hanman

Nicely done Chuck- Great hot day outing!! MH

Mammut smart is cool but locks too easily in my opinion.I have relegated it to rope access work as an adjustable locking anchor point. Perhaps I just need smaller ropes. The 3/4" triple braid barely fits Hangers- Tired of Fixe gear beating the hell out of my biners. Sure wish they would come up with a rolled surface like Mad Rock but Fixe sized

A quick look at the FS site indicates that the FS 49 road is OPEN. Excellent!!!!!

Fee Demo Wall in the Middle Fork Snoqualmie comes to mind- it faces northish. MH

The Rash at 3:00 rock is runout as well as Shock Treatment P3@ static. Local benchmarks for me. Witnessed a 60 foot leg loop grinder @ static, strangely soft catch with so much rope out, bug eyed leader and a prompt silent hike out. He moved to MN shortly thereafter. Yikes Mh

Nice tr Matt- Great to be out in Dtown again. Daylight has been on the short list for quite a while, glad we got the first 2 fixed up. Thanks again for saving me from the ubiquitous darrington blueberry self belay! mh

Excellent news, might have to get up there this weekend myself- Thanks for the update Curt, and big thumbs up to Mr Mitchell and crew!!! MH

I have some (rare) good news re the approach road to Exfo, Blueberry, 3:00, and Green Giant. The 1.9 mile marker slide blew out twice this winter, the second one apparently filled in the cut from the first. It shouldn't take much to grade the result back to a driveable crossing. The big worry was the large slide in at mile 4.?. A friend walked up there yesterday and took some photos. Looks as though the handwork we did last fall was a success. The huge culvert which was 100% plugged previously has now scrubbed itself out and is a clear path (WOW!). The erosion on the east side of the road appears to not be any worse, so should be passable if the 1st washout is graded. Pre fall 2011 condition After the clearing out and a good push from Jumbo Mtn water 1.9 mile washout filled back in for the most part Typical logging start to the season...Guess I will sharpen the old saw up M. Hanna

Excellent TR Spionin- You really captured the essence of the place. Thanks! MH

Spring mtn washington or oregon?

My god shappy; thats quite the phallus shield. Must be some serious moss up in them parts. Springy that is.

Hey David- Alas, I will be unable to participate in the 4:20 celebration, as we are having a birthday party for my 11 y.o. How was Homestead? TR upcoming?? MH

Vitamin R in the dry on the FA- unlike yesterday!!

Ben- Vitamin R was consumed by the dihedral waterfall, quite a bit of wet up that way with a snowcone on top of the big bench still. Melting fast though. P ledges remain stowed, ran out of day... Jason- Glad you enjoyed. I look forward to many such adventures out there this summer MH

Trip: Spring Mtn - Other Side of Z Tracks Date: 4/15/2012 Trip Report: Several folks and I took a nice trip to Spring Mtn near Darrington yesterday. Generally T shirt weather and dry rock on Tracks and Strait Creek.Others got on TickTock and Romantica with some wet in spots.The FS Road 49 used for approach appears to be staged for a large culvert replacement project. Hopefully this will open this summer. If not, the road hike is very straightforward.Sorry no pics- forgot the camera. It was great to get some mileage on excellent rock and meet new people!! M. Hanna Gear Notes: small rack to 3 Approach Notes: FS 49 by foot- ~2.5 miles

Yeah, I think you may be right. Back up plan for the Owyhee that sounds dry and warmer.......Maybe 4.20 will be better. MH

Well said Dave I guess we have seen the benefit of possibly using a locker in particular circumstances. I recall early on setting a locker for P3 of Online @ static. About 20' out on that pure friction pad, I slid All the way back, watching that draw for a very long time... And thankful for my being conservative. Had to replace the shoes after that one Mh

Hell Yes Heading over for 1st week of April. Pray for sun! MH

Hells Canyon. I'll be there for a week. My new favorite spring destination. Although I have been to Shapps Hot Creek and it's fantastic. MH

Same spot as the first. A few of us cleared the huge culvert at mile 4.7 prior to the rainy season; hopefully that one might still be intact We were able to open it up to about 2.5 feet of open space by yanking boulders out with dueling comealongs and hand digging. Come spring I'm planning on scouting the approach from Kelcema/Deer Creek Pass. I'm sure it's overgrown but probably less mileage than the road walk. MH

Interesting and informative posts about my very favorite place to climb. Even having climbed up there for nearly 20 years, I’m still excited by the sheer number of beautiful domes, climbs, trees, and features of the place, and all of the great friendships made along the way. I even dragged the family out closer to live in an effort to be closer to these amazing valleys. Each year when I return after the never ending winter, a short and brutal road/trail reclamation project usually rewards us with renewed access, though quite often a bit longer than before. It’s good to hear from several people whom I respect very much on the topics of how we do what we do. As far as FA ethics, the climbs I have been involved with have been a fairly steady mix of techniques including ground up, rap based, hand drilled, power drilled (where allowed on Exfo), inelegant moss hummock aid, and a fair bit of cedar wrangling thrown in for adventure. One specific/stringent/exclusive approach applied to all route development here would not be representative of the great diversity of features or history of the place. This diversity is the essence of Darrington climbing in my view. Just take a glance at a few of the many characters who have provided significant contributions to this place: Beckey, Brooks, the Gunstones, Christiansen, Greyell, Strong, Constantino, Whitelaw, Smedley, Tower, Perkins, Karner, Miller, Burdick, Fox, the Laddermakers, the Engineers, the Miners, and many more. If you know or have met any one of these folks, it’s quite clear that they have a strong passion for the adventure that DTown stone brings. I believe that after many, many years of being so low key to the point of not even being recognized as a legitimate user group, we have in the last several years established a good working relationship with the FS through ongoing communications, trail and road repair projects. While more climbers visit, I do share the opinion that these valleys can be attractive to climbers and still not being overrun by the masses. Despite several guidebooks and lots of positive feedback from anyone who visits, a super busy weekend at 3:00 Rock involves usually less than 5 or 6 cars at the trailhead. An important yet overlooked topic is that of route maintenance. Always easier to think someone else will take care of it. Given the climate, large number of excellent climbs, and relatively low visitation, my goal (past, present, and future) is to adopt a fading classic each season to remove remaining piles of slings at belays and to replace old quarter inchers with some fresh hardware. Lots of great candidates out there. My $.02 Mark Hanna

Headed up to lennox today. Decidely not in. High flow on most lines. 2" of ice on slabs. Floatation was a bonus in the fabulous talus section.

Great work Team Oso- looks like another quality line!! MH

We'll sure miss your efforts Jason- Thanks for all the work on Spring Mtn (WA), Darrington, Static, rafting, and getting me to go to Hells. Good thing yer just down the road.One thing though, it's no less mossy where you are headed... MH

Why not add a 4th hanger to the bottom of the Willy stick and tension with a ground anchored tag line to minimize wiper effect? Hmmmm....