fredrogers

Doug- what are you saying RIP? Do you know more than what is in the media?

Yup. The Noth Cascades have a nice coating of fresh today. Mt. Gardner looks pretty again.

I liked the Charmoz, they just aren't all that durable- I blew them out in a season and a half. I like the Triolets and have yet to make a dent in them after 2 seasons. I also bought a pair of Garmont Vetta lights this year and I love them- super lightweight, but definitely not super waterproof. You might also try the Garmont Towers- probably more hat you are looking for. I have wide flat feet and all of them have fit me well.

nothing but dirt, loose rock and goat poop at the moment. I've been up the route a few times recently and the first pitch stays in the shade until after 10 AM- chilly. FYI- there is a new bolted rap station for the second rap (you no longer use the poor tree). Have fun.

Funny. I ran into the same Matt at Fred's Lake on Friday night in my own shameless summit whoring- you did much better than me with angry knees forcing me to settle for Oscelola and a recon of Rollo. I'd go with spring steel legs. From our conversation, sounds like he gets out a lot. Super nice guy.

Yes. You can buy it at the Mazama Store, or in town at Trail's End bookstore. You can also pick up topos for Sisyphus outside the North Cascades Mountain Guides office in Mazama. But you should consider buying the book and help support Brian Burdo and all his work (along with a few other locals).

FWIW both lots are frequently patrolled by the Forrest Service looking for those evil parking pass violators. just get an early start and you should be fine. snow at 7,500' on Mt Gardner today.

I asked Scott for some more beta on tis myself. I know they approached via the Mudhole lake trail (small user trail accessed a short way up the Cedar Creek trail). He said it was a slog but didn't think there would be a better way to do it. You can email the North Cascades Mountain Guides office and they can put you in touch with him (I don't think Larry or Scott are on this site much).

Pfft to the haters. I love to see the pics if even it's a route with plenty of TRs- the one of Dragontail in the lake was sublime.

fun. 20-30 min approach. I usually skip the first "pitch" and scramble up the gully to the left (you won't miss any good climbing). you can link p 2-3 w a 60M. With a 70M you can link many of them. I take a mix of draws and runners (nice on the wandering pitches). Just one 60 M rope to get off. Tho' 13 or so raps. Take your approach shoes with you- you will want them for the scramble and the descent.

I just went in the Chewuch from 30 mile TH to the Mt. Remmel area. First 5-6 miles have a lot of blow down from the fires- no show stoppers, just takes a little time. Once you are past Basin Creek (about 6 miles) you are more or less home free. FWIW the Forrest Service is starting to clear the trail this week. You will want sandals for the 3-4 fords you will have to do.

Hey Marc- Nice way to graduate... as it were. From an middling old duffer, it's inspiring to see you getting after it. Continue to be safe. Looking forward to many years of TR's to come.

FYI- the approach to Glacier is now 12 miles of road hiking to the TH, Then the standard long ass approach.

I have climbed Shuksan many times (mostly by the Sulphide) and agree with the previous posts that the glacier will be quite dry/icy by September- on a normal year. We had a low snow year in the N Cascades this winter and my guesstimate is that it will be "worse" than normal earlier than normal this year. I have done the East Ridge and central gully route and think that the east ridge is a better way to go (the gully can be between 3rd and 5th class depending on which way you go) . Either way will feature loose rock and somewhat fiddly and occasionally run out protection. *Usually* you can rap from fixed stations down the gully- I have done it with a 30M glacier rope and found that adequate but you need to be prepared to supplement or create your own rap stations (don't trust what you find). All I have to go on is the posts in this thread, but it sounds like you might consider some glacier travel training before attempting this route. There are many companies that offer this in Washington (AAI, Mountain Madness, North Cascades Mountain Guides, etc). In the interest of full disclosure I work for North Cascades Mountain Guides and am familiar with both the guides and their ability to teach good skills for the do-it-yourselfer. Hopefully I am not making a crassly commercial post when I recommend the NCMG 3 day glacier travel training course from them. Hopefully other folks on this board can chime in with their experience with other companies so you can decide for your self if this is appropriate and which company may best suit your needs. Have fun!

