meganerd

Yeah, I would doubt this "winter" has knocked out that big log. If your plan b is anywhere near Eldorado, definetely drive up there because your chances are good. Good choice of climb too because you'll probably hit snow just as you head into the talus fields (snowline at around 3500-4000 feet up there right now I think). Beyond that, the going is probably easier in the snow than during summer.

Hey I work at REI and know that we make bags just as good if not better than everybody else, and at half the cos............Argh!! I can't say it ...it's just not true... Hey, our bags don't completely suck though. You all know that what REI does is steal everybody else's ideas and makes them cheap. They aren't top of the line, but they also cost about half the price of a high end Marmot. Still I generally don't recommend our bags to climbers who really do need the absolute best stuff for whatever reason. I have a Marmot bag, REI hasn't fired me yet. Whatever you do, don't accuse me of supporting REI just because I work there. Trust me, there's nothing in that for me. I'd shop at Marmot or FF if I didn't work at REI and get a 50% discount.

I don't understand how everybody's never had problems with not having permits. I've been asked plenty of times in various areas. When I went solo to Climb Sahale a couple summers ago (my first climb), I ran into a ranger at Cascade Pass (it was a Friday I think). Earlier, I had tried to get a permit for the Sahale Glacier camping area but was told they were all taken, so I got a permit for Pelton Basin instead just to make the ranger at the station happy although I planned to camp at the glacier regardless for two reasons: 1. I had to work the next day and could not camp at Pelton and still climb the peak. 2. I had gotten the last permit to camp at the glacier the year before and was COMPLETELY ALONE. Also, I just had my bivy sack with me and, if the campground actually did look full, I planned on heading up the glacier out of sight to one of the little saddles just below the summit and camping on snow there. On this trip, I decided to be totally bluntly honest with the ranger because I knew I wasn't doing anything wrong. The next day, after camping just below the summit (even though the campground was only half full), and I successfully climbed the peak, I got back to the pass to find that the ranger had been waiting for me for two hours or something. He slapped me with a forty dollar ticket, motherfucking asshole... The worst part was that I successfully argued my case with him and he actually consented that the rule I was breaking wasn't geared toward me and essentially that I wasn't doing anything wrong. He said that he had no choice, that he had to ticket anybody breaking the rules (that's when I casually looked around to see if any supervisers were watching, none seen). He actually suggested that I talk to the district manager in Marblemount. So I did. In fact, he actually made numerous errors writing the ticket including saying I was an adult, which I wasn't. The district ranger told me that they'd had some problems with that ranger before not filling things out correctly and just generally being a weirdo. She then told me that she had to back up the ranger's decision though! WTF!!!!!! So basically the assholes just tossed me back and forth because they knew my defence was correct and they didn't want to stand up to me. I would have gladly "donated" $50 to NCNP if I really thought it was going to something productive. But paying moron rangers like that with my fine money is just not cool. So the moral of this story is: if at all possible lie your ass off if confronted by a ranger. In my situation, I could have easily said that I ended up camping on Boston Sahale Col or even over on the Boston Glacier (hey he wasn't there) which I believe are out of the Sahale zone. There's lots of stuff I could have said and will say next time because they don't know how to implement their policies in a reasonable way. So fuck them.

HOLY SHIT!!! I saw that guy too, only a few WEEKS later on the trail down from Buck Creek Pass about 5 miles from Trinity. He was on his way out finally but wasn't going to make it that day (it was late). He asked me if I had any cigarette rolling paper. It seems he had run out. Right... Let's see other funny stuff... -falling sod on Eldorado, yes sod -my beautiful collection of "wilderness latrine" photographs -eric8 not being able to correctly pronounce Shuksan, EVER!! (shu shushcan shu shu shush kan....) -The time the pretty blonde chick in a red jeep showed up out of nowhere and drove us all the way home (3 hours!!) when I lost my keys on Sahale -The time I managed to get completely turned around in the fog on Tomyhoi and descended all the way to Yellow Aster Lakes before I realized.

Uh, sorry eric, I think at least once or twice I contributed to you not climbing Guye, but it sounds like a shitty route to me anyway. Being one of those weirdos who goes up Si with Pickets and tools and getting weird looks was worth it anyway. As for failed attempts, last year Dragontail was my big one with four or five half assed solo attempts (I don't remember) thwarted by weather until I finally made it w/Eric in early June. Now Tomyhoi is my nemesis. Two solo attempts within a month last fall. The first one is a funny story: it was foggy and I somehow managed to get turned completely around on the climbers trail on the way up! The second time was on November 1 and I got very very close but there was bad snow and ice on the short downclimbs leading to the summit. I was almost to the second notch from the summit when I got really sketched (remember, solo) and turned around. Beautiful day though. I don't think I'll go back because Tomyhoi kinda sucks. The view gets more and more spectacular like most climbs, gradually opening up to the north cascades to the south until very near the top when one can look down into BC towards Chilliwack (hi dru!! ) and then can suddenly see, hear, and smell the logging going on very close by in that valley just across the border. Really feels like a slug to the chest if you ask me, and the summit would be extremely anticlimactic. Nice area though, on the US side.

"If your dog was just a little bit bigger, it would kill and eat you." "Your pets don't really love you, they just want to escape from you." "You are enslaving your pet in your home." "Your pet is not your friend, it is your hostage." "Just stop and think how many times you've said 'Shut up!' to your pet." "If times were tough, at least you could eat your pet." "Dogs are like big dumb buddies who never leave. They're like Lenny from Of Mice and Men, only with deadly fangs and no bowel control." "If your pet were just a few notches over on the species tree, you would kill it." "Your pets are incredibly stupid." "In your pet's universe, you are called 'the ape that brings food.'" "When you talk to your pet like it's a baby, everyone wants to wring your neck." "When your pet dies, you will seriously consider putting it in a dumpster." all taken from "You are Worthless" by Dr. Oswald T. Pratt.

Haven't been up there yet, but from what I've read, N Face of Shuksan looks a lot more fun than Price Glacier if you go in early season to avoid the crappy approach or in late season to add some actual difficulty to the climb. Some will say it's too easy, but it's no easier than West Ridge on Forbidden is it? All in all it just sounds like a super fun climb. If you want to make it more challenging then climb the summit pyramid direct or go solo or something.

Hey, I've had a pair of the Sportiva Karakorums for about two years but I've used them alot (need resoling already very badly). They're very similar to the Makalus but a little stiffer and higher. Personally, I think they're fantastic. I've used them for everything except very technical climbing. I even used them for a four day fifty mile backpacking trip! (although that tore my feet up pretty bad) The secret for me was to soak them in my bathtup for about three hours, then put them on and hike up Mount Si. Yes that hurt, but it completely broke them in and the only drawback was that I wasted the factory applied water resistance which was easily reapplied. If you've had your boots for five years, they should already be pretty well broken in, but judging from what you've said, you've avoided using them whenever possible so this may still be of interest to you. The burlier Sportivas are notorious for being difficult to break in. Once they are broken in though, they are bombproof. That three hour soaking has had no noticable negative effects on the boots at all and after I get them resoled, they will probably last me many more years. Also, most Sportivas are made for narrow feet. If your feet truly are too narrow for them, I don't know what to tell you.

Somebody was going on a patriotic power trip and challenged the general public to list off some "better" countries: Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Finland (?), uh, Canada? I suppose "better" is definetely a bad word to use because all these countries have their problems but my experience with them has certainly been more positive than that with the US (except Finland, don't really know that much about them). Don't nobody give me bullshit about high taxes or a welfare state or socialism. These are all just dirty words to Americans. I would rather pay high taxes and live in a country with a small gap between rich and poor. Welfare State? Bullshit. And socialism is the best example of a "dirty word." There is NOTHING WRONG with socialist ideology any more than there is anything wrong with any ideology. What's wrong with it is how it's been applied and the people who have used the term such as the USSR, China, and Hitler. I don't understand why a capitalistic system mixed with a liberal dose of socialism is so difficult for Americans to accept, even as a valid idea and philosophy. What most Americans don't seem to realize is that we certainly already have elements of socialism in our society (SOCIAL security, I mean come on). We already do the government control thing, so unless you are a liberatarian, you agree with socialism to some extent. Hahahah.

So fellow college climber bums, spring break is near and I don't know what to do. The weather is looking shitty (maybe an outside chance early next week). What's everybody else got planned that's climbing related? Maybe you can give me some ideas. No I can't afford to go to Cancun.

