chris

Trip: Snoqualmie Pass - Patrol Race Date: 4/2/2007 Trip Report: Inspired by reading Lowell's account of the Patrol Race (http://www.alpenglow.org/skiing/patrol-race-2004/index.html), and a few encouraging e-mails from Lowell himself, I decided to ski the route, and invited my friend Greg to come along. We headed up last Sunday, from the first lot for Snoqualmie West. The weather was light rain showers and low clouds, and since I forgot to change out the dead batteries in my camera before leaving the car, there aren't any pictures. After shuttling a car to the end of the tour, we started skinning at 8:30am. Greg's familiarity with the cross-country trails solved any route finding problems to Windy Pass, which we gained at 10:05am. This was also the snowline, and the rain showers turned to light snow for the rest of the morning. Our traverse across Tinkham basin was plagued by no visibility and climbing too high too fast - my fault - and we actually crossed the NE Ridge of Tinkham peak about 150' higher than we needed to. The low clouds kept us from having any view of the East Face of Tinkham Peak. This basin is full of old growth snow and would make an awesome tree-ski descent. Along the way we spotted two of the original Mountaineer Patrol Race markers, sturdy metal flags hammered into tree trunks about 3 meters over our heads. We descended down to Mirror Lake linking big Christie turns through the three inches+ of mash-potato snow. Mirror Lake is the edge of "civilization" and we followed snowmobile tracks out to logged hillsides and road beds to Twilight Lake and Yakima Pass, reaching lunch at 12:45pm. The weather continued to improve, and a quick climb up to the Gravel Pit lead to almost 3 miles of down-hill skating on a logging road to Stirrup Creek. This was great, except that now we had 3 more miles of uphill road shuffling to gain Baldy Pass. Along the way we heard the buzz of snowmachines, and finally we were passed by a team of 5 and another couple on Stirrup Creek Road. The end was in sight (literally) at 3:40pm on Baldy Pass, and 30 minutes later we were at Lizard Lake. A brief final climb to the Stampede Pass weather station, past a family of three sledders, led to our last transition, and skins were packed away for good. A short descent to a road, plus a little bit of uphill skating, and soon we found the top of the Meany Hut rope tow. By now the snow was deep, deep, slush, so we carefully turned our way down to Meany Hut, reached at 5:30pm. Three more miles of skate skiing across the flats led to the car we had parked at Crystal Camp Ground. The Patrol Race: 21 miles / 33 kilometers (18 miles on route, plus 3 miles to return to the car). Approximately 5200' gained and lost. 9 hours on route, 9:45 car-to-car. We lost about an hour to an hour-half total in three or four route-finding mistakes. Conclusion: Despite the sled-heads, the logging, and the roads, this was awesome! It was just really, really fun to be constantly on the move, with lots of short transitions between skiing and skinning. I definitely want to do this again, and maybe try to organize some-sort of online registration to recreate the original Race. Just a brainstorm, there. Gear Notes: This route is a perfect candidate for metal edged, waxless BC cross-country skis. Otherwise, do it with the lightest gear you can. You do cross several avalanche paths underneath Tinkham, so transceiver, probe, and shovel are recommended. Approach Notes: A second car is needed to park at Crystal Camp Ground. If you want to do this as an overnight tour, there is great camping at Windy Pass and Mirror Lake, but do not leave a car parked in the Snoqualmie West lot.

OK, Thanks for everyone's contributions! The final list, in order of submission, with no effort made to clarify or quantify, is: Hypertension Pressure Chamber pitch on Hyperspace, Snow Creek Wall, Leavenworth Un-named, 5.9, 150’, Left of MX, Tieton Blue Autumn, 5.10b, Vantage Boogie 'til You Puke and others, Cirque of the Uncrackables, Squamish Split Beaver OW variation pitch on Angel’s Crest, Squamish Pipeline 2nd pitch on Aries, Index 2nd pitch on Wrong Gull, Beacon Big Bad Wolf, Leavenworth Carnival, Leavenworth Damnation, Castle Rock, Leavenworth 2nd Pitch, Backbone Ridge Northwest Corner on North Early Winter Spire Off Tempo, Lower Gorge, Smith Rock Rebel Yell 2nd pitch on Southwest Buttress, 5.8, South Early Winter Spire East Face of Lexington Road Head, 5.8+, Okanogan Hinterlands 4th pitch on Narrow Arrow Direct, Index South Ramp, Midnight Rock West Face, Gunsight Peak Dr. Doom, 5.9, Smith Rock Battered Sandwich, Index Vector, Squamish Have fun!!

How big are the trees? Do they require a chainsaw, or could a good hand saw/axe take care of things?

My left rear tire on a 2000 Forester needs to be replaced, but the shop I went to for a new alignment says I need to buy a complete set of 4. Is this true? The front tires are newer - a shop in Bishop didn't have any problems only selling me a pair. Can I save some cash by buying only a rear set, or will it cause more problems later?

