Know_Fear

If you don't plan to go over the top - yes skis or snow shoes would shave a couple of hours. The trail up to the A-frame was dirt near the snow park, but there's OK snow about 1 mile up. You can leave skis at the base of Snow Dome and make a loop - up the Coe, down Snow Dome. P.S. the ice near in the upper east morrain of Elliot looked really fat. I don't know how difficult it is. I'd love to hear about it.

Mark McClure and I climbed a new (old?) line to the left of the Coe icefall on Sunday. The grade is approximately III, two pitches of WI3 plus 400-600 feet of sustained steep snow and ice. It was a classic suffer-fest given the conditions. The details follow. We planned to link the Coe Icefall with Cathedral Ridge to the summit, then descend the south side. We hoped the north side would be wind swept so we didn't bring skis, or snow shoes. It took 7 hours to slog from the Cooper Spur snow park (the gate was locked) to the snout of the Coe icefall. We post-holed through deep snow above Cloudcap, while crossing the Elliot Glacier, and below Snow Dome. The area below the Coe icefall was littered with avalanche debris and rocks. A line up the icefall I'd climbed last June was obliterated by glacier creep, and filled with deep snow. Our attention turned to several water ice filled gullies in the east morrain. The Coe icefall is situated in a small circ. The the east "morrain" is more accurately described as basalt cliffs layered with steep snow fields. We decided to climb the second gully from the end nearest the icefall. We guessed it would be about WI3. P.S. the other gullies looked more difficult, but somewhat fatter. The first pitch was WI3. The direct finish looked to be WI4+. However, our belay anchor was a questionable Specter and 2 ice tools (we didn't bring rock gear, and only had 4 screws). We traversed right to a second pitch of WI3. That took us to the top of the 1st cliff band, and the bottom of a steep snow field. We estimated that snow field to be 500 feet tall. We simul-climbed three sections of steep, very hard snow and ice. We stayed to the right side of the snow field in a shallow gully in order to avoid a thick layer of unconsolidated snow. The snow field had several avi crowns and apparently had slid recently. Spin drift poured down on us. It seemed as though I climbed for an hour with my eyes closed - placing one tool after another. Protection was ice screws in frozen snow/ice (snice). Pickets were useless. After several hours of calf pumping front pointing, questionable anchors, and suffocating spin drift we emerged from the gully. We were near the top right side of Snow Dome. The wind was howling, and clouds were wrapping around the mountain from the west. It was obvious that we would have to descend the north side. By the time we reached the east morrain of the Elliot, visibility was poor and the wind was blowing 50-60 mph. We were knocked on our asses several times. We'd slept about 3 hours Sat night, and now were totally "out of gas." There was no shelter to eat and drink until we reached treeline. We arrived at the car 15.5 hours after we'd left. We both felt it was great fun, and totally worth the effort. Not to mention better than a good day at work.

I'll be showing slides at the Mazamas on Wed, Mar 12th 7 p.m. It's a free show. The topic is Cascades plus a trip I took last Jul to the Arctic Nat'l Wildlife Refuge in NE Alaska. Cascades includes rock, alpine and ice climbing, and back country skiing. Locations are the classics and some obscure routes, plus scenics. The ANWR trip was a 17 "hike" with a Seattle friend. We started on the N. Slope - just south of the Beauford Sea, hiked up the Jago River, over a glaciated pass near 7,000 feet, and down the Hulahula River. It took us 17 days. This is a surprisingly alpine/glaciated area in the Brooks Range (Romanzoff Mountains) simillar to the Cascade Range. I'll use a 2 projector/dissolve unit setup - It'll be a nice show. Beers at Bridgeport afterwards.

Skied White Pass (best BC skiing in OR/S. WA) last weekend. I almost hate to tell people about this place, but there's so much BC skiing to be had there and hey - snow is free. There was about 1.5 feet of powder with a light crust. No problem on the steep/deep runs. We saw avalanche debres in the usual places - just north of the "black tusk" on the east slope. We got a couple of inches of new wind blown on Sat night. My legs/lungs have recoved... face still hurts from smiling. P.S. will include photos at Mazamas slide show on Mar 12th.

Been to W. ridge Forbidden twice in the last two weeks. First time traversed high, second time traversed low accross the glacier. High traverse is the better option. We had to go to the left of the small pinnacle at the bottom of the snow gully. Watch for a thin bridge just west of the pinnacle. You can rap over it on the decent. There were some slides around the edges of the glacier, on the cliff band just above the bive sites. Don't spend too much time there. If you're considering the snow gully - forget it. It's history for this season. The 5th class gully to the left is the way to go.

