Gary_Yngve

There are plenty of single guys who would find that fun, myself included. However, we often fall victim to the type of girl who would be afraid to go on such a trip because it would be indicative of too much commitment -- the girl basks in the attention we give her and relishes the fact that we like her, but as soon as we show that we really like her, it's game over, and she's found some other dude who gives her attention. And an unrelated tangent -- I think the first time we met at a PC, you said, "Physics? Eeewwwww." Major turnoff. and of course your married with children! WHY AREN'T THERE ANY SINGLE GUYS AROUND THAT WOULD FIND THIS FUN!?!?!???? This sounds AWESOME! I'm jealous!

I bet they mistakenly boasted about it online, and then some loser kept on drudging it up.

Imperfect Impasse:

??? The screenshot I posted is from the north. btw Marie -- that's Fury, Mount.

Three years ago, upon reaching Imperfect Impasse from Easy Ridge, we dropped down at least 1000 ft and went up the other side. Mostly class 2-3, with one ten foot steep step where we hauled packs. I wouldn't recommend it.

The USGS has a database of landmarks and coordinates. Snow Creek Wall is most certainly in that set. Much of the Google Earth project was acquired from Keyhole. I had the pleasure to play with Keyhole's software back in 2002; below was a sample screenshot:

In kindergarten I learned it as I C U P

It's not bad at all. The only part with bad rock is the top of p6 or so where most everyone aids off the fixed pins.

No, it was just a spur-of-the-moment idea that I got Sat night, though I suppose I do owe the Mazamas a summit treat.

Nice, you guys cruised. Comparatively, we were total gapers when we climbed it last year, though Mike, you had a least a foot extra reach over my partner. You're too damn tall.

Don't fret over the off-width move right below the top (normally offwidth gives me the willies). It's a one-move wonder about five feet off the ground. Basically a single 4-inch jam and then you can work your foot high enough to step up to easier ground.

Nice! I've been wanting to head out there for a while!

There's no snow at all to Headlee Pass. The basin has a good deal of snow, but the ridge between Vesper and the 5800' knob are mostly bare (didn't go beyond there to Sperry, and couldn't see through the clouds either). There's still snow on the upper slopes of Vesper.

Post deleted by jon

I think we had 50m ropes and single rappels? Probably about half downclimbing? Maybe eight rappels? It's possible we did a double-rope rappel higher up (we had two teams of two), but lower down, the route is more traversy, and really only single rappels are appropriate.

Thanks Rime_Ice, sounds like we're all cool. I'm sorry that we branded you as "we didn't want to be around you." That was our interpretation at the time of what we saw above us, and I should be more considerate in the future about stating our impressions in a public forum. I think we equated slow with dangerous, and sometimes slow is safe and fast is dangerous. Words on the Internet certainly get blown out of proportion. I'm actually a member of the Mountaineers, though lately I've been doing most of my climbing privately. Anyway, just to clarify a few things regarding our choices: When we found the running water, we were happy because it meant we didn't have to melt snow with our stove. When we ate the last of our food by Lake Ann, it was all of us eating the last of my food. Going for that last burst of energy to get us out. I think my partners would have, in hindsight, carried more food. I think I was right on. Though on a trip a few days ago I underestimated the amount of food I should carry. Always hard to figure out the right amount of food so you have a little extra but not too much. Throughout the climb, we kept our descent options open. We chose to descend FC instead of WSG because: 1) We felt there was lesser obj hazard given the time of day 2) We met a party who went up FC, so we could follow their tracks. Aside from a small section where we spent about 10 minutes scouting, route-finding was relatively straight-forward. Our poorest decision on the mountain was underestimating the time it would take to do the summit pyramid. Had we known it would have taken four hours, we would have skipped it, conserving food, water, and time.