No need to ship to MT. Try Cascade Cobbler in Mazama/Wintrhop. James and Tori do an awesome job, relatively cheap and with a quick turnaround. You can drop them off at Stone Gardens or Edgeworks. www.cascadecobbler.com

Ooops. Missed Wayne's earlier post- sorry. Rock is plenty dry at Fun Rock- had a lovely afternoon of craggin there today. A little dirty and the usual spring looseness here and there since it hasn't seen a lot of traffic yet. No porta poty yet and I'm sure the folks at Outward Bound would not mind a donation (box in the lot, on the message board) to help pay for the cost of it. Should be installed soon. I have not made the trek up to Prospector yet since, well, it's still ski season. Early Winters CG is bone dry, I would suspect that there is still some snow here and there at Klipchuck, but it was so dry down in the Valley this winter it's doable if the road is melted out. Lone Fir is still blocked by a big snow berm. Any of the CG's up Lost River Road (Ballard, etc) would be a good choice, too. The mosquitoes seem to be out in force already, so make sure to surround yourself with lots of smoke. sickie Rode part of the birthday tour last weekend, but it was so firm we just skinned back up Mad Ave and rode Spire back to the cars. Top of Spire has bunch of cornice debris, but lower down was good and there is a nice bootpack up it. Big slides have come down across the traverse back from Hidden Bowl with lots of chunkage, so check yer speed. Tomorrow will be the first really warm day we've had in a while, so keep a head's up for slide activity. Public service announcement: do note that parking is very, very limited- try and carpool as best you can to leave room for others- and don't park in the slide paths below Liberty Bell. If they go it will be tomorrow or Saturday. Extra bonus- the Mazama store is closing out all their winter beers at $5.50 a sixer... and all their food rocks- their mounds bars are the best energy food going. Can some one PM with the location? I'd like to swing by and say hi to all you folks. I'll be up at the Pass on Saturday, so maybe I'll run into you there. I'll be the guy on the green splitty with a bunch of tele skiers.

Sweet. Thanks for the stoke.

Blah blah blah boarders blah blah. This is your invitation to get over it. Seriously. See you in the mountains. MZA splitboarder.

Well, technically, Fun Rock is on the border Mazama and "Lost River", then you have Goat Wall (In between Mazama and Lost River), and Prospector is Beyond Lost River. Seriously, who gives a hoot? I'd suggest bringing a helmet to Mazama as well, esp. in the Spring. It was cold here this winter and the rock is chossy to begin with.

The Standard in Mazama is in. Fat. The Bear looks to be in the from the road. Gully to the left of Prime Rib is in, and reported to be thin- bring stubbies. Beard- nope. Childs route above the store looks sun baked and thin. Will go check out some potentially new routes later in the week and will post back once we've had a go at them. Of course, the warm up this week may make it all fall down.

Hey Snoboy- thanks for the info. I'll be there Feb 13 through 16th with a large posse who likes to damage their livers. I hope we get more snow, too. Been pretty thin down here in the North Cascades this season.

Hello CCers. I've just tagged on to a trip to Red Mountain, BC and am wondering if any folks on this board have been there before. Looking for beta on good in-bounds runs, slack country recommendations, food and of course, places to get my drink on. I'm headed there from Mazama, WA and may want to hit a few spots on the way. Any thoughts appreciated.

I have a Lamina 0 degree which I really like. Lightweight and super compressible for a synthetic bag. My only real bitch is that the zipper gets stuck in the fabric all the time. Other than that I love it.

Sobo- This is the only reported incident via the press right now. See FONWAC.org for more detailed reports http://www.avalanchenw.org/info_exchange.html. Shit is sketchy. People being hit by naturals. Be safe.

Hey John- Hard to tell from my work near the Freestone Inn, but it looks pretty discontinuous and pillar-y at this point. I'll try and do a drive by tomorrow (1/2 day off) and snap some pics. We have had a low snow year + cold temps and my sense is that snow + warm temps need to happen for this to come in. That said, your balls are bigger than mine so perhaps hard mixed on slabby sketchy rock works better for you than me. Thats said, the snowpack is super sketchy here right now, so perhaps that is another consideration... you can PM me or e maiL db underscore climbz at hot mail dot com. that may work better than Geof or Diane at this point.