Dustin_B

there is like 20 other routes in the area!!!!! and the becky route is thw worst one at the pass....should have regrouped and went out and climbed something pimp! Yes, we should have, as every single group we passed on the way down reminded us. We were kind of spanked from our 13 trip up the North Ridge of Cutthroat the previous day where we didn't summit. I think that had something to do with our lack of motivation. That and I suck.

Any one else ever take the wrong gully up to the base of the Beckey route? We did Sunday, it sucked, and it started thundering so we ran home. When we got out of the wrong gully the clouds cleared and we saw 3 or 4 groups heading up ahead of us to the Beckey route. We lost motivation and went for lunch. we're wankers. By the way, we passed the group with the dog going up there and I thought to myself, what are they going to do with it? The owner said it could lead up to WI2 or some such with no tools and up to 10b, so it would be leading most of the pitches. So I'm surprised to hear they left it at the base.

I live in Green Lake, I have comcast, I've had no problems. Now that I have said this, it means I've guranteed that I'll have problems when I get home tonight.

Yes, we are bringing a rope, I am a newbie With the weather looking the way it is currently, I don't think I'll need to take any water with me, I can just hold out my water bottle.

I'm leaning towards leaving the poons, but the axe is like my security blanket . Is there much snow in the cascadian right now? I would really like to leave the axe.

Thanks, apparently it wasn't simple enough for my simple mind

huh?

in August? Please post TR if you make it. PS - what do I know, I've only been up the Emmons, but we saw lots of shit coming of the russell cliffs in June.

I think it is called Olympus Mons or some such (on Mars). Mt Olympus is a little closer to home in WA or Greece.

2 questions: 1: How do you make sure you get into the correct (Cascadian) coulior for the descent? 2: Are there any bivy spots on the west ridge route? I heard there were some bivy spots around Long John Tower. Can anyone confirm? It would just be me and my partner so 2 small spots is all we need. (and since I know someone will say why don't you just do it in one day with a lighter pack; the answer is I want to bivy on route or at the summit because I've never done that before, I think it would be a fun experience, and it will be good practice for future climbs, climbing with the heavier pack and all) One extra question; I take it crampons and an axe are still appropriate for the descent (yeah, yeah, "I'm sure someone could descend with out either with no problems")

I have the Trango S and they are awesome besides the fact that they are in no way waterproof. If you spend much time in wet snow your feet will get wet. They are very light though. I have the LS Nepal Extremes and they for everything, wouldn't own any thing else. Pretty comfortable for short to moderate approaches, totally water proof, climb anything like a dream, but heavy at 5.5 lbs.

Exactly. Yeah, please spread the word around that Seattle and the PNW really sucks so no one else moves here. Yeah, Seattle sucks, move to Cali. Please!! Its warm down there and you really don't want to move here. It has nothing to offer you so don't bother. Better just leave me and a few others all alone up here to soak up the rain. It will be rough, but I'll humbly volunteer to stay behind.

I climbed the corkscrew in mid september last year and it was fine. I think this one can be climbed year round with out any difficulty.

The climbers' path down to Boulder Basin was pretty crappy (and we were tired), so that part sucked. I stumbled a couple of times on the loose gravel and down-sloping ledges. Once we got down to Boulder Basin, we were a bit unsure where to go. So we headed for the small ridge with lots of tents (which was a couple hundred meters to the right of the "trail" we had been descending), crossing a couple of small drainages along the way. We figured the tents would all be near the trail, which thankfully turned out to be the case. Cheers, Steve The reason I asked is it looked like y'all were over on the left side of the basin, not near the trail. I knew the way out because I had been there before so I was tempted to go tell you guys the way out was on the right side, but people usually just want to be left alone and find out on their own (which you did) so I didn't. And by the time we were down by the pit toilet y'all had found the correct path.

Hey Jeff. When you descend at 7 PM the snow is a bit different than at 9 AM. Glad you only had to carry a whippet and no crampons (sounds light). I doubt you could have gotten by with out crampons in the morning. Why don't you try climbing it at 9 AM and tell me about it eh? And then try down climbing it at 9 AM and then tell me how easy and safe it is. Did you consider that the reason people carry over is not because they don't want to downclimb the route (which we didn't) but we also wanted to see more of the mountain and do something different (I've never done a carry over). That was our main motivation. Glad you are so comfortable on soft snow after less than a year of climbing. I, on the other hand, still get a bit sketched on hard steep snow and I've been climbing for a year and a half! Why would you be roped up on those sections and then not use snow protection? That just doesn't make since to me. Better to unrope, I think, but climb how you like. I didn't see anyone carry a third tool, now that is just plain silly. No, Frostbite didn't seem as technical to me as the guide books made it to be, but it is definitely steeper than most of the stuff I've done. Probably the most technical climbing I've done so far. And no one's opinions on this board belongs in a blue bag, when you post here you take the chance of getting shit on. You are comparing apples to oranges though (or rather, slush to ice).

