sverdina

Just spoke with park employee - mentioned that folks are getting in via Glacier Crest Trail...I assume that's a bit more work than the standard approach. Weather, on the otherhand has been great.

Any updates as to conditions? Assume the bear closure is still in effect?

describe and it's yours

Route we took in early July '03 (more snow then): Hard to tell from afar, but there *appears* to be a way to avoid the moat at base of buttress...

Aug '01: Crevasses were present above icefall, but were easily bypassed by staying right.

ahhhh...I know, I know. Andy B. and I were thinking the same thing as we climbed the face. The snow was actually soft and forgiving enough for a relatively worry free knuckle-dragger descent...providing the cornice stays put.

Cornice (June 19):

...and here's a shot of your boot track up Pt. 5760 (taken day after). Yah, the entire area is just gay...touring blows & scenery sucks too.

This has probably already been revealed here long long ago, but, in the event that it has not, has anyone noticed that the cover photo on Burgdorfer's newer WA backcountry ski guide book is reversed? Looks like Dorado Needle there in the background, with Backbone Ridge extending off to the right...which suggests the skier is descending down from the ridge above Sibley Pass (before Triad?) into upper Marble Creek basin. No doubt the image was reversed for aesthetic reasons. cover photo here

The AT boot/Plate binding setup is a logical choice for those situations and conditions on the ascent where you need that extra bit of edging control...not to mention being able to "ski" those short downhill bits (with skins on). AT boots will obviously never give you 100% of that forgiving and predictable feel you get with softies, but, they come close. For a more natural ride in AT's, set your stance closer together and farther back than you would for your area board and increase the angle on your front foot. Set buckles on first tooth and leave velcro/shin strap nice and loose. This setup is FAR better than the leather or plastic mountaineering boot in strap binding combo (too low on ankle). You'll get used to it in no time.

Boots - softies are fine for mid-winter/deep snow day trips, but, AT boots are ideal for longer spring-time traverses where you typically spend more time touring than riding. Any low-end model will do, since fwd lean & lateral sfiffness isn't as important for our mode of descent. My Scarpa Titans do me just fine (doubt they make those anymore though). Skins - I use Burton skins on my Voile split...they hook on both tip & tail & appear to be far stickier than the Voile skins. They've never come off. Showcase in Whistler usually has a few pairs kicking around, in the event you're nearby...

Arc'teryx M20, 30 or 40...prolly not the cheapest tho.

Bingo! ...and it takes a Canadian to point this out. Sadly, most of us won't be alive in 70 years to embrace this change. ha ha...

Mount Slesse in background left with Pleiades-Larrabee Group in front. Nesakwatch Spires and Mount Rexford in midground, right of center....but... Question - What's that prominent peak in very background right? Cheam area perhaps??

Yeh, get a fucking car and stop leaning on your friends for trailhead transportation for a change! You make decent coin and split room/board costs w/ your girlfried...what the hell do you do with all your money? Have a cocaine habit? Go out & buy a goddam not-so-used car & let me sleep on the drive back home for once.

Anybody done it recently? Are conditions such that one can reasonably expect to get through it in 4 days and bag some peaks along the way? Too late for this season?

Gentlemen, the slope is obviously steeper than it appears in the photo. Furthermore, the tall grass was still quite slick/damp making for an interesting ride back down into the basin should one of us have lost our footing. Ascending the steeper, more confined "jungle pitch" with its ample green belays seemed like the safer thing to do at the time. Also, the "stick belay" is actually just an exposed section of a larger root system.

Bottle of wine?? Ha ha! Very cool. Nah, sorry. Can't say that was me.

Last September... Gully - no axe or 'pons needed. "Ledge" - still there. Good description in the CAG.

So was this Lilooet fire the source of brown haze that drifted in from the east, up Duffy Lk. Rd. valley Saturday afternoon? Watching it move in from up high, obscuring views of nearby valleys/peaks reminded me of what was going on at Cascade Pass last September. We speculated that the haze was just afternoon moisture rising into the air...but, the redish-brown color? We weren't able to detect any smell of burning.

Thx - based on above comments & info on Biv.com, seems like Cerise is the way to go. Any idea where snow starts? Any sense in packing in skis this time of yr?

Curious as to the driving conditions to the above "trailheads". Cerise is higher, but is it snow-free yet? Interested in Matier's NW Face and Joffre's SW Couloir (Australian Gully?) and descending SE Face, and getting some turns in while we're there as well. What would be the better approach for the above itinerary?

My formative years were spent in JKT. Used to sing the "Puncak" song as kids.

From Goode:

View just left of first shot (Gatekeeper/VOC area perhaps). GE's background left?: Farther left. Sir Richard?