I'm not criticizing the turn-around choice at all -- I think you made the right choice. From the third-person point-of-view, the conversation happening above us was hilarious. That dialogue was what I was writing about. Sorry if it offended you. Face it, if you want to be a member of a large teaching-beginners organization, you will be a source of comedy to bystanders. My only suggestions would be: make a decision, do something, not just stand there, and don't climb up what you can't go down. Maybe time was frozen for whomever was leading about a third the way up the pyramid. But for us down below, waiting seemed like an eternity. I'd eat half of a sandwich, look up, no one moved. Eat more food, look up, maybe moved five feet. Adjust clothing, take a pee, yall still haven't moved much. Here's a pic of you guys: btw - there were four older folks (40s?) who did Fisher Chimneys in a day and ascended/descended the South Face without incident about an hour or two after you guys bailed.

You should be comfortable with moving quickly over easier ground (up to low-5th). We downclimbed and rapped the route instead of descending the West Ridge. Worked out really well.

Climb: The Beer Fairy- Date of Climb: 6/26/2005 Trip Report: Sunday morning and we were hustling up the Snow Lake Trail. My pack elicited a few smirks, and when they read the sign on the back, a few giggles. But finally, I had my first customer. He was expecting a six-pack of Coors. He was certainly flabbergasted to see a 6-pack of Deschutes, a 6-pack of Big Sky, and a 6-pack of Elk Rock, all chilled on ice. We took a picture, and then he got his camera out and asked for a picture too. We had more customers at Gem Lake and Melakawa Lake, all similarly excited to run into the Beer Fairy and his choice inventory. near Snow Lake Gem Lake Melakawa Lake ====== Signs used: ICE COLD BEER $1 / km from trailhead 21 AND OVER ONLY --- A BEER FOR A KISS --- Abercrombie Wilderness Organ Transplant Team ====== Earnings: $1.81, no kisses, no kidneys But it was a lot of fun. We brightened a lot of people's days and had some good conversations with them. Ice-cold beer was the last thing they expected to bump into back there. And I suppose it was good weight training. Gear Notes: Had only two brews leftover, but the full bag (7lb) of ice was way excessive. Approach Notes: The slopes of Chair Lake were completely melted out. Drunken scree-surfing was probably easier than sober scree-surfing.

We went up and down the SE Ridge instead of the South Gully. Re: the Mazamas party on the South Gully: They were roped up. Why be roped up with no pro? I remember over the course of 15 minutes their ropeteam didn't move at all. Go up or go down. Standing there doing nothing just increases your chance of getting beamed by rocks and not becoming an old climber.

Propose my thesis. I haven't had a girlfriend for longer than two months since over six years ago. (And I don't see that changing until after I graduate.)

When Jule and I did it the 2nd weekend of July two years ago, we took boots and axes, no crampons. I'm not too experienced with snow and approach shoes, but my guess is that you'd probably want crampons with the approach shoes. The snow approaching the base of the route (especially around the moat) can be quite hard. I had a good look at Dragontail two Sundays ago from the top of Cashmere. There's still some snow left coming down from Asgard Pass (it's pleasant when it's all snow, tolerable with no snow, but downright annoying with a mix). There's a patch of snow before you gain the route (and likely a small moat). The descent from the summit of Dragontail to the Enchantments should be pretty mellow plunge-stepping if the snow is reasonably soft (which it should be).

JoshK, I think you're being a little harsh. The 3rd had a map, according to one of the news stories. I know I've definitely done trips where we don't each carry a map. They split up and forgot about the map. A storm hit them as they were climbing the North Face. They got disoriented on the summit. Yes, from now on, they'll probably each make sure that they're always carrying maps. But I'm sure every one of us is guilty of being in the mountains and not being as adequately prepared as we could have been -- just that most of us got away with it without being on the news.

Mundanespeedclimbing.org would like to report another speed ascent. On Wednesday, my partner Dan attempted several speed ascents on the slopes of an unnamed peak (5800') from 5750' to 5780'. Though he battled poor visibility and wet ground, his fastest time was 9.8 seconds.

TomTom, That so-called "Picnic At Ascot" backpack has delusions of adequacy. What sort of heathen would defile their Champagne in a plastic cup? But of course, the same hillbilly who would eat pie on a plastic plate. Though the average dolt proudly realizes that glass and ceramics are fragile, those of us who are civilized possess the poise and panache to enjoy and preserve such a luxury.