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MountainMan

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Posts posted by MountainMan

  1. I'd say if people want a forum about Speed ascents, more power to them. If I don't want to read it, I don't have to -- nobody's forcing me to. To the guy who said he'll be "laughing at them", you won't even have to enter the forum. You can't laugh at something unless you're reading it .. so why read it if you're not interested in the first place??? If it's out of boredom, you should probably go out and do something with your life instead of sitting around the computer all day laughing at things on the internet. [Embarrassed]

  2. I broke two ribs in mid August of last year and still got some climbing in before the beginning of Fall (approximately 3 weeks after the injury). From 4 to about 7 weeks it was still difficult to breathe deeply and sneeze/yawn, etc. I'd say expect at least 3 weeks to recover enough to be able to climb (with pain). Good luck.

     

    [ 08-05-2002, 12:38 PM: Message edited by: MountainMan ]

  3. I've been climbing in the Cascades for over 15 years. I get out every weekend of the summer. Anyone who says the North Face is an easy approach is approaching in early season with ample snow. If you're calling the approach to the N. Face an easy approach, you're simply talking out your ass, and may be giving someone the wrong impression about what to expect. If you go in there now, you will run into an ugly, nasty bushwack. I think 99/100 would agree.

    Juan, we're talking about the N. Face of Shuksan, not the N. Face of Little Si.

     

    Danielpatricksmith says 30 minutes of "harmless bushwacking" etc etc ... there's no possible way you could bushwack into the N. Face in 30 minutes (with the conditions present last weekend). It's physically impossible. And Juan, what approaches are you comparing Shuksan's N. Face to to call it easy?

     

    [ 07-31-2002, 10:51 PM: Message edited by: MountainMan ]

  4. With as little snow as there is now, I challenge anyone to find a quick way through that crap. It's all brush. You're either bushwacking, or you're bushwacking. Slide alder, devil's clubs, wild rose (not the kind you see in Pioneer Square), and other nasty shit. I could see about 3 weeks ago, it would have been a completely different ballgame. But right now, there is no snow until you get into the basin under the hanging glacier. And I've seen brush before, so I have something to compare this to. I bushwacked all the way up from Thunder Basin to the summit of Primus Peak (7600'+ of elevation gain) -- some of the worst brush I've encountered anywhere in the Cascades. And the Shuksan N. Face approach compares with that (although not in duration). At any rate, it's Fisher Chimneys for me in August. I have to knock this sucker off the list.

     

    All those who say the brushwack into the N. Face of Shuksan is easy didn't see the same conditions we saw on Saturday. I guarantee it.

     

    [ 07-30-2002, 09:40 PM: Message edited by: MountainMan ]

  5. quote:

    Originally posted by texplorer:

    Thanks god for snafflehounds or our peaks would be riddled with business cards and unsightly cans of pieces of paper with wankers names all over them telling about how THIS peak is so great and how the views are so beautiful. Go to the summit, take a picture, take a picture flipping off the camera, take your nude summit shot and then go home.

    What's wrong with summit registers? They've been around since long before you or I were born. I've seen summit registers with a lot of history in them. Greenwood Peak, for example : one of the oldest summit registers in the Cascades put up by a Mazama Boy Scout troop in 1933. The first ascent party believed they were climbing Mt. Fernow. The historic first ascent account is still there. I, for one, enjoy flipping through summit logs and seeing the names of friends and family who have climbed before me. I enjoy reading people's comments regarding routes, etc. I've found out a lot of interesting information in summit registers that I haven't read anywhere else. The NPS puts signs with their rules/regulations at trailheads ... the USFS puts registers at trailheads to keep track of climbers entering trails. There are signs nailed to trees informing back country travelers that they have just entered the Glacier Peak Wilderness area. Should we get rid of these too? How about road signs? They're marring up our sidewalks. Get rid of them? How about houses? Thank god for hurricanes and tornadoes, or there'd be houses everywhere! [Roll Eyes]

     

    I see no harm in summit registers. That's my opinion.

