Bug

Right on Russ!

Did the trail a few weeks ago. I wanted to check out the rock in the south drainage. It actullay looks OK other than the approach. If anyone else goes up there, either use the trail or ascend the route I descended. Just go up the old road to the switch back and cut right over to the creek. Follow that up to the headwall and exit right up the slabby, brushy rock. Bushwhack a few yards up and you are out on the talus. The rest is straight forward. Unless all the snow melts and the brush under that is really bad.

Played hooky Tuesday and climbed Persis. Let me explain why you shouldn't do it the way I did it. First,drive down the road to the right so you loose some elevation. Go up to the end of the road in the valley to the south of Persis. Follow the old road up past the switchback and bushwhack up through the small cedars and devils club. As it thins out, find the alder and rotten logs. Continue through these until you come to the vegetable handholds through the exposed section with rotten logs at the top. Finally go through the easy climbing through the trees on the rocky ridge crest to the headwall. Veer hard left and take a shower under the pissing wall. Ascend the wet mossy ledges through more cedars. Continue up on soft snow postholing intermittantly. Descend just right of south ridge crest to snow covered benches. Posthole to talus and descend to head of main gulley. Exit left and rappell alders. Walk down creek bottom to level of old road and cut right through devils club. Return to car. 3 1/2 hrs. No witnesses. No GPS. Shoot me.

There are some nice domes but a large percentage of it is grainy and loose. Look for the dark domes Luke. Where there is liken there is stable rock.

So.... not to drift or anything, but has anyone been up there recently?

Not to worry. Leave that to the sheep. I have a chainsaw and tree climbing gear. Yep. Spurs. I'm for liberal yet tasteful cutting back of trees at Index. Get permission and set a date.

I'm from Montana and I just bought a boat. I 'm missing your logic here. Maybe because you are from western Washington, you are wet behind the ears. Try focusing. The shotgun approach isn't working for you.

Trees grow back Rocks dont Trees grow back so fast that if we do not cut some back occaissionally, we will not have anyplace to climb in a decade or so. The only reason we can climb at Index at all is because of the work of many at stripping the moss, dirt, and brush out of the cracks. And cutting back at least a dozen trees since I started climbing there 15 years ago. This is the Pacific Northwest. If you don't scrape a surface clean frequently it will turn green and grow a friggin tree. I am for good environmental practices in our forest. I love trees. But if we do not trim back some trees at Index from time to time, you will not be able to climb there. Just hike around the hillside above the Garden Wall or toward the Upper Town Wall. There are lots of examples of what the Town wall looked like before the trees were removed. Why don't you go climb there?

The more pitches I get under me, the safer I feel during a fall. If I can fall the length of my rope and not hit the ground, that's a good thing. Most of my falls were during first ascents. A lot of those lines just didn't go the way I thought they would. I didn't know for sure until I pushed it as far as I could go. Somehow, though, I just never got excited about crags like the Coulee. It's better than not climbing. But if there is a big route or an alpine ascent to do, I'm not gonna be climbing or training on a crag.

Two newbies and I were up at Muir in the rain Friday night. It started raining at about 8000 and didn't stop until about 10PM. I got up at 4:30 to check conditions and it was windy and cold. I dug a pit and found the top 8 inches frozen, the next 18 inches unconsolidated wet granules, and a hard ice surface below that where the water was collecting. We packed up and came down. That was my first stay in the hut. Where were all the dope smokers I've been hearing about?

Thats what we're looking for... We'll be climbing Ingraham Direct Monday morning and there is supposed to be a ridge of high pressure building by then. The ceiling has been pretty low 5-8k feet when the marine layer moves in, so hopefully we'll get to look out over a sea of clouds! The only thing that worries me are the high freezing levels. 13K THIS WEEK!!! We'll be coming up the other side (Tahoma) and descending your tracks. Keep us out of the gapers. With this sunshine we've been seeing, I'm hoping for a little consolidation to take place. I plan on getting real early starts so I don't have to be on any snowbridges or avalanche chutes when they are soft. Afternon is for siestas.

Tahoma

If you get an 'A' on your paper, what do we get?

I've watched em do it at my house. Are you calling me a liar?!

Anyone been up there recently? Planning a trip up there next week.

with good behavior you're out in 3-5 for murder in this state no big thang I have always prided myself on being a peaceful guy. When I got ripped off and I found out who did it, I got my stuff back and told them off. Big whoop. They laugh at you afterwards for months or years. Make a difference. Kick ass and cut loose a few rounds. The bastards need a steeper learning curve. If it don't hurt they won't change.

I have watched the squirrels do this to the cedars in my back yard. We sit in our breakfast nook and they sit in theirs. We eat muslix and honey nut cheerios, they eat our cedars. Actually, I think they use it for their nesting cushions. Pretty soon you will see a bunch of little rats with bushy tails where before there were only two.

Went up there with a lawer friend a few years ago. We started left of center and went up ledges into corners to a big ledge. About 4 pitches. 5.8. Rapped down left and searched for water. Found none. Two snakes. Lawer won't go back. Excellent rock in blazing sun with no available water after mid summer. Endless possibilities. I would consider setting up base camp on top of icicle ridge and find snow off north side. Spend four or five days and do as many routes.

DO NOT GO UP THERE! The goats are out in force and will not wait for you to stop peeing.

Park on the street by the south entrance. It's a 150 yard walk to the rock. Of course, if we bbq at the rock we need our own bbq, tables, and rif-raf repellant.

Only pussies use wet suits. I was just up at Lake Wenatchee getting my gonads froze off. "Still early." He squeeked.

AARRGH. And I went boating. Nice pics!

I am into Marymoor park. The shelters are at the opposite end from the rock but it's a bbq. There is power there. I'll look into the particulars.

Slogged up Persis this morning to start circulation in those pig hauling muscles. The start is really a bummer if you don't find the trail. It starts about 60 meters before the end of the road. The bushwhacking is stellar though. I wouldn't have missed it. No Devil's Club. Just downfall on a steep wet slope with small cedars blocking the view to your feet. Once on the trail , it is a good steep rise to North Persis. Snow started at about 3500. Who ever was up there Friday, don't worry, I picked up your Cliff Bar wrapper where you stopped . What did you eat? Cliff Bars and Onions? There was an onion skin up there also. I could still smell your farts on the way down.

Is the road out to the South Tahoma Glacier open? Is there good parking at the trailhead to Tahoma Glacier route?