Flying_Ned

There is no end to the possibilities. If you're looking for a single day climb in Staircase/Hamma Hamma area--somewhat in the Mt. Washington class, you should try Mt. Stone. It's longer but well worth the effort and you'll have spectacular views on a clear day. The final pitch becomes obvious as you get right to the base of the summit block. The Hamma Hamma road to Putvin should be open for several weeks.

Ditto. The cave scenario does get dicey in a warming trend. I have had puddles in on the floor though, so trenching the perimeter sounds smart. And I seem to remember one of Norman Clyde's boots filling with water dripping from a low spot in the ceiling. The multiple vent instruction above is counter to my practice, where I simply try to create air flow, not a chimney effect. Does CO rise and stay trapped at the ceiling, sink and dissipate with cold air, or mix?

A welcome alternative to a tent, maybe. But hunkered down in a foggy, damp, dark frozen cave with 4 inches of standing slush on the floor isn't my idea of enjoyment. It's certainly great to have it available as an option, and it may even save your toes in bad conditions, but winter climbing on Rainier is very different from summer. Unless you've been on Denali, you'll never know that kind of cold. I promise you that.

Mtneer, have you looked at East Rock? It's one of the 3 minor crags due east of The Brothers. It is as yet undeveloped--accessable via a 1.5 mi hike on abandoned FS road, then a scramble through timber to the ridge. Twin summited East Rock has a few lines that could be developed, and the satellite gendarme to the south offers even better possibilities. The rock is good, and several good bivy sites are there for anyone wishing to spend the night. The views, of course, are excellent--N. Ridge of Washington, Sawtooths, The Great Basin of the Brothers, and Constance, as well as Puget Sound and the Cascades. Someone should get out there and put there name on a couple FA's. Notwithstanding, the crag should be included as a minor summit in the Hamma Hamma group for the next edition.

I've not looked at an approach from Elk lake. Topo maps only suggest a kind of etherial romantic fantasy, rarely matching the heartless brutality of the dark and tangled Olympic jungle and it's seductive, steep entrapments.

Finally completed the entire Bailey Range Traverse by bagging the Boulder Peak to Appleton Pass leg last week. This is a great hike with a unique view of Seven Lakes Basin from the east, across the Sol Duc. The route is relatively low, 4300 to 5600 and involves more brush crashing and game trails than further south, but you pass 4 lakes and 3 wonderful high basins, and catch great scenic views of Olympus. From Boulder Lake an obvious way trail leads to an open shoulder at 4600 where the trail divides. When you decided to go one way, take the other--trust me. The route traverses the east side of the shoulder and then descends to lower 3 horse lake, a muddy willow ringed pocket with a decent camp just up stream from the inlet. Walk past camp and pick up the obvious game trail leading west then ascending south up Billy Everett Peak. The way leads up through heavy brush to a lovely high basin of sandstone and meadows. At the pass you can see aptly named (deep indigo) Blue Lake beneath to the SW. Hear I watched a juvinille bear forage just a few yards for several minutes until I startled him and he ran off. A quick descent to the lake leads to more open country as you work upward through another small basin toward the N face of Mt. Appleton. After a short distance you arrive at Mud lake, a turquoise blue tarn that was calving small icebergs from a 25' high wall of 3 years of accumulated snow and ice. A really lovely camp can be made near the outlet on a bench overlooking the Boulder Creek Valley, Crystal Ridge and the Happy Lake Ridge. From this excellent camp the route ascends the upper basin and a snow field to a high notch between Appleton and a minor peak, from where you descend into the basin at the head of the N Fork Sol Duc. This is a beautiful, open, and easily traveled area, seldom visited and with many fine vistas. But the best is just ahead. Once you climb out of the cirque and hit the grassy ridge to the west, you look down on the Sol Duc, across the valley to Seven Lakes Basin, and South to Olympus. This spot offers a really interesting perspective of the high divide because you can see it all in one shot, Deer Lake to Sol Duc park, and most of the lakes in between. Also a great view up the Blue glacier, Snow Dome, etc. From the ridge crest it's a straightforward traverse toward Appleton Pass, where it get's increasingly difficult in snaggled timber the closer you get. I hit the trail at 4900' about 1/6 mi below the pass. From there, it's 8 mi by trail back to the car at the Boulder Creek/Appleton Trail head. Stopped for a soak at Olympic Hot Springs on the way down, which was a fine way to end this quick 18 mi trip. No peaks this time, just a fun high route. From Boulder Lake,