  6. OK .. just returned from the N. Face of Shuksan. Bushwacking was soooooooo fun. We got to basecamp on Saturday night and skies were clear. Clouds were beginning to spill over Shuksan arm in an ominous omen of bad luck .. an omen we've seen twice before on Shuksan (once on Fisher Chimneys, once on Sulphide Glacier). Sunday morning began in a complete whiteout. We decided to push up the face in spite of the whiteout and got to about 6300' (200' below the face proper). Visibility was at 20' and we couldn't see the route. My partner and I [hesitantly] decided to call it off and bushwack back to the car. The bushwack back to the car was FAR better than the bushwack on the way in. We gained about 1600' from the basin to a point just below Shuksan arm (we maxed out at 4750'). We then donned our crampons and downclimbed up to 70 degree [wet] heather back to the chairlift. I highly recommend ascending from the Mt. Baker Ski Lodge to just below Shuksan Arm (4750') and then doing a descending traverse towards the basin that brings you up towards the N. Face. A snow finger allows you to bypass almost all of the heavy brush. Once in the basin, stay to the right of the main water course and find a weak climbers trail through heavy slide alder. It sure beats the devils clubs we encountered on the way in! The N. Face is in PRIME condition right now. There is absolutely NO avi danger, however there is slight rockfall. Use commmon sense and move fast in sections where rockfall is evident and you will be just fine. Had it not been for the whiteout conditions, we would most certainly have summitted today. The moral of the story is : wait until the weather forecast shows four pulsating golden globes. Otherwise, you'll get pissed on. Isn't that right sverdina?

  7. I don't know how you can compare last year's avi conditions to this year's avi conditions. Apples and oranges. Chances are if the conditions experienced two days ago was heavy avalanches and that caused a party to turn back, then the conditions today will be pretty similar. Climb conservatively.

  8. quote:

    Originally posted by robertm:

    You lose too much elevation going around Boston.

    Lose too much elevation for what? If you want to drop onto the Boston Glacier, you have to descend even further than the elevation you'd be at if you traversed Boston Peak. Traversing Boston Peak is a nice way to put you onto the Boston Glacier.

  9. On the way up to Forbidden on Friday night, I saw a climber with hand shears working on the trail. He said since the FS isn't doing anything about the conditions of the trail, he'd take it upon himself to do so. Someone has also sawed through some of the smaller logs in the avalanche debris zone ... although the larger logs remain. We specifically spoke with the ranger about trail maintenance and he said the climber with the shears "wasn't supposed to be doing that". If I had known the condition of the trail to Boston Basin before going up there this weekend I would have brought my own pair of shears and helped out. Aside from the debris zone which blocks a relatively small portion of the trail, however, the trail is in pretty good shape by N. Cascade climber-trail standards.

  10. I think I saw the ice chunk you're referring to. Were you in the yellow tent that was highest in the basin towards Forbidden? We were standing below the rib it broke up on talking with the ranger when the ice chunk exploded into little pieces. I would echo your concerns about camping below the seracs. With the rapid meltout that's going on now, I wouldn't be surprised to see those go within 2 weeks.

  11. Was in Boston Basin this weekend ... it took a little less than 2.5 hours to reach the basin with a 60 pound pack ... if you're doing a daytrip with a light pack, you'll be up there a lot faster.

     

    The trail is in good shape aside from the avalanche debris which has swept the middle section. It doesn't slow you down a lot, it's just a pain in the ass.

  12. Climbed the W. Ridge of Forbidden yesterday. The W. Ridge Couloir was in PERFECT shape. The bergschrund is opened up quite a bit, but is passable on the left via a 6 foot wide snow bridge. I would give the bergschrund another 2-3 weeks before it's impassable. The ridge proper was mainly simul-climbed .. we protected portions of 2 or 3 pitches.

     

    There were dozens of people in Boston Basin on Saturday. The snafflehounds must have been quite busy. One of the parties we encountered had their tent eaten through by one of the infamous little critters. Our tent was untouched. They did eat portions of my blue closed foam pad though. Understandable though, because those are quite tasty. [Confused]

  13. Notice I posted this in the North Cascades Forum, not the Spray Forum. If you want to post because you're bored, that's what the spray forum is for. There are actually mature adults who are trying to obtain beta on this forum. Please respect that.

  14. Iain .. are you speaking from experience, or are you just talking out your ass? Why even respond to a post if you don't have anything valuable to contribute? I know you're probably bored at the babysitters, but just have mommy/daddy take you to climb little Si and write a trip report about it. [laf]

     

    Spaceshot .. thanks, thats exactly what I was looking for.

     

    [ 07-18-2002, 12:52 PM: Message edited by: MountainMan ]

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