off_the_hook

Trip: Mount Conness/North Peak - Conness Glacier/NW Ridge Date: 6/18/2007 Trip Report: At 5:25 am Sunday morning I set out from Saddlebag Lake to the Northwest Ridge of North Peak. I caught early morning light at the basin below North Peak and stopped many times for reflection photos. The Northwest Ridge of North Peak was a sweet route with nice exposure and views down to Upper MaCabe Lake. It was short though, and I was atop the summit of North Peak at 7:55 am. View of the Northwest Ridge of North Peak and Sawtooth Ridge in the distance. After resting on the summit, I headed down toward the Conness Glacier. I wasted some time figuring out a route through steep slabs (hoping I could avoid elevation loss) when should have just went around. Once on the Conness Glacier, I cruised up to the couloirs that went to the East Ridge. I chose the middle couloir sneaking around a bergshrund around the far right side (photo below). The couloir had hard snow so I ascended carefully with my trail runner/crampon set-up. Once atop the coulior it was a short walk to the summit of Conness, arriving at 10 am. On top of Conness, I enjoyed the views with a climber who had done the NW Ridge of North Peak earlier in the morning and soloed the North ridge of Conness while I did the Conness glacier. View of Lyell Canyon. View from Conness to Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne View to Half Dome and Cloudsrest. I left the summit and headed down the East Ridge and then into the Alpine lake/Carnegie Institute valley. The basin was gorgeous, but the mosquitoes kept me moving. The walk back up to Saddlebag was a bit of a slog and I arrived at the trailhead at 12:10, 6 hours and 45 minutes after starting. Gear Notes: Ice axe and crampons used and needed on Conness Glacier route, especially in couloir. Approach Notes: Trail in good shape.

Trip: Mount Lyell/Mount Maclure - Lyell Glacier Date: 6/16/2007 Trip Report: On Saturday we climbed Mount Lyell and Mount Maclure as a day climb out of Tuolumne Meadows. We set off at 5:30 am and I made it back at 3:25 pm - 9 hours and 55 minutes round trip (it's around 30 miles round trip). I was hoping to go under 10 hours and it didn't appear likely as we arrived on the summit of Lyell 5.5 hours after starting, but the descent went fast and it became feasible by the time I was back on the trail. We quickly hiked/jogged the first 8+ miles until we reached the head of Lyell Canyon and then headed up to the basin below Donohue Pass. From here we ascended to the Northeast ridge of Maclure, passing by some beautiful lakes with great views of the Lyell Glacier. At the foot of the glacier, we put crampons on and climbed to the ridge above Lyell-Maclure col. Some rock scrambling brought us to the summit at 11 am and enjoyed the great views, especially down towards Ritter and Banner. And the Lyell Canyon My partner was feeling the effects of altitude and decided to forgo the Maclure summit. After a nice 30 minute break on the summit, we parted ways and I set out for Maclure, reaching the summit at 12:15 pm. Half Dome from Mount Maclure Looking back to Mount Lyell from Mount Maclure. After some photos, I hiked back down to Lyell-Maclure col, and was ready hit the descent at 12:45, cruising down the snow slopes and then slabs to the trail. Once down in Lyell Canyon, I picked up the pace, jogging much of the way back to the trailhead, arriving at 3:25 pm. While waiting for my partner, I took a nice dip in the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River, which made my legs feel much better! Gear Notes: We brought and used ice axe/crampons, but crampons probably not necessary. Approach Notes: Trail in good shape.

