Fairweather

Why is it that climbers have MORE freedom in socialist Alpine countries like Italy, France, and Germany that we do here in the USA? We live in a "free" society yet we've recently turned management of our mountain areas over to Sierra Club/Wilderness Society SOCIALIST/COMMIES! Every day we lose access as another road is left to fall into disrepair or another arbitrary "use limit" is imposed. Hopefully "w's" administration will restore some balance to this Forest Madness. You want "SOLITUDE"? Go find it somewhere! Don't try to spoil everyone else's day! Maybe it's time to rewrite The Wilderness Act?

I scoped it out with binoculars from the highway between Elbe and Ashford this past Thursday. It looks solid/smooth. A couple of small crevasses near the top of The Sickle if you're planning to go that way. Of course, the approach is still a bitch! WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO OPEN WEST SIDE ROAD???!!! They say it's safe enough for a shuttle bus ("someday") but not safe enough for personal vehicles. BS! They close roads and then gripe about Paradise being "too crowded" and their favorite cliche: "loved to death". The Tahoma is one route on Rainier where I wouldn't feel the least bit guilty ignoring registration requirements. Flame suit on...

Just curious if anyone has done/ has current info(last 4 years) on climbing "The Castle" on Adams' east side. There was a HUGE rockslide that came off the Klickitat Icefall side of The Castle in 1997. Has this altered the route? Also, has anyone just traversed over to the top of The Castle from the South summit? Are C.E.Rusk's ashes/memorial still in place there? I've done a few routes on this mountain and would like to add The Castle Route to my list. Thanks.

quote: Originally posted by willstrickland: Wow, didn't know the West Side was that popular during that week. I simul-soled the Reid on 5/12 and encountered quite a bit of rock and icefall. Both my partner and I got beaned by baseball and larger sized ice and rock. We managed to on-sight the route with little route-finding difficulties. I wouldn't want to be up there after about 5am, rock/ice fall was insignificant until we were in the upper sections of the headwall (like 6am). At that point it was "keep your head down and climb as fast as you safely can" We summited at 7am after a 7 hour ascent. This was a great route, a blast to climb with only one tool (take two!), and the ice in and above the final narrow chutes was great (in a Cascades kind of way) We decided to solo due to time, and the fact that the rock is little more than frozen kitty litter, the ice sucks, and the snow wouldn't likely hold a fall of any distance. Took a single 8mm line with us, but never used it and didn't even put on the crampons until about 9,700. Highly recommended route, but do it in early season and get an early start. One other note, the traverse after Illumination saddle was thigh-deep postholing on a 30 degree slope...heinous! I still want to do Leutholds, maybe next year or this winter. Will, This route is commonly reffered to as "Castle Crags" but it is, in fact Reid Glacier Headwall. I've done Leuthold in Feb... The route you did is considered much more difficult. Nice job. br

Viking, I attempted Adams 6/13. Stopped by deep snow. Adams Glacier in GOOD shape. About 1 1/2 feet of new snow! Once this consolidates the route should be great!

quote: Originally posted by Dan Harris: How does Adams compare to Mazama? I have gone up Avalanche Gulch on Mount Shasta, Hayden Glacier on Middle Sister, OR and some steep snow fields in the Central Sierras. Nothing very crevassed. Mazama looked like the next step up from these routes. Dan, The Adams Glacier route is significantly more difficult than the Mazama. You can easily access the Mazama route by parking at Cold Springs (South Spur-normal route) hiking up about half mile to the RTM trail, turn right(east) then follow this trail into the reservation for about one mile before you leave the trail and angle up and left toward Mazama Glacier Saddle. About 3 hours total. True, you'll be trespassing, but the Yakimas promised to keep this area open to all rec. activities when Nixon expanded the Reservation boundary here in 1973. They have since gone back on this agreement. They don't patrol the backcountry beyond the roads so you'll have no problems. Also, there is a lot of new snow above 5500' that may be temporarily blocking access to Cold Springs trail head.