MountainMan

HEHEHE Erik .. you, my friend, are funny! 420 .. hahah .. funny stuff!!!! That's the code for pot smokers. HAHAHA .. wow, you're killing me!!!! [ 08-13-2002, 10:27 AM: Message edited by: MountainMan ]

Iain, does your babysitter know you're using the computer?

And by the way, to give a little more complete TR than I did last night, here goes : I woke up at 9AM on Sunday morning feeling mentally drained from the 8000' day I had the day before on W. Ridge of Sherpa. We didn't get back in town until midnight after waking up at 4:30 the previous morning. I had got a little dehydrated on the Sherpa trip and didn't know whether or not I'd be able to complete our planned epic ... W. Ridge of Sherpa in a day, then Fisher Chimneys Sunday night and Monday. I promised sverdina I'd do the Fisher Chimneys, though, and I had to fulfill my promise. We got to the Lake Anne trailhead at about 5:30PM on Sunday evening and began the short hump to Lake Anne. On the way, we saw about 70 parties coming back from the Lake, warning us of the terrible insects around the lake. We made quick time to the Lake and set up camp. The bugs weren't too bad, but there was about a 20mph wind blowing through that [apparently] suppressed the little critters (and us). Sometimes, the wind would die down a little, and within milliseconds, thousands of mosquitos and those little black biting flies would appear from nowhere and start attacking. Then the wind would pick up a few seconds later and they'd be gone again until the next lull. The plan was to wake up the next morning at 3:30, and get on the trail no later than 4. But sverdina had to get his beauty sleep, and we didn't wind up leaving camp until about 5:15. We both packed up small amounts of food, clothing, and rope and began our trek up to the summit. I don't know why they call the Fisher Chimneys chimneys, because they aren't. They're pretty much just gulleys. The climber's trail from Lake Anne is unmistakable when there is no snow present ... very different than when we were here in June. We had no trouble following the climber's trails (and wands and flagging) through the class 3-4 chimneys. It took us about 2 hours to get to the base of the Upper Curtis. We booted it up onto the Upper Curtis and found a flat spot to tie-in and put on crampons. From here, we could see Hell's Highway, and it looked like heaven. Hell's Highway is in PERFECT shape right now. Heck, the entire Upper Curtis is in fantabulous shape right now. We worked our way over to Hell's Highway and topped out on the Sulphide with no problems. We expected to see Alpine Ascents gapers everywhere .. but we saw NOBODY once we stepped onto the Sulphide. It appeared we had the entire mountain to ourselves. We took a short water (and tabasco/tuna/bagel) break and proceeded to gain the last 800' to the base of the summit pyramid. On the way, we saw two people about 500 vertical feet in front of us. We caught up to to them at the base of the summit pyramid. The guy in front was an Alpine Ascents guide (a very nice guy, we later found out), and his client from Ohio. While they climbed (shortroped together) up the summit pyramid, we ditched our rope and crampons and began the class 3-4 climbing up the summit pyramid. We asked the AA guide if he would let us pass, and he said that was fine. I didn't have a brain bucket with me and was leary about being below a gaper who wasn't calling out his falling rocks. The climb to the summit was very short, and we hit the summit before we knew it. The wind was HOWLING at the summit (I'm estimating about 30mph sustained and 45-50mph gusts), but the views were great. The summit of Shuksan has some of the best views anywhere in the Cascades. Sverdina and I signed the summit register, and headed down behind the summit block and out of the wind so we could indulge in some tabasco, bagels, tuna and beef nuggets. The hike out was uneventful, and we had no problems finding our way back through the chimneys. When we got back to Lake Anne, the black flies were out in FULL force. There were millions of them .. some of the worst bugs I've ever encountered. We very quickly packed our stuff and headed out of camp. We got back to the car at 6:30 and got dressed into cottons very quickly, as the deer and horseflies were out in full force. As we drove out of the parking lot and down the road, we looked back at Shuksan and thought about the long weekend we had just completed .. certainly a weekend that will stick out in my mind for a while to come. [ 08-13-2002, 09:14 AM: Message edited by: MountainMan ]

danielpatricksmith, I LOVED the chimneys route. I thought it was one of the better Alpine routes in the Cascades. It has a little bit of everything, and you can vary the route to make it a little more interesting. And no bushwacking! I think the FC route is one that I'd like to repeat (and I rarely climb peaks twice). I agree with whoever said the FC is a better route than the N. Face.

See my W. Ridge of Sherpa thread for the other 8000. Also, Fisher Chimneys is over 6000 feet in elevation. Austin Pass begins at ~4700, descends into the basin at a low point of ~3900, then you climb from there to the summit (9131'). That right there is 5231'. Plus, on the way back, you descend back from Lake Anne back into the basin and climb to the car ... a vertical gain of 800'. That's 6231' total vertical gain for the Chimneys (including approach). Add that to the 8000' from W. Ridge of Sherpa in a day on Saturday and that equals ... I'm crushed!

We summitted today after a 14,000+ vertical gain weekend. I'm beat. That's my trip report. Sverdina, care to add something?

Darren, No, I didn't find any sunglasses. I know how frustrating that is though ... I've lost several cameras, sunglasses, and ice axes throughout the years. I did find a #5 nut on the Shuksan summit pyramid today though. Certainly payback for all the stuff I've lost along the way.

