mattp

About ten years ago I went with a large group to enjoy some fun in the sun at Green Lakes over Memorial Day weekend (I highly recommend this as a destination for turns and tanning) and the road was in a similar state: fully plowed but gated. Being law abiding citizens, we set off on foot to walk down the road to the Fall Creek trailhead. One of our buddies, however, hadn't shown up and about an hour later, when we were almost to the trailhead, the guy shows up in his car. In his CAR -- what?? It turned out that some grey-haired RV drivers wearing jump suits had a pair of bolt cutters and they had decided it was time to open the gate at Dutchman Flat.

Bring the pig to the next pub club and all will be forgiven.

On the other hand, I've climbed Backbone when there was still plenty of snow on the face (it was the first week of May on a moderate snow year)and there was in fact very little snow on the route but just enough so drinking water was no problem.

An old college buddy and I went to ski up in Glacier Basin on this spring weekend (May 18-19) with a forecast for rain showers. At 4:20 on Saturday afternoon, we left the car in a gentle rain. There was about 3 feet of snow at the parking lot at Barlow Pass. We quickly got tired of taking our skis on and off and we didn't want to trash our skins on the road, so we just carried them into the Monte Cristo townsite, stumbling along in the slushy snow. At cocktail hour, we found a dry patch of ground on which to set up camp in the townsite, although the area was pretty solidly covered in 4 feet of snow. At bedtime, a mouse kept trying to climb into my sleeping bag. On Sunday, we skinned up and over the hump below Willman's Spires, and then on up the Glacier Basin headwall to a col between Monte Cristo and Cadet Peak. I climbed up higher for a view, but my buddy made it clear that this was as far as he wanted to go, so I took in the view: Glacier Peak rose up into the clouds to the NE, and the Chiwaukums did the same to the SE, but the peaks to the W, all the way out to Three Fingers, stood proud and tall. In the basin, some water ice lingered on the cliffs below Willman's Peak, and enough snow was plastered to the NW face of MonteCristo itself that it would make a moderate snowclimb right now if you could catch it when frozen. Even though it was a cloudy day, enough snow filtered through and it was warm enough to trigger avalanches from cliffs on all sides of Glacier Basin, and we sat there for a bit, watching the show. After enjoying a couple of runs in VERY slushy snow with large but very slow surface slides accompanying every turn, we headed back to retrieve our luggage and slog out to the car. Skis were more useful on the way out the Monte Cristo road than we had found them on the way in. View of Wilman's Peak, Wilman's Spires, Del Campo Peak, and Vesper Peak; Doug Swan skiing:

Fiddler's Inn, at 9219 35th Ave Ne, Seattle, WA 98115.

Unlike Peter, I enjoyed your trip report. And congrats on the traverse. Way to go, Alpine K!

Big packs will slow you down, but the camping is pretty damn nice there in the vicinity of that notch just above timberline -- and its a great place to watch a sunset.

I don't know about the autoblock, but I'm with those who say you don't want to make an automatic habit out of tying knots into the ends of the rope -- especially if you are on less than vertical terrain, and if the rock has crack and flakes sytems and if there is any wind... If I'm worried about rapelling off the end of the rope, like when rapelling completely unknown terrain where I can't see the cliff below, I sometimes set the rappel as normal, threaded and ready to pull, and then tie it off with an extra knot on a bight clipped to the anchor so that the rope cannot pull through. The first climber rappels on a single line, with a belay on the other, and then both lines are down so the second simply unties that extra knot and proceeds as normal. The first climber can tie the ends to the anchor as deemed necessary. [ 05-20-2002, 01:59 PM: Message edited by: mattp ]

Jules - Are you and the pup gonna be at Pub Club tomorrow night?

Bronco is right about the road to Monte Cristo. The entire road is snow covered except for a few patches here and there, and there is a pile of avalanche debris to cross right near the start. Its about 3' deep but patchy at Barlow Pass, and at Monte Crosto townsite there is a solid 4' of snow.

No talus showing in the approach gully right now.

