Bug

I have some from June of 2003. Check yur PM. I said East face in the PM but it is the W face.

Bolt your own.

Dear Tex and Griz. My grandmother always said that if you are feeling out of sorts and just can't seem to cheer up, try an enima. Enimas are highly underrated these days. It used to be common to give yourself an enima. Cleaning out the colon is a great healthy thing that envigorates your entire digestive and immunological system. Many cancers could be prevented by a healthy immunological system but have been stymied by the lack of enimas. So give it a try Tex. Griz, try two.

Insects colonize. Beer drinkin, smack talkin, fun bums are more like Amoebas. They merely infest. You would stand out like a sore thumb and be pummeled regularly. We are a minority as users go. DO NOT ALIENATE THE ORV USERS. They ARE a colony. There was a case in Idaho (?) a few years or decades ago where a hiker was killed by trundled rocks. The trundler was somehow found and convicted of manslaughter. Do we have any volunteers? Some friends of mine in Montana were brazenly attacked from above by a group of highschool kids on a wilding. They had no choice but to rappell quickly and sustained some shrapnel injuries in the process. They ran down the trail with the intention of continuing to the top and "conversing" with the youngsters but ran into a county sherrif at the trailhead. He said he would investigate. As it turned out, one of the wilding kids was the sherrif's son. If one of the victim's girlfriends had not been the daughter of a US Senator, the matter would have been dropped. As it turned out, the kids and their parent's were required to attend 9th district court proceedings against the kids but there were no convictions even though the kids had yelled many curses and clearly intended to murder the climbers. They even bragged about their exploits to other highschool kids. My suggestion would be to have a quiet conversation with the perpetrators. And never speak of the incident to anyone.

Good work Hannah!

14 up and down is done frequently but in good conditions and by people who are in great shape. At other times people die trying. Make the call very carefully. No one can help you in a bad storm. Luck be with you. I used a 0 degree bag inside a gortex bivy sack and had a 10 oz marmot down top safety pinned on it and was cozy down to -30 (in a tent). Everyone reacts differently to altitude and you won't know until you get up there. 0degrees at 14K on Denali is a hell of a lot colder than 0degrees at 14K on Rainier which is a hell of a lot colder than 0degrees at 5k on Rainier. Altitude affects your metabolism and it is more difficult to stay warm until you are acclimated. All that said,I have a -20 bag I could sell you.

I want the liners. Check your PM's.

Bring us back a TR. I may be up there next weekend. I would REALLY appreciate a pic of Colchuck showing the NW and N couliors. Can I get fries with that?

I did it in late June of 90. The Carbon was a maze of gaping crevasses and questionable bridges. I was wishing we had taken 4 pickets for our party of 2. We made it up to Thumb rock in 1 day without a super human effort but conditions were bare up to the Carbon. We did posthole up to thumb rock from the toe and saw a few rocks come off the crest. We stayed high to minimized their velocity. Getting out of the notch at Thumb Rock was steep rock and ice for about 15 feet. Then it was easy snow. The Black pyramid was dumping rocks down the right side of the chute so we stayed left to the crest. Then boogied under and around the BP to the right. From there it was styrofoam. We crossed to the summit snowfield in a direct vertical line across a snow bridge that dropped 1 foot when I stepped on it. The Liberty Cap summit snow field was the highlight of the trip. Due to the serac at the bottom, the view between my feet was to the Carbon river 5000+ feet below. We left a car at Paradise and made it there from Thumb rock in one day descending the Disappointment Cleaver route. We were young (30 or so) and in great shape. We did it in two days. Conditions overall were excellent.

Make that 2.

I got here late. Why are you guys willing to wear pushup bra's? Now I remember why I don't go to PubClub.

Whatever else you couch turds might say, He's havin one hellofa good time. Cheers Colin.

I was surrounded by mountains from birth. My father hated trails. My brothers had no mercy. It was climb or die....

No takers. If you got your PHD on line, you may be able to have it revoked in WA.

OOOOOOOOOO! Nice pics!

Yes. According to the trailhead register, they put in a Snowshoe pack to lake Stuart. BUT, when we were following it, it was already covered pretty well and it had a breakable crust here and there. It was better than nothing but not by a lot. Expect deep snow past the turnoff to Colchuck both ways.

If I don't know what I am getting into as far as conditions go, I use my steel crampons. But I have used my aluminum Stubai's on Rainier, N Ridge of Stuart, and several other climbs where I knew that I would be on mostly snow or that I would take them off for long stretches of rock. I love em. Those and my aluminum ice ax go almost everywhere I go solo anymore. I could get by without them but they sure make things more interesting.

I have renamed Wazzumountaineer. He is now Legolas the Snow-walker. It was a good workout but no climbing. Oh well. Here is a pic of Dragontail from near the trail junction. We went up the opposite side a ways to get a better view. Oh well. It's in the gallery.

St Mary's pk. and Little St Joe. are the most popular. But in warm weather you will want a north aspect. The ridge south of Big Creek is my favorite. Ski to the top and drop off the NW face into Big Creek. Keep veering right (N) off the top. Ski the open field (very steep). Look for the next opening, ski it, etc. Lolo pk. from Mormon ridge. The approach is an old ski club run that was cut in the sixties. The peak is fairly steep off the North side. Put it this way, I went back to Missoula about ten years ago and met up with two old friends. We decided to ski a ridge in the Bitteroots and I mentioned that I would like to ski something I hadn't skied before. My two friends said "Me too." There was only one ridge that none of us had skied. That was the Big Creek suggestion. The top is thick fir and the south slope is cliffed out. From the top, the north looks questionable at best. This is why no one ever skied it. It is very steep but is held in by brush. The bottom is very mellow all the way down to the trail. Where to park is the biggest problem. Find a spot that will be easy to find from the way down. Do not limit yourself to skiing your upward tracks. This is especially true of Big Creek. Park on the flats by the trailhead. Bring back a TR.

I liked the whole rail thing going on right above the crevasse. How many people skied over it before this guy?

That is the nicest welcoming to CC.COM I have ever seen. Usually there are a few backhands and a snub or two. Good advice and here is more. The most dangerous time in a climber's carreer is when he/she starts leading climbs. If you get hooked up with a new leader, you could go down with his/her shot at glory. New leaders are not all glory hounds by any stretch. Just watch out for the bravado. Be wary of people who BRAG about taking "whippers" and "long runouts". Learn your knots well enough to tie them with your eyes closed. Figure 8, Ring bend/water knot, Double fisherman's. Everything else will best be learned on the rock. Be careful!

Newhalem is past Marblemount so the Cascade river road should still be open. Or has anyone heard of anything blocking the road on the way to the Cascade Pass TH?

Yeah. All short day trips tho as I can't make my sick mother try to herd my kids into bed. Got out on Blodgett. Brittle but fun. Stewart will have to wait. It is raining here now.

Rules are made to be broken. If someone climbs the same route on the last day of winter in a breezy 75 degrees F, that counts as a winter ascent. Letter of the law vs. spirit of the law.

Hope your leg heals rapido but I have to admit I was hoping for some porn under the "Booty" heading. No naked toes please.