skykilo

There's more than enough ice on the ice cliff. I'd recommend taking four to six screws at the very least, having had an interesting experience climbing it with two screws last Thursday. Have fun and hit it before the snow slopes get too sloppy.

Whatever, skiers rule the planet. Way to represent, Lix!

Right on, that's a classic. I'll let you know if I get wood for Hood or something else down that way...

Nice man. Thanks for taking the torch, I was beginning to get tired. It's time to cut the hardman bullshit, get in touch with my sensitive side and develop a taste for stinky cheeses.

It's definitely huckable but that's not my specialty. Look out here comes PP!

I can't imagine leading something like that. Nice work.

Last week it looked like it should be coming into PRIME skiing condition once it gets baked into the good stuff. As far as climbing, should be pretty cruiser.

Yeah but rock climbing in your ski gear is REALLY CORE.

Sleep is aid!

Oly, my full theory is here: http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=1779.0

Thanks for the answers. My hypotheses remain intact. Glad you're all right!

I've been on the Price a few times and it's still classic as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks for sharing. Glad you're all right. Mind if I ask a few questions? I have some theories and I'd always like to check them with the real world whenever possible. Did you stop over the 'schrund? How fast were you going? Were you in the 'check' part of a turn? I appreciate any answer you can give. I can't really tell from the photo. It could just be that shit happens... It almost seems like your description implies that you were traversing directly over the hole. Is that the case?

