dkemp

Fabulous. I was recently in the neighborhood staring at the route, making plans of my own. Glad it worked out for you. Dox

Boulder Gl. is great fun. Beautiful views of North Cascades, lots of cracks to puzzle through, a great group of friends... Bushwhacker Newsletter TR

So, my pals and I climb Mt Baker via Boulder Glacier. Crevasses, rockfall, a coupla' steepish parts, ropes, crampons, ice axes, helmets - all that. We get to the summit. Three guys arrive at same summit via North Ridge and they ask me to take their photo. No problem, says me, how about with Mt R in the background? Dude says, yeah, but not with these tourists in the picture (my team). Well, I let it go and I took their pic and I congratulated them on their summit but the comment seemed unkind. I mean, Boulder Glacier ain't the N.R. but it don't make us tourists , does it? Discuss. Or don't. Dox p.s. No, it doesn't keep me up at night. D

Nice! It is a beautiful route, isn't it? Congrats on your climb. Dox

Fantabulous - yeehaw!

I didn't know that and no, I didnt see it. D

That marsh is swampy, I wore my gaitors! Not very buggy yet. We saw lots of amphibians along the trail. Oh, I forgot to mention, a guy carrying skis passed us going up the trail. He skied the cleaver that day. Clearly a great idea although musta been hard work carrying those boards up there. We didnt talk but I'm sure he was enjoying it. Inspiring.

Wow, what a weekend. Hiked up the Boulder Glacier with my pals on Saturday - good times! We ascended Boulder Glacier direct, to the west of the Boulder/Park cleaver. Well, 'direct' might not be the right word - actually we did end-runs around cracks all day - 'direct' it was not. Finally joined the cow path above the cleaver, crossed the bergshrund and hit the summit. Descended via the cleaver. Ran into a friendly group of 12 Mounties below the 'schrund, and ran into an equally friendly Olympia group of 4 above the 'schrund. Along with our group of 6, a total of 22 people beat the crap out of the route on Saturday. Lots of people at the football field, including a couple guys from Vegas that were doing Easton route car-to-car in a day. Group of 3 climbers came up the NR - way to go guys! Met a nice guy from Vancouver - we pointed out peaks to each other on "our" sides of the border. Cant beat that view from camp at 5800. So great to be there with friends playing Name that Peak. Big views of the Pickets from my tent door. Love those North Cascades! Dox

Wow, way to go.

Wow, nice. I dont think I'd do that traverse though. I know it would add a day but I think I'd camp at Ice Lakes and circumnavigate around on entiat glacier. But you've been there and I haven't - I guess it worked out for you so if the traverse goes then maybe thats the way to do it.

Wow, sorry things didnt work out the way you wanted. Dang, I guess June is too late maybe - perhaps that area has to be early May. Still, you got in there and saw an area that few others get to see. I've seen pics of the Nebesna - looks awesome. Could you see Jarvis from there? I bet Blackburn was huge. Score one for Alaska, eh? I know how that goes. I've been to Alaska six times and AK always gets lots more points than I do. All you can do is raise your glass - Alaska! Dox

Oh, and to answer the original post - I never look for them but if its there I'll look through it and sign it. Yeah, they dont bother me.

This is my second year of carrying my own summit register. I have a small size spiral bound notebook that I carry - on the cover it says Doxey's Summit Register 2003 - and the gang I climb with likes to sign it. Last year it was really fun to look back through it at the end of the season.

Hey Erick, Easy? Wow, sounds like you just kicked steps right up that sucker. Did you use ropes, running belays? Did you pitch it out any? Second tools? I thought Adams Gl would involve some of the above. Please advise. Congrats on your climb - way to go, man. Dox

Thanks for the idea remlec - that traverse would be a great day. Nolanr, I dunno if White River is open. Cayuse Pass and environs does not require White River entrance. Thats one nice thing about that area - no entrance, no entrance fee - just park and go.

Really cool - way to go! Sorry we missed each other on the mountain. Dox

Lots to do near the Big Kahuna. Barrier Peak is a nice scramble outing. Two hour drive from my place in Fremont to the Owyhigh Lakes trailhead. Hiked the trail past Boundary Creek then bushwhacked north to the saddle between Buell and Barrier. Climbed snow and a little dirt to summit of Barrier. Up close views of Tamanos, Owyhigh Lakes and Cowlitz Chimneys. Big views of the Emmons and Fryingpan Glaciers. Also views out to Goat Rocks and Adams. Barrier is a nice objective but probably better in early May when there is more snow and less bushes to whack. Doxey

yeah, good stuff - thx for the pics! Would love to visit the southern alps someday...

Congrats all!

My pals and I had a good ol' time in Alaska. Followed the masses up the Kahiltna as far as 9800' where we occupied a site for a week. Climbed Mt Capps from Kahiltna Pass - short but sharp ridge with a couple crevasse problems. A nice summit with great views of Peters Basin and the West Buttress. Hmm, I think we were the afternoons entertainment for the spectators at 11,000. Bronchitis required a rest day in bright windless sunshine - damn I hated that. My friends took the opportunity to hike up to 11,000 to visit a pal unexpectedly encountered during the hike up the lower Kahiltna. To my surpise, traveling the lower Kahiltna Glacier is quite a social thing. Next day, still not breathing so good, we climbed the face of Kahiltna Dome to attain the NE ridge but, alas, weather was crashing so we bailed down without the summit (run away!!!) This face is mostly around 50 degrees and goes with running belays off solid pickets - bring a hammer to pound 'em in. Some icefall hazard. Determined to try again, we started out next morning by observing the warning flag lenticular over Denali. We hiked below Capps to attain the three mile long North East Ridge and climbed to the summit of Kahiltna Dome - nice ridge, great views when you get them, a few crevasse puzzles - recommended! (a few running belays - definitely bring crampons). Descended in winds and whiteout. The ensuing storm ate up two and a half days of our short visit - its bound to happen, eh? Took turns shoveling every two or three hours to keep the tents from being buried. As it was, one tent was totally buried by drift during one two-hour period! All part of a great Alaskan experience. With skies clear again we hiked back to Kahiltna International with intentions of climbing Francis. Weather forecast said more storms coming so we flew out a day early and left Francis for another time. Wow, lotsa people on that route, and a whole lot of them international climbers. I did run into some friends but didn't find Ryland, et al. I'll post some photos once they return from development. Didn't accomplish everything we meant to on this quickie but got a couple of summits and had a great time together. Alaska rocks! Doxey

wow, yikes!

Y'all dont forget Steve's show tonight - it outa be a good ol' time. Dox

I was also considering Blackburn via NR for this year. I emailed with Paul Klaus in December. Here is what he said: He quoted me $550 RT per climber for the Nebesna - yikes, thats a pile of dough! So I'm off for other things but Blackburn NR is still on my list. Dox

My pal Steve Matera is giving a slideshow at Seattle REI this Thursday night at 7:00pm. The slideshow is free and highlights Steve's work. I've hiked and climbed with Steve for years - he's a great guy and his photography is awesome. From the REI website: Preserving the Wilderness Noted Pacific Northwest photographer, Stephen Matera, will showcase his dynamic sports and landscape images. Hear the creative process that goes into his shooting, including composition, lighting, and subject matter. Steve's website Dox

Hey it was great to meet you folks. Good times! I'll be at the next one for sure. Thanks to all those that put it together! Doxey