SEF

Observation Rock, it would seem, is ice climbing's answer to the Tooth.

Just a head's up. Larry the Tool HAS cited climbers drinking beer in the Snow Creek TH, and poured out the six pack in question--saying that consumption of alcohol is illegal there. I have no idea about the legal issues at TH's or in the campgrounds, but have to agree with MattP that some discretion in the keg consumption would be wise. I'd sure hate to see any go to waste. See you there. Can take riders, will leave midday tomorrow.

Looking to climb Saturday and/or Sunday. Static Point, Darrington, or Leavenworth. Looking for a partner, and I can drive. Like to climb stuff in the 5.8 to 5.10 range.

We did the Snow Lakes approach a few weeks ago on a car to car trip to S Face Prusik, and in hindsight, would do no different. Weather turned to crap during the climb with last two pitches in snow, and sleet covered rock for the raps. Was quite happy to be returning to the car through the trees in the drizzle coming down at the lower elevations.

I have seen memorials elsewhere as well. Lundin, in particular, comes to mind, with two plaques near the summit commemorating two different individuals who died there. I have witnessed firsthand the spookiness some people feel about such plaques at the site of death, and so have mixed feelings about it, though I am inclined to accept it. So, I agree with the memorial idea for both Bill Robins and Göran Kropp. (I have figured out the umlout -- on a Mac, first type option u, the type the letter that needs the umlout; the letter will then appear with the umlout). I would accept locating such memorials wherever people felt them to be most appropriate. The base of Air Guitar may be that place, but the memorial will be more accessible to more people near the parking area. In any event, I am more partial to a bronze plaque or some such mounted on the rock over carving into the rock. As for renaming the route, I would cast my vote against. I favor the idea others have expressed to name a new route in Göran’s honor (and why not one for Robin’s as well).

We used the E Ledges descent a la Nelson to put us back at the base of the climb allowing us to climb free of packs. Times from my notes: 6:30 Depart camp 8:00 Arrive base of climb 8:30 Start climbing 10:30 Summit 11:30 Start descent 12:30 Return to packs at base of climb 1:30 Return to camp

May I echo Jon’s sentiments? A lot of groups, non-Mountaineer and Mountaineer alike, use Mountaineers Dome for instruction, precisely because it works so well for that. I am very interested in equally good alternative spots on the Icicle or in Tumwater canyons that are useable, but have seen no suggestions. If we can identify some spots like Dru mentions at Squamish, we can all benefit. I have to agree with Dwayner, that an attitude of sharing should prevail. I’ve also been on both sides of the dilemma, teaching a group at a crag, but also taking one or two people out and finding a big group at a spot we want to work. If my group is at the crag, I emphasize that if we have a route that is idle, then anyone who appears to be waiting for it be invited to jump in and either use our TR, or lead it on their own. If another group arrives, we negotiate. I have arrived at 8 mile rock and seen TR’s hanging from all routes, with long periods of inactivity on Classic or Deception cracks, or the face route to the right. I’ll ask who a long idle top rope belongs to, and will be told that so and so is still working the route. ??? Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to wait if someone is really on a route. If it is my TR on the route, I try to let others know they can use of the route whenever the rope is idle between climbs, and try to pull promptly when done. On passing on climbs, glacier trade routes are a bit different than technical rock routes. On the glacier, if you are the faster party, you can usually just go around the other party. I just thought it was a fact of life, whether I was the passer or passee. Face it, on these climbs rock or ice fall is an ever-present objective hazard and you do not have much realistic control of who may be above you. If descending, the passing party will be below your potential party inflicted rockfall, so the issue cuts both ways. The Rainier fatality was tragic, but I have seen no suggestions that another party induced the rock fall. On rock routes, passing is a bit tougher, but common courtesy, in my view, is to allow faster parties through. If at the start of a route, someone claiming to be faster may not be at all. On Outer Space, my party was just starting when another, claiming to be fast, asked to get in front. I said OK, but after we completed the first two pitches (Remorse start, and they were not yet ready to climb). After the first belay, we never saw them again. We had lunch and lounged for an hour on top and still saw no sign of them, and were very glad we were not behind them. I just try to be reasonable, what is so hard about that?

