dkemp

Well drat. they've gone and done it. a climbing guide for AK. I thought there was an unwritten code that prevented such a thing - or at least for everything except Denali and Alaska Geographic. I love looking at maps and 'discovering' a climb, then the excitement of finding a photo of the mountain, then, best of all, going to Mtneers Library and finding route descriptions in AAJ. A guidebook just makes it too damn easy, man, and cheapens the effort. There's too many guidebooks and not enough imagination. Well, it wont ruin my day or anything. And yeah, I'll buy a copy - hell I've got all the guidebooks for the Cascades and Olympics. Why not AK too?

We flew to Mex City, then right on to Veracruz. Approached via bus to Coscomatepec, a beautiful little city. At the local hardware store we obtained a ride to the mountain in the back of a vegetable truck to Senor Gueterez camp at 10,000ft, then hiked 4 miles up to the hut through pine forest on a trail. Havent done the other approach, from the west, but would recommend approach from the east. Gotta admit, we didnt summit 'cause we spent more time on the approach than we budgeted time for. There are obstacles in this approach, for instance no-one, and I mean no-one speaks English on that side. But we considered it all part of the fun, and my poor Spanish improved considerably. no crime whatsoever. felt safe the entire time and nobody tried to rip us off. Obviously I have unfinished business there. When I go back I will go in from the west but go out to the east, down to 'Cosco' and out to Veracruz. In this way we'll get the best of both and do a sort of 'approach-traverse'. Our website is down now but tomorrow I will send a link to an article we keep there. -dox

A grasshopper walks into a bar and asks for a beer. Bartender says "ya know, we have a drink named after you." Grasshopper says "you got a drink named Irving?"

Hey Ken, I have sent you an email. It might be easier to converse that way. When we returned from Bolivia, my pal Doug wrote up a little article which we placed on our club site, http://www.bushwhackernewsletter.org/bolivia.htm - check it out. It includes the hotel name and guide service that we used. We didnt use guides except to deliver us to the climbing areas - this worked really well. More info to come either by email or cc.com. -Dox

My pals and I went there last year. Sounds like our trip was a little different than you are proposing, nevertheless we'd be happy to share whatever info you'd like. -Dox

It'll go. Surface was firm but never glare ice. We set a couple screws, mostly 'cause we carried 'em all the way up there. On the descent we managed to pound in a picket while traversing above a crevasse. see also http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000206.html

Icy Peak - great friends, clear skies - love those mountains.

Managed to summit Icy with the help of my friends. We traversed Icy's NW glacier lower than Becky or the Mtneers guides suggest due to cracks higher up. Surface was hard but accepted crampons nicely. A couple end-runs got us up to the notch. I was uncomfortable in the class 4 gully. My pals went ahead belayed me up. Thanks buds! Summit Rolos all around. Hoping for a trickle of water at the camp - found none. Was glad to get to the toe of Ruth's glacier and rehydrate. Boy, nice weather this weekend, eh? Views from Icy are great.

bees? yikes! Same thing happened to me when I visited Snowfield. I encourage you to try again. Couple years ago we backpacked to the far end of Easy Ridge - the place is fantabulous.

'Course, if there's no injury or death the story will rarely make it to the newspapers. So there's lots of success stories for roped-up simul-climbing that we arent discussing. A climbing pal of mine was at the 'shrund on the Emmons this year. He did a little "body-probing" - all part of the fun. The entire team arrested and the second on the rope reported feeling all his weight. The rope had been kept taut so he didnt go far. Soon enough he was out of the hole and on the summit. Great story - but no newspaper coverage. I've never climbed in Europe, but if I understand correctly their methods are often quite different. A pal of mine reported that they dont extend the rope all the way out like we do here. He said that the climbers are much closer together on the rope.

