Terry_McClain

Climb: Mt. Stuart-Another Stuart Glacier Couloir Date of Climb: 5/8/2004 Trip Report: Nolse and I managed to pull off a successful climb of Stuart Couloir on Saturday in a single push. We underestimated the approach time needed and did not hit the base of the route till 6am. We post holed up a snow gully to get up onto the Stuart Glacier which became a real effort with every step. At this point the sun was up and hitting the upper section of the Couloir and I cursed myself for not getting an hour earlier start. Fortunately, as the morning progressed clouds came in and temperature stayed cold. At the top of the gully we roped up and crossed the glacier to the base of the couloir. The bergschrund was easily crossed on the right and the snow became firmer as we ascended up. This was the point where I had a hard time not grinning as it was just too perfect. I had one tool in each hand in cane position and the ice step where the Couloir narrowed down was there almost before I knew it. Snow turned to ice and a couple of exciting moves put me over the ice step and back onto snow with bucket steps again. I pounded a picket in at this point for a little piece of mind. The west ridge notch was in site now and looked fairly close. The calves were starting to inform me that they were getting tired and that this was hard work. Upwards to the notch we went, seeming to take way too much effort. Eventually it did arrive and the break at the notch was well earned. Clouds came in heavy but the rock stayed dry. Nolse did an excellent job leading out onto the north side of the West ridge route. It still has a lot of snow on it but that does not detract from the enjoyment. By the time we hit the summit we were getting snow and hail. Visibility varied, but we could see the descent route occasionally and marched down towards the false summit. The route to the Sherpa descent proved smooth and more straightforward than I had anticipated. The upper portion of the Sherpa glacier was easy plunge steps, but as we got lower the snow got softer and towards the bottom it was pretty miserable going. The descent down to the Stuart Lake trail was the most miserable part. It seemed every 5th step either Nolse or I would punch into a hole in the snow. I think our descent took as much or more time than the approach. All worth it though. The climb had everything in it that I ever ask for in the perfect day in the mountains. Gear Notes: 1 tool, 1 3rd tool Approach Notes: snow holes suck!

Wash. Fish and Wildlife now think it is a muscle worm (parasite) larvae that gets in lungs, causes low grade pneumonia, that suppresses immune system, allowing lice to take over. More info here: http://wdfw.wa.gov/factshts/hairloss.htm

Awesome pic's and great TR! I can relate to your feelings about having to bail. I have been there as well. One thing I've noticed is that it gets easier to spin as you gain experince having to do it. Either way, you'll always be "mountain hard woman" in my eyes!!

Thanks Girlclimber. To The Top said he ran into you and NOLSe up at Muir Sat. He said you two summitted via Gib Ledge Fri. night??? That's BRUTAL!!! Congrats! Here is a pic. compliments of To The Top showing our route in Red and what appears to be a better option in yellow for anyone considering this climb.

