive over the night before and stay in a campground so you can get an early start, and if you pay for trailhead parking and the wilderness permit, and if you do all of this with one car, it will come to something like $45.00.

My buddy drove up the road and cut some bushes off the road a few weeks ago. It oughtta be OK. The trail will be muddy at the start, and there will likely be snow piled up against the base of some or most of the climbs at Three O'Clock Rock. The radar makes it look as if it hasn't rained much or any there today, so it may not be terrible, but I'd plan on some drippy rock. The crag faces NE, so don't expect "blazing" sun. If this isn't enough to dissuade you, you'll probably find something OK to climb.

I have never been a talented ice climber though I do climb waterfalls and I've been climbing alpine routes for many years. I'm not into the latest gear, so take my advice for what it is. You are seeing here that everyone has their own favorite tools based on some nebulous combination of their own climbing preferences, their friends' preferences, and the latest trend in climbing magazine, along with what was on sale when they went to the store. I think Srikland and Glasgow, in particular, have made a couple of good points. For general mountaineering, don't get an ice climbing tool but, on the other hand, the distinction between ice and alpine tools starts to break down if you are going to pursue steep technical routes. (For example, I like my Grivel light machine for waterfalls and a second tool on alpine climbs.) Don't believe the hype about the latest "top shelf" tools, and if you possibly can you should go out and swing the tools for yourself. However, I'd recommend you consider that the performance of a tool on one particular outing in one type of snow or ice conditions does not necessarily indicate how much you will like it elsewhere. Remember, too, that people were indeed climbing very technical alpine routes and even waterfalls with straight-shafed wooden ice axes and 30 cm hammers before any of these modern tools were developed. The fact is, your tool selection is not as important as many people make it out to be. Good tools help, and they make things easier, but they rarely make the difference between success and failure on any given outing.

On Shuksan you might consider the White Salmon Glacier instead of the North Face if you are looking for a moderate climb and maybe a ski route (it is both). Also, you could do an interesting loop around the Summit Pyramid for extra time up high. For Baker, you might look at approaching from the Mount Baker Ski Area for a slightly longer trip. It is five or six miles of highcountry traversing and ski runs to get to the mountain that way, and the NE Ridge or whatever it is would be quite scenic. Niether of these would be 4-day trips (more like 2). The Tahoma Glacier on Mount Rainier might be more of a mini-expedition that could take 4 days. All of these would obviously be very conditions-dependant. You'll have to wait and see what happens in the next week.

You are correct that the routes can be done in a day, JJA, but I wouldn't bandy about the word "easily" without some qualifiers: you've got be be both fit and competent at that level of climbing difficulty. Granted, we're not talking about the North Face of Bear Mountain here, but I bet MOST parties that climb the West Ridge find the approach to the ridge, and the ridge itself, quite challenging; I bet they also find the hike up from the road quite taxing. The West Ridge of Forbidden is an alpine route for novice alpine climbers, and the East Ridge is really no more than that. I'd venture a guess that relatively few of the people interested in this route are either interested in or in any sensible use of the term capable of pulling it off in a single day.

Kurt, at last year's event:

Agreed.

Right on, Snoboy, but most of us just want to go climb the classics that haven't changed in 20 years. Bugaboos

If you are pondering a trip to the Bugaboos, I'd say go for it! There are incredible alpine rock climbs there -- at pretty much all grades (I'm not sure there are any 5.13's). From the "walk-up" 5.4 West Ridge of Pidgeon to the "hard man" 30-pitch mixed routes on Howser, it's all there -- and its all good. Did the photo contest pique your interest?