Dr.Hook

Nice one! I did the same trip about a decade ago as our first heli access trip. The Witch's Tooth presented us with some issues as well, but after much deliberating managed to rap into the correct gulley. The hike out was a trudge and involved the worst insect attacks I have ever experienced! Good for you guys to keep it on foot all the way. When we got to the cable crossing the boatman was passing us and offered a lift and a couple of cold beers - to this day the best beer of my life. T

Hard to believe there was it was snowing in the village during the drive in on 4.20. One of the best day in the hills I have had in some time, and not just because I live in the flat lands. The only wolf I saw was skiing ahead of me, beware cougars.

I love slide alder. Aim for 3-4 days and your options will open up. Try the Tantalus Range.

Climb: Joffre, Matier reverse traverse-Northwest ridge Joffre, South ridge Matier Date of Climb: 6/24/2006 Trip Report: I hesitated writing this report since the trip was nothing really signifcant difficulty or access wise but I think it can serve as a reminder that this pursuit is inherently dangerous no matter your experience or the perceived conditions on the mountain. Having climbed many of the peaks in this area myself JM and JH decided to link a few up over the course of three days and two nights to "get into shape for the summer season". I had attempted the northwest ridge of Joffre (from the highway) years past but had been denied when a snow storm blew in and forced us down. With the passage of time I had somehow forgotten the hideous hike to achieve Joffre from this aspect, 1500m elevation gain over 5km to the summit. This sounded reasonable with overnight gear and a rock rack (for the south ridge of Matier) from my couch in Vancouver. The trip started with us arriving in the parking lot at midnight on Thursday expecting an early start the next morning only for one of us (not me) to realize that he had brought one snow bording boot and one climbing boot. This necessitated the said party member to drive back to Vancouver that night sleep four hours and drive back while we camped in the parking lot. A minor speed bump that only set us back about 3 hours the Friday morning. We achieved our first bivi high on the ridge at 2400m with much sweat tears and the occasional visit from Cpt. Morgan. The next day brought us to the summit early in the day. Climbing was excellent in an outstanding position and short lived difficulties to mid-fifth, no rappels were required on the way up. We decended the Aussi couloir with the most killer bum schuss down the last half. We spent a leisurely afternoon and camped the second night at the Joffre Matier col. Sunday we rose early and leaving the packs at camp headed for the south side of Matier. The ridge looked outstanding. We were about three to four pitches up enjoying the awsome weather and climbing when disaster struck. Although the rock was loose in places it was by no means unreasonable. At the belay we heard a scream and the rope came tumbling slack as it only does when the leader falls this was followed by a barrage of large rock fall. After some broken communication I seconded up through some steep rock to a ramp with some grassy patches. The ramp ended in a pile of debris. JH was reclined on top of a bulge with legs elevated and tornequed(sp?) off. Blood was flowing down the rock and had filled JH's shoes he was hyper-ventilating and clearly in shock. He explained that he had tested a hold about chest level to overcome the bulge and the whole mess had come off as a 4' by 4' by 2' sheet of rock. He landed on his back and the rock landed on his legs. He did a head over heels and managed to land on a ledge narrowly avoiding a 40' fall and the rest of the falling debris. When I inspected the most significant of the flesh wounds he has lost 4" of skin along the shin clean to the bone - a large hole. We cut off a shirt sleeve tied off the wound and re-inforced with duct tape. Four tricky rappels ensued, we had one rope. Unfortunately the wounds lay below the boot line and made hiking, specifically decending, very very painful. Upon reaching camp JM got out the first aid kit and went to work cleaning and dressing the wounds for the decent. We took all the gear leaving JH with a light bag. It took 6 hours of slow going down to the Joffre lakes parking lot. Whistler clinic was closed so at midnight on Sunday we pulled into the Squamish emergency. The doctor, a young guy who did some climbing was fantastic and although he initially expressed that this would require plastic surgery, was able with some re-cutting to stitch the gaper up with a dozen stiches. All in all it could have been a lot worse, be carefull out there. Gear Notes: rope, small rack, first aid kit and could have used a Rambo knife. Approach Notes: Long hard and hot