Yeah, that was us in the Stevenson's (not mine by the way but a 3 person tent lighter than 3 bivies, can't beat that). I was the guy in the middle of the rope. We were just waking up when y'all came by so you didn't wake us up. No problem on the waiting either, we weren't in a hurry, just enjoying the mountain. Great weather, couldn't ask for more! Did you guys have trouble getting out of Boulder Basin?

3 of us went up Frostbite Ridge this past weekend. Since everyone is/was raving about the Kennedy Glacier we took the lower Kennedy Glacier approach to the ridge. We weren't interested in taking the Kennedy Glacier all the way to the summit. I think this approach has to be shorter than the Ptarmigan Glacier/Kennedy Peak approach? Left side snout of Kennedy Glacier very cool! Gray ice with many waterfalls running down it. We climbed up the left edge of Kennedy Glacier through the seracs next to Kennedy Peak. Camped at the Kennedy-Dusty saddle (8,800 feet) Saturday night. 9 hours trailhead to camp. Sunday morning went up slope to Rabbit Ears. We went around the right side of the Rabbit Ears/horn which works fine but I guess if you aim for the left side of the horn you can pass through the ears. The thing that makes this area 3rd class is the loose ass rock, yikes. That mountain is falling apart. Rabbit Ears to north crater rim, no problem. Dropped down right side of crater rim to crater bottom. Left side was icy. There is a melt pond on the right side of the crater were you can fill up on water. Nice long break here waiting for a party to clear the final slope. Final slope (~400 vertical feet) from crater to summit ridge is the steepest part of the route, maybe up to 50 degrees. There are 2 steep sections separated by a flatter area. This was 2 of ours first time swinging a second tool (which we were very glad to have!). I didn't lead it. We put in 1 screw and 2 pickets on the lower section and 3 pickets on the upper section. We went up this slope around 9 AM and it was very firm snow and ice. (~5 hours to summit) Summit was very cool. After a few parties left the summit we had it to ourselves for ½ hour. Left summit at 11:30 AM, down the Sitkum, and at the TH just after 6 PM. My leg punched through a completed hidden crevasse on the Sitkum, completely unexpected, no sign. My first time for that too!! Whow. Masses of people coming up the Sitkum. I don't think I will ever do that route. Saw 2 or 3 other parties on the FB on Sat/Sun. My first time on top of Glacier (second attempt) and my 4th WA volcano this summer!! Must pick off St. Helens this fall to grab them all. Good time!! Have pics, will post a few when I get a chance.

Yes, yes, but what city??!!

Please expand. Where was said classy place?

Nice TR!

Whatever, Texas has the highest percentage of hot women than any place I've ever been. And I have heard this from many, many non-Texans. If you spent some time there you would know. And Austin always gets great reviews about being one of the best cities in the US to live in. Good mountain biking and a bit of rock climbing in the city limits ~ 5 mins from down town. Lakes all around that you actually want to get in. Good night life. Best university in the country.... Oops, I take it all back. Yeah, Texas sucks. Don't go.

If it sucks so bad then please don't go there. It is crowded enough when I go visit, I don't need or want any of you tree hugging, stinky hippies, down there. Many of you would get you're ass beat just walking around town there. Please spread the word that Texas sucks, and please no one else move there. cheers butt monkeys

When you say "take the left turn onto Kennedy Ridge trail" do you mean the spur trail or PCT (appears to the be only left turns you take). OR, do you mean take a right turn onto the climbers path? I guess I'm wondering what you mean by Kennedy Ridge trail because that is not mentioned in any of the route descriptions I've read. I think we are leaning towards taking the Kennedy Glacier upto the Kennedy-Dusty saddle below the Rabbit Ears. I still have to talk with my other climbing partners about it. It seems a bit shorter. Are there good places to camp on the Kennedy? We know about the place to camp up on the ridge by the Ptarmigan Glacier. It looks like the Vista-Kennedy saddle would be a sweet camp spot. (We are doing a carry over so we want to camp as high as possible, with in reason).

Spacely - thanks for the beta. I was planning on taking a second tool because I have a brand new one I'd like to scratch up. JayB, JoshK, or anyone - To get to the Kennedy Glacier do you take the same climbers path off the PCT as the one to get to the Ptarmigan Glacier/ Kennedy Ridge? I read in Nelson's guide that there is a climber's path .7 miles past Glacier Creek that leads up the Ptarmigan Glacier. Another route description says to leave the PCT just before Glacier Creek and head up the ridge to get to the Kennedy Glacier, is there a climbers path there? I'm assuming it will be fairly obvious when we get there. Thanks.