Trip: Haeckel, Wallace, Picture Peak, Powell Traverse - Sabrina Basin Date: 5/27/2007 Trip Report: The Sabrina Basin outside the town of Bishop has a great mix of scenery and climbing objectives. The idea was to make it a loop trip going up through Sailor Lake and Echo Lake, traversing the ridge connecting the three Powell Points (John, Wesley, Powell), and then descending via Sunset Lake and Baboon Lakes. In order to enjoy sunset and sunrise and climb peaks off the main loop, we bivied at Sailor Lake. After sleeping near the trailhead, we set out on the trail from Lake Sabrina to Blue Lake on Saturday morning at 6:30 am. At Blue Lake, we began the loop, continuing up the basin to Sailor Lake, where we dropped the overnight gear. I set out and climbed Mount Haeckel, Mount Wallace, Picture Peak, and Point 13,080 ft+ that afternoon, returning to Sailor Lake at 5 pm. This was a mini-loop as I approached Haeckel from the north, then crossed over to Wallace, and finally tagged Picture Peak on the way down to Echo Lake (essentially a circle around Picture Peak). Hungry Packer Lake and Picture Peak. Panorama from Point 13080 ft+. Panorama from Mount Wallace. The postholing in the late-afternoon was tiresome, but all four peaks were fun scrambles with great views. Clyde Spires Clyde Spires in the afternoon. We enjoyed the spectacular views of Picture Peak (aptly named) from Sailor Lake at sunrise and the early morning light. Evening light on Powell Ridge from Sailor Lake. Picture Peak reflecting. We set out at 6:45 am on Sunday on a carry-over traverse of Powell Ridge, ascending Point John (Mount Powell), Point Wesley, and Point Powell. Point John was the first summit, which involved ascending a long snow slope from Echo Lake to near the summit. We reached the summit at around 9:30 am. Clyde Spires above Echo Lake. The four summits I had climbed the previous day. View from the summit of Point John (Mount Powell). Mount Darwin is the high point in the distance with Mount Haeckel to the left. The ridge traverse between Point John (Mount Powell) and Point Wesley involved some 4th class scrambling, at times exposed, which was even more fun with overnight gear in the packs! This was the most time consuming part of the traverse, but we reached Point Wesley just after noon. View of ridge from Point John (Mount Powell) to Point Wesley. Navigating the 4th class rock. Point Wesley A quick ridge walk brought us to Point Powell, which appears to be the highest of the "Powell Points." After grabbing some lunch and lounging in the pleasant conditions, we descended down the other side of the mountain via the NE couloir to Sunset Lake and Baboon Lakes. The view of Point Powell from above Sunset Lake was sweet! After some rest at Baboon Lakes, we continued down the valley to Blue Lake, where the loop was completed. From Blue Lake, we retraced our steps back down to Lake Sabrina, arriving at the trailhead just before 5 pm. What a fabulous weekend in the mountains with some great partners! Gear Notes: ice axe, crampons Approach Notes: Patchy snow after Blue Lake to either Hungry Packer Lake or Babooon Lakes. Consistent snow above these lakes, but melting fast.

Trip: Bear Creek Spire, Mount Gabb, Mount Abbot - Various Date: 5/19/2007 Trip Report: Last weekend I returned to the high Sierra to climb Bear Creek Spire (13,720 ft), Mount Gabb (13,741 ft), and Mount Abbot (13,704 ft) in Rock Creek basin. The plan was to make it a loop trip, going over the crest at Cox Col via Little Lakes Valley and coming back by carrying over Mount Abott to Ruby Lake. The first objective was Bear Creek Spire via Ulrich's route. We hiked up Little Lakes Valley from the Mosquito Flats trailhead early Saturday morning, departing the parking area at 6:10 am. The reflections on the lakes were amazing. Marsh Lake Long Lake We made great time through the ascent up the valley to Dade Lake at the foot of Bear Creek Spire. We continued up the slopes to Cox Col, where higher up the snow slopes turned very soft with some deep post-holing slowing us down. Nearing Cox Col We eventually made the col and swiftly made our way up to the class 4 section near the summit. The rock was solid and the 4th class moves were fun. We reached the final summit block of Bear Creek Spire at 11 am and each took turns climbing the block and taking pictures of each other. It was exhilerating to stand on this summit pinnacle and feel the exposure! Summit of Bear Creek Spire Sweet view of Merriam, Royce, and Feather Peaks. After enjoying the views on Bear Creek Spire, we descended into the Lake Italy basin and found running water on the slopes below Gabb pass and some nice bivy spots on granite benches. After some rest, I set out to climb Gabb peak at 2:30 pm. The post-holing up to the base of the mountain was annoying, and the steep 3rd class terrain for over 1,300 feet was a challenge. I dug deep and reached the summit at 4:10 pm. I enjoyed the late afternoon views for 30 minutes and then descended, arriving back to the bivy spot at 5:30 pm. View from the summit of Mount Gabb with Lake Italy below. Evening light on Mount Dade. After a nice night under the stars, we set out to climb the southwest chute of Mount Abbot at 7 am. Firm snow conditions made for excellent cramponing conditions up the chute. Mount Gabb from the start of the SW Chute on Mount Abbot. The climax of the SW Chute climb was a short and narrow 50+ degree couloir of snow with a cornice at the top. Looking back at the final snow couloir from the summit of Mount Abbot. We topped out at 9 am. Panorama from summit of Mount Abbot We enjoyed the views from the summit of Abbot and then set off on the descent down the North Couloir route at 10 am. The descent proved to be very tedious as loose rock was interspersed with sugary snow (the eastern aspect of the mountain has early sun exposure which causes the snow to be soft). After reaching the North Couloir proper with good runout, we glissaded down to the bottom of the cirque where the snow became more consolidated. Petite Griffon A gorgeous walk down the cirque by Mills Lake and Ruby Lake brought us to the trail and we completed the loop back to the trailhead, arriving at the car at 12:45 pm. The Rock Creek area was another beautiful section of the high Sierra. The awesome views gave me plenty of ideas for future climbs. Gear Notes: Axe, crampons Approach Notes: Trail in good shape with patches of snow in the upper Little Lakes Valley. Snow consolidated in the valley, but soft and sugary (deep post-holing)on the higher and steeper Eastern facing slopes.