Climb: -Nepopekum Falls Date of Climb: 3/18/2006 Trip Report: Jesse Mason and I made the drive up to Manning Park on Saturday morning since temps had been dipping as low as -10 there for the better part of the week. We snowshoed and skied in through deep snow under blue bird skies. From the look out we were delighted to see that both Nepopekum and Go With the Flow appeared fat and blue. Once under the route we geared up in waist deep snow which proved to be the crux of the route for the leader. I was forced to burrow extensively through deep snow to uncover enough ice to actually get onto the falls which involved pulling a steep bulge on the left side. The route itself provided some interesting formations and positions with funky but solid ice. It got a little thin up top with clear views of the water running underneath but still very doable. It took me almost half an hour to get from the top of the ice to the belay tree. This involved frantic burrowing and tunneling through deep and unconsolidated snow high above gear, very sobering. For subsequent parties the passage should be much easier. Excellent route in great weather, a perfect way to end the season. If it stays cold up there both routes should remain in for a while yet, get out there for some Westcoast Spring water ice. Sorry no photos forgot the camera in a hangover daze. Toby Gear Notes: skiis or snowshoes, ice scews, axes and crampons. Approach Notes: Three Falls Trail from Tbar about 1 - 1 1/2 hours depending on snow conditions.

Jesse is always losing partners to the cold liquid of one kind or another

Climb: Old Settler-Southwest Buttress Date of Climb: 9/24/2005 Trip Report: In an effort to bag an end of the season alpine rock route Jesse M and I made our way up to the Settler. After an unsuccesful trip to the Manatees this summer that involved a 3 1/2 day walk out I was amped for the easy access and short hike to achieve the alpine. We had been two weeks before with a third to climb Duck a l'Orange but were rained out after helping a couple of campers on the Talc N FSR who burned out their car battery by leaving the headlights on to set up the tent (woops). Returning Friday morning the 23rd we expected to be able to drive in as two weeks previous. When we arrived at the gate just before 8:00am it was locked. After driving through the logging camp looking for someone with a key the hippy treeplanters mentioned they were logging up the Talc Cr. N. during the week and there was no access. We drove back and decided to walk up the road leaving the car at 9:00am. Between km3 and 4 we encountered the the logging team who with a bit of mild persuassion from Jesse were generous enough to let us pass safely. We arrived at the roads end and started up towards the lake encountering a huge black bear in the avi swath below the steep forest. Once again Jesse with a bit of mild persuassion got us past this last obstacle and we achieved the lake by 1:30pm for lunch. We had orignally hoped to climb one of the more challenging routes but considering our time restrictions we headed for the SW buttress which looked like a fantastic line and were at its base climbing by 2:00pm. The route was absolutely spectacular and is the best local moderate alpine rock route I have climbed. Bomber rock, great features and a beautiful position. We simul climbed to the summit in just over 2hrs hussling and were back at the lake by 6:30. We made our way down the steep forest as the sun set and back at the road in total darkness. This was followed by the 10km pilgrimage back to the car which we achieved at 10:30 about 14hrs after starting out. The crux of the trip was actually the drive home, 6hrs without food had taken its toll on our attention span. We had to stop before reaching the paved road for a coupla glorious 10min power naps. After a meal in the 'wack it was the stay awake sing-a-long to the classics (I hate RUSH) to get us back to the city by 2am. Gear Notes: Shoulda called the forestry company to confirm access before leaving Vancouver, we would have been better prepared for the march.

Put it back in your pants Dru, there's a first time for everything.

To be honest I forgot about Jordan's post and didn't even check it out! We stuck to the route we took two years ealier because I was positive it would go. It was a trying day overall.

Climb: Mt. Ashlu-South Face Date of Climb: 7/4/2004 Trip Report: Background: Jesse Mason and myself had originally attempted the route in July 2002, the day after Mike Layton's trip (we were reading the printout of his TR on the drive up - not inspiring). This experience had made us familiar with the approach and descent so we were aware of what lay before us. In 02 we attempted to do the route in a day from Vancouver but were stopped under the face in super dense cloud and forced to leave. July 2004: Jesse Mason, Jeff Hunt and myself committed to another attempt. We left Vancouver the night of the 3rd after work and drove into the Shortcut Creek. The drive requires a 4W drive high clearance vehicle with a short wheel base - thanks Jesse. We spent the night on the road and left at 6am for the hike in. Approach: We remained on the left side of Shortcut creek until it split and we headed up for Rugged Lake (left side) two hours from car. The weather appeared fine in the morning but was steadily deteriorating into dense fog and intermittent cloud as we reached the lake. It took us an hour to scramble up the faint buttress to the south spur of Ashlu and another hour to cross snow and rock to the south face. With a few rest stops we reached the base of the route at 11:30. The Route: During the clear breaks we were able to find the base of the route. The route follows the line in the guide book photo and is obvious. Two pitches led us into a seeping groove that we followed for another pitch. Climbing was fantastic on solid rock with enough pro. The final two pitches headed left out of the groove and followed broken ground to the top. The final pitch is the crux which consisted of tight overhanging flakes with big holds and minimal gear (10a). We completed the route in five 60m pitches and summited by 4:30, four and a half hours bottom to top. Descent: Summiting in total cloud cover we rested before heading down the West ridge. The guide book shows a descent route that follows a long jagged ridge crest heading SW before scrambling down to the snow. After about 20min of descending we noticed a gully interrupting the ridge that easily descented to the snow. This is a much easier alternative to the descent described in the guide and brought us to the base of the route half and hour after summiting (no shit). From under the south face of Ashlu we dropped into the basin below Porterhouse following a snow gully and morrains (stay way left) and walked through the meadows along the creek back to the road 3 hours. Summary: The trip took us 15 hours car to car. The guide had a few inaccuracies. It is still at least 2 1/2 hours to the base of the route from Rugged lake. The climbing was done in 5 long pitches with a full rack and took us 4 1/2 hours (3 people). The biggest surprise to us was the descent gully which at half an hour to the base from the summit, shaves off 2 hours from the guide book descent time and seemed the obvious choice. The route was fantastic in a beautiful position/area. A worthy trip if you don't mind 10 hours of hiking/bushwacking for 5 of climbing. Toby Froschauer

Has anyone been up lately, if so what are the conditions of the n face couloirs. Cornices? Or am I just kidding myself and it is still slurpee all around.

Jan. 6 climbed Cherry Ice and Honeyman Falls. Honeyman is definitely in and rock solid, great route, -20 though.

Was up the 14th and 15th. Ice looked to be coming in very well but weather was warming up. Sunday we climbed the Tube which was fine but a little wet and thin on top. Afterwards we went to climb Loose Lady where a couple of cars were parked so we bailed and checked out Bridge River Canyon. The Canyon routes were were close if not in, Night'n Gale looked pretty fat. Monday we had planned to climb Synchro but with the weather warmin up we climbed Salmon Steaks instead which was a fun and easy. There was very little snow in the Canyon and Lilloet in general.

I'm young and ripped but have had to work for it. Try doubling up on work outs, running then weights or bike ride then hike. Most importantly try to find a cross training activity that you enjoy, skiing or mtn biking have worked for me. Hardest thing to do is to drink less beer and make the shift to the hard liquor. I work out twice a week going hard and eat whatever I want. Thank god you don't put on weight smoking, long live the leaf.

Just got back from a 2 week trip and gear was stored with the ropes (wet) during this time. My ice screws are rusted up, primarily around the hangers. I realize this could probably be avoided by "taking better care of my gear" however to late now. Should I worry about this, can the rust be safely removed, I borrowed a bunch of the ice screws...