Did the route 5 years ago, in late July. I concur with Alex and Smoker. R/t from hairpin, we ditched packs at the base of the climb, carried powerbars and water, and scrambled up to the first real "crack" pitch. The 2 bolt ladders are best done free or french free, with bolts spaced close enough that the second has no problen without jumars, grabbing draws from bolt to bolt. Every other bolt at that time was a funky 1/4 incher, with homemade hangers that only accepted narrow gated biners--I don't know if that has changed. Descended the S Ridge and back to packs in rock shoes, no problem. Off to Winthrop for showers and dinner dates, and we were not late. Good Luck.

On 8/30, we went into Boston Basin with overnight packs, leaving at 4:30 PM and arriving at the upper Boston Basin camp at 6:30 PM (I just checked my notes). It was our 2nd trip to the basin this season, and we camped near the upper toilet. At the avy debris, just go straight across, following the boot prints, and pick up trail on the other side. Forbidden (Noname Glacier) was OK, with typical late season breakup, but passable. We did the E Ridge Direct without any difficulties. Another party descended that day to adjacent camp from Sharkfin. In talking with them, they mentioned no problems. You might shave some time off our time with day packs.

My understanding comes recently from other sources and is second hand. I have no knowledge about the development history of the parking lot, although that has been there for some time, and my understanding is that it is on private land. This is what else I have been told: Ownership of the Town Walls is a mixed affair, with some owned by the State Parks, some by a private party, and some by Burlington Northern. Lower Wall is privately owned to just west of the Country, perhaps by the woman in question, although I was told the owner resided in Arizona. Documentation issues present challenges in getting title insurance. I understand that State Parks proposes to purchase this portion and has made an offer, but title issues complicates the purchase. The Country Area is all State Parks land. The Gun Club is on Forest Service Land. The Upper Wall is all State Parks Land except for maybe the most western portion. The Inner Wall and the western portion of the Upper Wall may be owned by a third party. A part of the Lower Lump may be owned by Burlington Northern and otherwise by the third party. To know for sure would require a survey. I'm told the Parks Dept is currently only concerned with the Lower Wall Purchase. In any event, long term access would benefit from consolidating ownership to the state. To that end state agencies and the Access Fund deserve our support to get there. We must also be careful to respect the wishes of private property owners, though admittedly, determining what is private is tough.

Temps can vary all over the map, even over the course of a few hours. Best bet is to watch the forecasted freezing level, which will give you some idea. But it is only as good as our usual NW forecast. Last weekend the forecast I saw was for 6,500' freezing rising to 10,000' Sunday. We were caught in the same snowstorm Sunday as chuck, but on S Face Prusik. It was t-shirt warm and sunny when we began the climb, but very quickly deteriorated in the last two pitches, doing the last pitch in a snowstorm. Rapped in snow and sleet. (Another party bailed on the W Ridge, and had their rap ropes stuck. Wet ropes are harder to pull.) Our climb was done car to car, and on the approach, frost covered the open spots around Nada and Snow Lakes after clear night. Light on and off drizzle for the hike out. It did feel like it was warming up, but we were also dropping elevation.

After 1 season of moderate use of the Garmont Towers, I mostly like them, but they are showing abnormal signs of wear. The fabric portion is starting to fray, and the seam with the leather is coming apart over the ball of the foot. On a recent weekend I spent most of a day kicking steps up snow in them, and my feet were wet at the end. Folks in leather did not have that problem. But they do offer a nice compromise in weight and stiffness, and I find them reasonably comfortable though I am prone to heal blisters in them, as well as most anything except sneakers.

Did the route Saturday, 8/30, along with another party of 2 that we passed. Forbidden was crowded with several parties on the W Ridge. Nelson's topo is close on the E Ridge, but our experience was a bit different. Instead of going over the last gendarme, we traversed around. Never did find any 5.8 climbing as a result, I suspect because we were a bit lower than Nelson's topo. We also had to stretch out our pitches (50m rope) with simulclimbing to match his pitch count. He must be using a 60m rope, and using all of it. Nelson's times are conservative. A reasonably fast party of 2 will do better. For us, the summit was 4 hours from Boston Basin (Nelson says 6 –8). The E ledges descent took an hour back to the packs. We followed pretty closely Nelson's description except for the last part. The gully to the notch was nasty looking and we scrambled up the rib before the gully to the notch. For booty hunters, a rap rope was abandoned on the SW side of the E Ridge, perhaps about half way along the route, and one rap below the ridge. Looks like someone bailed by rapping to the Noname Glacier, but could not pull the rope.