Climb: Mt Rainier-Liberty Ridge Date of Climb: 4/28/2006 Trip Report: I've been wanting to ski Liberty Ridge in a one-day push for a minute now. These stupid ideas get in my head and there's really nothing I can do about it. From Ipsut Creek Campground, it's very nearly 12k vertical feet to the top of Liberty Cap. Big day trips being my forte, how could I overlook this jewel? Mandatory megalomania manifest destiny. Casey was a student in one of my labs a few years ago. We've been on a few trips together now. He's a ripping skier and he's in good shape after what we've done in the last couple weeks. He'd never been above the summit of Adams, but I'm not one to discourage. Given that he's willing to hang with me after being subject to my potent combination of incompetence and aggression in one of my labs for a whole quarter, he's clearly faulty enough in the head to accomplish something of this nature. He was still smart enough to know that Dynafits would be the binding for the trip so we had some mounting to do... With newly-mounted bindings we left Seattle last Thursday at 3:30pm. Eight-shot Americano in my thermos from Enumclaw Starbucks, we left Ipsut Creek Campground shortly after 7pm. The hike went really quickly with the ample remaining daylight and we even got a few nice views of the mountain before the night-long vigil began. I found a steady drip from the cliffs just before getting on the Carbon, so we supplemented our two liters of water each by chugging a full liter and refilling before hitting the glacier. The snow on the Carbon Glacier had been through its transformation well enough to allow easy skinning. The crus t supported us quite well and we made good progress. The new moon didn't help, but on the glacier's reflective surface the light from the stars was enough. We didn't use headlamps most of the way up the glacier. Above 9k it was time to switch gear. We made ready to boot to Thumb Rock. Half the Americano split between us (two shots a piece), Casey was ready before me and took the initiative to start kicking steps. Amazingly it was warm enough to forego the puffy. I caught Casey after about 500 vertical feet and took the reins for the rest of the way. We took another break at Thumb Rock. It was 4:30 am if my memory serves correctly. We finished the coffee, ate some, and I chugged the rest of my second liter. I ditched the thermos, one water bottle and my ski crampons there. 'Cuz WE'RE COMING DOWN THIS WAY. We went left above Thumb Rock. Sunrise caught us a little before 12k. The snow was very good throughout this section. Before long we were rounding an icy corner to the long slope that leads above the Black Pyramid. The exposure was incredible as we reached the top of the Black Pyramid. Mild temperatures, no wind and good snow conditions had me elated. Above the Black Pyramid, the steep slopes suddenly became very icy. Icy enough that I would not want to ski them. Would we rappel this? Downclimb it? All that mattered for the moment was up, up, up... In the lefthand photo, you can see the snow still had good texture. Soon it would become very icy. The slope began to ease and we found softer snow to the climber's right. I could see the bergschrund. We took a break to eat and drink a few hundred feet below the bergschrund. There was a relatively easy route over the bergschrund right up the gut. I must have been a bit hypoxic, because at the last minute I stupidly changed my mind and decided to follow what looked like some steps leading left. Casey asked from below, "Does it go?" I was already there and I didn't want to downclimb, "Yeah it goes." It was going, but after making several moves on steep water ice with my skis banging the ice above me, I thought better of introducing Casey to ice climbing fully exposed to the Willis Wall at 14k. I advised him, "Casey, don't come this way!" I donwclimbed to him quickly and traversed to take my originally planned, easier route. I advised Casey to go lower because of a couple spicy moves. It took Casey a long time to do a little downclimbing and I became concerned about his state of affairs. I fetched the rope so we could cross the bergschrund 'safely', but several feeble steps on Casey's behalf during his attempt to join me revealed that he would not be climbing any farther. I didn't want to leave him. I considered descending. But I couldn't do it. I wanted it too bad. I left the rope and some screws where I was. Casey downclimbed to where we took our last break. "Are you all right Casey?" He assured me he was all right, but he needed to save something for the descent. That seemed like a mighty fine idea to me. "I'm just gonna climb above the bergschrund. I'm leaving the rope and screws here for you in case I don't return. I'll be right back." I crawled over the bergschrund on all fours. There was a sixty-degree snow slope that crested the ridge. I could see Casey until I rounded the crest. Once over the crest, there was no way I could stop. I booted frantically toward Liberty Cap. StepStepStepStepStepStepStep; stop and pant and listen to my heart pound. Repeat. I reached the cap before too long. You can see where I sideslipped the sixty-degree snow above the bergschrund. I wasn't confident enough it wouldn't sluff me into the bergschrund to crank it there. It had been incredibly warm on top. The usually-hard sastrugi was very soft. Somehow I convinced myself that the ice on the route might have softened. I took a break with Casey and we prepared to ski. It was his first time stepping into Dynafits and he had a bit of trouble. The skiing from our break spot was incredible: relatively low angle, good snow, and five-thousand feet of exposure. When we got to the ice, it hadn't softened a bit. I quickly retrieved one of my axes. The ice was scary. Too scary to sideslip. It would be a tricky transition on the steep slope, but I decided to change into my crampons to downclimb. I swung my ax hard so that the pick went all the way into the ice. I tried to get my downhill ski as set as it could be. I carefully removed the uphill ski and lodged the ski brake into the ice above me. Then I kick-kick-KICKED until my uphill boot had a bit of purchase. Next came the scariest part. Reach down and remove the downhill ski. I VERY carefully lodged it in the ice too. Then kick-kick-KICKED until it had a little purchase. Once I got the crampon on my right boot, everything was all right. In the meantime, Casey had put himself in a worse position where it was even icier. I had instructed him to the ax-in-ice, one-ski-off step, but he was having trouble from there. I secured my pack to my second ax and swiftly moved across the ice to help Casey. I helped him remove his skis and got his crampons on his boots. Now all we had to do was downclimb to the softer snow. I downclimbed rapidly to the top of the Black Pyramid. The snow got softer a little before the top of the pyramid, but the rocks of the pyramid provided a nice flat spot to change into skiing mode again so I went to the rocks. I'd estimate we downclimbed 500', all told. Here Casey downclimbs toward the Black Pyramid. You can see from my steps that the snow has softened, but a nearby flat spot to change into skis seemed good considering Casey's trouble with his new Dynafits. I took a half-hour nap waiting for Casey to finish his downclimb. It was a very strange sensation to wake up from a dream at one point, feeling precariously perched before opening my eyes, to open them and see the spectacular vertiginous views. Casey reached me safely. He apologized for taking so long. "Don't apologize! I'd much rather you take all the time you need than see you hurry and fall." Casey offered to take my camera and play photographer for the next few sections of the descent. The snow was good from where we were. The exposure looking down Thermogenesis and Willis Wall was incredible. The rest of the descent was amazing. We had good snow everywhere, except where we went left above Thumb Rock during the climb. That section to the east of the rocks was in the shade and had an icy crust. Sky enjoys the descent circa 12k. That's what it's all about. Below Thumb Rock was absolutely perfect corn. After retrieving the stuff we had left, I remarked to Casey before we began to enjoy the rest of our wet sloppy booty, "You know, we still have seven-thousand feet to ski." We both made it to the car before the twenty-four hour mark. I don't know what's next, but I'm still hungry. I wouldn't be surprised if I catch a lot of shit for this, but I've told it honestly. It gave me some food for thought. But after a little reflection, I'm don't think I would change much about what I did.

