Bug

Thanks alot. Now I'll never sell my #5. Good TR. Great pics! Thanks.

Yikes! That area above the cleaver does look like chop.

That knife edge ridge to the east has one route that I know of. It is out toward the south end of the ridge and goes up a crack system on the west side. It finishes through a 10A roof with a hand crack. "We hymned and hawed about hiking up there but decided to head back - shoulda continued on I guess." Up in the trees on the east side of Nez Pierce there was sometimes a little snow to melt. Otherwise you have to hump a couple gallons up there with you. I am digging for my old Torre guide. I'll post it when I find it.

It is getting pretty thin snow-wise up there - http://www.mountrainierclimbing.blogspot.com/ I am changing my plans to the North ridge of Adams (probably). You are welcome to come along. The more the merrier. Especially when kids are involved. PM me for what few details I have. We are tentatively looking at Aug 30- Sept 1. Maybe through Sept 3.

Cheers! Don't worry. I don't need any encouragement. While I was surprised by the direction this thread took, I am used to the attitude that kids can't do difficult climbing and hate hard work no matter what. That would be my x. Kids are tougher and more inspired than our generation gives them credit for. They absorb our limiting attitude and assume its consequences. Tragic. My Grandmother was 12 when both of her parents were killed. She and her 5 siblings managed well enough. It was most likely hell compared to my life but our society would assume they would have died from neglect. I push my kids past their expressed limits often. More often than not, they later talk about those experiences as their biggest accomplishments. I'm not talking about hanging by their finger tips over an abyss or walking 27 miles in a day. But they can do a lot more if you present the problem as something they CAN do. And always have a treat at the other end.

Blackfoot Dome. The route runs from the right shoulder. There are some moderate to easy routes on the buttres top left in the pic.

Turn right at the black tower.

By the way, THANK YOU ALL for your concern for my daughter.

Thanks but you are crossing posts here. I only have two daughters and a step son. And for the record, Olivia has been relentless in her begging me to take her this summer. As for safety, I need another competent adult for sure, but I know my daughter and I am sure that when we are climbing Rainier, if anyone falls into a crevasse, she will be a strong contributer to the arresting of the fall and the extraction process. Kids range widely in their tolerrance for drudgery and its rewards. Olivia, Meredith and I went up Tinkham Pk last week via a bushwhack route. Olivia was like a puppy in a bark park. Meredith was just a little slower. When Drew was that age, I did not even consider taking him into the mountains. My only real concern is altitude sickness. Thus the 5 days. Because of the lateness of the season, a one day ascent from Muir is going to be a slush fest for anyone. The AM window for firm snow is narrow at best and so, I want to camp on the summit, weather permitting, and descend fresh and on firm snow. To wrap it up, I take adults up Rainier almost every year and back off whenever they want to. Sometimes we summit, sometimes we don't. I certainly will not push Olivia any harder. I want her to continue to beg me to take her climbing.

Its the new "Metro-sexual" climbing thing. You don't have to be macho to be cool.

I used to solo the R&D route every spring to get my zen jumpstarted. This year I lead it with gear and thought I was going to fall at one point. What can I say? My focus was on the girl in the team below us.

Your focus is weak grasshopper.

Why do you support bolting?

I wonder what they would think about a few bolts.

Swwwwweeeeeet!

Beenies are aid.

Is there anyone out there with an urge to go up the DC route with my 11 yr old daughter and I? Another kid would be OK of course. I am thinking of a 5 day trip. two to Muir/Ingrham flats, and maybe two to the summit stopping at 12 and digging in. It would also mean a night on the summit and out the last day. Many variations are possible. I need another experienced adult so we can keep each other out of the crevasses.

Good discussion. I definately agree with MattP. I have seen people solo Rainier many times and have friends who do it now and then. I personally choose not to and have summited by a few different routes. I would consider it if my girls were not so young. Adams North Ridge is a little snow and a lttle more choss and a lot of trudging but more exciting and remote than the South Spur. I did it in a day.

Recipe for tick soup. Wear white. Walk on brushy game trails. Add two cups water. Bring to a boil. The spotted ones are females and much more likely to carry Rocky Mtn Spotted feaver. Flick them off if possible. Use tweezers if imbedded. Butter or cooking oil works to get them to back out. Don't expect instant results.

Win, win, loose. Fairweather probably does not like the scenario you are describing. Am I right? Anyway, thanks for the information Matt.

I'm talking about agency policy Matt. I could go on and on about my father's carreer in the Forest Service as Region 1 Director of Recreation or my own 4 years as a wilderness ranger after he retired. But what we wanted or believed was contrary to what the Forset Service did during the Reagan years which is when we were both ex-communicated. The people who forced us out were the ones who took over. Actually, before I left, I rammed a 5 year delay of a Forest Plan that called for oil and Gas drilling in the Badger Two Medicine down the Regional Forester's gullet. 2 weeks later he had to present me with the highest award in inter-Agency Recreation, (the Primitive Skills award), for an unrelated project. We talked amicably but my job was not funded the next year. He became Chief of the FS that year. OK I'm bragging. But I am also making a point. I know of what I speak and it does not indict all who work for the FS. But the FS is an agency under the direct control of the executive branch, George.

OK I used "forest" inappropriately. I like the scenic rivers byways and would like to see grasslands and deserts preserved as well. I am not limiting the debate to PNW. Sorry if I missed that you are. But no, I was not limiting it to timber rapists but they are still a large part of the forest service budget. There are also mining interests as you mentioned, housing developments, and recreational use that is not conducive to wildlife health. Examples would be increased erosion due to mountain biking and or ATVs, Snowmobiles in game wintering ranges (people for that matter), and even horse use in very sensitive areas. I know this is not "popular" but we are on a population boom curve that getting steeper at an alarming rate. If we do not conserve and preserve now, it will probably never happen. The rate of species extinction is higher now than any other time since the dinosaurs died. Granted, most of those are in the tropics but we live here and the effect will broaden its reach. Enlighten me. Maybe it's the way you put it. Maybe I'm being dense. OK so are you saying that anything designated as wilderness cannot have any second growth in it? SPirit of the law vs letter of the law. Again I argue for habitat. I'm from Montana. Vigilante justice was used effectively to curb a rash of robberies in the late 1800's. It was one extreme case that not many people support as a long standing solution to crime. I think this would apply to the Olympic Penninsula example you cite. Well I may be out of touch with FS budgets these days. But I would bet good money that any agency in today's executive branch doesn't give a rip about recreation for you and me.

Does it have a crotch strap so you can haul me? Cup holder?

Nicely done. Thanks!

I am sure Fairweather will come up with examples. He usually has some facts to back up what he says even if we interpret them at different extremes. I am curious to see what areas he is talking about.