mattp

quote: Originally posted by Greg W: 90 minutes max. You drivin' a Ferrari?

Two hours, fourteen minutes. Don't ask whether it is better to take highway 2 or I-90, 'cause we could have a day-long flame war on this topic, I'm sure.

Alpine Tom: I'm not meaning to be overly snide here, as I often use those books for reference. However, they aren't much help when planning a true wilderness/off trail trip like what JJ appears to have in mind. If his map-reading skills are high-caliber, he will probably find relatively little information in the hiking guidebooks that he can't gleam from a topo map, but if nothing else they will serve as a useful reference guide to which trails will be crowded. Start with "100 hikes for Children: or whatever it is (most heavily used), then look at "100 hikes" and "Don't Waste Your Time" and see which have enticing pictures in the book and are relatively close to the road (next most crowded), and then see those that are somehow omitted from these books (uncrowded), and then look at a map and examine a trail-less valley like McAllister Creek (unless it is on the way to a climb highlighted in one of Jim Nelson's books, you'll probably be all by yourself even it is nice weatheron July 4th weekend). I doubt the hiking books have anything even close to the McAllister Glacier in them; for that, Beckey would provide some useful approach information.

Nice photo!!

I'm not scared. I have electric socks and forty below mittens. Bring it on.

The guy WAS awesome and he was very encouraging early in my climbing career. His climb with Tom Hornbein on Everest was one of the coolest things in climbing history and he was an incredible story teller and a master at group dynamics – so much so that he could steer a crowd in just about any direction he wanted. He had a throng of starry eyed followers we used to call "Willie Worshippers" and it was a little pathetic at times, but I never saw him take advantage of his power over his admirers and with groups of students he routinely set out to show them just how pathetic such blind adoration really was by setting up a situation where they would eventually figure out that he was assigning them a completely ridiculous task and that they had signed up for it without questioning him. While I thought his motives for this kind of thing were pretty unassailable, there were those who thought he was manipulative. Roskelly criticized him for being reckless in the mountains, and this may be so -- arguably he was responsible for his daughter's death and that of a student who died along with him on Mount Rainier because they might not have put theirselves in those situations had he not had that same power over people that created his cult following. But they guy was inspirational to a lot of people, and I can't say that if I follow some charismatic person up a mountain that it is their fault I'm there.

By the way -- that rime makes fun climbing but it is not all that secure and in about 16 pitches of exposed climbing we found one solid anchor. At the gendarme just below midway on the route (some parties continue on the crest but most rappel to the N.) we chopped the ice away far enough to be sure we had the cord around some rock and not just rime. Screws and pickets were pretty much a joke and the most secure anchors were to be had by hacking a hole in the surface and sitting in it.

quote: Originally posted by Alex: Paul, even Cle Elum is a long drive for an after-work beer! Alex Maybe if we had an "auxilliary" pub club meeting on a Friday night, Cle Elum might be more convenient. Or perhaps a Saturday night in Leavenworth. Oh wait ... somebody's already planning that.

Dru, They have reached a higher state of civilization back east. They exterminated all the snaffelhounds over a hundred years ago and they eat Rueben Sandwiches for lunch. You probably wouldn't like it there.

quote: Originally posted by kelz: Is it kewl for just anyone to show up at z rope-up? That's the whole point of it. Show up, meet people, climb.

Jason- It won't be mountaineering, but show up at ropeup and I bet we can get you on something with a couple of pitches to it.

TG: I don't know whether it is "really all that bad" or not but that would certainly depend (among other things) on what you are comparing it to. However, it has been known as a classic climb for thirty years, and I believe that everybody who has ever come back and said they enjoyed the climb did it when it was fully rimed. Wayne may be right that there are better routes nearby, but Yokum Ridge IS a great climb in the right conditions and I find it hard to believe that the scenery and location could be any better on Illumination or any of the other Hood routes. And I would agree with Wayne that a pineapple express would help the route -- if it didn't cause the rime to fall off.

You'll be on your own, I'm afraid, as far as guidebooks are concerned. The Beckey book is probably your best bet, though. [ 10-15-2002, 11:59 AM: Message edited by: mattp ]

jj- I tried that as my first trip into the North Cascades, thinking that on the map it looked like some real cool wilderness and also thinking that, because I had hiked "off trail" in the Tetons and the Sierras, I could drag my friends "off trail" in the Cascades. We went in via Newhalem Creek and made it to Stout Lake before we lost momentum. We had a great trip, and climbed some fun rock scrambles on three little peaks south of Stout Lake, but I still haven't been to the McAllister Glacier. I bet you could get into upper McAllister creek from there more easily than hiking directly up McAllister Creek, but all-in-all it would probably be easier to come in via the Eldorado approach.

With the moon at full, I'm thinking a moonlight climb might be in order. I don't know whether I'll be able to make it Friday night or not, but I figure the moon would be on Midway by, say, 10:00 p.m. ...

Mike - This was NOT the weekend to be in the 'Gunks but if you get the chance to head there when it is sunny out, it is a MUST GO. It has friendly rock with the coolest overhang climbs around, and almost all the climbs are extremely well-protected without bolts. You can get excited at all grades from 5.2 to 5.13, and you can walk to the climbs on a flat roadbed. There are litterally hundreds of high-quality routes there.

Tramp, I may be able to go. Any other Ballard denizen? How 'bout any NE Seattlites (I'm a post-Ballard expat now)?

Went to the 'Gunks for three days of wet weather. The highlight of our trip was climbing Shockley's Ceiling in the dark with water running down it. It is a truly spectacular climb, named for a four foot roof, followed by a vertical corner and another step around an overhang, rated 5.5 or 5.6. They don't make 'em like that around here! Here's a photo I found with Google: [ 10-15-2002, 11:11 AM: Message edited by: mattp ]

The Presidential Range in the winter is awesome. One day I was on Mount Adams when the wind was so strong that we were blown accross the slope, in little "hops," while just sitting down. We had to use our ice axes to claw our way back to timberline so we could rejoin the party back at Grey Knob (I think it may have been New Year's Eve or something). This was over thirty years ago. If you want to join us in the Gunks this weekend, look for the old guys with helmets on.

quote: Originally posted by freeclimb9: wired cuz that's the way they're made these days. Yeah, but I think Retrosaurus has a point about why this may be so...at least in the larger sizes.

Talk to David Schuldt.

I am not a bike rider, and my bike has two flat tires. But I might just fire the thing up and ride to White River for a memorial like this.

Right on, Jay. I knew you could control that guy. But how are we going to tell him from the impersonators?

Tex - You probably know this but I would suggest that you don't even consider the route if the choss is still in sight. It is rime ice you're looking for on Yocum Ridge. Aim for late winter (like maybe March or April), wait for it to be fully coated, and don't go for it on a warm day. In the right conditions, the route is quite enjoyable and not all that hard. In the wrong conditions, it can be a horror show. - Matt [ 10-10-2002, 06:16 PM: Message edited by: mattp ]

I didn't mean to suggest I won't be there. My bride and I are going to head up the peace and love circle where sport climbers and trad climbers alike can sit around and say nothing but positive things and express their appreciation for each other. I was just hoping that our prayers for unity could be broadcast over the 'net so the message might take hold on desktops near and far. [ 10-10-2002, 06:04 PM: Message edited by: mattp ]