I doubt it's hit a melt/freeze corn cycle yet, but I'm sure it's getting sun. I'd say get up there early, on top not too long after sunrise. Wait if it needs to soften. The road probably isn't open. There are a few pictures from a Cooper Spur ski descent here.

And now we know into which category Gary falls. Sorry Gary, but you're obviously not a 'real programmer.' (In all fairness, I'm not a 'real programmer' either.)

I can't really visualize what you mean by this. I generally don't like to take the easiest way, though. If you meant from Stehekin, then I didn't consider it at all. That requires a lot more time; the lake pretty much kills a day each way.

Re: quiche-eaters, here is some funny shit... http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/real.programmers.html

In this photo of John Scurlock's, we skied from the dot.

I forgot to post the one of Jason and Pete on the summit. Here ya go Jason!

Climb: Mt Logan-Banded Glacier Date of Climb: 4/23/2006 Trip Report: Last weekend, a band of eight ruffians hell-bent on personal destruction went to ski Mt Logan's Banded Glacier. The approach is very long. At least it is a nice hike through old growth the whole way. Beautiful views really help, Thunder Creek and Fisher Creek being gems in the Cascadian cache of beautiful glacier-fed creeks, but nevertheless the hike is long with skis on pack. Shoulder check. Bear track by Fisher Creek Josh skis along Fisher Creek. For this reason we were very thankful to be able to skin only a mile from Junction Camp. For those in the know, excitement grew to epic proportions with the realization that the steep forest from Fisher Creek Trail to the 5,200' lake was fully skiable. Finding a beautiful hole in the snowpack for water at the outlet of the lake completed the coup. Sunday saw the derelicts leaving camp at half past two in the morning, climbing to the nameless glacier and the notch to the Banded. I'll bet John Roper gave that glacier a name. Did ya doc? The skiing crux of the trip was skiing steep, frozen south-facing slopes in the dark before dawn to get to the Banded. Booting up the glacier, we were hoping to see snow from close to the summit as we rounded the saddle between the Douglas and Banded Glaciers. There was plenty snow on the south-facing ridge all the way to a false summit only 20-30 ' short of the true summit. As yours truly didn't like his first attempted route to descend from the false summit toward the summit, there was some climber vs. ski mountaineer smack-talk in the background. My second route was fine and it was spicy fun gaining the summit on exposed, snow-covered class 3 rock. I tip my hat to Pete, Cascadian hardman who proved his superior stupidity by firing the route I abandoned. Now go climb more winter routes so I can ski one and talk some shit!!! View from the summit. Eric is about to join me. Skis and skiers are visible on the false summit from which we skied. We enjoyed three beautiful descents. The Banded had good powder and entertaining slabs... Casey hunts slabs on the Banded Glacier. The descent from the notch to camp was twenty-two-hundred feet of goodness. The top was a few inches of fast, dry powder over a crust. By the bottom it had transitioned to creamy corn without ever getting nasty between the two. Get nasty. The top bit of skiing the woods was more creamy corn through rolling cliffs and tight trees. Hu-ah! Pure survival skiing by the time we reached Fisher Creek, but better than booting. Time to go. Now get to hiking! Gear Notes: Gear is kinky. Approach Notes: Recreational drugs help.

I see what looks like ski tracks starting from above Thumb Rock, but they go into the shade. It's hard to tell. Maybe Mr. Potatohead Skier will tell us? Chuck- that's Thumb Rock to the left of the high ski tracks. I know that the saddle at the upper edge of Thumb Rock is 10,775'. I hope those skier dudes had their climbing permits!

Go here: http://www.leang.com/kam/ Kam likes to do things that make your trip look like pure genius!

Purdy line

Sounds like a drinking contest could be a-brewin'!? I propose we start with a 40 of OE and a 20oz Guinness to da head, then see what happens...