mattp

Bronco- Did you start in the gully/chimney system at the right edge of the face? Your description of "a 100' traverse followed by two short pitches to the ridge" sounds just about like the route proper. -Matt

Monroe sounds OK to me. C'mon, Erik, your house aint that dirty, is it?

http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/index/roadmap.gif

Most boulders west of the crest, and below timberline, are covered with moss. Check out Icegirl's pictures at http://staff.washington.edu/ljames/boulder.html You might have fun out on the coast, or at high elevations in the mountains, or on the start of a (scrubbed or popular) rock climb. Otherwise, you will probably want to head east.

Have you ever been to the Sunshine Wall at Vantage?

I think it boils down to a question about what you want. For me, the Canadian Alpine Journal and the American Alpine Club Journal hold more interest because they report climbs that I can really get excited about more often than do the glossy mags with the broader commercial appeal, and that commercial appeal is itself something that I can be disdainful of at times. However, those "other" magazines do present a nice, entertaining, fifteen-minute picture of a destination or a climb that can be almost as easy to digest as watching TV and sometimes that is exactly what I want. The editing and the production that goes into those magazines is not without its effect: when I read one of the "inspirational" articles, I will be inspired, and when I read the "tech tips" column, I will quickly get a picture of a technique that may or may not be useful -- but in five minutes I know what it is and I could probably go out and duplicate it tomorrow. Now, when it comes to "the 10 best packs for alpine climbs" or some such thing, I believe those magazines are totally worthless. Or, "this is how you should plan your trip to Red Rocks" – give me a break. More often than not, the reviewers base their opinion on carrying the damn packs for ONE DAY, and the guy telling you how to "do" Redrocks has never been there but his buddy has a guide business that teaches basic rock climbing or something. If you read a glossy ad-filled magazine for serious information about any topic you probably don't know a lot about the subject matter or you just aren't all that serious, but if you read it because you are interested in the subject matter, and the magazine might happen to be entertaining and occasionally informative – well, that's why we subscribe to magazines, isn't it?

I in part agree and in part disagree with Philfort. Philfort is right that in April/May there comes a time every year when the snow goes "isothermic" so that, in many areas, you may be wallowing up to your hips or even eyeballs, and this condition can persist for several weeks. And he is right that the rock climbs will largely be pretty snowy still. However, even when large parts of the Cascades may be unfavorable, you may find good conditions at higher altitudes or lower ones, on the south aspects instead of the north, or maybe -- as Philfort suggested -- on the east side of the range as opposed to the west. Rainier is always open, and both Glacier Peak and Baker are often both accessible and very enjoyable at that time of year. They are commonly climbed by ski mountaineers in the Spring, not so much because of the deep snow but because the glaciers are filled in at that time of year (more often than not, after about April 15 or May 1, I carry skis up the hill and ride them down-hill only on firm snow). Shuksan and Silver Star are also common Spring destinations because the roads are open to the trailheads, and I believe Jim Nelson recommends April/May as potentially being the best time of year for the Stuart Glacier Couloir, and the Snow Gulch route on Whitehorse. Spring weather is often unstable, and the conditions are generally more difficult to assess than they are during the middle of the Summer, but the days are long, deep snow covers the brush and the talus, and there's good fun to be had.

Actually, that photo IS the top of the CMC--unless I had the wrong couloir. The couloir in the photo is the couloir that drops from the N. Peak of Cannon Mountain, about 1 1/4 miles NNE of the main summit and, as Mr. K said, it is the couloir that you "can't miss" when you look up from the bridge at Bridge Creek C.G. When I took the picture, I was standing on the cornice directly above the throat of the top of the couloir, and my buddy KJ was looking at where we were about to drop in, about 30 yards west, where the cornice was (on that day) a little smaller.

Thanks, but how much snow was there down at the trailhead? That would serve as some kind of indicator for other trips in the area. Cannon Mountain Couloir is, I agree, an excellent run, and I agree that BIG DROPS RULE. I am wondering about trying some other things in the area, such as Peak 7550 above Lake Stuart or Cashmere Mountain. By the way, here is a picture of the drop in at the top of the Couloir. -Matt

Are young trees yet starting to crowd the woods in the burn? How deep was the snow down at the Mountaineer Creek trailhead -- enough to comfortabley ski through the woods at that elevation?

I have an old Salewa alpine hammer that I found on Mt. Athabasca in 1980, and it has served me well when I wanted to being a second tool but did not plan to do any extended ice climbing. Mostly, however, I have used it as a crack-cleaning tool. I recently bent it trying to use it as a crow-bar, when removing a bolt. But the metal is soft enough that I don't think it is severly weakend and I intend to straighten it out so that I can get another twenty years out of it.

quote: Originally posted by Matt: just a casual Thursday in Mt. Rainer National Park to soothe my soul and make me feel human again. Didn't we just come back from the coast range on Sunday? You must be one inhuman dude.

