hanman

Westward Ho is in good shape (no missing or added anchors) as of last week. Additionally, the new rap stations from the summit down to WH make the descent quite nice. A 60 M rope folded gets the first 5 raps, then 5 full length 50 M raps down WH. I believe it took around an hour to go down the entire hill.

TurnOne, Myself, and friend James climbed Dark Rythm to the summit of Exfo yesterday. Chilly wind made for cool belays and excellent friction throughout the day. We made it down the granite sidewalk in (shall we say) low light conditions. It is March afterall... Oh yeah- Cornucopia is, well, Cornucopia MH

Hey there Dave- did you ever do that new route to the far right of Fuddhat? MH

The Brooks/Whitelaw guide Washington Rock has some limited info on Derby. I have climbed on a couple of the more prominent features back there. The rock seems less cohesive than Peshastin, more like Swauk. Whisk brooms required . Access to the Canyon was closed (gated) last time I tried, as the Cashmere area forest fires went through.

Correct- FS 2060 I believe. Closed ~ 1.5 miles in.

I was with Turn One on the ill-fated early season attempt at access, and promptly called the station for info. They didn't have alot to add. We speculate that they may have some machines up there to facilitate the fix, and do not want vandalism, etc... Kind of interesting, I've been going up there for over a decade, and have never been blockaded by concrete- time for that Honda 90 MH

Growing up near Deer Park, our family had a cabin on Horseshoe lake. Devil's well was a unique feature often visited. Well worth the short boat and hike. Just past the Well are several crags up to 1/2 pitch. Good granite w/large rosy quartz crystals.

No clue- we just stopped in on the way to Banks Lk- what a pleasant surprise.

Climb: Vantage- Echo Basin-Fugs Falls Date of Climb: 1/16/2005 Trip Report: A friend and I climbed Fug's Falls at Vantage today. It was in reasonable shape, though still rather liquid-like on the top pitch. Good times!! Sorry no pics- digital battery lacked the required fortitude... Be sure to hit it before the sun crests the coulee (~ noon) Gear Notes: stubbies, regular length screws, pins, a cam, and even a SNARG for fun. Screamers were well appreciated. Approach Notes: 2WD accessible- good driving snow

Must... relieve...holiday....stress.... tomorrow.... Zipper roof/Cheeks area aid partner for tomorrow? Have gear and coming from Arlington. PM if capable and Xmased out.

Pics tomorrow due to technical difficulties- many nice views and a good day in them thar hills. MH

No- we didn't fix pins- we only took a handful, and ended up doing 7 or 8 placements. Belays were either good trees or nice cracks for gear.

Picture here?

Climb: Chrome Dome-Monochrome Date of Climb: 10/13/2004 Trip Report: Last wednesday, TurnOne and I headed up to a nice obsure feature in the Copper Creek drainage. The peak shows as an unnamed summit to the ENE of Green Giant. Last October (03)Chris Greyell and I climbed the south face of the feature, and referred to the peak as Chrome Dome for it's inherent radiance in the sun coupled with our lack of sunglasses. According to the topo, a significant watercourse comes from the west face, and intersects with Copper Creek in the vally bottom. Needless to say, a couple hours of standard DTown jungle crawl (up to D3) ended with the location of a wonderful "Granite Sidewalk" style scramble. Although just a bit steeper than the "Sidewalk", tennis shoes sufficed to gain several hundred feet of slabby goodness to a nice rope up ledge (marked with an X on the photo). Pitches 1-3 are ~ 5.6- runout easy slabs, dikes and corners Pitch 4 is 5.8- interesting footwork Pitch 5 is 5.7- excellent flakes, cracks Pitch 6 is 5.6- small but interesting roof problem, slightly lichen-ee Overall, an enjoyable and straightforward climb on beautiful rock. Summit views include Three Fingers, Green Giant, Squire Creek Wall and pass, Jumbo Mountain, Whitehorse. Descent via South face walkoff- traverse summit ridge, downclimb some 4th class (shoes helpful) to drop into south gully, descend to lower waterfall, scoot left, and into forested rib, head down until main trail is reached. Grade III Gear Notes: Small to Medium rack- gizmos to 3", 2KB's, 2LA's, 60 M skinny cord. Brought bolt kit- didn't need any Approach Notes: Green Giant trail to Copper Creek fork- go up to the right and yonder- gloves are recommended. A smarter person would take the time to find the drainage noted on the topo.

Let me just say that for the record, no eyelids,lips, or brows were harmed during this feasting of tofu snausages.

Speaking of Witch Dr Wall, anyone know if Solaris has seen second ascent?

Sounds like an excellent idea to me. I am undertaking a similar project on Three O'clock Rock during an upcoming weekday (if anyone is interested in helping -PM me). Many of the routes there are in the same shape , ie Tidbits, Magic Bus, CharlieChan's, Boredwalk, etc. Quicklinks and galv chain are a plus, as they can be easily repaired/replaced in the future. The only thing I would add is cold galvanizing paint to the QL's, as they are typically bright. Cheers, Mark Hanna

Nope- that was Steve and Wendy. We were up on Sun morning. You must have had a very hot day. 98 in town= lots more up there!

Climb: Exfoliation Dome-Westward Ho Date of Climb: 7/25/2004 Trip Report: Just wanted to inform that I went up there today and fixed missing belay station and another damaged station. Use caution if going for the summit, as it appears that there is an increased amount of loose stuff on ledges. Otherwise, we had a great day at one of my favorite spots. Gear Notes: Small rack to 2", 9 qds

Fern is correct. I was there last Sunday. It appears that a soccer ball sized rock completely sheared the chain station. As I was solo, I didn't have replacement equipment, but ok gear may be had in the gully 10' left. I will try to replace within the next couple of weeks. Looks like Exfoliation Dome is living up to it's name!

A friend and myself are thinking of a North Rib trip in early August. Anyone done it? Is there water midway on the route? Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Baloney Dome can stay shady most of the morning. Several routes 5.9 to 5.10d on a nice almost Leavenworth style dome. Approach via forest scramble (20 min.) just to the north of the "first" granite sidewalk on Blueberry Hill. Routes left to right are: Yul Brenners Finest Hour 5.10 d Hoodathunk- 5.10 a 5.10ish project Baloney Pony- 5.9 Baloney Express- 5.10 a/b For more info, consult DaveW's new guide.

I have been using the Hilti bits for about a year, and they seem to last about twice as long as others (Dewalt, Bosch, etc). While you're at it, check out the umbilical battery attachment to lighten up the unit for sharp end duty. It is an excellent addition if you are so inclined. Hilti has a Kirkland or Seattle branch, Patrick Morse is the sales rep @ 425-241-0697.

Yesterday my brother, chainsaw and I cleared ~ 267,352 downed alders from the road. It is now clear (for the time being) to the Blueberry fork.

Yes indeed, large tree is gone. We were able to drive to the normal parking spot with very little brush in the way.