Climbed the W. Ridge of Sherpa on Saturday 8/10 with two other climbers. We left the parking lot at 4:45AM and made the hump up over Long's Pass. Once on Long's Pass, we descended into the Ingall's Creek basin and headed east towards the approach to the Stuart/Sherpa Col. We were at the col at 8:45AM, and we then proceeded to rope up and start climbing. With 3 people, it took a lot of time to do the actual climbing. We didn't summit until about 1:00PM. Going back up and over Long's Pass was quite brutal after 13 hours of climbing. We finally got back to the car at about 8:45PM, right before it got dark. Overall it was a great trip. With only two people on your rope team, your time spent on the rock will be almost half of what ours was. A strong two-person team should be able to do this route in 13-14 hours. I would highly recommend a strong party do this route in one day, versus hauling gear up and over Long's Pass twice for an overnighter. Now we're off to go climb Fisher Chimneys today and tomorrow ... full report to come.

HAHA ... a day climb to Sherpa and the Fisher Chimneys the next day??? Did I hear you right sverdina? So delectable!!!! Let's do it!!!

Klenke, I climbed Greenwood and Dumbbell last year from Phelps Creek. We set up camp just below the South Face of Dumbbell in the major Southwest facing gulley. The way we went is the wrong way, but it got us up there. We ascended the basin to the notch just Southeast of the summit block (approx. elevation 7900'). From here there is a goat trail that leads NNE down and around to the main summit of Greenwood. Remember this. We climbed Dumbbell first and decided to take the series of off-camber ledges that traverses the South Face. From the notch, descend about 20 meters towards the South face and find the obvious ledge system. Follow your gut-instinct to the summit ... there's really only one way to get up there once you find this ledge system. We didn't have any rope with us, and we were on class 4-class 5, ugly, off-camber, loose, ledges and even some slab climbing near the summit. The ledge system would be really nice if you had a rope, but we didn't. I almost didn't climb it due to the danger of falling from those off-camber ledges off a 200-300 meter drop. My pops says there's another route from the other side, but I didn't see it. As for Greenwood, all you do is descend from the notch (see above) and get onto some goat ledges. The ledge is about 2-3' wide and slightly off-camber (seems to be a trend in those parts). Follow the ledges around above the cliffs and it will eventually bring you to the back (Northeast) side of Dumbbell onto a snowfield between Greenwood and Dumbbell (above a small glacial lake). From there, take the obvious gradual slope to the summit of Greenwood. There is no knife edge ridge on the route that we took (that I can remember) -- and we hit the true summit (look for our 2001 ascent in the summit register -- probably the only one). It's a beautiful area up there! If you have any specific questions, feel free to drop me an e-mail. [ 08-08-2002, 01:45 PM: Message edited by: MountainMan ]

quote: Originally posted by Dru: they should rename the fisher chimneys the Hisher Chimneys so people could call it the HC route... Oh god, that's some funny shit!!!! Stop it, you're killing me. [ 08-08-2002, 10:41 AM: Message edited by: MountainMan ]

Thanks for the beta Dale.

trask is a she-male. don't turn your back on it. MountainMan 1420 Boren Ave. #309 Seattle, Wa. 98101 [ 08-07-2002, 01:08 PM: Message edited by: MountainMan ]

[ 08-06-2002, 10:05 PM: Message edited by: MountainMan ]

[ 08-06-2002, 10:05 PM: Message edited by: MountainMan ]

[ 08-06-2002, 10:04 PM: Message edited by: MountainMan ]

I'd like to take this timeout to commemorate Dru's 5468th post!!!! YAY DRU!!!!! YOU'RE MY HERO!!!!!!!! Now back to your regularly scheduled thread.

[ 08-06-2002, 10:04 PM: Message edited by: MountainMan ]

lol .. i can't blame dru though .. he's probably so used to looking for threads to post on that he overlooks the fact that he doesn't have anything valuable to contribute.

Hey Dru, is that jealousy cologne you're wearing??? Go post now!!! Hurry!!! You've almost got 6000!!!!!!!!! How exciting!!!! Fuck the top 100, let's go for the top poster on cascade climber.com!!!!!! And I think RedMonk is right ... the magic carpet ride is out for the season. Go try it now for yourself. Bring your machete though. [ 08-06-2002, 03:13 PM: Message edited by: MountainMan ]

[ 08-06-2002, 10:09 PM: Message edited by: MountainMan ]

I didn't know climbing in the pickets was a necessity of climbing in the N. Cascades for 15 years. Is that the mark of excellence of a Cascadian climber? Besides, there's no top 100s in the pickets. If you care to see my climbing resume, e-mail me -- I don't want to gloat publicly. I didn't say there wasn't worse brush in the Cascades .. it's a shame you had to read it that way. All I said was that I encountered bad brush on the approach to the N. Face and everybody and their mule came out saying how bad it is in this area and that area. I truly don't give a fuck .. I didn't post my opinion to compare how bad brush is in various ecosystems around the Cascade range. I posted my opinion to do just that .. express my opinion. [ 08-06-2002, 02:35 PM: Message edited by: MountainMan ]

i'm no longer an HC Lover. yay! (so what am I now??)

and oh yeah .. 2 more posts .. and (continued on next post).

Well there's one thing that's obvious here. Everyone who says the approach is easy didn't go the way I, sverdina, or RedMonk went. There's probably a million ways to get through the approach. Perhaps we didn't read the terrain right ... perhaps the vegetation this year was more vivacious, maybe it's the shoes. We could go back and forth for years on this very subject it seems. But I know that 1) I'm an experienced (more than 15 years) North Cascade climber 2) I know what bad brush is 3) I saw bad brush on the approach to the N. Face. Kudos to you if you picked the magic carpet ride in there. I'm letting folks know that if they go in there today the same way we went in, you will encounter very bad brush, and it will take you many hours to reach basecamp. That is all, retire this thread.