mattp

Birds are the enemy!

There are nice bivvy spots on the top of Middle Sister, and a bit of a lava tube several hundred feet down the west slope.

MisterE said: And you need a pendulum to prove it.

Ahh, but I think you have it wrong, Mr. E. The mass of Index Town Wall creates a gravitational affect, drawing us to the wall. As you ascend Saggitarius next time you are there, think how much harder it would be without that tiny gravitational force pulling you toward the rock. (This, assuming that the force that is pulling you toward your death remained the same.) The additional gravitational pull created by the rock is our friend!

I'm with the light and cheap school on this question. I don't think there are very many times when the heavier or more expensive one is going to keep you drier, and the fancier ones with tent poles start to weigh nearly as much as a small tent. Cheaper and lighter yet is to skip it altogether. For more than one person, the weight savings as compared to a light weight tent are not all that substantial -- especially when you look at everything else in your pack. If the weather is good, you don't need the bivvy sack and I don't know many people who would take just the bivvy sack when headed out in questionnable weather anyway. Lots of people swear by 'em, but I have never used a bivvy sack in thirty years' climbing. If the weather is fair, I just take a sleeping bag and maybe a headnet and plan to put my feet in a garbage bag or in my pack and pull on a raincoat if it rains.

Actually, the lab was pretty cool when he let me in there for a tour about ten years ago. And, as a slight correction of Colin's post, I should say that he explained to me that it was the fact that it was surrounded by a big mass on ONE side that made the location appropriate as a testing ground for his theories. A pendulum is affected by the gravitational force excerted by Index town wall, as opposed to the flat open land between there and the valley -- it is actually drawn toward the wall. He also said that, after a rainstorm that fills up the puddles outside the cave door, he can measure some countervailing gravitational force in the other direction. Maybe the fifth force is what draws all of us there. The other "story" about the cave is that it was first created when they tested the drill system that was used to dig the "chunnel" between England and France. The story that it is Pope and Dwayner's secret bouldering hideout is absolutely false.

Nice job. It is one of the most beautiful alpine cirques around, and Nooksack Tower is good adventure!

They chopped the bolts? It's not like there's crack pro nearby. Somebody ought to go back up there with glue ins.

Red Square at U.W. There is a cool chimney between two of - what was it? - three? - some number of towers there. An old bolt is visible many feet up the thing.

Well, maybe the rappel from the slings easily visible below the Blueberry Terrace is no better than other options, then. But my questions is: WHY DOES EVERYBODY RAPPEL FROM THERE? This is like the tenth report in the last two months where they bailed from the Terrace. What's up? The top of the Dome is cool, and the rappels from there have the advantages of being very straight forward (notwithstanding a report to the contrary last year) and depositing you right back at the top of the Sidewalk. Do I scare everybody off by noting that there is some run out 5.8 up there or that the first couple raps from the summit are messy??? I'm questionning your manhood (and womanhood) here.

Slow Children is not a chimney.

Ehmmic- Kelly indicated that she would prefer to see people such as yourself register your complaints about a trail/request for maintenance with the "authorities" than to encourage folks to take it upon themself to maintain a trail in the National Park, and I think I may agree with her. Even if they have it "classified" as a "cross-country" route, the trail up to Boston Basin must be one of the most popular trails in the North Cascades National Park (I bet it is in the top 10 because most of the popular trails are in the recreation area, not the park) and THEY should be maintaining it, not a bunch of unsupervised yahoo's with nothing better to do but slash at the trees. If we advocate doing clandestine trail maintainance we are only setting ourselves up for further conflict with the Park Service and I would expect to see more law enforcement and less access rather than a change in park policy regarding the maintenance of this trail. It is too bad you ran into a ranger with a poor attitude. Like Alex, I worked for the Service once upon a time and I remember that we got pretty smug about the dumb things that the visitors did some times. I can well imagine some young or not so young punk thinking you guys must have been idiots and being condescending about it. If this is what happened, they might have joked about it with their friends back at the ranger station but they had no right to be a jerk to you. You should have submitted appropriate comments back at the ranger station when you checked out.

dbb- That sounds like the best way down from the Blueberry Terrace: 4 raps, all with decent ledges, and all straight down, to the big sloping terrace between Rainman and Jacob's Ladder ? Yes, JL, Rainman, and Dark Rhythm all have chains at the stations, but they involve some diagonal rapelling and more of them.

