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Definitely a "better" ski than Stuart Glacier Couloir -> a whole lot longer... Too bad they're both at least 10 degrees too steep for me

Well, since it may not freeze overnight up there at least you won't be cold.

Look it up in FOTH?

Uh, you're not going to do *any* rock climbing up there right now except with crampons and tools, and depending on skill you might like to have aiders. I've heard the west ridge couloir is full of shit

Methinks the retard sounds familiar. I was up on top last Sunday, descending from the summit to Sherpa col. There were some fairly large cracks about a yard back from the lip over the ice cliff glacier couloir. That thing should be calving big time this week if it is going to warm up like it was supposed to - I haven't been watching the weather though.

Pshah. You can't tell apart a goat and your backside, let alone two goats

Where's Milosh while all this is going on? "Too many warm milk coffee drinks and fat cookie make American climbers soft teddys" Red meat and vodka is where it's at

Shut up Dru. You don't know a thing you're talking about. This is all discussed in FOTH 7th Ed. Chapter 13, Travel on Frozen Lakes. Do your homework before you open your mouth.

I fell through slush on Nada Lake last year. My buddy almost got hysterical, it was super funny. We just kept on hiking though, warms you up right away. I remember being annoyed by my wet pants though. Falling into these mountain lakes isn't such a big deal, getting out is largely a matter of swimming onto the ice, but falling through ice on stream water will likely drown you. Scaryness.

Ya looks awesome! Has melted out a lot. Prolly more fun now than a couple of weeks ago.

Right-o Alex. I guess things make more sense that way. Either way it was a fun climb. The couloir is going to get more spicy as the season winds on, the ridge much less so.

No he was going to lower GU not rap. He probably saw you at the belay and instantly figured out you didn't have any GU I guess the rime is normal, first time I climb a mountain this big and steep under these conditions though so I don't really know. That ice was so useless though! Bash bash, nothing solid to stick a pick in but still solid enough to resist clearing. Fucked up! Mixed adventure climbing, that's right.

Actually, Josh was a bit scared up there I think. Probably not as scared as I was when I followed what he had just been leading though I'm bringing a mallet for my next rime ice climb. It'll fit just dandy with the chainsaw and machete on the Cascades rack The couloir was swell though. Took about 2 hours to climb and we didn't rope up until we'd gained the ridge. Nelson says the character of the climb is dominated by the snow and ice in the couloir - not right now it isn't.

HAHAHAHA I like that, :two-thumbs-up-red-devil-guy:

Ya I gather this nasty weather we're having is all over the Cascades. Just check the forecast, nasty. Cold upper level trough with hail and thunderstorms, pretty much the same forecast everywhere. Nasty nasty. I think I'll shoot my plans and go to the gym this weekend.

Split snowpack, good theories So is anybody else wondering what the current nastyness is doing to snow conditions on Stuart? I drove over Stevens Pass yesterday and the weather was nothing short of heinous.

I think Planet of the Eights is one of the best suggestions - three 5.8 slab routes right next to each other, the leftmost easiest and the rightmost hardest, and the anchor is shared in case you might want to lead one and top-rope the others.

Uh, confused - markws says Monday the 19th, so this was about a month ago? I read it and thought last Monday... Oops.

Aw, share it Skoog Last year was a heavy snow year but this year is below average, that definitely has a bearing on both the Ice Cliff and Stuart Glacier Couloir routes. Paradise and Baker actually almost made it up to "normal" snow levels but does anybody know if the same holds for Stuart? Colin and Forrest, care to chime in? Markws? Anybody else? There is much less snow on the Stuart Lake trail right now than there was at the same time last year.

Down the ice cliff glacier couloir in September, by accident, ugh, would be a fast way down eh?

What had the weather been like for the couple of days before your climb Alpinfox?

You should know. You practice what you preach. The jibe was not unexpected, but considering its origin its nature certainly was. If you still have sewing machine leg then you don't have the technique for climbing intermediate routes, let alone hard ones. But sure, I don't climb hard either.

Dang, FOTH doesn't say anything about ti does it? Are you making things up now catturd, to fill in the voids? Tsk tsk.

They're flinging snow shoes for crying out loud. Put em on, attempt to space out completely until you're there, take em off, do something interesting. Alternatively, put em on your pack while doing something interesting. If you pay $80 for pair of heel lifters then I have various stuff to sell you at exorbitant prices. Or, for $80 I'll teach you how to rig your crampons onto the tails of your Denali classics for an impromptu heel lifter at no extra weight, without duct tape or anything other than the crampon straps. If it's a long enough an incline for heel lifters to really make a difference, then spending a couple of minutes tying down your crampons doesn't take too long. All those holes on those snowshoes are way handy

Uh, how about just loosening the straps? Let the ankle roll a bit inside a floppy boot, strap tight for the downhill? Heh, I have hiking boots that are so small I have to tie them all funky to hike comfortably, but boy do they climb well. Shoe laces... magic things... solve every problem, like duct tape!