Trip: Matterhorn Peak - East Couloir Date: 5/12/2007 Trip Report: Last weekend I climbed Matterhorn Peak via the East Couloir. Matterhorn is the climax of the rugged Sawtooth Ridge and is located in Hoover Wilderness on the Northeast border of Yosemite National Park. We drove to the start of the climb from the Bay Area Saturday morning via Sonora Pass. We started at 10:20 am up the Horse Creek Trail and then up the snow covered slopes to our camp at ~10,500 feet on the moraine of the small glacier below Matterhorn Peak. We dropped the camping gear and after a break, we continued on to the summit via the East Couloir (left). The couloir was in great shape for cramponing and was a fun ascent with some steeper snow slopes. We completed the final third class portion and reached the summit at 4 pm. The views of the Sierra mountains were spectacular and a few marine clouds swarming around made for some dramatic photos. Sweet looking horn from within the East Couloir. We descended from the summit back to camp and enjoyed a spectacular sunset. The night was quite windy and cold, but it was well worth the sunrise we were treated to in the morning. Once the sun came up at 6:30 am, the temperature skyrocketed and the winds diminished. We enjoyed the morning and took off at 8:40 am and cruised down the snow slopes and valley trail to the trailhead, reaching it at 10:30 am. Matterhorn is a relatively easy objective for a day climb, but the sunset and sunrise made this outing special. A great partner and crisp early season weather made my first climb in the high Sierra a memorable outing. Gear Notes: ice axe, crampons Approach Notes: Trail in good shape, snow starts at the head of the Horse Creek Valley.

The increasingly rapid melting of our glaciers is a tragic loss. The last two summers in particular have been devastating for ice in the Cascades. Global dimming WAS, now it's just unmasked global warming that is quickly approaching a disastrous threshold. It's time for real action.

Thanks... cluck, that panorama is made with three photos.

Thanks. Yes, that is Vesper on the left side of the sixth photo with Morning Star, Sperry, and Big Four in a row. A similar photo from the summit of Del Campo is in the Beckey guide.

