chris

Trip: Forbidden Peak - East Ridge - West Ridge Traverse Date: 6/27/2012 Trip Report: After climbing the North Ridge on Mt Baker earlier in the week, warm temps and rainy forecasts dissuaded us from attempting another North Face like Shuksan or Buckner, as well as a longer rock route like the Torment-Forbidden Traverse. A fitting compromise was the an integral traverse of Forbidden Peak via the East Ridge to the West Ridge. A photo from the previous weekend showed the East Ridge snow-free, it would be in the sun, and a full day climb. Tuesday's storm did put some snow on the mountain, but Wednesday's sunny weather melted it all away. On Thursday, the warm temperatures were evident in the post-hole boot pack we kicked in from our camp at 6000' to the East Ridge, but the ridge itself was snow-free except for one 15' notch. The climb is very straighforward, and we mostly downclimbed the West Ridge, switching back to our boots about 200' short of the col. Four 100' rappels got us most of the way down the couloir, and then we kicked steps and plunge-stepped the rest of the way out. Note - the East Ledges is still largely snow-covered, especially on the upper half, and was not a viable descent option. The West Ridge Couloir is still in good shape for travel, although I would stay to the climber's left side of the couloir. The buttress anchor/rappel stations on the climber's left and outside of the couloir have not all completely melted out yet - I spotted only one anchor 200' below the ridge. There is a lot of snow in Boston Basin - an AAI guide told me he probed 6' on top of the toilet bin. The weather had turned while we were descending, so under a threat of rain we packed up and hiked out in the evening, reaching the car before dark - although it did start raining in the last hour of the hike, and we just accepted the soaking as part of the admission price. More photos and information can be found at my blog - Climb | Ski | Sleep | Repeat. [img:center]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-WnNtGIqFwmc/T_M6c3DFpZI/AAAAAAAAQ2E/h9xmb93_2vg/s640/7476777022_934a689220_o.jpg[/img] [img:center]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-zL9Y71qfDK0/T_M6gcuf9bI/AAAAAAAAQ2U/Osi-kxuIzJU/s640/7476750196_58a852810c_o.jpg[/img] [img:center]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-kI6txkIKq2k/T-8ejXWoGQI/AAAAAAAAQ0s/acVhTA-bIKU/s640/DSC01629.JPG[/img] Gear Notes: rock shoes recommended one set of stoppers, #4-#10 one set of cams, #0.3-#2 (six total) 6 shoulder length slings 2 double-shoulder slings 1 cordellette 1 60m rope Approach Notes: The trail is almost snow-free to treeline. Almost. Still, we lost the trail for the last 200' or so of elevation into the bowl.

Photos added.

Nice work!

Trip: Mt Baker - North Ridge Date: 6/24/2012 Trip Report: Hit the weather window perfectly for a Monday morning ascent - went to bed in the clouds with a few light showers, woke up to clear skies and a weight bearing neve/crust all the way. The traverse across the Coleman at 6500' works fantastic right now. The right hand (western) slopes to the ridge looked awesome, but we went to the left hand (northern) side to move a little bit faster on lower angle terrain. If you want more technical climbing, go right. The ice cliff that has guarded this variation looks really spooky, with a lot of hang-fire just waiting to come down, and a lot of fresh debris below. We moved through the firing range one at a time very quickly, then traversed some more along the bergschrund/crevasse to gain the ridge. At the headwall, we went far left, around the ice arete, where we found a single 55m section of AI2/3. Above was 2 1/2 more pitches of steep snow. Instead of topping out on the dome and then traversing to the summit, we managed to traverse low at aproximately 10300'-10400', into the north face bowl, and had a direct, simple walk to the summit. By the time we started our descent, the southern aspects and lower elevation snow became boot-top to knee-deep post-holing. The Coleman-Deming was quite the experience. Times: 3:00 - TH to Hogsback 8:45 - Hogsback to summit 3:15 - summit to Hogsback 2:15 - Hogsback to TH [img:center]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T-u38OpN0QY/T-8eFuhVBlI/AAAAAAAAQz4/dmF1pkEPApo/s640/DSC01618.JPG[/img] Looking at the west face of Mt Baker on the morning of Monday, 25 June. The "right-side" slopes to the North Ridge are very apparent, and look really, really good. [img:center]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-rNEhRbXOTG8/T-8eH9YnAyI/AAAAAAAAQ0I/8eoWzDlYC68/s512/DSC01622.jpg[/img] The sole ice pitch on the face left side of the headwall, to the left of the "ice arete". Gear Notes: We took 6 screws to protect the ice pitches. Instead of bringing pickets, we deadman'ed our second tool for anchors on the steep snow pitches. Approach Notes: Road is open all the way to the trailhead. Patchy snow until the Kulshan cabin site.