I just climbed the W. ridge of Prusik Peak and was a bit disapointed. I'd heard so much about the route and its popularity. It was a long walk for a few 5.7 moves. However, I think it can be improved. During the decent I noticed a 150' crack system that begins on the "3rd class ledge" and ends near the rapell anchor. This looked to be a more classic line. My guess is 5.8. It's covered w/ black lichen. Has anybody climbed it? Are there any other routes on the north face? Are there any other routes on the S. face besides the three mentioned in Beckey's guide? Has anyone climbed any other route (besides the Mole) in the Enchantments area - Beckey route or otherwise?

See my trip report for Coe Glacier - early May '02. I can't believe it doesn't see more traffic. In general the north side is much more scenic, permits aren't required, and there are no crowds. I haven't climbed the Sandy Headwall yet.

Trip report: climbed Jeff Park Glacier on June 2nd. The road was blocked 3/4 miles from the trailhead (F.S. is reporting 3 miles). The summer trail was covered with snow and difficult to find/follow. I don't recommend it! Try the winter approach. Despite hot temps the Glacier is in excellent shape. We took a direct line left of center, and further right than most. The largest berg is bridged by a giant chock. We proceeded directly to the ridge from there using pickets and Alians. Easier/more difficult lines are possible. The "knife edge ridge" and the summit are covered with rime. We watched two other parties bypass the KER by staying in the gully behind the Mohler. One party tried, but backed off of the KER. I'd like to know if they summited... We down climbed the upper section of the glacier then traversed east to the more popular ascent route. Details - the gully behind the Mohler had some thin ice/mixed. I placed one screw above the berg, but it wasn't necessary. I used a second tool, but we took a more difficult line - one ice axe is sufficient if you're confident on steep hard snow. Scout Lake to the top of the ice fall was six hours.

Sorry for the belated responce. I'm sure this thing has melted out. Anyway - the location was described by another member. Castle Peak is south-southeast of Mt. Rainier. Access is via the Longmire entrance to Rainier N.P. Park at the Narada Falls snow park. It's about 1.5 miles to Reflection Lake and another .5 to the Castle. This is a popular back country ski area. I saw 100-200 feet of water ice flowing over small rock ledges on the NW side of the Castle. The flow wrapped many small trees. My guess was WI2-WI4. It looked fat enough to take screws. Some rock gear, and slings for the trees would help. See "Cascade Select" guides re: Pinnacle/Castle/Lane Peaks for an overview and other options. P.S. great backcountry skiing here.

Just wanted to put this out... I spotted this jewel last September and can't beleive how infrequently it gets done. See "Oregon High" for more info. It looks like an mini Adam's Glacier. However, this is a true alpine ice route. We stayed at the skier's A-frame cabin near the Tilly Jame campground. P.S. there's still water ice on the upper east morrains of both the Coe and Elliot Glaciers. May 4th '02 We climbed the Coe Icefall on Sat. In summary it's the longest alpine ice route in the area given its access. Its relatively easy access, views of the north face, and the aesthetic Coe Glacier make this route a Mt. Hood classic. Given conditions were grade II, AI3 and steep snow. I recommend early season - crevases on the Coe and the Elliot Glaciers could make access difficult. We started at the center of the icefall's snout. The first 150 feet is the crux - sustained alpine ice to AI3, and steep snow. Protection was four good ice screws. The ledge 200 feet up hides a giant cravase. We managed to cross it on it's right side. It'll be wide open in another month. From there we simul-climbed steep snow/ice for another 600 feet, placing two screws for protection. We reached the large step in 3 hours. It's an easy traverse to the top of Snow Dome from there. The upper section of the Coe, and the Sunshine route looked tempting but we were satisfied that we'd met out objective. Gear: two ice tools, six screws, 50m x 9mm twin ropes. Season: April - June Access: skis via Cooper Spur snow park. Time: Three hours on the route, 10 hours round trip from the A-frame cabin (near Tilly Jane C.G.). P.S: it's possible to summit via the Sunshine Rt., or Cathedral Ridge. There are many variations on the icefall ~AI1 to AI4.

On Mar 9th I scoped a pitch or two of ice on the N. face of The Castle in the Tatoosh Range. Has anyone climbed it?