Climb: Forbidden Peak-East Ledges Date of Climb: 8/27/2006 Trip Report: Synopsis: I soloed Forbidden Peak via the northeast ledges route, ascending in 2 hours and 30 minutes from the car. The round trip was just under 6 hours including a 45 minute break on the summit. The descent was actually a little slower than the ascent due to careful downclimbing and plenty of photography. Thanks to some great beta I didn’t bring an axe or crampons because the route is basically snow-free. Photos and details: I set out from the car at 8:40 am after a smooth drive and reached Boston Basin in 45 minutes. I continued up to the upper Basin and ascended slabs and then the gully toward the solitary gendarme at the base of the East Ridge. I was trying to move fast, but when I saw several Ptarmigans just below the gendarme, I stopped for a photography session. I got some sweet shots and then made it to the gendarme about 2 hours into the climb. From here, I did the traverse over the ledges, but started ascending a little too soon costing me a few minutes when I had to continue the traverse higher up. The climb still went smoothly and I reached the summit at 11:10 am. There were surprisingly few climbers on Forbidden. I heard a couple climbers on the West Ridge route as I was ascending upper Boston Basin in the morning, but they reached the summit after I had departed. Another pair of climbers was finishing the North Ridge route as I was topping out on the summit. As a result of onshore flow, the wall of smoke from the numerous wildfires stayed well to the east resulting in some excellent clarity, especially for the end of August. This was actually the first time I could clearly see Rainier from the North Cascades since mid-July. I enjoyed the gorgeous weather and views until just before noon. Cascade River Valley and Torment-Forbidden Ridge bottom right. Some zoomed in shots: When the North Ridge climbers arrived, one kindly took my photo – the quintessential summit shot on Forbidden! We chatted for awhile and then as they rappelled, I downclimbed the Northeast face. Downclimbing wasn't as slow as I thought it would be, especially after the first rappel length. The immense Boston Glacier: I stopped for photographs numerous times on the descent through the glacial slabs and Boston Basin. This is what is left of the Forbidden Glacier! There won’t be anything in a couple years at this rate. This is a similar panorama as the second photo, but with afternoon lighting instead. I can’t decide which one is better! I arrived back at the car just before 2:40 pm. An awesome day in the North Cascades! Gear Notes: None! Approach Notes: Good shape.

Climb: Del Campo Peak-scramble Date of Climb: 8/25/2006 Trip Report: I got a good workout on Del Campo, ascending in 1 hour and 55 minutes. I took a 45 minute break on top and then descended in 1 hour, 35 minutes (4 hour, 15 minute round trip). I've only hiked Dickerman on that section of the Mtn. Loop Hwy so it was nice to explore a new area and get around 4,500 feet of elevation gain in the process. The trail up to Gothic Basin is quite steep, but in good condition. There is no snow left on route to the summit. From the basin, there was less Del Campo above than I thought there would be, but it's only 6,600 after all... The scramble was fun and the views were great. I relaxed and took some self-timer images. The biggest surprise was Foggy Lake, a larger lake than I imagined and beautifully neslted between Gothic Peak and Del Campo. No fog on the lake today, it shimmered in the sunlight and was very photogenic. On the way out I startled a cinammon black bear right in front of me but before I could whip the camera out it was thundering into the bushes. I didn't see anyone until well down the trail on the descent. Gear Notes: Bring yourself and some water. Approach Notes: Good to go.

Climb: Dorado Needle & Eldorado-Northwest Ridge & East Ridge Date of Climb: 8/19/2006 Trip Report: Bjorn and I climbed the Northwest Ridge of Dorado Needle on Friday after doing the approach that morning and the East Ridge of Eldorado on Saturday for sunrise. The glaciers are in fine shape with no problems encountered. Fun routes, great views, superlative star gazing, and a great partner. We set out from the Eldorado Trailhead at 9:15 am and sweated up to the Eldorado Glacier, arriving at the base of the East Ridge of Eldorado at 12:45 pm. We enjoyed the blueberries above the stream crossing. We dropped our bivy gear at the East Ridge camp spots and worked on setting up some passive solar for water. After a little rest we set out for Dorado Needle at 1:30 pm. The Glaciers were in good shape and we made nice time up to the Needle. The Northwest Ridge was very fun with solid rock and nice exposure. We took photos and chilled on the summit for an hour and then downclimbed back to the glacier. The evening light on the return crossing of the Inspiration Glacier to our bivy gear was fabulous. We made it back to camp at 6:30 pm and found 10+ liters of water in the clear plastic bags we set out in the sun. What a great use for those blue bags! While the itinerary could have been condensed into a long day, spending the night was awesome. A gorgeous evening was followed by some amazing star-gazing at night with the milky way, shooting stars, satellites, and airplanes. We woke up at twilight and set out for Eldorado’s summit at 5:45 am, catching sunrise on the way up and enjoying early morning light from the summit for an hour. Notice the smooth 80's style shirt I'm wearing that is as old as me. See a close-up here My previous two climbs of Eldorado were in the afternoon so it was nice to see a different angle of light. The sun angle on the summit ridge was perfect for photography and we took pictures of each other. We descended down the East Ridge, packed up, and set off at 9 am. We reached the parking lot at 11:15 am very satisfied and happy to be done before the heat of the day. Gear Notes: axe, crampons, used three pieces just because we brought them Approach Notes: No snow until Eldo Glacier, Inspiration and upper McAllister in fine shape with no moat/schrund problems yet.