What is it with Washington climbs? Many of them face east. Dreamer faces southeast, so it is a little later before the sun leaves it -- 4:00 or maybe even 5:00. That is a little late to start that climb unless you have the route fully "wired."

Darrington is at low elevation and there is almost no shade on any of the climbs, so the sun can be brutal. But the sun leaves the climbs on 3:00 rock at about 3:00 p.m.

Alex- I agree with you that it is rude and counterproductive to harass individual employees about the NPS or USFS management practices, but it IS satisfying and some times they deserve it. I haven't met a truly offensive law enforcement ranger with a bad attitude in the North Cascades, though I have dealt with ignorant people who were answering the recreation information line and knew nothing about current road/trail/snow/insect conditions and indicated that they did not feel it was their job to know such things (in such instances I have asked them "why the hell are you answering this telephone then?). I think that, when we are talking about Boston Basin, the management plan is counterproductive. I do not see the need to restrict the number of climbers who go to attempt the W. Ridge or NE Buttress Direct on Forbidden Peak, and I think that such quotas needlessly foster an ongoing conflict between climbers and the permit enforcement rangers. However, if they want to control the impact on Boston Basin (and assuming the denuded heather and other widespread human impact is the issue), there should be a hut and a small designated camping area down at or just below timberline and, at least after the snow is gone, nobody should be allowed to camp anywhere else in that basin. I believe such a restriction would do far more to contain impact than a policy of letting a certain number of campers disperse more widely, and I belive it would be more accepted by climbers because it could more easily be seen for what it would be - an attempt to contain impact. I think the "solitude" thing is pure B.S. I've been to Forest Service (yes, I know it wasn't NPS) presentations where they talk about "opportunities for solitude" (I think that is the wording from the Wilderness Act) and they say that people lose their sense of solitude if they see more than 4 other parties in a day. My response was that, even in the most popular areas, there are always opportunities for solitude -- if you are willing to head off the trail or if you are willing to attempt a climb that is not in Jim Nelson's "select" guide. You don't go to Boston Basin for solitude, but you do go there for scenery and the basin would be more secenic without campsits scattered all through it. When it comes to environmental stewardship, I believe the Park Service has a mission that includes some balance between preserving the park for future generations and fostering current recreational use. Any restrictions on backcounry users should, in my opinion, be based on "impact" not "solitude," and I think it is far more imporant what those users do and where they camp than it is how many of them go to a particular location. I think they limit the number of users, however, because it is easier than trying to control what those users do when they get there.

Hakio- Erik is right. If you found the Granite Sidewalk to be too slippery, you could have descended via the woods on either side and there would have been no need to rappel (the woods to the north are slightly more friendly and, if you take the right path, you can get all the way down without getting scratched up). Bolting the granite sidewalk would definitely fly in the face of local ethics and it would deny the adventure for those of us who like sliding down the sidewalk in the rain. Further, I am not sure that even 1/2" bolts would withstand the creeping snow/ice (we think greater forces seem to be applied by slowly creeping masses of snowand ice than actual avalanches).

