Bill_Simpkins

This was one of my first glacier climbs way back when.... Most people in our group were not that experienced. It took 15 hours car to car. I think it took 3-4 hours to the camp part way up the glacier. We screwed around a lot and had bad equipment, heavy packs and the the wrong clothes. I'm sure now the whole thing would take less time.

I will be with a group of 3 in Sqaumish. May want to do a couple multi-pitches with one person.

Almost free medical care:

... interesting. Land of the free, home of the brave ...

bivy kit:

I have the same problem. IT band. The trekking poles help, but does not solve the problem. The cause of mine was in the way I rolled off of my foot. Pay attention to how your walking. I just started doing this and noticed that I was putting lots of pressure on my little toes, and me knee would roll. When I step off and put most of the pressure on my big toe, my knee doesn't roll as much. It hurts worse when I have my chair too low at the office. I had my desk raised a few inches so I could raise my chair and that helped a bunch. My advice is to think about how your walking on the way up, so it doesn't hurt on the way down. Keep your knees warm, use poles to aid on the big step ups, avoid high steps, make sure you don't use the same leg on all the high steps, pack light, sit at the correct height and see a foot doctor. There are special stretches that help too, but you must be religious about them.

This was a pretty good impression.

health insurance = not sick? Yer insuring your life, just as you'd insure your car, or your house, or your health. car insurance = insure car. Health insurance=insure health life insurance=insure life? but your already dead. fire insurance= explain that one. flood insurance? They call it life insurance because they sell less if it was called death insurance. Too gloomy. In any case, good luck with your endevours. Hope you find a good deal.

life insurance = don't die. I think the correct term is death insurance. I have death insurance through my employer. I pay about $1 a month. They asked no questions as of my activities. Maybe check with your employer about it.

Didn't you read the disclaimer above the photo? heheh I have a cordelette, thank you, but this works just fine. It is a home made web-o-lette. Works just as good. Plus, it's lighter, takes up less space and you can cut it up for rappel anchors. Just for the record, when that was weighted it was very equalized. It however was not ideal, but that was all the gear I had left on me. I was completetly out of any rope to build an anchor with, and all of the slings were used except for one on a chalkstone which is out of the picture on the left. The biner on the closest strand of webbing was to refine the equalization even further. There was a solid #1 camalot out to the left by the chockstone in a crack. The runner from the chalkstone also was cliped to the camalot and my harness. When pulled taught the setup was very clean and solid. Shockloading sucks, but the position I was in and the gear I had left didn't allow a perfect setup. I also had a solid stance, which helped. I could have taken his weight without an anchor. I posted this picture because it WAS NOT an ideal setup. A picture of a perfect anchor would be boring. Cheers!

Last two pitches of Banana Peel, Sqaumish ( pitches are 5.4) Pisces, Index 5.6 Joes Dyke, Sqaumish, 2nd pitch. Awesome!!! 5.7 Personal fav. High Mountain Woody, Sqaumish (5.8) Brilliant! Rogers Corner, pitch 2, Index. 5.9 Soul Mate, Sqaumish, 5.10 b ish Fatty Bolger, Sqaumish, 11a ( I TR this )

I was very suprised to see crevasses up there. There were dozens of them.

Try this with the gear you have. Aliens .4" to 1.75"-about 6 cams Pink and red tricam on one biner Camalots #0.3 to #4 Doubles of camalots #1-#3 (+#4 if fist crack) Stoppers #2-12 - On one or two biners. Cams each on own biner. (total 6+8+3=17 cams) 3 short draws, 3 alpine draws, 4 shoulder slings with biner on each, one double shoulder sling with biner. 3 extra biners in case you run out of draws and need slings for stoppers. Note that depending on the climb you can leave some of the cams on the ground. Good Luck!