Trip: Mt Baker - Circumnav, ascent BP Cleaver, ski Park Glacier Date: 6/12/2012 Trip Report: Skied a counter-clockwise circumnav tour on Mt Baker from the Heliotrope Ridge last week. Camped at the Hogsback, at 6500' on the Easton Gl, at the toe of the Boulder Park Glacier, and at the Mazama/Rainbow Saddle. Had hoped to climb and ski Colfax and Sherman Peaks, but the weather wasn't cooperating. Had blue bird skies on Friday morning, the day we planned to climb to the summit via the Boulder-Park Cleaver, and skied the Park Glacier via the Cockscomb entrance. Fan-freaking-tastic day. Saw the helicopter circling to the west and thought that there may be a rescue in progress on the North Ridge. That same day, as we were 1500' below the summit, we saw a team of 10 who appeared to be following our traverse track across the Boulder Glacier toward the Cleaver. I assumed this was a guided group or climbing club who hoped to climb the BP Cleaver in the morning. That evening, at the Mazama-Rainbow Saddle, we were shocked to see this same group of 10 coming down the Park Glacier at 9:30pm. They had just traversed the entire east side of the mountain on foot in a day. They were moving slow, so we went to sleep before they arrived. In the morning a set of tracks leading past our tent 30' away and into the clouds were the only sign they had been there. A lot more details can be found at my blog. LINK My top five photos from the trip below. [img:center]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-qsGls4kg4Go/T-KnNFuT6tI/AAAAAAAAQpU/wxEMfw4soso/s720/IMG_5446.JPG[/img] [img:center]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0l5bVSuH6UU/T-KnvzPkp-I/AAAAAAAAQtk/dEQniNkwbk4/s720/IMG_5754.JPG[/img] [img:center]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EZ8Xg3agUBw/T-Kn51lxi5I/AAAAAAAAQu0/s8b6w4REsIk/s720/IMG_5860.JPG[/img] [img:center]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-aQvNfWLILjg/T-KoG2Csb6I/AAAAAAAAQwE/JXd1ubP4wNw/s720/IMG_5932.JPG[/img] [img:center]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-muVjkEBRdj0/T-KoXTQrKkI/AAAAAAAAQxs/Zu8mAeSWupQ/s512/IMG_6019.JPG[/img] Gear Notes: We had 1.5 clear days out of 5. GPS, compass, maps, and navigation skills were essential to this trip. Approach Notes: One last pile of snow blocked the TH parking lot, which I imagine is melted away by now.

Now billed the Mission 50L, this pack has some great features and a few more years of life left in it. Other than some fabric fading, it doesn't have any holes or tears, damaged zippers, or dysfunctional buckles. It does have a crampon pouch on the back and a removable lid. If you were to get a Mission 50L new you'd spend $220.00. You can have this pack for $65.00. PM for shipping or Seattle delivery options.

These pants have traveled from China to Antarctica to - most recently - Mt Logan. They are in fantastic shape - no patches, tears, holes, frayed cuffs, or troublesome zippers. They retail for $179.00, and you can find them on sale at Backcountry.com for $89.50. You can have these for $75.00. PM me about shipping options or a Seattle delivery.

Thanks folks - this is exactly what I was looking for.

Brooks Range makes a great version of an 8'x10' tarp with a velcro lining that seals it into an 8'x5' "envelope" bivy sack that easily fits one, fits two in a pinch, and fits three long-wise sitting up. I take it with me on most trips. Note: They're now made 10'x10', 9'x6', or 8'x5'. There's also a KISS groundsheet that's really reasonable. LINK: http://brooks-range.com/tarps/

The shop at Snowboard Connection has possibly the best splitboard kit service available - they've bought the tools to do it as precisely as possible, and quite likely will do a better job than most of us could do on our home benches. Drop in and ask them about it.

Kurt- I'd be stoked to help out - give me a call and let's get a beer.

I have two - unrelated - problems with my feet and I'm looking for a podiatrist and a sports orthopedic who understands our activity. Any referrals for such here in Seattle?

Rockclimbing.com has a bigger international following and a searchable members list. Repost there and take a look.