We used one 60 m rope and rapped off the S Sides of both Concord and Lexington as part of a traverse 8/17. The summit of Concord has a funky bolt and 1 inch tree hooked up as a rap anchor. We did not use it. Nor did we use another rap anchor E some 30 feet down on a tree that would have required a rap from the summit to reach. Instead, we downclimbed W slabs to a rap anchor, where one rappel, angling to rapeller's right, gained the Concord/Lex notch. You did not ask about a rap off the S of Lexington, but with one 60 m rope from an anchor E of the summit, you reach 5.easy rock you can downclimb to the notch, or you will need two ropes. Rapping off the N side appears to be OK with one rope.

Loren, Can only comment based on what I saw from the road 2 weeks ago. Likely someone else will have more recent beta. It had a lot of fresh debris with some dirt, though that is pretty typical for this time of year. The Sill Glacier, especially the far W end, sent a number of large sloughs down. The couloir did seem to be continuously filled, but I could not guarantee that. Beyond that, I can't say.

I found the following in the Obituaries of the Bremerton Sun online: Jason Long Jason Matthew Long, 23, of Port Orchard died Aug. 17, 2002, from injuries sustained in a fall while climbing Mount Cruiser in the Olympics. He was born Sept. 21, 1978, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Richard and Hilary (Hermanson) Long. He graduated from South Kitsap High School in 1997 and from the University of Washington in 2001. Mr. Long had worked as an electrical engineer at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for three years. He enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, mountain climbing, bike riding and hiking.

Beckey on North Star and Agnes: North Star North Star was climbed by a U.S. Geological Survey party about 1904; they used the summit as a triangulation point. Agnes The first exploration of the mountain was in July 1909 when Asa Post, Walter Bergman, and a companion climbed sister peak Mount Asa (7060 ft). Agnes was not climbed until summer 1936: W. Ronald Frazier and Dan O'Brien made the ascent from the West Fork Agnes Creek valley, making a bivouac on the descent.... Agnes is seldom climbed, and all approaches are rugged (only fourteen parties succeeded by 1987). In 1947 Lawrence Nielson and Austin Post hiked the Yew-Agnes ridge and Asa ridge continuation, crossing the rugged pass between Asa and Agnes...

"Solid" is a relative term. I am aware of at least one climbing accident on Pinto, caused by one of those "holds" breaking off. Leader fall resulted, with injury and helicopter evacuation. Not everyone shares the sentiment that the rock on Pinto is solid. I have not climbed there, but others who I respect have climbed there and will not go back.

I know nothing of the Hinkhouse Peak register, but the peak was named after Jimmy Hinkhouse, who perished in a climbing accident on Denali several years ago. He founded the OSAT climbing club, One Step At a Time. The logbooks The Mountaineers now make for registers are done with waterproof paper. I recall finding a register several years ago (I don't remember the peak) in which the register cap was completely missing. Logbook was still inside and appeared no worse for the wear. I put it in a ziplock although I'm not sure that was really necesary. We have spare logbooks in the event anyone is interested. It certainly works better than scraps of paper. I share the sentiment that registers from remote or hard to climb peaks make much more interesting reading than peaks that are visited regularly by masses. I recall reading the summit register of the Middle Peak of Index back in the 70's as part of the Index Traverse. (Now I'm dating myself). It was a film canister with a scrap of paper with 3 entries. The first entry was Fred Beckey and Pete Schoening. We bivied nearby and felt like we were with legends.