Climb: Mt. Watson-North Face/Ridge Date of Climb: 8/15/2004 Trip Report: Myself and Chuck Eaton went up this little peak 3 years ago and decided to spend the afternoon exploring it a little more. We talked about finding a short, old route that was put up by Dallas Kloke years ago. However we opted for something else. This may be a new route. Don't know for sure. When we go to the little glacier we were pretty amazed that it was littered with crevasses. After taking a nice break, we skirted around the north side to look for the route and see if we could descend down from the col. on the snow. Do NOT decend this way! There are many sketchy melt-outs under the snow with many crevasses ( couldn't believe it for such a small, low peak). So we scrambled up and left our boots and poles at the base. I started out on the short, steep headwall, but after a few placements I saw a fate of gardening and poor rock. So I headed left onto the mellower slab, which left almost no pro and maybe no chance of a belay. After reversing back to my original position, I decided to head up this corner than sported occasional cracks and lie backs. I followed this corner until I ran out of rope (not even an inch left) and was lucky enough to find a well-protectable belay spot with a place to sit. I only had a couple of pieces left, but they fit in perfect, but the setup was still a little getto. Actually...very getto. But there is a solid #1 camalot and a slung chockstone out of view. Chuck followed up. I then continued up a brushy ramp to the top. Lots of heather smearing and pulling. The trick is to get as large as a handfull as possible before you move up. Chuck handled the shrubbery just fine. We scrambled east off the top then rappelled down the South gullie and crossed back over at the col to the SW. Decending this small glacier with rock shoes and a stick was very entertaining. The Mounties would cringe. Kicking steps in the hard snow with rock shoes was very painful. Chuck went back up and got our stuff at the base then we took a long break and hiked out. The route we did seems different than 5th class route explained in the Beckey guide. The book explains low fifth slabs on the W flank of the North side. We went up a corner and ramp to the summit. This may be a new route. Route. Go to Toe of the north side. Cross moating and scramble up crack and features then head left when it flattens out. Around the left 3rd of this area is a corner/ramp thattend up and right, steepish at first. P1 starts here. P1: continue up corner with good holds and liebacks. There is pro every 20 feet or so. There is 60 meters before a good belay spot. Watch for drag. Low 5th class. P2: continue up carner to heathery ramp and take this to the top. There is a good belay on the right side just below the summit. 4th class. A little exposure. ** Basaically, stay between the slabs and the steep wall. Or if you would like to call it the ridge crest, you may. Descent: Scamble down the "reverse Z' ledge system on the E. side as described in the Beckey book. Then rappel or scramble down the sout gullie then head right to a col and decend snow. we had a good time overall. Gear Notes: A few small and large stoppers. Cams 1/2" to 3.5". Red tri-cam. I was lucky to have just enough gear at the belay. A #1 camalot was my best friend at the belay. Bring many shoulder runners and few doubles. Many trees to sling on the second pitch. Bring a Stick, pole, or ice axe. due to the icy nature of this small glacier. Approach Notes: Head up watson lake trail. Take the fork to Watson Lake. After taking the fork and gaining the hill, head down for a couple hundred yards and a path splits off right through the brush. Take this to upper Anderson Lakes. At the N end of the first lake, take a mellow grassy gullie to the top of the ridge, then turn right. Follow a boot path up to the small glacier.

I'm not a huge fan of REi gear, but the Sub Kilo 20 deg Rules. It packs incredibly small.

PM me.

The view isn't even that great up there. Who's bright idea was this? Is this so fat rich people can enjoy the Chief too. Or is is for the next James Bond movie?

It's actually up the canyon a couple hundred yards on the left. Park by the grave/mine entrance by the picknic tables, then walk east on the highway a short bit and cut up a little path to the crag.

Bob has a good point. It should be taken more seriously.

From what I've heard, it's about at 5-6 foot jump across a gaping crack. Since this person told me that the jump was sort of downwards coming off the top, it would probably mean you have to jump the gap slightly uphill. He also said it would be hard to mess it up (going downhill). Hope that helps.

Yeah, I saw someone drop in a hidden slot this time of year about five feet from his tent at Camp Sherman. Someone got swallowed up and rescued last week on the Inter Glacier in a still-hidden crevasse. I would say it is a tad too early this season to go unroped. I'd personally give it another 2 weeks to a month before going ropeless. Then it's party time.

Right on!

Climb: Needle Peak-SW Ridge Date of Climb: 7/26/2004 Trip Report: Went up Needle Peak with Polish Bob. This is the best hike/scramble I've ever done! The views, trail and terrain are amazing. I highly reccommended this easy route to anyone. Anderson Range: Yak: Some weird cell phone tower or something. Dru, do you know what this is exactly? The final part of the route: Cool lounge area on the summit. Gear Notes: water, food, jacket. There is almost no water on route. Approach Notes: mostly a hike. Trail is steep for 1/2 hour, then mellows out. 2 little scrambling parts. If it is exposed or harder than class 2-3, look for an easier way (if you want). Took us about 2.5 hours to top, 1.5 hours down.

I'm not kidding about the time. Last time I went, it took me about 2-2.5 hours with a light pack and my partners 3-3.5 hours with heavier packs. We were not busting our balls either.

Did this happen on the lower, "steeper" part of the Inter Glacier near the big glissade tracks where you first leave the trail, or on the upper, slightly more level part where the path cuts left?