This is the team I saw going for the summit on the one possible day, and who passed us two days later going down. Nice work! The incredibly bit - after getting avalanched off the east ridge, they circumnavigated the peak to the west side to climb the Kings Trench instead.

Are they then going to belay you with a munter on the next pitch? Or is this assuming that this is the topout pitch? I know Blake likes to mix up his belay devices, but assuming you and your partner are both using a reverso, once you nick his reverso and put him on belay to lead the next pitch, he cleans the reverso off the anchor before he takes off. This saves time faffing with the anchor and gear.

We were certainly the slow and steady itinerary. Hans Kammerlander and Marcus Neumair climbed it in 9 days and were back at the airstrip in about 24 hours from their high camp at 5000m (Windy Camp).

I notice people carry too much - my cordellettes are only 3m/18ft long, and I utilize 7mm cord or 6mm powercord (sterling). Whether I carry one, two, or any cord at all depends on the route - lines like IB or Prime Rib of Goat have two-bolt anchors for ascending and descending, so its not necessary. If I'm climbing a trad route with big belay stances (i.e., R&D), I may bring one cordellette for ease of some anchor building. Then on full alpine routes, or trad lines with small or hanging belay stances, I'll bring make sure we have two cordellettes that alternate anchors - its just less hassle, more versatile, and makes for quick and immediate rap anchor material if we're bailing in an emergency (this has happened to me twice).

I agree with other posts that advocate for switching to lighter boots like the TLT and dynafit bindings first, then consider your skis. Personally, my experience with the lite-weight end of the spectrum in skis has convinced me that adding a little bit of weight is worth it, so I'm riding on K2's. Not the lightest ski in the market, but I think the best compromise between savings grams and performing. I only went down a size for my spring/mountaineering ski, which is 82 underfoot. My midwinter and powder boards are both my "regular" preferred length. If you're trying to go for a quiver-of-one, I wouldn't recommend getting a shorter ski than normal. You'll hate it mid-winter, and won't notice the difference in the spring.

Trip: Mt Logan - Kings Trench Date: 5/16/2012 Trip Report: Came wicked close to reaching the summit - 700m elevation, 7km away - but turned around due to quickly deteriorating conditions, poor forecasts, and determining that we did not have the supplies to wait out the weather for another attempt. Day 1 - Arrive at the American airstrip (2570m), and travel to the Canadian airstrip (C1, 2700m) Day 2 - Move to C2 in the King's Trench, caching enroute (3290m). Day 3 - Back carry to C2. Day 4 - Rest day. Day 5 - Carry to Kings Col (C3, 4110m) Day 6 - Move to C3 Day 7 - Rest Day 8 - Carry to the Football Field (C4, 4840m) Day 9 - Move to C4 Day 10 - Rest Day 11 - Weather Hold Day 12 - Move to C5 on the Plateau (5230m) Day 13 - Wx deteriorating, descend to C4 Day 14 - Rest day Day 15 - Descend to C3 Day 16 - Descend to C1 Day 17 - Traverse to the American aistrip, and picked up that afternoon. The weather forecast called for a clearing day with moderate winds on day 13, but a return to storm conditions until day 17, and we realized we would be 4-6 overdue if we attempted to wait out the weather. Our team was pretty average in strength, and we were to shattered by the move to C5 to make a summit attempt in the morning as planned (a Canadian an Alaskan team, younger and stronger, did summit that day). Our descent was epic - we climbed back up the col to exit the plateau in 50kph winds and -40C temps. The descent to C3/Kings Col was in 10-30m visibility, requiring compass and gps navigation through the greatest crevasse hazards on the route, covered by +30cm of fresh snow. The temps and conditions improved greatly as we descended from Kings Col, and the promised weather clearing made it possible to be picked up that afternoon. Approach We flew in from the Alaska side of the range with Ultima Thule. I've flown with them twice before and can recommend them without hesitation - Paul's one of the best pilots I've ever flown with. A second option is to fly from Kluane Lake. The contrast is that the Kluane Lake pilots are using Cesna's and have to fly over the range to reach the Canadian airstrip, while Paul is flying a Turbo Otter (bigger, more powerful), and has an easier flight up-valley. We had to wait two days to be flown in - that same day Kluane Lake was finally getting in after 10 days. The negative - US Customs refuses to allow flights originating in the US from landing at remote airstrips outside of the US, meaning Ultima Thule has to land on the Canadian/US border, and teams have to travel an additional 8km (one way) to reach the "start" of the route at the Canadian airstrip. Equipment This is the coldest I've been in a long time! I had an overstuffed -20 bag that worked fine. We used sleds (provided by Ultima Thule) to drag to C3/Kings Col, then carried after that. This is a great mountain to ski - not that the skiing is great, but they make a huge difference on the descents and the skiers on our team simply had more energy at the end of the day then the snowshoers. Conclusion This is not Denali. When we left, 10 people in 3 teams had summitted, and approximately 60 people had attempted. One pair of Anchorage climbers and a team of 4 Polish had waited on the summit plateau for 10 days for a summit - the Alaskans attempted once and the Poles 3 times without success. Perhaps 2/3's of the teams made it above Kings Col. There was still a team of four Canadian's on the plateau when we left, who looked strong enough and well enough supplied that I expected them to summit as well. Camp walls are necessary from Kings Col and above, and the low numbers mean you don't get to just move into someone else's camp. There is no such thing as a rescue from the mountain - anyone injured or sick will have to be taken all the way to the Canadian airstrip for evacuation, and you could have to wait for an extended length of time for that evacuation to take place. That's it! It was an awesome three weeks, and now I'm stoked to be finishing the ski season and get to the rock! More information and photos can be found on my blog at Climb | Ski | Sleep | Repeat. Here's the photos I promised. [img:center]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-E8ImA9c-yWA/T86cHooEAiI/AAAAAAAAQVI/aNLWgFdxVnQ/s800/DSC01556.JPG[/img] [img:center]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-LocR0QrFyqA/T86cJOB3LuI/AAAAAAAAQVY/ZGs1y9DlVM0/s512/DSC01559.JPG[/img] [img:center]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-68ul7hA_nf0/T86cOXC2wLI/AAAAAAAAQV4/hUYj-kidYUg/s640/DSC01568.JPG[/img] [img:center]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9Bw84SpUMVI/T86cSaU_laI/AAAAAAAAQWg/XVTHa5Nm_8E/s640/DSC01584.JPG[/img] [img:center]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wv9-_6a1jZ8/T86cV0E9YXI/AAAAAAAAQXA/Bpf1rV9PYGs/s512/DSC01595.JPG[/img] Self portrait, Day 15

