jshamster

...and we thought we were all alone on the North Rib. Saw a party of two on NEB, that's it. Great couple of days out.

Thanks for the info Dru. Just to add, the Nesakwatch road is driveable past the parking area with h/c 4X4, but doesn't really help to drive farther. Park at the old trailhead/spur road. Right now there is only one sign, at the parking. Go up Nesakwatch road for approx. 10 min. and look for the ORANGE tape on the right. There is a ton of tape on every tree conceivable, but the trail is the only one with ORANGE tape. After that it is very easy to follow the new trail to where is connects with the standard Slesse east side trail. The Nesakwatch Creek is crossed on a perfect log bridge.

Any info on current conditions? Still crossable? Huge ice chunks raining down on the passerby? Any info appreciated. Jimbo

I have the Whitelaw CDrom guide. Fantastic artwork and local knowledge. The scale in the topos is a bit skewed, but the features are very recognizable. We actually weren't sure where the first pitch was until we realized that we had soloed the 5.5 variation thingy. Seems to me that pitches 2-5 are the real deal anyway. My buddy & I thought that the grades were spot on with what DW has in the guide. Rainman is a great mix of different climbing styles, and I highly recommend it. Cheers, Jimbo

Hi Matt & Trog. My buddy & I were on Rainman on Sunday. Thanks for the confirmation on where the route started. Great day out!

If ya want to spend some time up there, the bivy 100 yds. from the start of the route is killer. Great climb!

Yeah, we were off to the right. The buttress crest likely has better rock. Because of all of the loose rock we encountered, I am having a hard time saying, "Go do this route!" But, it may be much better sticking to the line of first ascent. Anyway, it was still a grand adventure that I'm stoked we did.

Set of hybrid aliens #00 & #0 TCU Green to Orange + clear? aliens #.5 to #5 camalot + 'nother #2 Purple 4CU One set HB offset nuts #6 & up Nine shoulder length runners w/wiregates 6 or 8 quickdraws one double shoulder length + one cordolette one 60m 9.6mm rope Oh yeah, nice job Forrest & Dan on the first ascent.

Climb: Mt. Hardy-Disappearing Floor Date of Climb: 7/5/2005 Trip Report: Frostytradman & I climbed the NEB of Mt. Hardy on Tuesday. From the only description we had, Nelson's Selected I, this climb looked right up our alley. Multipitch, alpine, 5.10 range & doable car-to-car. Cool. We left the car at 4:45am, wanting light for the entire approach. The approach is very chill. An easy two hours to a col, another 1.5 hours to the base. The bottom few pitches are moderate, and we simul-climbed the first few hundred feet left of a large gully. From this point until the upper headwall pitches I am not really sure if we were on route. I think we found the 'obvious chockstone,' but who knows? Anyway, we definately missed the 'improbable traverse,' and the 4th class traverse of p.9. Instead, first I, and then frosty, wrestled with a series of chossy, loose mantels. Frosty finally pulled through only to face 35' of unprotected face climbing to a mantel onto a ledge covered in 6 inches of kitty litter! I'll let frosty go into more detail, but it was fucking nuts. This did put us directly under the 5.10a corner of p.10. Now we knew we were on route at least! The next few pithces consisted of the meat of the technical climbing, and we hoped to eliminate the aid used on the first ascent. Alas, the cracks are still filled with mud, and required much cleansing to hold both pro & body parts. The 5" offwidth pitch is by far the most solid rock on the route, and great fun. Given more time I would have liked to take a crack at the 8" crack above. By the time we reached the top of the butress we were both mentally fried from route finding & constant loose rock. Weather was threatening at this point, and we hurridly simuled across the knife edged ridge to the summit. The exposure on either side of the ridge didn't even register, it was just time to be done. A quick tag of the summit, a pic, and we were out. An easy traverse back to the col, and the rest of our gear, and we finally felt like we could let our gaurd down a bit. Yeah, right. We lost daylight about halfway down the wooded rib leading to the road. After that we lost the ridge, ended up in a draingage, and took 3 hours to reach Hwy. 20, the car, and beers. In the end we found all of the adventure we were looking for, and then some. Character building is a great description. We found absolutely no trace of anyone else on the face, and left only one fixed nut. Gear Notes: Large alpine rack to 5". Used #5 camalot often. One rope. If you wanna bail you probably want two. Approach Notes: Easy offtrail approach. Don't loose the rigeline on the decent.