I somewhat agree with Rod. Even though the tradition of not grabbing "vegetable holds" has long been around in rock climbing, it is often rather contrived to climb around a bush or tree without grabbing it, and one always wonders "what would Trask do here?" It is aid when you hang on gear, not when you grab a clump of grass or something. Having said that, I immediately think of two rather commonly pulled on bushes in Darrington that really are not, in my own contrived view, part of the route: the bush hanging down at the crux step-up move on the second of the two crux pitches on Dreamer, and the "batman bush" on Total Soul. I bet the former was NOT used on the first ascent and I also bet most people who grab that bush do so after first trying to make the move without. The move can be done without the bush, and it is probably the hardest single move of the climb but not much harder than other moves on that pitch and the pitch before. This makes it feel like a resort to "aid" when you grab the bush. As to the Batman Bush - we DID use it on the first ascent and the low hanging branch pushes you off the climb and almost forces you to grab it. I think that the climb would be better off without it but many people have told me to leave it because that move would be too hard without it (I don't think so - I believe the move is no more than 5.9, in the middle of a 5.10 pitch, without using the branch). I generally believe in pruning bushes away from climbs at Darrington because they tend to trap or drop debris and cause rock slimmage, but I said "prune" -- I am not always successful, but I try to do a clean job of it rather than leave a hacked remnant of a formerly proud plant.

I've never heard of anybody being denied a solo permit. I believe they do run accross the Super's desk, though, and that involves some degree of wait. I've gotten them twice, and I think I waited no more than a couple days either time (it was certainly no more than a week). I don't think the solo permit reserves your spot on the route, however, so you may still find yourself playing hide and seek from the rangers if you are determined to run up there on a Saturday on short notice in a good-weather period in the middle of the climbing season... but, in my opinion, the solo permission is really not much of a problem in-and-of-itself. Have fun.

Why not get the permit?

The Forest Service got a lot of letters on the topic, and they never gated or installed water bars on the road, as they had proposed to do. It has deteriorated slightly and is rockier but is pretty much just as driveable as it was 4 years ago.

The Petzold is great, and it leads directly to the Upper Exum. Go for it, Rodchester.

Phil- You said you're going to the Cascades, but intend to "hit up" Squamish. If you're looking for some quick-hit peaks for a taste of the North Cascades, look at Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan for two easy-access peaks not far off the road to Squamish. Both have a variety of routes, and both can be climbed from the Mount Baker Highway out of Bellingham. For Baker, look at the Coleman/Demming route (easier), or the North Ridge (a scenic moderate with one or two short pitches of easy ice climbing). Despite reports to the contrary, both routes will "go" throughout the entire season. For Shuksan, look at the Fischer Chimneys (relatively easy but more complex than either of those routes on Baker), or the North Face (a moderate snow climb that will offer real ice climbing only in the late season, and the only one I mention here that will actually include a little N. Cascades bushwack). For alpine rock, take the Beckey book and head to Washington Pass. In that same area, you might also climb Silver Star Mountain via Burgundy Col/Silver Star Glacier for a glaciated peak climb if the weather is questionable enough that Baker and Shuksan look no good but not bad enough to abandon mountain climbing hopes altogether. If you are over there and the weather craps out totally, you could probably still find some doable sport climbs down in the Methow Valley nearby (one pitch or six - eight pitch climbs on a larger wall) Skip Mount Rainier unless that is the beacon that calls you from afar. I don't mean to suggest that it isn't very cool -- I have climbed and very much enjoyed six different routes on it -- but I think Shuksan or Baker offer more bang for the buck if you are looking for a "taste of the NW." Stop at the Mountain Equipment Coop on your way through Vancouver. If you want to take a scenic hike on one of the days you are up in BC, you might consider driving an hour and a half further up the road, and going to Joffre Lakes Provincial Park for a stroll up to Upper Joffre Lake. It is a short and crowded hike, but it is pretty cool. There are hot springs in the area if you like that kind of thing, but those that are easy to get to can be either a mess, crowded, or both. Consider a sidetrip out to the W. Coast of Vancouver Island. It is worth it. -Matt

Sorry Kiwi, but I too give it a I don't know what you ate, but my burger was as good as most any bar food except some of those fern places that have been soundly rejected by this crew. Yes, the guy was a little overwhelmed and at times he could not be flagged down very easily. But I only had to wait ten minutes for my food, and that was no worse than what I remember from, say, the Ballroom or Owl and Thistle -- and the guy was friendly about it. Virtually no smoke problem either.

Don't sweat it, marylou. Like I said, they have the back room or whatever it is reserved for us. We won't be right there next to the big screen TV with all the smokers. Please do your part and leave your smokes at home, and everything will be just fine.