Climb: Glacier Peak-Disappointment Peak Cleaver Date of Climb: 8/13/2006 Trip Report: Snapshot: Colin Abercrombie and I climbed Glacier Peak as a day trip via the White Chuck Basin/Disappointment Peak Cleaver route in 16 hours, 45 minutes round trip (9 hours up, 1.25 hour on top, 6.5 hours down). We came in through the now standard NF Sauk River Trail. It was a great climb with good route conditions and weather. Our route entailed 35+ miles (21 miles on trail) and 11,000 feet of total elevation gain (8,500 net elevation gain) - a really good endurance climb. Picture Story: After getting a few hours rest, we set off at 2:45 am from the North Fork Sauk trailhead and pushed through the 9 miles to White Pass as twilight was commencing. We saw two black bears along the way resting in the lush alpine meadows. Continuing on an informal path to a saddle and then up to a knob provided a great viewpoint of Sloan just as the sun was rising. We descended into the barren, flat basin and hiked up to the moraines and rubble below White Chuck Glacier. Anybody who doesn’t believe in global warming should visit this area. I knew the glacier had receded, but was surprised to see that the entire West lobe is basically gone. Aside from a remnant ice patch near the glacial lake, there wasn’t even any snow left in the climb up to glacier gap. This area needs a mini ice age to reverse the shocking trend. Once at Glacier Gap, we gained a hump and descended to a spectacular tundra-like ridge crest with grand views of the DaKobed range, Suiattle Glacier, and Sloan/Monte Cristo area. We ascended to the foot of Disappointment Cleaver and then contoured around the steeper pumice pile via snow slopes of the Gerdine Glacier and then the Cool Glacier, which had a patch of glacial ice on its entrance that is easily navigable. We continued up to the saddle and then the pumice and boulder slopes to the summit. We arrived 9 hours after beginning at 11:45. We spent 1.25 hours taking photos and relaxing on the calm and warm summit (my first ever calm summit on a volcano) and left at 1 pm. Views of the North Cascades, Kololo Peaks, and Dakobed were particularly nice. We left at 1 pm and began the descent, stopping for many more photographs, especially of the wildflowers growing in the glacial gravel. Once on trail, we jogged most of the way back to the car, arriving at 7:30 pm. While our time estimates proved to be accurate for ourselves, the route is longer and more convoluted (in a non-technical sense) than originally thought. This route makes for a long day in the mountains, but I enjoyed almost every minute of it. Despite day-tripping, we were able to capture the views in all different light angles. I saw a special part of the cascades I had yet to explore and I will definitely return for some more climbs. Gear Notes: Crampons, axe Approach Notes: Trail in great shape to White Pass