Colby Coombs at Alaska Mountain School in Talkeetna would know. I imagine it has. I watched a pair of Italians ski the lower two-thirds or half in April 2002. That season it was pretty bulletproof neve/ice at the top (we rapped off of diner-plate-size bollards during the descent).

Everyone's arguments against 2-person teams are honest. Good posts. For me, I've traveled for extended periods of time, as part of a 2 man team on 5 trips to Alaska and several more in Antarctica. I'll do it again soon. I believe it can be managed to an acceptable level of risk. I second an earlier post to read the relevant sections of Houston & Cosley's book, and then decide for yourselves.

I've done it twice in the St. Elias. All this talk about crevasse rescue and hard it is made me think about the AMGA exam test. With the following equipment: 1. A partner with a harness, two locking carabiners 2. A rope to connect you 3. Cordellette, slings, and prussik cords (not to exceed a total of six, and no more than two cordellettes) 4. One ice axe 5. A picket or a second ice axe 6. Three locking carabiners 7. Five non-locking carabiners 8. A backpack See if you can do this in under 45 minutes: 1. Arrest a fall (have your partner sit on the edge of a crevasse and slide in, without excessive slack or tension in the rope). 2. Build an anchor 3. Rappel to your partner, and put them in an improvised chest harness 4. Ascend back out 5. Build a haul system greater than 4:1 6. Scenario is finished when your partner is on the surface **If you try this out, have a back-up anchor pre-built, with a seperate line, for the "victim" to be tied to. Some rules: 1. The rescuer must be anchored in some way when closer than 2 meters to the lip of the crevasse 2. The haul system either must be self-tending or tended at all times 3. The tail end of the rope must be tied either to the rescuer or the anchor at all times. That's the AMGA crevasse rescue test conducted on every Alpine Guide Exam.

The physiology has been studied to a degree. You loose acclimatization at the same rate you gain it (that varies from case to case). The best advantage to climbing at altitude before a trip is to become aware of the rate your bodies adjusts, and to experience the physical demands. Its a lot like running your first marathon - the first time is always a little unsettling.

Leaving gear up on a route, for whatever reason, seems to mean that someone intends to come back tomorrow and 1) work on this or 2) clean it up. I know that there are good reasons for why gear gets left behind - medical emergency, poor time management (it gets dark), or a quick trip to the toilet turns epic. So I expect to see someone come back tomorrow to do something with those draws I see hanging up there... Only no one does. And not the next day either. And so I ask around for the story, but no one has one. That's when these draws stop being "project" and start becoming "abandoned". That's actually the rule down in the Sierra, in the Valley, King's Canyon, and the surrounding wilderness area: gear (climbing and wilderness camping) is considered abandoned after 24 hours. If you leave a note attached, most climbers will respect it, but the rangers probably won't (there have been exceptions). Projects are just that - present tense - and I would never consider leaving draws up on a climb from one weekend to the next. I would consider it even less if I needed to drive 100+ miles home. I'm sorry your draws were taken, Manimal. But I'm not surprised at all. You ran a risk leaving your draws for up unattended for five days while you were miles away.

My 2000 Subaru Forester needs a front-end alignment. Can anyone recommend a suitable shop in Bellingham?

My 2000 Subaru Forester needs a front-end alignment. Can anyone recommend a suitable shop in Bellingham?

Not true. President Clinton was under oath testifying to a Grand Jury. The A.G. was under oath testifying to a senate committee. Testifying to Congress also has a swearing in process, remarkably similar to a judicial proceeding. Lying in that testimony is also a criminal offense, and Congress is able to file charges against anyone who commits perjury when testifying to a Congressional Committee. Perhaps you need to look farther than just the Constitution to develop your legal arguments. I didn't think they had gotten that far yet. I thought that were they are now in wanting to swear them in and they are taking the 5th. Maybe I'm wrong, I didn't think so. I'll have to check. Regardless it will not get to that point anyways. The dems will drop this soon as it only been done for political gain. They don't want a show down on this in the courts. Its because of the A.G.'s inconsistent and limp testimony to Congress - under oath - that this whole issue came about. By the Constitution, congress can call for "heads of departments" - historically assumed to be Secretaries - to testify. All other staff of the executive testify with the permission of their President, directly or indirectly. In the past, Congress has subpoenaed executive staff members to testify when necessary - this action has been challenged and the Supreme Court upheld the Congressional power to do so. Now we have another administration trying to use "executive privilege" to prevent staff from testifying to Congress. We even have a staff member trying to claim 5th amendment rights to avoid testifying - a new legal argument, since 5th amendment protection has only historically been used to protect someone already under oath, not to protect someone from taking an oath. If the President wants any of this to go to court, I don't believe even the current conservative Supreme Court would overturn the previous decision.

I had a prepared a long rebuttal post describing all the beta JH provided when he posted about his route cleaning efforts (which are definitely appreciated) at Beacon. Or how just two days ago he recommended a double set of HB Offsets for a Beacon rack. And how all media representation - topos, magazines, guides, forums - provides beta for climbers' knowledge. And how all of our climbing gear is a result of climbers feedback - beta - after their experiences. Then my girlfriend saw what I was doing, boxed my ears, and told me to get a life and get a job.