I have heard it said that a one-day ascent is beneficial because you can get up and back down before your blood chemistry is drastically altered by the effects of altitude exposure, but you are the first person I have ever heard to postulate that for minimizing alitude sickness a 2 day ascent might be better than 3 or 4 (did I understand you right - is that what you suggested?). I have made two 4-day climbs of the mountain and on both occasions I greatly enjoyed the trip and we summited with energy to spare. I have also climbed the mountain on 3-day and 2-day itineraries, and the effects of altitude, dehydration, and exhaustion were more pronounced with less time spent on the mountain. I haven't tried the 1-day marathon push. Aside from the issue of altitude sickness, I believe the climb is more enjoyable if one has time to thoroughly rest up, eat, and hydrate prior to the summit push and this will generally though not necessarily be easier with a longer itinerary.

Are you sure? Both Skoog and Andalkar, who have put some effort into researching this point, indicate 198o was the first ski descent. Perhaps there is some disctinction between a ski descent and a complete (uninteruppted) ski descent or something -- do you knkow the details of Robinson et al's descent? Does anybody know more about Jimmy Katz's descent?

I don't believe that particular descent has been repeated. The ridge has been skied several times, however, and while Lowell Skoog lists a 1980 descent as the first, it was an early 1980's descent by Jimmy Katz (I think that was his name), who I believe skied the route on telemark gear, that really caught my attention at the time. I don't know what kind of gear he had, but at about that time I was using Karhu XCD's (double camber) and leather boots that feel like moccasins compared to today's telemark boots. If he used gear anything like that to ski Liberty Ridge, he was one talented guy!

Some corporate art piece that my landlord is very proud of, a picture of my grandfather that was taken by Ansel Adams, a diploma, a picture of Mt. Shuksan and Nooksack Tower from the NE, and a picture of the W. Buttress of South Houser that was taken from near the base of the route. I also have an old 1/4" x 3/4" bolt sitting on my windowsill, along with a miniature "Hattie's Hat" from their grand opening a few years back.

Last weekend, Matt Heller and I were asked for "proof of citizenship" (passport or birth certificate) heading into Canada. We did not have them, and he let us through but said "bring them next time." As to the line-up, all you have to do is to come and go after about 10:00 p.m. and there is rarely ever a line.

My truck was stolen a few years back, and it was soon abandoned in an alley on Capitol Hill. It was then use as a homeless shelter for over three weeks. Talk about smelly! Meanwhile, I got three parking tickets because I guess it was in somebody's way and they kept calling parking enforcement, but nobody bothered to run the plates and the person putting the tickets on my windshield failed to notice that the door lock was punched out and the steering column was broken.

Yes, Marek, but I believe the approach to and from Ipsut Creek is shorter than hiking in from the Crystal Mountain cutoff. I haven't measured it on the map, but even if you were to climb the route and descend the Winthrop, the total distance would still probably be less than hiking in from the Crystal Mountain cutoff and then descending to Paradise. This, of course, depends on being able to drive reasonably close to Ipsut Creek. [ 01-17-2002: Message edited by: mattp ]

I just found it much easier to downclimb the route - even in the middle of the season I simply walked down all but about 300 feet of it - and I climbed to Liberty Cap and was back at Thumb Rock before any of the parties with big packs made it to the top of the route. I agree that there are other ways to approach it, but in my climbs of Mount Rainier, getting up and back down the mountain with energy and time to spare has generally been my paramount goal and, I think, a significant safety factor. There may be routes or reasons to carry over, I am just saying that the total disregard of downclimbing Liberty Ridge as a reasonable alternative is what I find misguided.

Why wouldn't you descend the same way you climbed up? I have never understood the "carry over" as a standard game plan for Liberty Ridge. As a general rule, I don't think one should climb up the route if they aren't going to be comfortable climbing down it in the event that they are not successful or something goes wrong, and if they are comfortable with the downclimb I would thikn it safer to do the route with a lighter pack so as to get up and back down off the mountain faster. Sure, there may be some people who can safely climb up the route but do not want to descend that way, but a descent back down Liberty Ridge is worth considering.

quote: Originally posted by philfort: Caveman, judging by the way you seemingly dismiss devils club as a big problem, it's obvious you haven't ever had to deal with *real*, *manly* devils club. Maybe you're mixing it up with gooseberries or something I find travelling through Devil's Club often easier than Slide Alder or Slide Maple. Though it is nasty stuff, it doesn't grow so thick you have to fight for every inch forward.

Zippy monkey boy can probably speak for himself, but I can assure you, he is real. Go try one of his routes on Squire Creek Wall some time.

Its been said already, but I'll add my vote for the Aliens because they are light, they fit anywhere a small camming unit is going to fit, and the flexible stem is good in horizontal placements. Some of my partners don't trust them, however, because the flexible stem makes them feel less solid (to them) than a Metolious unit. Also already noted is the fact that they get sticky faster than other units, and while I have gotten used to it, it can be a problem. On this last point, what do you guys recommend for cleaning and lubricating them? I've been sticking them in boiling water, squeezing the trigger in and out, and then treating them with tri-flow. This works OK, but I wonder if there is a better method.

This is completely off topic, but just for grins you should test a picket sometime (maybe you already have). Place one as you normally would, and clip the rope to it. Then have a couple of buddies help pull on it. In most NW snow conditions, I believe you will find that pickets are not very strong, though they are better if placed horizontally.