Chris and I gave this a shot 10 days ago traveling ultralight and hoping to make Lakes of the Gods by day 2, Mt. Tom and West Peak by day 3. No such luck. Hiked in after 6pm and made the Hoh crossing above Tom Creek. The Hoh was surprisingly high at our chosen ford, but we didn't want to spend a lot of time hunting down knee deep water. Found a nice camp north of the creek and lounged until dark. The lower Tom Creek Valley travels easily through gravel bars, open fields and alder/maple stands. Beautiful country. The party soon ends as the grade steepens and the conifers and brush come down to the creek. We stayed close to the creek and eventually found ourselves walled in a small canyon. Very pretty, but problematic. Scouted the N side, then South, and found the going very difficult. On steep, wet ground, we retreated to a gravel bar at a very picturesque spot and made camp, deciding plan B would be our fate. That night it rained in the Tom Valley and we scrambled under our ponchos until the showers passed. The next day we made our mistake. We crossed the creek and retraced our deeper penetration of the previous day, on the southwest side of the creek. We flopped around for hours on the steep slopes above 2 canyons, hunting for better ground and a more obvious route. We realized we were about to spend another entire day sidehilling, crashing through brush and fallen timber with only one more day to spend, so we decided to call it off-maybe only 4 miles up the canyon. I have little doubt this approach is possible, but it is time consuming, difficult and tiring. Routefinding above the canyons is a challenge. Unless your objective is an actual bushwhack with plans to mark the route, I wouldn't recommend it as a viable approach to the Olympus Massif. It is, however, a remote and beautiful place with some good fishing holes and fine bivy sites.

Just summit Adams and spend the night there. It can be done in a day from the North Ridge or South Spur.

Nice. Good shot of the finger traverse too. After all the rockfall I've seen coming that from Crystal Pass, I never gave it too much consideration. Definately doing it now. Thanks for those photos and the TR.

Wind, Mattp's pics are right out of the Climbers Guide to the Olympics. You can get it at any decent mountain shop. Go buy it. I'll be doing Pershing on Saturday from the Lake Ellinor cirque. Wear something bright so I can spot you across the valley.

Wind, here's my suggestion: the traverse is better earlier in season when snow makes for better travel. There are some dirty, sloping ledges that demand descretion. The traverse has seen one fatality this year and you might want to do a little recon before striking off alone. From what you write, a some experience and a partner might help. As for Washington, 1a is very obvious this time of year and a trail exists all the way to the summit. Jeff ridge has some exposure, either via the ramp mattp describes or the better class 3-4 rock up the NE ridge. Not sure of the route poncho describes, but there are options once you exit jeff ridge and drop into the basin (bowl). If I were you, I'd hit the main trailhead and take it to the top. You'll get the lay of the land and the more direct gullies you can take when snow allows. Once you hit the upper ridge, where you get your first western view (his throat), scramble down and toward Ellinor to scout the backside traverse. The summit block is only a short ridge walk from here; take the obvious legde around the east side and scramble to the top. I've done this traverse a few times and agree with David Parker that it's more enjoyable earlier in season. If you really want to see the area west of Ellinor-Washington, go climb Pershing. That's a beauty. Good luck.

You can get from Curtis Gilbert to the east side and the upper Conrad before the Goat Citadel and make a nice high traverse Old Snowy. We've done it from Gilbert to a notch directly above Cispus Basin without much difficulty. Rope was not necessary.

Great report and nice trip! Congrats on the NF. I'll look harder at that next time.

Hey Olympics wanderers, here's a one of the least visited, best high camps in the range. The climbers guides rates it 1.1, but it's really a 1.2, offers a hell of a hike to one of the most spectacular viewpoints around. Excellent vistas of the Sawtooths, Skokomish, Stone, Hopper & Home Sweet Home, The Brothers, Constance & Del Monte Ridge, the Mystery-Deception group, The Needles, Elk Lick, LaCrosse Pass & Mt. LaCrosse, Anderson and the Lindsey Glacier, Diamond Peak, Chimney Peak, Hart & Marmot Lakes and the upper LaCrosse Basin, O'Neil Pass, the entire Olympus complex, Muncaster and the upper Quinault, Duckabush, Six Ridge, Sundown and all the way back down the Skok. From just below First divide (13 mi) take the way trail NW and follow it down into the beautiful basin at North Pass. This flat, meadowed area is about 25 acres and lies at the foot of Mt. Steel. Cross to the NW and follow game trails up benches working back S along the E face. Your plan should be to make a large S through the cliffs and alder until you get to the talus field, which quickly takes you into the heather. It's fairly steep and poles help on the descent through this area. Follow the obvious line to the saddle and scramble to the 6225' summit. There are many fine bivy sites at the top where the bugs are less annoying. Plenty of snow for water, and there's a small PVC register at the top. Last visit prior to mine was 8-31-01. I did this in one long day from Staircase, about 15 miles and spent a spectacular evening camping on the summit. Saw plenty of blacktail, a large bear lounging in the basin, and a big male goat at the saddle. I can't recommend this enough for a challenging hike and amazing views--beats all the eastern peaks (Constance, Brothers, etc.) for sheer beauty. Walked out the following day (last Sunday) and felt I'd had a great workout.