"Sometimes nuthin' is a real cool hand." Paul Newman, Cool Hand Luke

mattp, you bet, its happened to me many times over the years. ONP desk jockeys told me the snowfinger on Mt Anderson was 'impassible' - a week later we climbed it. Summit City. When we informed the deskjockey ranger lady at the Hoh R.S. of our intention to climb Olympus, she put on quite a performance. Wide-eyed, she exclaimed "have you notified your NEXT OF KIN?!" Two days later, the backcountry ranger at Glacier Meadows informed us that he had just returned from the summit and wished us well. Conditions were firm and great - Summit City. Glacier Pk rangers (Darrington) warned of dire weather conditions, 'dangerous' was the word they used - we hiked to Boulder Basin in whiteout but climbed next day in clear blue skies. La ciudad de Summito. Never received misinformation from MRNP rangers. Never had trouble at Sedro Wooley either. -Dox

Anyone thats climbed with me knows that I value a wilderness experience with good friends rather than a speed ascent of anything. BUT, we were breaking camp on G.P.'s Glacier Ridge this past weekend when a trail runner stopped briefly at our camp at 6600 at 9:30am. This friendly marathoner had run FROM THE TRAILHEAD to Point 7328 and was heading back to town. Yes, thats 24 miles RT with an elevation gain of 5000 feet AND, at the rate he was going he probably spent Fathers Day afternoon with his kids. Perhaps this doesnt quite fit in with this string but I thought I'd share. Impressed, -Dox

Safe and fun, but alas, no summit. White Chuck River and Kennedy Ridge trails are clear. PCT had some snow patches but way is obvious. Enough snow to dig tent platforms for Glacier Ridge camp at 6600. Marmot Heaven, they hate it when you call them 'groundhogs'. It took awhile, but a close inspection revealed some running water nearby (take a filter). Saw only one other climbing group as we hiked up. They reported wallowing in soft stuff up to 8800 before turning back. We were more lucky. A clear night gave us cold temps. We cramponed nicely up to 8800. After that some snow was powdery and we sank a little but mostly we had a kick-steppin' good time up to the Rabbit Ears. Some in our group didnt like the 3rd class downclimb from the Rabbit Ears, and none of us liked the impending whiteout, so we turned back there. Turned back by a bunny - sheesh! That mountain suckered us good. Clear night gave us good conditions, clear morning gave us great views. It seemed the valley clouds would dissipate for sure. Uh-uh. Whiteout on descent thick as pea soup. Good thing we know how to use map&compass 'cause we were too dumb to set wands on the ascent. Kennedy Glacier route looks in great shape - wish I could go right back up there, kick steps up that baby and show that mountain who's boss. -Dox

Thanks, W. Thats a goal of mine, actually. -Dox

Lookin' at the maps whilst knockin' back espressos this morning... The route up from the lake at 5700 to the col at 7400 is a SW facing gully. There are steep S and SW facing slopes leading all the way up to Point 8203. Hmmm.... mid-June... but low snowyear... I'm not exactly a beginner but I dont have confidence in my avalanche avoidance skills. Then again, I'm still alive after seven years of mountaineering. But I fear I have turned around more than one climb due to avalanche hazard when none existed. I'm not asking anyone to sign off on my outing. However, any input would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for your comments. Just trying to stay alive, Dox

I am considering Glacier Peak in mid-June. I have unfinished business with the Kennedy Glacier, as a couple years ago we were stopped by crevasses. I am concerned about avalanche hazard. Basically, the Kennedy Gl. is a big gully, but it is north facing. My training tells me that in early summer, it is mostly S and SW facing slopes and gullys that are most hazardous. Perhaps this posting is more a generic snow-conditions/avalanche hazard inquiry than a Kennedy Gl. route question. Thanks in advance for any comments you might share. -Dox

Visited the summit on Saturday in a whiteout :-(. Snow conditions were variable; sloppy then firm, then sloppy again. Marble Mt snopark is clear of snow, as is first half mile or so of trail. Lots and lots of skiers and boarders up there on Sunday.

Heading for Chiwawa and Cloudy Peak during second week of June. I know many persons ice climb Chiwawa in autumn - we're hopin' to kick steps up that sucker. Cloudy should be a scrambly snow climb. We plan to access via Spider Meadow. Any info would be appreciated.

Considering Mt Spickard via Depot Creek in mid-June. Looks like the north face glacier is straightforward, but worried about rocky, scrambly area at the top. Any info would be appreciated.

I visited the Chugach a couple of years ago. We went to Chugach State Park. We visited the Eklutna Glacier - very beautiful. Most people do a traverse over to the, um, I think its the Raven Glacier. We simply went out the way we went in. Our objective was Whiteout Peak but time ran out.