Climb: Rainier -Nisqually Ice Fall Date of Climb: 4/9/2004 Trip Report: I joined CC’ers Girlclimber and NOLSe on a successful climb of Rainier via Nisqually Ice Fall. NOLSe had left me a voice mail on Thur. AM at work indicating they were going for it that night. I had initially told them I could not get off work Fri. so they did not expect me. I took off from Paradise a little after 7PM that evening and when I showed up at Muir at 10:30 there was a bit of surprise on their part. Luckily, they had room for me on their rope and were not too upset about getting woken up. We took of at 1:30AM with NOLSe leading at a good clip as we made an ascending traverse across the Nisqually debris fields. The plan was to start on the left side of the ice fall and work up from there. An easy snow ramp lead us past the first few sets of ice fall, then we hit an impasse requiring a 7 ft jump down and across a crevasse. I spotted an alternative ramp up through the ice at this point so we reversed leads and I lead up a moderate pitch to the next shelf. From there we discussed traversing right or cut left and around. Looking back up from below Muir the next day showed that the option to traverse right would have worked well and made our trip a little quicker. This shelf appears to run straight into a broad snow slope leading out of the ice fall. As it was, we took on a couple of exciting pitches of ice with a very direct line before we got above the worst of it. One move required dropping down into a crevasse, walking a finger of ice and stepping across to a shelf on the other side before climbing up and out. Further up we ascended a ramp that consisted of a thin crust of snow, six inches of powder, and bullet proof ice underneath. As NOLSe lead through this section setting screws, I listened to the ice cliff creak and groan. We were in the middle of chaos. Ice debris was the landscape and there was no hiding. I had opted to bring a standard ice axe and a grivel 3rd tool. The ice axe was worthless for the most part and the third tool should have been a real tool. I wished for my BD X-15 sitting at home as I hit a stretch of ice that could not be penetrated. Nothing I tried could get anything to stick. I removed a screw NOLSe had placed and tried to round a bulge of ice with only a little shelf to step on and neither tool connected to anything trustworthy. Girlclimber had made it look easy, but I was seriously thinking I was going to take a fall and hoping that there was some pro in above me. I yelled up for a belay as they had topped out above and was out of sight. Eventually the call came back and I took the couple steps needed to get onto something solid my tools would sink into. This last ramp lead us to the top of the ice fall on the left where the Fuhrer Finger route merges. It was now 5:30 AM and we were at 11,700’. Four hours for 1600’ of gain was pretty dejecting, especially considering we had 2700’ to go. NOLSe had done his share of work so I offered to lead out. The snow was either prefect Styrofoam cramponing or punching through a thin crust and posting 6 inches. I found myself bonking pretty hard and when Girlclimber volunteered to take the lead I gladly accepted. She did an excellent job on the long traverse up and across the Nisqually keeping a steady pace despite the patches of soft snow. I tried to volunteer to take the lead, but she probably (rightfully) figured we would get there faster if she lead. We topped out at 9:30 with strong winds coming over the crater rim. We descended via Ingraham Direct and Cadaver gap. GirlClimber stayed up at Muir to possibly bag another route this weekend. That is hard core. The ice fall is an awesome climb. It does have a high degree of objective hazards, as Becky says ‘The hazards of seracs in the icefall require acceptance of certain risks’. Gear Notes: bring at least one ‘real’ tool in addition to a standard ice axe and 3-4 ea. of pickets and screws. We used more screws than pickets. Approach Notes: slog

Fairweather, I could see most of the upper portion of Conrad glacier from Old Snowy. A couple of slots to end run, but it looked really straightforward. It looks like Conrad meadows approach is shorter as well. I'll email you a good high res. pic.

On Wed. I solo climbed Curtis Gilbert and Old Snowy. I car camped at trailhead to get a early start (4:40am) and was on summit of Curtis Gilbert at 10AM. I did not take the bypass trail cut off. If you take it, it will save some time. I then reversed back through the gully system and staying high, traversed across boulders and scree to just before Ives, crossed over to the East side, skirted Ives, and stayed on snow all the way to Old Snowy. This took less than three hours from Curtis Gilbert. From Old snowy, pick up the Pacific crest trail back to snowgrass flats and out. Car to car was a little over 11hours. I calculated approx. 18 miles and 7500' gain all total. If you go with a partner and rope, you could bypass the rotten gully descent and drop over to the east side right before Goat citadel. There are some crevasses to negotiate there, but it looked straightforward. This would save a lot of energy not having to deal with the gully or scree/boulder traverse to Ives. This trip sits as pretty much a 5 star rating in my book.

Thanks Onetoole for the great beta for getting out of Horshoe Basin from the notch above the snow gully. Marek and I climbed the NF of Buckner via Cascade Pass on Monday as a one day 16hr push. Awesome day-everything went easier than expected. Especially nice after my last Mt. Challenger Ass-Whoopin.