Good golly, it sounds like it would have been easier to finish the traverse over Eldorado than to descend Thunder Ridge. Crawling on your hands and knees?! That's some hardcore hiking right there. Although, if you've never done it, the descent of the Eldorado approach down Eldorado Creek on the other side is no picnic either (although a path is always apparent). That's why this traverse sounds so cool. It's like a shorter version of the Ptarmigan, with no people. And, not that I'm complaining, but why the hell is there a bridge across Thunder Creek at the start of Thunder Ridge? That just doesn't make sense to me.

Dammit, that route from Depot Creek through the Chilliwacks, through the Pickets, across the Skagit, over Snowfield, Backbone Ridge, Eldorado Icecap, then the extended Ptarmigan was like my big dream. I was hoping nobody had ever done it before. Thanks for smashinging my ambitions and life purpose. Humph...

I don't think I mentioned that I wasn't planning to go anytime soon. That would be "sick..." I just get bored during winter when avalanche danger reads "You will die, slowly" and I'm supposed to be doing homework. So I'm vicariously planning my summer out day by day knowing fully that it won't happen remotely like I plan. (At one point I was thinking of going to Alaska and climbing Ham & Eggs on Moose's Tooth. Bwaahhahhahahahhah....

Hey I've been doing some winter climbing (looking longingly at maps) lately and I'm seeing something interesting. It would appear that you could connect the north end of the Ptarmigan Traverse (at Cascade Pass) with the Eldorado Icecap through Boston Basin. I've never heard of anyone doing it, but it doesn't look too bad from the map or from the summit of Eldorado. Also in the Beckey description of Primus and Tricouni Peaks, he describes the approach up a ridge from Thunder Creek directly to the Borealis Glacier at the north end of the Eldorado Icecap. Most importantly I think he mentions a bridge across Thunder Creek in the vicinity of McAllister Creek. Has anybody ever done a full traverse of the Eldorado area from Cascade Pass to Diablo Lake (via Thunder Creek Trail)? Also on the other end of the Ptarmigan, has anyone ever gone in (or out) via the Suiattle River Trail, Image Lake, Ross Pass, then up and over Dome Peak to get to White Rock Lakes. Beckey says you have to descend into the West Fork Agnes Creek Valley in order to do this, but that doesn't make any sense looking at the map. It appears that you can just traverse the entirety of the Chikamin and Dana Glaciers, then meeting up with the standard Itswoot Ridge approach with the only potential problem spot being a col between Dome and Elephant's Head (I think, I don't have the map handy right now). This should be about an 8 day trip (fairly casual, with peakbagging) plus a few weather days, and would seem to be the ultimate extended Cascades alpine traverse.

Why does everyone approach the N Face of Robson via the rock/scramble route directly from Berg Lake instead of taking the Kain Route approach up the Robson Glacier? I read somewhere on here that there was some problems crossing the Helmet-Robson Col, so does anybody have conditions for that from last year? Also, does anyone know off the top of their head whether the Rockies are having a light or heavy snow year?

You cannot take the sense of adventure and surprise out of alpine climbing. You might be able to avert it every now and then through obtaining good beta beforehand. Eventually though, we all get schooled by weather, getting off route, and well, bad beta. Personally I think the sooner we get smacked, the better, but I'll still spend my long boring winters looking over guidebooks and this website gathering random information so I won't need to do research when it comes time to go. Hell, what else is winter good for?! (yeah I'm a lazy pussy afraid to get cold. Fuck off)

You guys aren't giving me much incentive to start sport climbing. I hate people...

What's this thing lately about people having problems with long story TRs? Has the world really sped up so much that we can't sit down and read a good story interspersed with the information we need?

This goes back aways, but I continue to not be able to understand the logic behind dumping the water out of your training pack at the top to avoid knee damage. Um... when you're really climbing/hiking/backpacking, you need to come down with all your actual gear, and you need to work up to that also, not just making it up. I agree that this might be a good idea to start off with because generally beginners knee support muscles (forgive me, no technical term) are in even worse shape than their thigh muscles, but as a general policy, I cannot agree with it.

Thanks for info. Of course I should reiterate that I would be going either with plastics or in the N. Extremes with warm overboots. Also, I don't think my feet get cold as easily as some others. On my last winter conditioning hike up to Muir, it was probably 0-10 degrees up near the top plus windchill and I didn't have insulated boots (old Karakorams in fact) and my feet weren't particularly cold (the rest of my body was a different story). Anyway, it will be more than two years until I get the chance to go (spring quarter doesn't end until mid-June) so who knows what will transpire in that time.

