RichardKorry

Rad - PM Sent

Cleaned out two different book shelves and are passing these books on to anyone interested. I live in North Ravenna in NE Seattle. The climbing guides are generally a few decades old. I have photos of the covers if you are looking for something specific 101 Hikes in the North Cascades by Ira Spring and Harvey Manning 102 Hikes in the Alpine Lakes South Cascades, And Olympics by Ira Spring and Harvey Manning Visitor’s Guide to Ancient Forests of Western Washington Best Hikes with Children in Vermont, New Hampshire and Main by Cynthia and Thomas Lewis The Smiling Country – a history of the Methow Valley by Sally Portman French Rock Climbs by Martin Atkinson (to be clear – this is about climbing in France and not Frenchman’s Coulee) Vantage Rock – compile by Matthew Stanley Shards of Blue – A guide to Ice Climbing in New England by Peter Cole and Rick Wilcox Changabang The Washington Desert A Climber’s Guide by John Eminger and Jon Kittel Northwest Mountain Weather by Jeff Renner How to Rock Climb by John Long Face Climbing by John Long Freedom of the Hills 5th Edition The Climbing Art – Literature poetry and art for and about the spirit of climbing On Mountains – Thinking about terrain by John Jerome Ski Faster, Easier by Lee Borowski The Avalanche Book by Betsy Armstrong and Knox Williams Surviving Denali – A study of Accidents on Mt McKinley by Jonathan Waterman The Games Climbers Play – A collection of Mountaineering Writing – Edited by Ken Wilson Field Guide to Snow Crystals by Edward LaChapelle Snow Sense – A guide to evaluating snow avalanche hazard by Jill Fredston and Doug Fesler Snowboard Know-How by Christof Weiss Everest The Testing Place by John West MD Climber’s Guide to the Olympic Mountains Leavenworth Rock Climbs by Viktor Kramar (white cover) A Climber’s Guide to Washington Rock by Don Brooks and David Whitelaw (brown cover) Backcountry Skiing in Washington’s Cascades by Rainer Burgdorfer (1st edition) Bicycling with Children – A complete How-To Guide – by Trudy Bell Cross Country Ski Tours 1 Washington’s North Cascades by Tom Kirkendall and Vicky Spring Cross Country Ski Tours 2 Washington’s South Cascades and Olympics by Tom Kirkendall and Vicky Spring Breakthrough on Skis – How to get out of the Intermediate Rut by Lito Tejada-Flores Ski Skating with Champions – “How to Ski with Least Energy” by Einar Svensson Exit 32 – North Bend Rock – by Bryan Burdo (tan cover) Rock Climbing Washington – A Falcon Guide - by Jeff Smoot Exit 32 Rock Climbing Guide by Garth Bruce (spiral bound w/ photo on cover) Exit 38 North Bend Sport Climbs by Bryan Burdo (spiral bound w/ photo on cover) 100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains by Ralph Storer Avalanche Safety for Skiers and Climbers by Tony Daffern Cross-Country Downhill by Steve Barnett (3rd edition, revised and enlarged w/ Steve on skinny skies and steep slope) Stretching by Bob Anderson Snowboard – PSIA teaching manual of American Teaching System Nordic - PSIA teaching manual of American Teaching System A Step Beyond: A Definitive Guide to Ultrarunning Edited by Don Allison

Dear valued member, We recognize this has been an unsettling week for members. The sale of MEC’s business, and the decision to move the business away from the co-operative model was, after all, a very difficult decision – but it was the right one. Facing a stark choice, we chose to preserve employment opportunities, a larger store presence, and a commitment to MEC’s ethos rather than fold up the MEC tent for good. As you may know, this week, MEC filed for protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act ("CCAA"). Effectively, this was a recognition that MEC was financially insolvent, and in dire need of support to continue moving forward. Fortunately, at the same time, our Board of Directors announced unanimous support for an agreement with Kingswood Capital Management, LP. The agreement with Kingswood will ensure that MEC has a brighter future. We’ve heard your questions, let us attempt to answer them: First, you’re probably wondering, “what happened?” MEC has experienced increasing performance issues since 2016. In July 2019, new leadership was brought in to develop a plan to turn MEC around. We were making significant progress but then the global pandemic hit and exacerbated MEC’s financial challenges. A Special Committee of the Board engaged in an extensive examination of options to address the persistent financial issues. As part of the review, the Special Committee, in concert with expert advisors, sought refinancing from over 65 potential lenders, proactively explored and leveraged applicable government support programs, and examined funding MEC through voluntary member assessments. Ultimately, a sale was the only option that would save MEC from bankruptcy or liquidation. We’ve been asked, “what is CCAA?” and “why don’t members vote on this decision?” Our persistent financial challenges combined with the pandemic created a situation in which MEC became insolvent, and this necessitated a filing under CCAA. In CCAA, the court oversees the restructuring process to ensure fairness. A member vote (or in the case of corporations, a shareholder vote) is not required. CCAA allows an organization to maintain its business ‘in the ordinary course’ while giving it the breathing room necessary to restructure its affairs. This is done to preserve as much of its business as possible for the benefit of employees, members/customers, suppliers and other stakeholders in the communities in which it operates. Many are wondering “why wasn’t the board more forthcoming or transparent?” First of all, we understand that many are upset and apologize for not communicating more or sooner. As a member-based co-op, we know the importance of transparency, and value co-operative principles. But in exercising our fiduciary duty, the board’s top priority was preserving jobs and saving MEC from bankruptcy or liquidation. In short, we prioritized MEC’s survival. Since our founding in 1971, MEC’s deeply loyal members have been synonymous with who we are and what we do. That will not change. MEC will continue, and our values will be maintained, though it may look a little different. Kingswood's commitment to honouring the MEC ethos through their Canadian affiliate and the solid financial footing from this transaction gives us tremendous confidence in the future. The Kingswood team, and the incoming CEO, Canadian and longtime MEC member Eric Claus, are very optimistic about MEC’s future. That optimism was at the heart of the board’s decision to enter into this agreement. For more information see: www.alvarezandmarsal.com/MEC. Guided by the last 50 years, we look forward to MEC’s continued service to communities across Canada enabling everyone to lead an active outdoor lifestyle. Thank you for your commitment to MEC, Judi Richardson Chair of the Board of Directors

Thank you thank you for your efforts to keep us all safe! I've clipped way to many Leepers and home made hangers in Darrington over the years so it's great to see these replaced

The answer is that it is still fenced off although I also saw folks that moved the fence out of the way so they could climb

Since King County is in Phase 2 does anyone know if the Mountaineers instruction wall is open? Last time I went through there it was all fenced off.

Thanks for the info. Is there any relationship with how crowded the routes are and their level of difficulty? I'm happy leaving the easier ones to the crowds if so. In general I prefer to use public transit and walk but if having a car is way more efficient then I'm up for trying. How was your experience renting and driving cars in Italy? Where there any huts or towns you found particularly noteworthy?

Next summer I'm going to be in Europe in the Mount Blanc area to do the UTMB. Since I'm there I thought it would be fun to do some Via Ferratas in the Dolomites I am waiting for one of the guides to the VFs from the library. I'm looking from some beta from folks that have done some VFs there and to try and get a better idea of the experience. I've looked around on the web and most of the sites are geared to get you to hire a guide. I'm hoping to avoid the cost of a guide and to do 2 or 3 fun VFs. I'd be happy climbing 4th class to mid-5th class routes. Information on any particular refugios or hostel/hotels in towns that were stellar (or not) would be appreciated. Thanks

Nice job! John - I can totally related being old and getting my ass kicked out in the mountains. Glad to see that you are still at it. Logan is a really long trip no matter what your approach. When I finally got on the summit after 4 attempts it was in a 100% white out so I'm glad to look at your photos of the views I missed.

It's been 25+ years since I was in the Bugaboos so I expect somethings have changed. It looks like people still are using chickenwire to safeguard their cars. Last time we showed up and stayed at the Kain Hut. This time there's online reservations that show that it's already full. So we are are looking to stay at Applebee campground and I have some questions. Is water available at Applebee? Do people usually boil it or filter it or neither? Is there any day use allowed for the Kain Hut if you aren't staying there? It might be nice to sit at a table and play cards on a rest day. The Hut apparently has outlets allowing for one to recharge devices/batteries. Can non-hut users use this luxury? Thanks for any answers or additional beta that we might find useful

I hadn't heard about the fire - no matter - JBo6 gets them to enjoy

Cleaning out the closets Alpinist magazines 14 (Winter 2005-2006) through 28 (Autumn 2009) in perfect shape I'm in NE Seattle

My partner Curt Feig and I have been talking about doing the NE Buttress on Goode for many years but circumstances never worked out for us. This year we finally found the sweet convergence of weather, availability, health and luck to go climb this classic. There's a lot of descriptions out the route which I won't repeat but I will pass on some beta that we would have found useful if known to us. Quick summary for those with a short attention span: Amazing moderate alpine climb that requires a lot of effort to get in and out. There's a whole lot of mountain. The rangers at Marblemount said they leave the self issue permits out till they open at 7am. They don't. We got there at 6:50 and the permits were gone. Instead we took a number and waited just like at the DMV. I was at the door when it opened at 7:01am and walked in with my #6 ticket prominently displayed. No one else followed me through the door apparently everyone else was content to talk about custom van conversions in the parking lot. Hmmm. I walked up the ranger and waited with my #6 ticket in hand. "Can I help you?" Sure can! We were out with our permits by 7:10. Doing the approach from Bridge Creek trailhead off SR20 converts the adventure from being primarily a climbing trip to a climbing hiking extravaganza. There's a lot of miles to cover. If we had done it via Stehekin it would still consume a lot of time (lots of waiting for boats and shuttles) but that reduces the amount of miles hiked significantly - over 20 miles. Bridge Creek costs less and you have more control over your destiny. In the end, the hiking was fine but we did it in really hot weather going in and coming out which really sapped our energy and kept hydration a constant concern. Bring a Forest Service parking pass as the Bridge Creek trail head isn't in the park. We found no logs to cross the North Fork at the normal crossing point which is described by the endless beta and hand drawn maps. We continued up the trail even when you couldn't see any trail due to the heavy foliage. We continued up till we broke out of the dense undergrowth. At that point we were well right of the normal crossing but the snow field over the river allowed us safe easy passage over the North Fork. We climbed up snow and rock areas to ascend low fifth rock left a water fall to move through the cliffs. We continued angling left towards the traditional bivi areas. Eventually we found a flat spot at 5500' that others had bivied at as well with room for our two bivi sacks. This was before we'd need to either drop down hundreds of feet to continue left or ascend hundreds more to move above. You can gain the buttress on the right without needing to go way left to get on the glacier. However, snow is melting fast so that approach may or may not still work. It did for us and made that section quite quick and easy. Approaching spot to gain ridge The route itself is amazing and stunning. The rock is incredibly well jointed and there is always one more flat or in-cut hold for the entire 3000 feet. You are climbing moderate rock with a pack and thinking that perhaps this section will blank out. Nope - look around, the holds always appear. The beta for the climbing we found the most helpful came from Steph Abegg: "Just stay on the ridge." I felt the climbing kept moving me off to one side or the other but there was always a good way to get back on top of the ridge itself. If you feel like the route is harder than 5.6 then you are off route. Lots of 5.fun climbing on the ridge The views are incredible and we were the only ones on the route that day. It was quite special. We dropped our packs at the notch and climbed to the summit free of that burden - it felt wonderful. The summit bivi looks amazing. There are three rap stations from the summit to the notch. A 60m rope worked well - 55m might be a stretch. There are three rap stations from the notch into the gully. For the second it is better to rap over the rock trending rappers left of the gully as that allows you to finish your rap at the third station. The gully is chossy and tedious but not dangerous like the Bedayn. We were given beta to stay left of the washout and descend the burn. We did that for a long way but it sucked as in unconsolidated soil dusty charcoal dead burnt tree too steep sucked. We eventually came to our senses and traversed to the right side of the washout to the climbers trail. Life no longer sucked. Our beta: as you exit the gully and terrain begins to mellow go right of a spiny ridge and head towards the top of the washout. After that it is just lots of miles, liters of water and lots of pain. Accepting and embracing the pain made it much more tolerable. Gear Notes: 60m 8mm rope - we climbed with it doubled the whole time a set of nuts w/ double of larger nuts single set of cams to 1" 20 slings and 20 biners ice axe crampons we used approach shoes for the hike and climb which worked fine

Photos are in craigslist I have a variety of older screws that from the 1990s when I thought I was going to get into ice climbing but it never really happened. I'm finally cleaning out the closet. Titanium screws have never been placed. Steel screws have placed once or twice for practice but never really used. One photo is of 5 ice pitons (hammer in/screw out) from the 1980s (or earlier) that I'm giving away for free. One photo is of 2 titanium screws that I got for alpine climbing rather than ice climbing. $10/each Two photos are of 4 steel ice climbing screws that Black Diamond knock offs that were designed in the USA and manufactured in South Korea. $10/each $50 for the whole lot. I'm in NE Seattle. I'll ship if buyer covers the shipping.

PM sent about camp ice axe

Bump

I bought these when the Switchblades just before I met that special someone and moved my budding interest in ice climbing to exclusively back country skiing. Three kids later I'm ready to let these go. These are small sized 3-8. I don't know what exact measuring system that is but they fit my 8 1/2 boots fine. I think they go up to a 9 or so. They have never been used and come with the original instructions. Being rigid these are meant for ice climbing not general mountaineering. I live in North Seattle. If you want them shipped that would be extra. [img:left]http://ol2goq.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pQsUc1m69k0DpjHAIhnC8OVM4kXn8_qPkUvACpCpioMDZ98p7gW7UgEFeEiy2ibVSnIqg6CO5n0EM6ZH-l-8db5Mb9yhng55q/076.jpg[/img] [img:left]http://ol2goq.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pKF5PH82sW9mu88Pt5k5RniW4UqwqyLWTQRouLUBRcT9L2nrSVOMJIzK-wGYRUt_nqQ9UFri2zZoNKgrvSpMRbpnpRwcUYEQ1/P1030715.jpg[/img] [img:left]http://ol2goq.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pEkYj-1Cke_x8pN12c17M-6cQ_9q3ZhHXWHxpZ3bOsNhhUCViOEo2pArJ-91U3qqLQEvUrFkEYyrfc0A_iTs9GF8V3EkeCZwg/P1030718.jpg[/img]

I ran into Bill Pilling at a memorial celebration for a mutual friend that died from brain tumor recently. Bill has lots of winter FA in the Cascades and is living down in Bishop CA now. I talked to him about the route and he did it twice in mountain boots and enjoyed it. We did it in rock shoes which meant more on our backs but the climbing felt more secure. We were happy to switch back to boots for the snow and the subsequent 4th classing above.

We eventually dropped off the ridge onto snow on the north side to make our way to the col. The cairn was a verification we were at the right one. We descended south and then traversed under the south slopes of the Triad. The trick is to stay on top of the ridge following the path but then drop down to the snow on the north side between two small bumps at 6640' and traverse under ridge line of the 6840' feature to the col - perhaps 1/3 of a mile. We stayed on the ridge itself too long and did more up and down than we needed to before switching to snow. We fixed that on our return and did more snow traversing before ascending back to the ridge. Once back on the ridge we put away axes until we descended the snow slopes from Sibley Creek Pass.

I guess so. It never occurred to me until around 6pm and we still had lots more climbing to do. Then it was, "hmm, I guess I'm not still 45 anymore..." Especially since this was basically my first outing this year. Chris skied Baker and Rainier this spring with his family (wife, 14 yo and 12 yo) so he was his normal rocking self. He kindly waited for me even more than usual.

Trip: Eldorado - West Arete Date: 7/24/2010 Trip Report: Chris and I have been climbing together since the early 1980s in the Gunks and later in the Cascades after both of moved to Seattle at different times. We used to do lots of trips in lots of places (Canada, Wyoming, Washington) but after we both had kids (he has two and I have three) and life gets busier it was harder to get out. But we have managed an annual mountaineering trip for the last 10 years or so and did some nice routes. One route we've talked about doing over the years was the West Arete of Eldorado. When we were doing lots of climbing I think both of us weren't that psyched to do the route (only 5.7 after all). But after doing it Sunday 7/25 we both have a lot more respect for the route and those that do it. We approached via Hidden Lakes Peak trail head and the Triad traverse. We used Nelson, Beckey and a TR from SummitPost as our beta on the approach and route. The trailhead was full of cars on Sat. as we headed out in the blazing sun. The shade of the woods was welcome but then we broke out into the avalanche gully and hit the humidity of the brush that made it feel really hot. We left the trail as per Nelson and hiked up snow slopes to Sibley Creek Pass. There we headed north up the climber's trail and climbed onto the ridge for some really enjoyable ridge walking that felt like Sound of Music. We followed the ridge keeping an eye out for the correct col to descend. Both Nelson and Beckey were very adamant about finding the easternmost gully. We poke around at various spots trying to decide which was the right one and finally the correct was obvious with a small cairn. It was a mix of loose 3rd class and snow as we dropped down a few hundred feet. We continued traversing around and eventually went up at the end of the ridge. We followed it to the top of the ridge and then wound our way down into the terrain below the Triad. We negotiated another ridge and then made our way toward Triad Col. We were on snow about 80% of the time during the traverse. We found a great flat rock that made a wonderful camp spot at 6120' maybe 1/2 mile south of Triad Col. Sibley Creek Pass looking towards the Triad and our traverse Looking back towards Sibley Creek pass and two other climbers on the traverse West Arete of Eldorado is the second ridge that reaches to the top. The gendarme towers are visible on the lower 1/3 The snow route is visible as a tiny narrow snow arrow 2/3 up pointing to 8 o'clock Moon rise over Cascade Pass We headed out Sunday morning at 5:15 hoping to make good time on the route. We ended up roping up for the col as the spot we selected to cross had a few 5th class moves. There are probably easier routes. The snow reached the col on the other side so getting onto the Triad Glacier was trivial. The glacier is starting to shed snow and crevasses are showing but Chris was masterful as usual selecting the correct line. We were at the base of the West Arete around 8:15am. Triad Glacier Nelson and the SummitPost beta talk of climbing the SW (or closest) of the two toes of the Arete. Nelson's picture shows the route on the other toe. We did the north side of the SW toe which we 4th classed up a pitch before bringing out the rope. Chris led up and we slowly progressed up the Arete. There's about 2800' of vertical to get to the summit and this was rated grade III by Nelson and IV by Beckey. However, the SummitPost TR bivied at 7800' and others in CC.com have bivied as well. So we kept expecting to be able to start simul-climbing but we never did. The rock was adequate in general but there's loose stuff around so had to climb thoughtfully. Low down on the ridge The first gendarme looms above We continued to make slow progress as the day wore on. The gendarmes were still far above but the climbing we did was often mid-5th with flatter sections mixed in that one could make quicker progress. We swung pitches for awhile and then switched to having Chris do the leads for expediency. The sun hit us and we peeled our fleece and rationed our water as the temps climbed. It was 90 in Seattle and damn hot for us on the ridge. Multiple times Chris headed off one direction only to come down and try a different tack. Perhaps there were easier sections that we missed so we ended up doing a lot more 5th class climbing that others. Closing in on the first gendarme The signature chimney photo Around 2pm we hit the famous chimney pitch that everyone, including us, takes a photo. Finally we know where we are! Thoughts of a unplanned bivy kept creeping in my mind but we kept moving. We found snow on a ledge and filled our water bottles with it and temporarily quenched our thirst. More climbing up the second gendarme and the two steps above. The rock is solid here and the climbing fun but I was very concerned about the time, our pace and the amount of climbing remaining. I kept expecting the difficulty to suddenly drop off and we'd be off to the races but it remained stiff enough that we continued to pitch it out. Finally we reached the end of a rock ridge and needed to drop onto a snow field. We left a sling as the rock overhung the steep snow. We remained roped as we moved up along the snow to rock again. Finally the steepness began to relent as the sun dropped below the horizon. Chris leading the second step Looking down as we start on snow Looking back at our route on the snow I switched out of sun glasses and felt like I bought an extra 30 minutes of daylight. We did another pitch or two more before finally feeling like we hit the last 500' of fourth class climbing. I was tired, thirsty and had been on the go for 16 hours. So I really focused and tried to climb very deliberately so as not to blow it right below the summit. We scrambled over big blocks and narrow towers as darkness fell and the holds became harder to discern. Then finally we hit the snow summit at around 10pm and I knew we were going to sleep in our tent that night. There had been lots of traffic on the East Ridge and the old steps were icy. The full moon negated a need for head lamps as we each made our way down the ridge and onto flatter terrain. Being on a glacier we re-roped and headed back around Eldorado to our camp. We pulled in around 11:40pm. We celebrated with some Highland Park single malt and a quick dinner to drop to a dead sleep at 1am. The sun baked us out of our tent by 6:30 and we slowly packed up, had breakfast and retraced our steps back to the now empty trail head. I drank a lot of liquids for the next two days. Overall an awesome if long trip. I'm glad I did it and I'd recommend it. We still don't understand if we needed to be climbing at a much higher level so that the mid-5th is either soloed or simul-climbed so as to be rated grade III or IV.

Sale pending. Waiting for a check Time to accept that I won't be doing any aid climbing in the foreseeable future. I'm also letting go of some excess pro that I've been holding on in case I needed it. This stuff is vintage from the 1980s and early 1990s. Some of the aid nuts have never been placed; some have been well used but still useful. Most of the pitons were bought used. The other nuts and forged friend are fine but are excess that I've replaced with other gear I prefer and I don't see a situation where I'd need them. Please send me a pm with what gear you are interested in. The prices listed are 75% off or more the equivalent new. Everything here comes to ~$160. $125 for everything on the page. I'm in Ravenna in Seattle. If you want me to ship it you'll have to cover the shipping. Checks will work but I'll wait for them to clear the bank first. Pitons 2 Angles $4 each 3 Short Angles $2.50 each 2 Short Lost Arrows $4 each 1 museum short LA equivalent $2 2 Bugaboos (short one might actually be a Knifeblade) $3 each 5 Lost Arrows $4 each 1 museum medium LA equivalent $2 Bong $5 (never placed) Rock hammer $20 Thin gear Brass RPs 0, 1, 2, 5 $3 each Brass HB Offset 2, 3 $4 each Chouinard stoppers 1, 3 $3 each Copper Bashee X 3 $3 each Wire swage X 1 $1 Hooks X 2 $3 each Wired Nuts These are all older straight sides style Chouinard wired hexes 1, 2, 2, 2, 3 $2 each Chouinard stopper 8 $2 Slung Nuts Chouinard slung hexes 3, 5, 7 $2 each Chouinard slung straight sided stopper 7, 8 $2 each Chouinard slung curved stopper 11 $2 Wild Country Rock 6 $3 Forest Teton 6 Free to a loving home 1/4" Hand Bolt Kit 5 1/4" Rawl button bolts $5 for all Rawl #14 Hand drill $10 #1 Forged Friend $10

I have a 18 year old North Face VE-25 that needs its front screen door repaired in a major way. I’ve done numerous home repairs on small rips on this tent but my 4 year old ripped a good chunk of it away from the zipper. So I’m looking for recommendations of places that would do a good and reasonably priced repair on this. I used to go to Rainy Pass in Seattle but my last repair there about 8 years ago left me dissatisfied with the repair quality and the price. So I’m open to other options. Thanks Richard

Keep your expectations really low. Bring lots of sugar to throw at any problem. Go with many other families with kids. We've found the more kids the easier it is. They don't complain about their feet or how tired they are when they are racing to keep up with the rest of the gang. +1 on water or other attractive things to do/see on the hike.

Very sad story in the Seattle Times... http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008085421_climbers01m0.html