Nobody has seen fit to object, so how's about we make ChucK's dream come true: a Northeast Seattle pub club. Fiddler's Inn, at 9219 35th Ave Ne, Seattle, WA 98115. Slightly "ferny," says ChucK, but otherwise it is everything you ever asked for in a pub club venue. Well-behaved (and leashed) dogs are welcome in the outdoor beer garden, so Holly and Eddie can bring their animals for all to admire. Directions: Take the Lake City exit from I-5, and follow Lake City Way (State Route 522) just over one mile, to 95th Street Northeast (the turn can be difficult to spot, it comes as you go down a hill and there is some kind of auto repair shop on the corner). Proceed right (east) on 95th Street NE, .7 miles to 35th Avenue NE. Turn right (south) and drive about a block -- the Fiddler's Inn is on the corner on the right.

Allison, I sort of agree that there is really no need to figure it out before Monday, but for some people it IS important to know in advance -- I know it is lame, but there are those who will attend if it is in their neighborhood but will not if it is to be accross town. And some of these people may have to coordinate with a spouse or work or something else. I don't know what Fred's issue is, exactly, but he wrote that "I don't have time to check the internet all day on Tuesdays." Speaking for myself, I can be flexible about the location but I think it is lame that some people seem to WAIT until the last minute to make their arguments -- as if they couldn't anticipate on, say Friday May 17, that they objected to going to the Fiddler's Inn on Tuesday, May 21. Is there something wrong with picking a place and sticking with it and waiting a week or two if you want to promote a different location?

I have one and I like it, although I have other options and due to the nature of the trips that I take I usually seem to carry either a tarp or a bonafide mountain tent. I think the Flashlight is a good mosquito-proof option for two, but it is very small and my girlfriends have been unanimous in their dislike for the cramped quarters (what -- is it my breath or something???). Take her to the store and "try it on."

Where is officer Larry when you need him?

Juan, you finally come to a pubclub, and most of us missed you because pubclub blew up that night. Tell your wife you're obligated to show up again this week and you can thank him yourself (that is, if we can select a place with enough advance warning so he can put it on his calendar).

It looks like everybody wants to go to the Fiddler's Inn.

Trask - Is that a new feature? In the past, I've had to place images on my web page and insert the URL for the image between those tags. I think the reasons for this may have to do with (1) space is limited on the server for web host and (2) allowing users to download files directly may risk virus contamination. Matt

I have descended that route and I can't say for sure but I doubt you will need a detailed route description. The climbing is not all that technically difficult and I believe the route would be mostly pretty obvious, though I don't mean to suggest it is not a serious climb. Bring all your mountain skills, and be prepared for a long climb, but I would expect Nelson's description to be adequate. In my opinion, Nooksack Tower is one of the coolest things around and it is one of the most difficult peaks to descend in Washington.

Squamish for Saturday and Sunday (Environment Canada): Chance of showers; low 6°C; high 15.

I'm not questionning Colin, but just for fun I'll point out that this particular climb has a history with at least one prior report being doubted. Jim Nelson was after it for several years, but I believe the first winter ascent was completed by George Sherrit and a Canadian partner whose name I don't remember. Some couldn't believe the report because the team apparently lacked the proper "resume" for such a venture.

You can't always get what you want ... but if you try sometimes -- you can have beer with your friends. I'm just begging for mercy, because without the calm guidance of SayJay, I'm afraid we could blow it again -- just when it looked as if PubClub might survive the trauma of weeks past.

I have faith that nobody is going to be an idiot about this and once we have settled on a place we are going to stick with it but new ideas will be put on the table for next week or the week after. Is that faith misplaced?

Last week, we talked about how it is yet again going to te a "Seattle" week. ChucK has been advocating for Fiddlers, Sean votes for the Alki, Sara had someting else in mind, and there has been some talk of an outdoor pubclub. Where's it going to be? That Beckey person is wanting an answer again -- and he has again suggested to me that any self-respecting bunch of beer guzzlers ought to know that you can't just make these important plans at the last minute.

Sorry Alex. You're right: I don't know the home addresses of all who post. I should have stated "where no CC.Com posters have ever suggested that we have pub club."