Norman_Clyde summed the trip up pretty well. I'll add that there appears to be a ton of new snow on the upper slopes. I was up to Muir 2 weeks ago and the difference looking at the ramp leading up the Nisqually Ice Cliff is unbelievable. Whoever goes any higher on the mountain in the next week or so will have their work cut out for them. I think it would be a real wallow fest. We passed a team of two that were going to make an attempt if conditions permitted. Hopefully they post a TR. p.s. Norman_Clyde held up fine, Don't let him full you.

Yeah Specialed, I'm sure there is video of these a-holes. I just have had enough experince with the law to know that the chances of getting this followed up on is not worth my time. The credit card compaines foot the bill for stolen credit cards, which in the long run, means we do. The police are so overloaded with this kind of crap to a point that they just filter out these calls unless you stay on top of them as a full time job.

My car was slim jimmed on Fri. 21st at Si parking lot. They found the hidden wallet, took out two of my 4 credit cards, left the cash, replaced the wallet, and locked up behind themselves. First charge - a shell station in North Bend on same day. This is just a reminder for everyone to be careful. Seems like same Exit 38 bandits profile.

I came down snow lake trail on Sat. Snow free all the way to the start of the upper lakes. Well booted track on all snow patches above there.

Joe pretty much said it all so it is hard to add anything. Looking back I am even starting to think it was a great climb. Ahh, how fast the memory of the misery of a cold night fades. Now that I know the proper route (and a lot of not so proper routes), I am tempted to go back in the fall. I think having a little less snow on the route will help as well. To Joe's credit, he lead the hardest pitches and kept a great disposition the whole time.

My buddy Gary Hoff and I climbed it car to car this last weekend. The chute was in excellent condition with lots of firm neve=easy crampon. I would recommend going high on Nisqually and then cutting right to get into chute. There are some crevasse issues getting into chute and this worked well for us. Then traverse to right and stay on right side of chute going up. We missed getting hit by a big release of ice off Nisqually ice cliff by about 30 minutes so move fast just before getting into the chute. We placed 2 pickets in running belay right where it necked down just before merging with Gib ledge route. It was not particulary steep there but we had a little ice coming down at the time. There is some definite exposure to ice and rock fall so watch the freeze level as well. A most enjoyable climb. A special thanks to Fairweather for carrying 4 liters of water to Muir earlier in the day. It saved us a lot of time not melting water at Muir. Good luck!

I find that I have the best stamina and lower heart rates for cardio workouts approx. 1-2 hrs. after breakfast in AM. Otherwise, I like 4:30 pm. Lunch is history but the dinner time hunger has not kicked in.

Hey Troy, Good to hear you are still out there doing the climbing thing. I thought about you this weekend. I even looked for that shit ass little trench we dug and huddled in while waiting for the nasty weather to clear when we headed for Sandy Headwall a few years back. 

not quite the Tatoosh, but close...above Paradise Sun. had 6-12" powder on top of a crust. At about 9200'on Muir snow field it turned to hard packed wind slab.

I just bought the ALpine Light and it looks pretty similar except no padded hip belt. I had 35# in it last Sun. for 20 miles and felt it had plenty of support and comfort. Well designed, bomber construction. The floating lid could be just a bit bigger, but is adequate. Bottom line is I would buy it all over again.

Tall Timber Tavern in Eatonville. Worth driving by the Scale (not bashing it, but ya gotta try the Tall Timber and then compare). Order the LumberJack burger and an old fashioned milk shake (awesome!).

Ron, we went up Wed. the 13th. for a one day climb of it or NW ridge (depending on snow/conditions). There was atleast a foot of new snow that really slowed us down so we went for the NW ridge. The Adams looks like it is in really good shape. stay to the right down low and there is a smooth ramp leading up. Towards the top it looks like you can skirt a schrund left or right, with right looking better. All in all I think the route should be prime in 1-2 weeks. Good Luck!

Dan, The Adams Glacier looked like it was in really good shape today. Lots of new snow stopped us, but should be consolidated in a few days. Road to Killien Creek trailhead is open.