skykilo

Teach 'em to ski early. Skiers reign supreme!

HELL YEAH Jens, way to get after it!

Tan Snaffle is a TR highjacker. Further evidence to support my thesis: women are evil. Nice work Dirty Harry!

The key element of the skykilo pubclub is spontaneity.

I'm pretty sure NFNWR was Ben Manfredi's favorite. That should say it all.

Adams Glacier is a kick-ass ski descent!

I agree that skiers shouldn't go over climbers' ropes, but once I was hauling ass and didn't see the rope at all until I was on it. But I jumped the rope, so I didn't do any damage. Those guys were still pretty pissed. Whatever.

Hope you heal well, Kurt.

Good job. Could it be that you were on a volcano and this isn't a ski route?

Right on Joe. Next time, take skis!

That's a fun route. How many times do you plan to hike to Colchuck Lake this year, Ross? Not that I'm one to question anybody's obsessive behavior!

You don't want my tendentious opinions...

Is she HOTT?

Good job guys!

Yes, thanks for the nice pictures, the report, and the work on the trails. Good job and congratulations on your outing!

Sorry for the resurrection, but I had to post this. This is from Nabokov's Ada. (vengeful, vain Van Veen)

That slope should go without a problem. You'll have to deal with a cornice near the top though, unless it's fallen, but I doubt it has. The NE Chute from the N Shoulder is a spectacular ski descent; there's no way to get too much of that Price Glacier scenery.

It's a pretty petty beef, considering gear needs will vary widely based on the climber's experience and comfort level. Once I had someone ask me what snow protection to take for some climb. "Skis?"

Climb: Mt Rainier-Kautz Headwall Date of Climb: 6/11/2006 Trip Report: Recently I was having a conversation with a published navelist [sic!] and they told me I should write about my trips, even if I didn't want to publish a trip report. Memory fails. And one should practice writing if one wants to write. Well, I don't consider myself a writer. I'd rather think of myself as a catalyst enzyme. Copious words are just one of the many byproducts of the reaction. The Wilson Headwall was a sweet delight Wednesday, all to myself. The layer of clouds at Paradise Tuesday night left me deeply dubious. I had never crossed the Nisqually Glacier. Out of the clouds just in time to drop and cross the glacier, chased by a cloud through the night that never enveloped the upper mountain, took some pokes and inspected from different angles and wasn't dropped by a suspect crevasse bridge on the Wilson Glacier; all of my fears slowly dissolved the higher I climbed. Then at the top I was delighted to see tracks. Tracks from a soloist. A soloist from a different route, the previous day. There was something very beautiful about seeing that individual's fragile mark remain unblemished in the snows of the harsh environs of Point Success. There were ski tracks heading toward the Nisqually too, nice work! By Friday evening, the weekend warriors were heading elsewhere. The forecast wasn't good, but I didn't believe it. There was no real weather system out there, just some puny low. The Mountain will be above The Clouds. Desolate solo doubts dissolved during the preceding descent, I found myself driving toward Rainier Saturday evening, je suis seul, seeing the upper mountain clearly in gorgeous alpenglow. Looking at the Central Mowich Face totally gives me goose bumps. Paradise lost at 11pm, nary a cloud for the neurotic naysaying, this time I took a more direct route on the Nisqually Glacier. I stayed high and left and climbed to Wapowety Cleaver. I took a break partway up the cleaver, maybe 8k, and had some coffee. I saw a headlamp below me on the cleaver somewhere, along with innumerable lights from Camp Muir. I headed left before reaching The Turtle, hugging the ridge above the Kautz Glacier, until I found the small snowy chutes that drop onto the glacier. The Kautz Headwall is big; its apron is lazy in its crescendo. All the cruces come high on the route. Luckily the natural climbing line goes to climber's left, the side which has a more easterly aspect, allowing it to get the early sun. The snow was nicely consolidated and guaranteed to grow into fat grains of corn. Near the top of the headwall, having weaved through rockbands to my heart's content, one last rockband remained. Here I found the same solo tracks I saw on the summit Wednesday, albeit with evidence of ample melt-freeze. It looked like the soloist did a bit of traversing and redoubling before picking the spot. Their selection looked good to me so I went for it. Rime ice over sixty-degreeish rocks. Comment descendre?! The Kautz Headwall is a line of great style. I must compliment it for not slowly rolling to the summit in a neverending fashion. It rolls abruptly. Sitting on Point Success, two sets of solo tracks plus one more in place, I could see people on Columbia Crest. I took a nap. I didn't really feel like eating or drinking. When I woke up to more clouds (none of them anything near a real threat to the mountain), I decided it was time to go. Crampons off, boots tightened, axes packed, click click, click click, time to ski. YIKES I skied gingerly to the edge of the precipice. The rockband looked intimidating from above. This was a job for an ice ax. I put my ski poles in my downhill hand and grabbed the tool with the big shaft. Tool firmly planted, I kicked the shit out of some rime ice (with my skis). Stomp. The ax placements were actually worthless through the worst parts of the rockband, but it still felt better than nothing. Below the rockband, the snow was softening nicely. Ax back on pack, time to make tracks. YUM The two climbers I'd noticed on the cleaver earlier in the morning were descending the Kautz Glacier. I'm pretty sure one was watching my sidestepping antics. I was watching you watching me. Last Rockband The rest of the headwall skied nicely. It was still a little icy in spots, but I like it that way. It's a good compromise for not having too many projectiles dropping. Two long traverses to get around the final rockband and I was free. I was free for a long, continuous obstacle-free descent. I never enjoy skiing more than below something really sketchy. Keep it steep, remove the danger, and let 'em hang. The apron that was lazy in its crescendo was now determined in its dénouement. Forget the stress and GS the rest. This is an addiction. No partner, no problem. My way and the highway. Then return to town by three. At least this way I'm not leaving a string of HAPE victims in my wake... Gear Notes: Skis, boots, poles Crampons and two tools Warm clothes 2L water, six shot americano and a big bag of potato chips Approach Notes:

I skied a continuous run of almost 9,000' vertical yesterday. Skiing is so NOT winding down. Oh yeah, I DID have to carry my skis the whole way up it. MORE ON TOPIC: The best time to ski things around here is NOW. June in the northwest is a steep skiing paradise. The snowpack here is generally bomber. It's fairly predictable. This time of year, watch for the super slushy so you don't take a ride! Ski it early. In the winter, the majority of avalanche danger is during and immediately after the big storms. There are obviously many caveats that go with these statements...

Yikes! Person with frostbite, I feel your pain. Really, I do. Hopefully it's pretty superficial.

Damn, those were such rockin' pictures too...

Walking up Cascade River Road, it's really exciting to kink my neck to let me look at Johannesburg and think about climbing a route like that. Thanks for the stimulation. Great picture, MosterMo. Now I gotta go find a copy of that book and look at the older shot...

HOLY COW the upper part of Liberty Ridge is looking nice right now... Great photos, Mike.

Or you could have read the introduction to _Cunt_