Not true. President Clinton was under oath testifying to a Grand Jury. The A.G. was under oath testifying to a senate committee. Testifying to Congress also has a swearing in process, remarkably similar to a judicial proceeding. Lying in that testimony is also a criminal offense, and Congress is able to file charges against anyone who commits perjury when testifying to a Congressional Committee. Perhaps you need to look farther than just the Constitution to develop your legal arguments.

That's not what I understand. Patriot Act II extended the power of the executive to appoint US Attorneys without the consent and will of the Senate, although A.G. Gonzalez testified to a Senate committee that the administration had every intention of continuing to get Senate approval for appointments. And that is irrelevant to any ethics or legal violation that may have occurred if Republican Congressmen or Senators did indeed attempt to interfere with a current US Attorney investigation or court case. And if they used their influence inside the party to "encourage" the President to dismiss these US Attorney's prematurely. P.S. Anyone calling me dumb should first make sure their spelling, punctuation and grammar are correct, you uneducated ass.

This is great! Rumr asked "why bother" and Fqw just gave a great answer - OW's are common on many alpine routes - NEWS, Rebel Yell, Backbone Ridge, Prusik, etc... It seems like every classic multi-pitch route in the Sierra has one pitch of OW - the Harding Route on Keeler, the South Face of Conness, the Steck-Salathe, on and on...

Except it is illegal for member of the Legislative branch to interfere with investigations and court proceedings of the Department of Justice. It also violates the Senate's and the House's Code of Ethics. And it is a little suspicious that three of the eight US Attorneys report having conversations with at least one Congressman or Senator regarding an investigation or case. Its also a little suspicious that all eight reported having special meetings with senior administration staff members, all about investigations or cases that could influence or effect the mid-term election. It was stupid for Congress to sign away its rights in the Patriot Act. This is clearly another example why. Signed, Registered Independent

Joseph, you didn't grow up climbing in a vacume, and those guidebooks and topos and magazines you've read surely have influenced you. The shoes and harnesses and ropes and protection you use are a result of this shared experience you insist that you don't participate in. Hell, so is this website - another form of guidebook/topo/beta - in fact, you've provided beta for Beacon routes right on this site! Socialized, commercialized, homogenized, and risk-averse. Climbing became commercialized when the Chamonix Company of Guides was formed in 1821. Socialized - the American Alpine Club was founded in 1902. Homogenized - until we get more women and minority climbers, this is still an art dominated by white middle-class men like you. Risk averse? How's that harness feeling, or those cams you use. The essential unknown and adventure are still out there, whether Tim publishes a topo or not.

Edit: Sorry, my internet connection burped.

I've yet to meet a guidebook author that lives off of their books' sales.

Trog, personally, I am and have always been anti-beta and anti-guide - both are basically the antithesis of everything I climb for. As for tat people may leave bailing, we can deal with that no problem. As for "it increases the risk of serious injury" I totally disagree. Beacon is inherently a dangerous place, if you're not capable of bailing if you find you're in over your head you shouldn't be out there. To be completely blunt, I find the very idea that a lack of a guide or beta at any crag "increases the risk of serious injury" is ridiculous on the face of it and about as sad an indictment of today's climbing scene as I can possibly imagine. I have to agree with Joseph that the purpose of guidebooks and topos are never, ever, to provide some sort of level of safety. If you're flipping through a guidebook or scanning a topo to discover what's "safe" for you to climb, then you may need to take up golf. Good guidebooks are a collective history of the art of climbing. Good topos are works of art that document and hint at the struggles and searching an FA team experienced. They also provide the beta for people to move more efficiently and with more confidence through the vertical, adding another page to someone else's experience. They call visitors to come and experience the best that a climbing location can offer. Everything in our climbing today rests on the shoulders of the pioneers before us, from shoes and harnesses, ropes and pro, the Matterhorn to Mt. Moffit, El Cap to Baffin, Chain Reaction to Realization. Every climb isn't a FA. And those with the vision to go out and explore and discover new lines deserve to be recognized. All other teams afterward are resting on those shoulders, which wouldn't be there were it not for the topos, the guidebooks, and (yech) even the media to report these accomplishments and document our history. Joseph's insistence by stating, "I am and have always been anti-beta and anti-guide - both are basically the antithesis of everything I climb for..." is localism and elitist. Climbing is a shared experience - we can do better than that.

Actually, to my knowledge the Clinton Administration never "let go" a US Attorney midway through either of President Clinton's terms. Sea, please cite any sources that contradict me - I'd like to know more.

The PDF calls for a 22 deg E declination. But I just checked with NOAA, and our current declination is rounded up to 18 deg East. Any ideas?

We know they suck. They chew you up, spit you out, scare you with mandatory runouts and grind the flesh from your bones. But they're still part of the art... So what are your votes for the best OW pitches in the PNW?