Consider using 5mm cord or dyneema slings and a kleimheist instead of a prusik. EDIT: A Garda hitch for your waist is useful too, especially if you want to leave excess gear at home.

I disagree - 30m is perfect for 2-3 people. 10-15m between climbers, excess rope carried by the first and last climber on the team (if necessary). Have "stopper" knots for a two man team. Voila!

I worked for SP from 2003-2011, and this is news to me! But, in my experience is that kiwi coils are best used on terrain where the rope length will change occasionally - glacier to rock, 3rd to 4th to 5th class, etc. For dedicated (all day) glacier travel, I'll do a mountaineer's coil that can live on top of my pack, clip in with a locking and non-locking biner (with equal spine length), or a single double-action locking 'biner (depends on the trip), on a figure-8 bight. Kiwi coils don't work so well if you want/need to take all the coils off and back on (like at breaks). Mountaineer coils work better in that circumstance. Edit: since a kiwi coil is tied off on the belay loop (or a biner clipped to the waist/legs), it does NOT substitute for a chest harness. In fact, if the loops are too small and the kiwi-tie-off is not clipped to the harness, the direction of pull can make a crevasse-fall arrest MORE difficult. Just my 2 cents.

I'm very biased, but my advice is: hire a guide. Take an Intro to Backcountry Skiing (or whatever the company calls it), rent gear for the first time, and afterwards you'll have a much better idea of what you want and don't want. Maybe go out a few times with a few different setups to settle on your boots/bindings/ski preferences. My opinion - and it is very, very biased - hiring a guide is the best bang for your buck. Just like ski lessons at the resort. Yes, you can learn from your friends. And you can take group lessons with 3 or 4 other people with a variety of ski abilities and bc experience. But for the fastest learning curve, hiring a guide 1:1 will get you the fastest results.

Post title pretty much says it all. Can anyone recommend a Subaru mechanic near Green Lake?

Just my two cents - I use Picasa in order to have a centralized online photo cache for all applications. When I do add photos to a TR, I've learned how to do so from my Picasa url instead. I don't use the CC.com gallery simply because having my photos on multiple sites is time consuming. I'm trying to bump up my TR writing, but any changes to the photo procedure on cc.com isn't likely to change my behavior about TR's. I only bump over to the gallery when someone uses an interesting photo in a post that I want to look more closely at.