Juan

E-Dog: Mail me off line and fill me in on your trip. Mr. Good Time

Ray: Are you there, man? You were in the men's room for like 45 minutes, then we couldn't find you. Yes, a good time was had by all. I know my wife will be thrilled when I produce her favorite climbing bra (silk, Vistoria's Secret) with Fred's autograph on the left cup! Happy Mother's Day, babe! Fred is a great guy, and great to meet Chris and Greg and see Tim again. Juan

NW Brewhouse it is then.

NW Brewhouse sounds fine, but The Roanoke on MI is actually a cool bar. AlpineK, whoever you are, maybe I'm the other eastsider whose name you can't remember. I've been posting here under different names for quite a while. Look forward to meeting you in person before Cavey takes you out tonight. Let's settle this before lunch. John Sharp

The Dutchess is good for Eastsiders too. The Roanoke is actually really cool, and when you next think of an Eastside event, think of that place. But for now, this week, the Dutchess. 7:00? Juan

Roanoke Tavern on Mercer Island? That's about as cool as we get on the Eastside.

So where is the Pub Club tomorrow night? John

I'm a very clubbable kind of guy. But will I have to sit on a block of ice in my underwear? Juan

Hurray! I'm in!! But what is it? Mike: What are your vitals? Call me at 425-765-7747. E-Dog: Have fun on your trip to Utah, and may you get ALL that you deserve, in the best possible way, my friend. Cheers, John

JuanTwoPunch aka Juan aka Mr. Goodtime aka Mr. Blister here: We walked down the Casaval Ridge too. Was your reason for going down Avalanche Gulch so you can ski? There is nothing tricky about the Casaval Ridge, and you could get a few turns in on it, though there would be lots of side-hilling too. Have fun, and give us a report. John Sharp

What is KTK? Mike: Am I worthy? Also, am I an old guy? I'm kind of hoping so. Hope to see you fire breathers on Tuesday, wherever this event is held. John Sharp

I've not been to one pub club, and Seattle or Bellevue is fine. Bellevue (and I say this as a native) has no cool old bars. Seattle has plenty. Tacky Town is full of drunks who regularly weave up and down 405 and I-5. Let the bastards come north. Can't wait to party with you all. Juan

I will attend on the eastside. Is this next Tuesday? John Sharp

E-Dog: Open your arms to the Lord. Watch more Benny Hinn. Stay up late for the 700 Club. You'll be a better man for it. Amen

I do that quite often, particularly on volcanoes, but wouldn't do it on Big Four N. Face. Others might, but I wouldn't. John

My nephew Terry Ahern and I went to Big Four yesterday (Wed. 4/24). This was my third attempt on a N. Face route in two years. Terry had never seen the mountain, and said "shit" when it first came into view from the road. You still have to walk the road from Deer Creek, so the approach is about three easy miles. We left Bellevue at 4:00 and left the car at 6:00. We found that you can still get up the far right cliff band without much trouble (using avalanche debris part of the way, then rock and tree climbing). Once in the N. Face bowl, the conditions were much, much better than I have found them before. At the most, we were sinking to mid-calf. We used crampons and ski poles to get to the start of the N. Rib. For anyone interested in the Sprindrift Couloir, it still looks very in, not much different than when it was climbed by several strong parties earlier this spring. But we saw enough big wet slides yesterday for us not to want to be in any gully on the face for any length of time. However, if you move fast and get lucky with objective hazards, the Sprindrift would still have lots of good ice to climb. Didn't see any of Bart's infamous dry-tooling terrain; must still be snow covered. From the base of the N. Rib, we took a line that was up to 60-degree snow and ice. Very enjoyable. Comparable to the first pitch of Chair N. Face, but more of it. We had a short rope and only one picket; should have had more pickets. Didn't need the ice screws or rock pro where we were, but slung trees when we could. We ran it out more than we should have, but still got to the base of the headwall that must be turned on the left by dropping into the gully (4,800 ft.). This is 1,300' below the summit. We weren't anxious to get into the gully as the sun had warmed the mountain considerably, and big wet slides were coming down regularly. Plus, the gully is very hard snow and undoubtedly some ice, and our lack of pickets was weighing on us. This was just before 12:00. Terry was feeling a little under the weather with a cold, so all things considered, we started rapping on two 37m ropes tied together. We used trees when we could, and did some belayed downclimbing with a T anchor when we didn't have trees. Got back to the car at 6:00. Our advice if you go before conditions change too much: Take 3-4 pickets right now for any N. Face route. Ice screws too depending on your line. Be prepared for steep snow and lots of it once you get out of the bowl. I recommend twin 60- meter ropes, or at least two 50s, as rappelling with short ropes was tedious. And it's no fun to downclimb snow that steep when you're tired. Don't know about rock pro, but we had three pitons and three cams. Take 6-8 over-the-shoulder slings. Most importantly, watch for slides. I've been on the face three times in the last two years, and been lucky. It's a hell of a mountain. John Sharp

Nice shot of Colin. But why weren't Jim, Bob and I credited with the bivi site on J'Berg? I believe it's the one we made from scratch. I don't think this article will attract hordes. Most people I know who have come from other parts of the country to climb here (Boulder, for example) are wasted by what the Cascades can dish out. John Race said it well. Many of them don't come back. I'm sure this piece will have everyone lining up for J'Berg. Not. If the masses do come, the Marblemount Rangers better double their rescue budget. John Sharp

Or do the Emmons instead of the DC. Either route is much more of a physical endurance test than a test of alpine skills. Learn how to do the french technique with your feet, how to keep your energy up with food and fluid, how to manage basic rope work, and then go on a weekend. You won't be alone. There are huge crevasses, but you'd pretty much have to jump in. That's my two cents worth. John Sharp

I'm counting on footsteps this weekend up the TC, since it's going to be a fucking blizzard up there. It never fails: Juan gets a hall pass from the wife, the weather sucks. Juan is doing yard work, it's sunny. Cheers anyway, Mr. Goodtime aka Mr. Blister aka Juan aka JuanTwoPunch Of course, if one could keep a name when one switches computers, which act defies a computer-impaired guy like me, then it would still be Mr. Goodtime. Sorry for the confusion.

My wife announced today that she wants to begin her post-ACL surgery climbing with a trip up Mt. Baker. She climbed it at age 16, and wants to go back. What is the best month for the N. Ridge? I've heard various reports about difficult glacier crossings to even get there. Any advice will help us as we set this up. Thanks much, John Sharp

Worst approach: Probably the Goodell Creek approach to the Pickets, at least in 1987 when we went in. Worst descent: Bob is right about J'Berg East Ridge then CJ Col. It took us a long time and was really stressful. Also, Bedayn Couloir on Goode was very tense in places. That's my two cents. Juan

Soup or Stew. Way to go Bob and Dave. Dave: I met your friend Carl at Pro Start. Nice guy.

Allen is a great guy. Despite his association with Erik. Juan

Jim Nelson reported that nine people were on Mt. Index N. Peak/N. Face this weekend. Can anyone who summitted (or who knows one of the people who did so) share beta? That would be great. Thanks, John Sharp

Who did Big Four? Matt Perkins and I tried it last winter, but took too much time climbing the snow-covered rock headwall, and the snow beyond that was deep and mushy. We bailed after about 1,000 of vigorous post-holing, at the base of the N. Rib proper, more or less. Good effort whomever it was. Juan