I just bought a pair of Nepal Extremes from La Sportiva for pretty general mountaineering around here (a bit overkill, I know) and my AOAP (As Often As Possible) trips to the Canadian Rockies and hopefully the alps. I'm just sitting here bored and wondering if they would be enough to get me up Denali, with hefty overboots and such. Just wondering if anybody had done it in leathers before...

In a sense, El Cap is hardly a mountain at all; it is a high point of the valley wall of the Merced River (Yosemite Valley). A particularly active valley glacier carved this formation out of particularly hard rock and now you have quite a steep and sporting wall to climb. Same process is forging big wall routes in the Ruth Gorge in Alaska near Denali, but in that case, only half of the granite is exposed due to an obnoxious glacier in the way. As soon as we dispose of that through G W Bush's SUV promotion campaign, we will have a killer big wall to go conquer. Yeah, roc jocs forever!!!!! I hate the world But yeah, in general, due to colder conditions due to shading, and less solar radiation due to lower sun angles, north faces in the northern hemisphere and south faces in the southern hemisphere tend to have far more glaciation. There are two predominant types of erosion in the high mountains: glacial and frost action. Glacier erosion acts relatively quicly and tends to carve out very steep headwalls, ridges, horns, and such. Frost action on the other hand generally tends to work more slowly and more or less smooth the surfaces of mountains lessening the angle of a slope and producing a big mellow-angle talus pile at the bottom of cliffs. So, on north facing slopes in the N Hemisphere, relatively recent heavy glaciation during the recent ice ages (up to 10000 years ago or so) produced some very steep forms and frost action hasn't really had a chance to catch up yet. Through G W Bush's supply side economics and unchecked corporate influence and "self policing" polution policies warming the climate and reducing glaciers, frost action should have some time to catch up and wear things down until the human race destroys itself and the earth corrects itself and heads into another ice age preparing the world's mountains for an invasion of the mountaineers from other worlds previously mentioned in this thread. As we have seen in Yosemite and the Ruth Gorge however, N face glaciation = steep rock is not a hard and fast rule. In areas with intense valley glaciation and very hard, erosion resistant rock, steep faces can be found facing any direction, in the N or S hemispheres. Now isn't that super!

Has anyone done the other approaches to the northern Pickets (Whatcom Pass/around Whatcom Peak, Beaver Pass/Challenger Arm, Access Creek/Fury-Luna Col) after the snow has predominantly melted? How do these approach routes compare to Hannegan/Easy Ridge? I'd really like to get in there again next summer to climb Fury, Luna, and Challenger or something, this time with more than 3 days to complete the trip

Well, I'm officially spoiled. I have $2000 to spend on a trip to Europe courtesy my parents graduation present (I still have to buy my own milk so fuck ya'll). Anyway the challenge now is to find someone who wants to go also, hopefully someone with whom I can do some easy stuff around here with first. I've done some research already and the trip should be about 3 weeks to 1 month long. If you're Mark Twight or something, don't get too excited. I'm not an uber-extremo climber. The main focus of this trip would be to have fun in a wild setting. A few things I've done around here would be L Bell (Beckey), Eldorado, Sahale (solo and by Quien Sabe), and some similar glacier stuff in the C Rockies. I'm hoping to improve to climbing predominantly ice stuff at around the D level (Liberty Ridge) early this summer. Note: I'm NOT much of a rock climber. So, if anybody's interested...

Glacier (bivy sites!), Luna, Logan, Primus, Old Guard (or LeConte, Sentinel). Great views for beginners would be Ruth (NE face of Shuksan is incredible and there are bivy sites!), Sahale of course, but climb is better via Quien Sabe. For hikers and momentarily lazy climbers, Hidden Lake Peak Lookout takes the cake with it's well maintained lookout building (there's a fuckin' bed for christ's sake!!) and great views of the Ptarmigan Traverse (only hiker view of S Cascade Glacier that I know of). Tomyhoi sucks. It's all working up to be fantastic but then you crest out and see, hear, and smell the logging in the valley on the Canadian side. Besides Glacier, all the volcanoes suck for views unless you like to see to infinity minus the haze over flatlands. Oregon blows...