Day trip from S.F.=Lover's Leap!!! It's not the shortest of days, but well worth it. I also had a great time at the Consumnes River Gorge, but my guess is it's gettin' pretty hot. Sorry...no knowledge of SE Asia. Jimbo

Shweeeet!! What happened to my midroute phone call? Glad you guys had a good time. I'll be back from Ontario in a few days to join the fun. Jimbo

Yeah Alan, I'm still a miniwsnker too. Who knows with this board? Anyway, I originally posted this just because I thought that, though it doesn't run with my ideas on climbing, it is a pretty awesome accomplishment at age 20. Have fun y'all, Jimbo.

Was up there a couple of weeks ago, and was way too much soft snow. 1. Road was still gated about 5 miles before Phelps creek trailhead. We hiked it anyway for some reason. 2. Snow started about 1/2 way to Leroy creek cutoff on Phelps creek trail. Super steep part on Leroy snow free. Much snow after reaching Leroy basin. 3. Slide activity rampant on all aspects, at all elevations above Leroy basin. Regular descent from Maude to Leroy basin a timebomb waiting for someone to set it off. 4. Seven Fingered Jack easily climbed via soft snow and a 300 yd. neve gully to final easy snow field. Better views than Maude a couple of years ago when WA was burning down. Any more questions, let me know. Jimbo

I seem to recall the Chilliwack variation to be the faster. And it's pretty.

Amidst weddings and helicopter landings: http://news.bellinghamherald.com/stories/20050603/TopStories/248025.shtml

Hey frosty, that was a pretty nice whip on to a slider nut on 3rd Pillar of Dana a couple of years back!

I spent a week at Schurman & climbed the Emmons in June and had absolutely no probs with my Trango S boots. Granted, sleeping in the ranger hut might have had something to do with comfort level, but my feet were never cold climbing high on the mountain. Just wear good socks and have fun.

Cool. Thanks for the word,and the bolt replacement! Any other input is appreciated.

DCramer or anyone else, any useful beta for Sonic Reducer @ Index? Does it need extensive cleaning? Are the bolts all old & scary, or ok? I want to start working on this soon, and will try ground up if bolts will take many falls. If not, then will go for TR rehearsal until doable or I get frustrated go home. Does anyone ever climb this route? Thanks for any info. Jimbo

The bicycle will not be needed after next week. Most excellent!! Is the forest service doin' the fixin', or locals?

Hey frosty, you're givin' away my secrets! Seriously though, the running downhill does work. I find it is key to go down & sideways if possible in order to get tension in the cord as soon as possible. Doesn't always work if there is no sideways. Slabs are oh so much more fun if you know you can fall without the cheese grater effect. I will be back in the B'ham and Snohomish area Monday or Tuesday, so if anyone is looking to go play on slabs at Squamish, D'town (with bicycle), or Static give me a shout. I have the entire month of May work free!! Jimbo

West Marine just about anywhere in Puget Sound area. Tacoma included.

Superfly's do fall apart, but they are still my favorite approach/climbing shoe. Very light and comfy. Even though mine are coming apart, the sole is still attatched to the laces, and I still use them. Well worth it for the discontinued price I've seen.

Thanks for the info. (and spellcheck) I have found reference to the Ice Pit, but could not find contact info, or location. PM the contact if you don't mind. Munising sounds good as well. I checked out climbingcentral.com, but had a hard time telling where some of the areas are. Thanks again.

I'm going to be in Sturgeon Bay, WI, working, for three weeks. Anyone know about ice climbing in the area? The north shore of Lake Superior looks too far. Anything on the south shore, or closer to the Green Bay area? Thanks for any info.