I prefer rapping the summit block. If you bring the rope, why not use it? It'll also save some time getting the party off the rock. But Norman Clyde correctly points out that the downclimb is quite sturdy if your moves are properly sequenced. Most people, including me, had a similar reaction to seeing the crux for the first time: is that really class 3? Wood certainly downplays the summit block, especially when you consider how he describes struggling steep trails--makes me wonder.

Not really. It's just some guys thinking about going in and out pretty fast. I don't think their talking about a certified-record-setting-Dan --glory march. No big deal. Just a little test on a nice mountain. If you go back a few posts you'll see that the idea was floated to join a roped team at the glacier, eliminating the need to bring one on the trail run. That doesn't sound like BS to me. Just leaves an opening for the next party to claim a better time.

Pack weight and footwear should make all the difference. If you leave the rope to the advance team, you really only need a basic harness, some light fleece and shells, your crampon of choice, axe, water, iodine tabs, hardtack and a big cigar. Easily under 12 lbs with room for a belay device and a few prusicks in your hydro pack. Running or approach shoes with aluminum crampons would be the ticket, I think. I got an excellent view of the snow dome yesterday from McCartney Peak. The lower section off the Blue Glacier is pretty melted out. By Sept it'll be a dry talus trail from the glacier to near the top of the dome. Still a fair amount of snow up on the plateau now.

It's 5.7 for exposure only. It's really just a high angle friction slab to a corner and an easy pull to a short, narrow butt-scumming ridge. It's airy, but not difficult.

That's an interesting idea, but you'll get an asterisk in the record book. I'd be happy to support your summit bid with two rested climbers, 60 meters of 9mm and a Cliff Bar. September looks great for this greybeard.

Anyone been on this route or attacked The Castle from another eastside route? We're giving this serious consideration for early August and I don't want the trip to turn into a Mazama bail-out.

Norman, someone needs to take away your track shoes. Couple of questions: 1) what is the car to car time record? 2) what was your elapsed time last year? 3) how many miles jogged (or do you plan to jog)? 4) rope? 5) what does the trophy look like?

Did North Ridge about 8 Septembers ago with Norman Clyde and another. Loose pile of talus and dirt to be sure, but the approach is beautiful and the ridge is fairly quick. Remember to move climber's right (W) if you get deadended near the upper small cliffs. Go light, bring warm clothes and a bomber tent, and bivy on the summit or just below. I remember enjoying one of the most spectacular sunsets I've ever seen. Very doable from car to summit with a full pack. The only other decent bivy on the ridge is right at the base, but you'll be waisting half a day sitting there.

Ditto. Go light--It's July and there is no exposure whatsoever on the south route. I'm sure you can get your boot onto something decent enough to keep you from backsliding too much. Pick a day with reliable weather and leave the plastic on the shelf.

I just looked at the D9 today at Alpine Experience in Olympia. I know Climbing recommended them, but they seem like a carbon of the old boulders, which I really liked. I think with approach shoes you have to make a critical decision: primarily for the trail and talus or on the vertical. Heavy (Dragontail) or light (D9). Seems they're either built up from a boot chasis or a running shoe platform.

I spent the night on S Brother last Friday. My original plan was to traverse into the basin from Lunch Rock, but the cloud layer sat at 5000 feet most of the afternoon and I got caught in a dead end chimney and never made it over. Route finding was problematic in the poor visibility. After retreating to the coulior the ceiling started to lift so I climbed to the summit and enjoyed a spectacular night. Getting down to the N-S ridge is a little dicey without a rope (loose gravel over sloping ledges) but can be done if you're nervy. I dropped down about 75 feet and bailed since I was solo and it was loose. There was a recent avalance with large snow boulders in the base, but everything looked very solid. The traverse does stay high and is fairly exposed. Class 4 might be a bit of a sandbag this time of year. We did it in early May with several pickets and found it pretty time consuming for such a short traverse. Stefan's recollection seems like a combination of the ridge and the basin traverse. Once you drop into the basin, as he did, you can skirt the obvious buttress and take a direct line almost to the N summit on 40-45 degree snow. A straightforward class 3 scramble of 100 feet or so takes you right to the top, which is a pinnacled ridge. I'd say a single double rope rap will get you off the S summit in good shape to decide which option to take. The low traverse into the basin could be done in an hour or so. Not sure about the ridge. But I highly recommend the excellent bivy (3-4 people) just east of the S summit.