Summit registers have been discussed in a number of threads, and I just reviewed the older "Destruction of Summit Registers" thread from about a year ago. At the risk of a spray fest, I'd like to weigh in as the Seattle Climbing Committee Chair of The Mountaineers. The Mountaineers have placed, by far, the most registers in the state, in quite a wide variety of jurisdictions. The Mazamas, BoeAlps, and other clubs have also placed registers in some locations. Differing land managers have different attitudes about registers, which have also varied over time. We are finding more tolerance as of late. We are also finding that within the last decade or so, some summits have become very difficult to maintain with registers, and we have given up trying on those. Generally, the difficulty in keeping a register on a peak varies almost proportionately with the numbers that climb it. Out of the Liberty Bell group, I found last Saturday that Liberty Bell, Concord and SEWS did not have registers, while Lexington and NEWS did. The brass canisters are way too costly to keep replacing. To consider replacing those we know are missing at this time would mean more canisters need to be manufactured, and would expect inflation to have driven up costs, perhaps prohibitively so. Maybe we can try to replace selected missing registers, perhaps with less costly PVC versions to see if they will be respected. We track registers through our trip reports that Mountaineer climb leaders fill out on a web site, where they find a form for register condition. Those reports allow us to track which are missing or are full. Regarding the paper logbooks, those we try to retrieve and replace when full. The full ones are given to the UW Library and stored in the Suzallo Library archives. As many have noted when they have thumbed through registers on summits, these documents contain a historical record that has value. Regardless of your personal views on summit registers, destruction of them is the destruction of a small part of the history of the state. If any of you on this board want to help us in maintaining the registers, by carrying in a new blank logbook, or offer to replace a missing canister, please get in touch with me. If any of you have access to resources to manufacture these canisters at affordable prices, also get in touch. If you want to report a full logbook, let me know. Thanks for your interest.

On Saturday, Liberty Bell / Overexposure, Concord / N Face, Lexington / N Face, NEWS / W Face, and SEWS / W Face. On NEWS, at the base of the 5.11 crack with the funky looking horn with a bunch of slings for a belay anchor, partner put an elbow through my glasses, sending 1 lens down the rock. Completed the climb, descended then reclimbed the first pitch to look for lens on the big ledge. We spent 2 unsuccessful hours looking. But I did find 1 stopper, 1 roll exposed film, 1 wire gate biner, 1 broken biner, and 1 roll tape. Bummer, but went on in semi blind condition. FYI, I thought the 5.9 variation on the SEWS / W Face was a sandbag. In looking at the register on Lexington, the last several parties indicated it was climbed as part of a traverse of the Liberty Bell group, apparently a fairly popular linkup. I spent Sunday getting new glasses.

I'm coming into this thread late, having not noticed it before. Did the route 2 summers ago, and don't feel it is as bad as some have mentioned. But I don't give it a stellar rating either. Far better are the NW Corner and W Face routes. Or any of a number of routes on other spires nearby. The route basically is a series of pitch long bulges interspersed with easy, often loose ledges and ramps. The "Flycatcher" pitch itself is a finger to hands crack in a corner left of the ridge that is nice except for a bit of sandiness on the rock surface. Perhaps 10a and maybe 30 feet long. The interesting climbing only comes in short bits. While some sections have poor rock, it is never as poor as the traverse pitch on Minuteman, for example, which I hear is getting a lot of traffic. Burdo's topo was OK, but I did not like the scramble down E from the ridge N of NEWS. Avoid that and go out the Blue Lake trail.

Although it has been many years since I did the complete N Ridge, I do recall some things very well. We descended to Ingalls creek and hiked out over Longs Pass. Because we were carrying over, starting from a bivi near the base of the climb, we did some hauling on the lowest pitch or two. Climbing in mountain boots, we summited around sunset, but the descent was fast and pretty mellow, and we got back out to the car around midnight, hiking out with headlamps. I think if we had done the Sherpa Glacier descent, we may have ended up with another bivi. To do it again, I would do the same descent as before. I have descended the Sherpa after doing the Stuart Glacier Couloir, and it went well, but in late season, would have added stress. I would not do it in the dark. If you do the Cascadian, just make sure you get far enough East before before dropping down, or you will end up in Ulrichs Couloir, which will be steeper and slower. [ 08-05-2002, 08:06 PM: Message edited by: SEF ]

The map in the article would appear to exclude the Index climbing areas from this proposed wilderness, but that is not entirely clear. My understanding is that the ownership of the Town Walls is mixed and some is within the State Park system. It would of course have to be USFS to be considered. Anyone know the details? Darryl?

Lambone’s story has given me a lot of pause. Had this storm occurred 8 days previous, I would have been caught. Same route, same bivi spot, same forecast, but I was solo without a cell phone. Although I had high winds during the night, it was followed by a quiet and clear morning. It is a wonderful spot. Speculation is easy seated in front of a computer. IMHO, Lambone and party did the right thing, and are here to joke about as a result. Kudo's to all the SAR folks who responded.