Alpinfox

Fence Sitter's new ride:

Ooops...

If you would like to track my camera on its way to me: www.fedex.com tracking number is 792952797714 I know you are all as excited about this as I am!

WHOO HOOOOO! I finally bought the bullet and shelled out the ducats for this little hummer. Olympus Digital Stylus 300. According to FedEx I should get it on Friday! Now you people will be forced to see pictures of my ugly mug in the beautiful places I go. Thanks for the rec Dru and DavidParker!

My understanding is you need: Passport OR Driver's License + Birth Certificate OR the new subcutaneous bar code (Brave New World Baby!) You'll get by with just DL, but they will hassle you and probably search your car and shit. Fuckers. CASCADIANS UNITE!

Mounties? Boealps? Other brand of idiot?

Can I get a "WHOOP WHOOP!"?

Someone who didn't want to put themselves on record as advocating "vandalism" might say, "TEAR DOWN EVERY FUCKING SIGN YOU SEE AND BLOW UP THAT FUCKING COUNTER" but I wouldn't do that because I don't advocate "vandalism"

Same views available from the notch. Maybe I didn't see the bivy site that Raoul and Off White used... I wasn't really looking for it though. Anyway. Enjoy.

Answering part of my own question.... WT is 93 miles. Radon's average is 1.86 mph (includes sleeping, etc.). That seems pretty fast. So, any jogging involved? How much sleep? Other non-moving time?

I doubt the drum came from the weather/glaciology station as I don't think it is operational anymore. There are (were?) 55 gallon drums on the Blue Glacier lateral moraine for human waste blue bag deposits. I seem to remember them being secured in some kind of wire mesh cage. Perhaps someone or something (bear) thought it would be fun to roll it down onto the glacier? Did you tell the ranger about the drum?

Ryland, I think you are SUPPOSED to have a self-issued permit to camp anywhere in NCNP. If you wanna please The Man, get one at Marblemount. However, I didn't get one and had no problems even though we met a ranger (albeit a volunteer ranger). Keep in mind, it's your land and you have a right to use it. As an aside, the ranger told us that it is SOP to record the license plate numbers of all cars parked at the trailhead. Supposedly so they can follow up on break-ins etc. I didn't know they did that... .not sure how I feel about it. Creepy, but if it helps em catch jackass car prowlers.... I dunno. I don't recommend doing the bivy on the ridge thing. You won't save much time, the bivy site is really really small and not that comfortable. There are a couple really nice tent platforms just below the notch/col (before you cross the glacier) that are level and have easy access to water. Unless you plan to belay every pitch and spend 12 hrs on the route, I don't see the point in bivying on the ridge. Do as you wish, but that is my rec.

How long is the WT? Were you jogging most/part of the way?

It seems that everyone in the PNW likes to drive in the left lane regardless of their relative speed. I think the Canadians understand the "fast lane" concept better than Oregonians or Washingtonians. Californians seem to get it best. I guess all the road rage shootings down there have taught people a thing or two... Since I didn't grow up here, I'm curious, do they teach "Keep right except to pass" in driver's ed in WA & OR? "Left Lane = Fast Lane" simple concept....

Actually you don't have to climb directly in the scree/talus above the second lake. There is a trail through the grass/heather to the climber's right of the scree/talus that leads up most of the way to the col and meets up with the talus and lingering snowpatch higher up. In either case, the trail splits off well before you get to the stream connecting the second and third lake. It is quite obvious with good visibility. Lots of ripe huckleberries and a few salmonberries on the trail! Ranger lady we met said she saw a bear on the way in. We didn't see one.

Here is a weird thing I came across: Where in the world is "Snafflehound Cavern"?

Damn you Sphinx

Road Rage

Diet

Assist and....

Are you sure it wasn't one of these: The Finger: Rubber envy isn’t just for fetishists anymore. Originally a one-off custom design for a Mad Rock team member working on a knotty bouldering project, the benefits of individual “digit rubber” quickly became clear to the Mad scientists. Mad #3 super sticky rubber protects your precious stumps, while allowing for superlative grip on too-small crimpers or greasy slopers. Ideal for training, protecting injured fingers, and those times when you need that little extra something to get you to the next level. Do you know somebody like this? Be a pal and give them The Finger. Packs of 3, regular and large sizes. DESIGNED FOR CLIMBING ONLY!!

No rain in caves to wash chalk away?

I climbed on 8/8/03 and had no problems. Crampons and ice axe were not necessary. Getting from notch down to the glacier, downclimb some easy rocks below the bivy site to avoid the steep snow. Or use crampons on snow. Traversing the glacier doesn't take as long as you think it will when you see it from the notch. We camped about halfway across the glacier, but our total crossing time notch-to-base-of-ridge was no more than 90 minutes. We saw some ice chunks calve off and slide down the basin while we were on the ridge, so move quickly underneath that stuff. The snow/ice was melting pretty quickly when we were there and we traversed along the bottom edge of the glacier/snowfield, so you might be traversing across those super-smooth slabs now. Be sure to look for ice worms while crossing the glacier. Lots of the buggers. Plenty of water available. Hardly any bugs. Route is mostly 3rd/4th class and most people should be able to safely simulclimb the entire thing with perhaps two or three short belays. Route protects easily. Bring a very small rack. Consider leaving rock shoes behind and climbing in boots/approach shoes. Please take a knife along and cut off some rotten webbing off of the plethora of rap anchors. It's really out of hand up there. Beautiful views of the Southern Pickets. Triumph wasn't as challenging or as aesthetic as I expected, but still a great climb. Cheers.

Or they could get one of these installed in the parking lot: