needtoclimb

I'm headed to Skaha for the long weekend for some family climbing. My next free weekend is July 13th. I am thinking of either Adams Glaicer, Kautz Glacier or Liberty Ridge. Trying to convince my wife to join me, but whether she joins or not, I'd want another person or two.

Amazing trip and photos.

Leaning tower at Vantage. Yeah, it's not alpine, but it is in the Cascades...kinda. Was pushed over about 15 years ago.

The very last photo has Johansburg in the background, just over my right shoulder. I don't have any other shots of Johansburg.

Trip: [TR] Sahale Peak - Sahale Arm 04/28/2019 - Sahale Arm Trip Date: 04/28/2019 Trip Report: Inspired by last week's trip report, I decided to give Sahale Mountain a go. I have climbed Eldorado and Torment, but never drove to the end of the road. Of course, we still couldn't drive to the end of the road, so Lee and I hiked about 3 miles from the gate to the trailhead starting at 0700. The road had been plowed most of the way to the end. Looks like they will be opening it soon. Near the end of the road. Lot of plowing to clear out this section. Next was to enter the gully and get up on the arm. A huge avalanche had come down in the last week. Looks like it started high on the Triad peaks, set off multiple slab slides and filled the valley. The debris wall on the sides of the slide was over 15 feet high. It was an amazing show of force by mother nature. We stayed out of the debris by skining along the edge on the left hand-side. Kind of worried about coming back down this thing in the blazing sun. The debris wall there is over 15 feet high. Below us, a group of six were coming up the middle of the debris. Not sure if they found an open path in there, but it looked like difficult travel. 20190428_092024.mp4 Video of the gully and surrounding slopes. We picked our way through the rock bands, staying clear of where the slide came down as it looked like there were still more slopes above it that hadn't released. Once on the arm, it was clear sailing. The clouds moved in and out giving us respite from the sun and keeping the snow firm. The snow went from slush to firm in seconds when the clouds covered the sun. The higher we went, the icier it became, so we ended up switching to crampons for the last couple thousand feet. Boston Basin with Torment on the left and Forbidden in the middle. The summit pyramid was rime ice over rotten snow. One person from the group of six attempted it and made it about 2/3 of the way before coming back down. It wasn't worth it to me. One slip and you would go flying off the east side of the peak, landing thousands of feet below. Bottom of the pyramid was high enough. Lee. His foot was bothering him from the ski boots, hence the look of pain. Me: The clouds had settled in pretty well, wrapping most of the snow in delightful shade. We put on our skis around 3:00 PM, and dropped 5000 feet back to the upper parking lot in an hour. The snow was fantastic the whole way. A couple of small spots of butter snow (Lee's words), but otherwise it had warmed up just enough to make for an amazing descent. Note: The upper thousand feet was wind-loaded with anywhere from six inches to two feet of powder, sitting on a layer of ice. If this gets some direct sun, it is all going to slide. Had the sun been out in force and melted the snow to a slush consistency, we would have turned around a thousand feet below. Since it stayed cold the whole way, it felt safe enough to proceed but I can easily seeing that whole upper slide slide off soon. We booted back down the road and reached the car by 5:00 PM. Round trip was about 15 miles and 7000 feet of gain. It was a good day. Gear Notes: Skis, ice axe, crampons Approach Notes: Lots of snow.

Mountaineering in the cascades: Dec-March: Resort skiing, maybe ice climbing, very wet hikes. March-June: Volcano climbs and back country ski tours/ascents. Often long approaches. July-October: Cascade rock and high routes. November: Stay home and drink beer.

My story: I used to ski a lot as a teenager, but then got out of it for a while. After climbing Hood and Helens and hiking all the way down in boots, I decided that I was done hiking down snow. I picked up some AT skis and never looked back. I use skis mainly to make the descent faster, even if that means they are on my back most of the way up. Also, they give me good flotation when needed. Look at Facebook grouips "PNW Ski Classified" and "Washington Hikers and Climbers Gear Swap." I am not a fan of Facebook, but it seems that more and more stuff is moving away from forums and going there to sell. A good forum for AT gear is https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/9-Gear-Swap-(List-View). You can pick up a used set of skis, bindings and boots for pretty cheap. For a first set, you can pick up a whole set up for under $500 if you look long enough. I have a pair of Scarpa F1's that walk like a dream. They feel like a slipper. Even my ten year old AT boots walked very well. I covered many miles of road and dirt in them. Another option that I often employ if I have road or dirt walking is to wear running shoes and carry the boots attached to the skis. So much more comfortable. As said above, I also tailor my outing to the approach. If there is enough snow to skin up and ski out, the rock might still be too wet or covered. Also, if there is that much snow, roads are usually closed miles before hand (8-mile road) and I don't want to shlep all that rock gear and deal with snow in the cracks of the rock, and post-holing all the way down. I will wait until it melts out to do long rock excursions. I break my AT ski season into three categories: Winter outings where I want to get into the back country, but nothing so daunting to risk avalanches. These can be tours off of the passes, side-routes on Mt. Rainier, etc. Less focus on peak bagging or climbing, more focus on just getting out for the day. Spring ascents of peaks where skis give me flotation and quick access down. Stuff where the roads are still closed. Sahale is a great example, walk on the closed road until snow, then skin up and ski down. Ski's give me greater access and speed that boots and snowshoes. This category only lasts a month or two until the roads open and the trails melt out enough that i can boot up. Ski-specific outings: These are spring/summer ascents where half the ascent will be on foot, the other half on skins, and ski down a few thousand feet before having to boot again. All the volcanoes fall into this category, and tours up Muir snow field and Heliotrope ridge for exercise. I am taking the skis for the purpose of skiing.

Thanks for the replies. If you haven't already, shoot me a PM with your contact information so I can add you to an informal e-mail. As for Oregon guys, I should haves stated that I live just north of Seattle in Mill Creek, and really looking for local partners to go hit stuff from about Adams to North Cascades. Part of the problem with kids is that I often only get a day, so anything farther than a couple of hours just eats too much into that day. If there are any more alpine dad's out there, send me your e-mail and phone number either in a PM, or post it on this forum and I will add you to the list.

As the title says. New in packaging. I bought them then decided to go with a shorter pair. $400 shipped to lower 48. I live in Mill Creek and work in Seattle, so can meet as well.

I am a 45-year-old father with a full-time job but try get out into the mountains once every couple of months. Every time I do so, I have to search the internet for a partner. Most of the time I end up with a partner who is single, no kids, young, extremely fit and has a much higher risk-tolerance than me. Then I never see the person again as I may not be free to climb for several more months while they are ready to conquer a new climb the next day. I am looking to put together an informal group of Alpine Dads; fairly fit alpine climbers who understand balancing work life, families and climbing. If you are in the same boat I am, always looking for a partner for the one day a month you have free to get out, then shoot me a PM. The idea is to have a group of alpine dads where we can reach out to each other to see who is available for the day you have free to climb, and climb together for years to come instead of just a single outing. As the kids grow (mine are 6 and 8), get them more and more involved and start taking them up bigger peaks. Couple of things I would like to do this year: Ski ascent/descent of Whitehorse mountain in the next month, a 2-day light and fast ascent of Glacier Peak in August, and hopefully more if I can convince my wife the need to get away. Other weekend outings will be comprised of backpacking trip with the family, and family cragging days at Index or Exit 32/28. Look forward to hearing from you.

Wanted: Partner willing to strap a couple pieces of wood to their feet, skin up to the heavens and suffer possible -20 degree temps with wind chill. Willingness to suffer from minor altitude sickness and eat freeze-dried meals for two days a plus. Even better would be willing and able to pull out a partner from the claws of an icy abyss and huddle with him for warmth and companionship (though I really hope it doesn't get to that point.) If all this sounds fun, then give me a PM to go ski the Gibralter Ledges in the next month. Hopefully we will get another high-pressure system and can go do it. Plan is to drive down morning of, get permit and skin up to Muir. Next day ascend Gib ledges if conditions permit. Either descend the ledges, ski down Gib chute or the Ingraham direct. Descent will be conditions dependent. My only issue is that my wife works most Saturdays and Mondays, so it will most likely have to be a mid-week trip. I might be able to pull off a Friday-Saturday as she works some Saturdays. Looking for a partner with some flexibility to go make an attempt. PM me here if you are interested then we can talk dates.

I pretty much have the same set up as DPS and Jason. For alpine or glacier routes, I bring along one of my Beal double ropes (I forget the diameter, but it is low 8.) The rope is 60m long. It is light and I do double it over to use when the climbing gets technical or want to simuclimb. Basically, you then have a 30M double rope to use, which for alpine routes is usually enough to get you through the crux moves. If you are doing something long and sustained, then bring both the double ropes and pitch it out as usual. But for something where you know most of the climb is scrambling and you want a rope for the couple of harder sections, then one rope will usually suffice. I don't plan on falling and only need it to catch one fall. I wouldn't go this route if pushing grades where you expect to take multiple falls. As for a tagline, i have found that with the newer, lighter ropes, there isn't much use for a tag line anymore. You can bring two 7.9mm ropes, climb on them both and use them both as a rappel, or bring one and a 6mm tag line that just sits in your pack most of the time. If doing long, meandering routes, you probably want the two ropes to reduce rope drag and increase redundancy if one of them does get hit by a rock. Darrington: I bring both ropes for the meandering routes and rappels. Approach is short enough the weight doesn't really matter. North Ridge of Stuart, Mt. Torment, various glacier climbs, etc I brought one rope, doubled it over so there was 30m between us. For any crux moves, 30m was plenty of rope to pitch it out traditional style. Cragging: 9, or 9.5 70 meter rope. I rarely take my 60m rope out cragging anymore. More and more routes have been put up with 70, so it's nice to have knowing that you can climb most of anything with it. Fun, shorter multi-pitch routes (think Leavenworth stuff), pitches can be combined with a 70. So i suggest you purchase a thicker 70m rope for cragging purposes, and a set of thin double ropes for alpine purposes, knowing you can take one or both of your double ropes

I second the FF Swallow 20. It suits me well in the Cascades, but does get warm in the summer if you are down lower. I open it up and use it like a blanket with my upper body out. It is very light.

Myself, Mtnklimr and BamaD have formed up a team so I am no longer looking for partners. Hope to see you guys up there.

Time to get rid of all the excess crampons that have been sitting around my gear room for years. If you are just getting into mountaineering and want some inexpensive gear before committing to high-end stuff, this is a great opportunity. I live in Mill Creek, work in the SODO district of Seattle, so can meet in either place. I am not willing to ship as it just isn't cost-feasible. Call or text to 425-659-5902. I take Venmo, Paypal or cash. Only have the sabertooth left. Black Diamond Sabertooth. Hybrid. No anti baling. $40.

An older model Atals snow shoes. They do not have a heel lift and one of the rear straps is broken. They are free. I can leave them out front of my house for pickup. Text or call me at 425-659-5902. In a couple days they will go to Goodwill, but figured I'd give someone a chance to grab them first.

I am selling off my old gear that has sat around for years. If you are just getting into mountaineering and want some inexpensive gear before committing to high-end stuff, this is a great opportunity. I live in Mill Creek, work in the SODO district of Seattle, so can meet in either place. I am not willing to ship as it just isn't cost-feasible. Each axe is $25. Call or text to 425-659-5902. I take Venmo, Paypal or cash. For Sale: Ande Kong Raid ice axe 65 cm Alien Ice Tool Lucky 007 Ice Tool Stubai Extreme Line ice tool Unknown brand Ice Tool

After staring at the peak for years, i might as well try to climb it. Looking for a ski partner for a one-day ascent, with a possible bivuac at the trailhead to get an early start. Me: 44 year old weekend warrior with strong mountaineering/glacier/ski skills. You: Know how to ski. Know how to hike. Willing to openly cry when the pain becomes too much, but then just keep on climbing. Route-finding/Avy knowledge,/Glacier exp/Steep Snow exp/ is a bonus, but I just need someone who wants to do a epic 7k feet in a a day ski/climb. I have May 7th and May 19th currently available, but an flexible at work to take a day off mid-week. However, this weekend (May 7th) is looking pretty good and Whitehorse is better with snow on it. E-mail me at kevin@tcd.org with your phone number if interested. I don't twitter, instapound, facebook, myspace or other stuff, but I do text and call, so if you want to climb Whitehorse (and brag about it to all your friends later), give me a shout. Kevin

At 44 I am not getting any younger, and next year is my year to climb Denali. Wife has agreed to give me a month sabbatical from the family, and saving vacation time from work. I have extensive Cascade climbs, glacier travel and general mountaineering experience. I have never been to Alaska however. I tried to find a team via CC.com about 5 years ago, and it fell apart early. Then kids came along and my Denali dream was put on hold. I am hoping to find or put together a team for next year. If you are like minded, give me a shout. Looking for people who truly want to do this and willing to commit. Kevin

It sounds awesome, and I want to ski it as well. 2018 is out for me though. If you are going in 2019, I will give you a call.

I am looking at going in 2019. Also want to avoid a guide service mainly due to the costs. If anyone is looking at 2019, send me a pm.

We (myself, wife, 5 year old daughter and 6 year old son) are doing a week in Banff for basic camping. A quick internet search shows there is very good rock climbing in Canmore. However, the same search showed 8 different locations and hundreds of routes. I lead up to mid 5.10 (trad and sport.) Looking for a decent place for a one-day excursion with the family. Due to the kids, it can't be to long of an approach or dangerous location. Any suggestions?

Trip: Gunn Peak - Barclay Creek route Date: 7/15/2017 Trip Report: Ten years ago my wife and I attempted this peak. She was new to the Cascades and new to climbing. She was also new to any type of off-trail travel, route-finding and bushwhacking. Needless to say, Gunn is not a very good first peak. After numerous wrong turns, eye-level slide alder and miles of bushwacking, she sat down, took off her pack and exclaimed "I'm done with this shit!" She then took off her pack and through it on the ground. Well, we were still on very steep terrain and gravity took over. Her pack rolled several hundred yards down the mountain, only to be stopped by a stream. We fished her soaked pack out the the stream and descended. It didn't make for a very good trip. Ten years later and numerous peaks under her belt, she was game to try it again. The challenge this year is the unknown snow pack on the hidden gully and narrow north ledge. I wasn't going to be deterred by snow or any other conditions. Prepared for the worst, we packed a rope, pickets, ice axe, crampons and some rock gear and set out at 0730. The lower portion from the road was a lot easier to follow this time. Ten years of climbers have rendered a passable trail, though there are the abundance of nettles, pricker bushes and blowdowns. But there was a trail. Lower waterfall crossing. No water, but it is steep down to this crossing and up the other side. After a tremendously steep forest ascent on very clear trail, we reach tree-line and left the forest for the fern and heather meadows. Here, the growth became thick and the trail a bit harder to follow. The trail is below all the ferns, just have to move the ferns to see it. While overgrown, the occasional cairn and ribbon lead the way. Where we lost the trail, we either kept hiking up until finding it again, or backtracked and looked around until we came back upon the trail. It is about a thousand feet of ferns/slide alder bushwacking before reaching the open heather meadows, where the trail again became very easy to follow. My wife was a super-star this time, charging right through the growth and never once complaining about it. The more overgrown it was, the stronger she became. I think i have created a monster! Upper meadows Gunn came into view and we saw there was very little snow. Still not sure about the gully or backside though, so we continued to carry our gear. Gunn is the rocky crag with the clouds behind it. Take note of the snow field below the summit. We reached the hidden gully and found it was snow free! The class 3 scramble, while only about 30 feet long, was almost vertical. We climbed up no problem, and later downclimbed it, but there are rappel options if downclimbing vertical, dirty rock isn't your thing. Class 3 scramble in hidden gully. We reached the upper snow patch and crossed it with ease. It was soft enough where no crampons were needed. Just for kicks, we entered the moat behind the snow field, where the snow was up to 12 feet deep! Now for the moment of truth: the north narrow ledge. Snow-covered or clear? It was clear! Turns out we brought a rope, pickets and protection for no reason. We easily crossed the narrow ledge and scrabmled to the top. The picture doesn't give the narrow ledge justice. It is about an 18" wide grassy ledge with several hundred feet of exposure. A fall would be fatal. Luckily, the ledge is only about 20' long, and there are options of cracks and trees for pro if one desires. We had no issues and walked right across. I can see, though, how snow can make this an impassable problem (unless one carried a rope, pickets and protection!) Five hours from car to summit. Now time to head down. It took us five hours to get down, same time as going up. With such a vertical trail, going down was slower than going up. Using trees to slow our descent, essentially a controlled fall, we worked our way down the mountain and reached the car. Gunn is done!

Is the north face of Vesper melted out? I'd like to get up there this weekend and do Ragged Edge.

My kids have outgrown the Osprey Poco child carrier. I highly recommend this brand as I was able to carry a 40lb kid and gear with ease. Rather than recreating the wheel, here is the link to my craigslist ad: https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/bab/6190176219.html I am also selling a 12" Trek bike: https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/bik/6190144459.html Osprey backpack: $120 12" Trek Bike: $100 I live just north of Mill Creek but work in the SODO district of Seattle, so I am meet you at either place. Please contact me via e-mail at kevin@tcd.org.