Climb: Mount Logan-Douglas Glacier Date of Climb: 7/22/2006 Trip Report: Short story: I climbed the Douglas Glacier on Mount Logan via Easy Pass. We made the approach to the 4,800 foot basin on Friday and I summited on Saturday morning in 6 hours round trip from camp. We then hiked out Saturday afternoon. The route is still in-shape as the glacier is mostly straightforward. Many thanks to the trip report from a month ago and the ranger report from last week. Photos and more: We set out from the Easy Pass trailhead at 12:30 pm on Friday. The walk up to Easy Pass was hot, but once there, we were treated to an amazing display of wildflowers. Mount Logan and the route up Douglas Glacier were clearly visible too. Flowers of every color filled the hillside making for some sweet photographs. We descended into Fisher Basin enjoying wildflowers all the way to the valley floor. Continuing through forest, we finally reached the valley through which the melt waters of Douglas Glacier flow. Easy cross country travel through old growth forest brought us to the devastating slide path. We ascended from the lower to upper basin, taking a brushier route than we could have (as we discovered on the descent). This would have been of little consequence, but my partner was already feeling the effects of heat exhaustion and the extra chunk of brush only compounded the problem. We arrived at the upper basin (4,800 ft) at just after 7 pm and then I went about finding a suitable camp spot. Everything was either rocky or boggy except one sand bar I found along the rushing glacier waters. With minimal effort, we had a perfect spot for the tent (which I was thankful to have because of the bugs). The following morning, my partner was still feeling the effects of heat exhaustion, so I set out to do the Douglas Glacier solo, departing at 5:10 am (no action shots…sorry). A ranger report from the previous week gave me confidence the route could still be soloed. I ascended the slabs and worked my way up to the glacier. The glacier was still relatively straightforward. My route had no ice, very little crevasse end-running, and only a few snow bridges to cross. The glacier as a whole was much more crevassed and broken than photos from a month ago, but the route will probably stay in-shape for a couple more weeks. I quickly worked my way up the glacier and the hidden steeper snow slope to the col between the Douglas and Banded Glaciers (the Banded appeared very broken from above). From here, it was a simple scramble to the summit arriving at 8:05 am, just under 3 hours from camp at 4800 ft. At the summit, I enjoyed the warmth and calm conditions for 50 minutes. Not only did the high clouds make for pleasant climbing weather, they also created some of the best photography light and clarity I have encountered in the mountains. While I have seen the view from Logan before via the Fremont, it was very dramatic to see the sweeping Boston Glacier appear for the first time only minutes before the summit. Some close-ups: I don’t look too flattering… I even figured out the self-timer on my camera. I retraced my steps down the glacier and then spent some time finding the right slab to descend to the upper basin. Down climbing the slab was probably the hardest part of the climb, but I made it to camp at exactly 11:10 am, six hours after setting out. The photo below is of the Eldorado Ice cap with Baker (left) almost invisible by this point due to the contrast. My partner got some good rest and was feeling much better, so we packed up and set out for the trailhead at just before 12 noon. The view from the slabs allowed me to pick a route that minimized the brush and we were in the old growth forest and out to the Fisher Creek trail before we knew it. A quick walk up the valley, head down up to Easy Pass, and then tired legs and sore feet down to Hwy 20, arriving at the trailhead at 5:15 pm and at my home in sweltering Sammamish at 8:30 pm for dinner! The Douglas Glacier route was very enjoyable. The avy swath gives the option of doing this route in two days by motivated parties (I still had a few hours daylight), but as the glacier becomes more complex to navigate and the snow melts under the slide debris, it will be more difficult. Either way, expect to return tired if you do it in two days! TH – 4,800 camp: 6 hrs, 45 min Camp – Summit: 2 hrs, 55 min Summit – Camp: 2 hrs, 15 min (6 hrs RT) Camp – TH: 5 hrs, 15 min Gear Notes: axe, crampons, tent to keep the bugs out! Approach Notes: trail brushy in sections down Fisher Creek, avy swath up to 4,800 foot basin still fast with hard snow underneath the debris.

Anyone want to escape the heat and climb an alpine route or high traverse any combination of days between July 21 and 24 (Friday thru Monday) on Mount Olympus or the North Cascades? Leave a pm or email at pantilat@stanford.edu if interested.

Nice photos - it was a beautiful day. We avoided virtually all of the ice on the Upper Curtis Glacier on our descent by crossing over to rock and scrambling a short bit with crampons down to the White Salmon Glacier. We saw your ascending tracks on the other side contemplating this but then swinging around climbers right to access Upper Curtis at a lower point. Any route up Shuksan from Highway 542 is long!

Climb: Shuksan-North Face Date of Climb: 7/16/2006 Trip Report: Short Story: Jesse and I climbed the North Face of Shuksan Sunday morning. Aside from an open bergschrund on the lower North Face glacier (a second tool was essential for me) the route was straightforward with excellent cramponing conditions all the way up and awesome weather. Photos and more: We hiked the approach in 3 hours, 45 minutes following beta from previous posters. Descending to the bottom of the White Salmon valley from the top of the clear cut and then ascending the other side worked out well – thanks! We were thankful that it was not too hot for the steep walk up the woods on the other side. When we got to camp we rested and relaxed in the sun. Clouds formed remarkably fast as sunset neared and we were in a white-out for a couple hours just before and after sunset. All clouds dissipated rapidly thereafter and it was completely clear by midnight. First, there was an amazing display of stars and then a really bright moon came out. We departed camp just after 5:10 am Sunday morning and quickly worked our way up the lower glacier. We encountered a high and wide bergschrund which spanned the entire glacier and found a snow bridge across it with a steep snow step on the other side. We whipped out the second tools (I was very happy we had them) and ascended with no problems. The rest of the North Face was straightforward with firm snow making for great cramponing. We made it to the top of the face at 7:45 am. The actual North Face climb felt like the quickest part of the trip! We were treated to a fabulous early morning view from the North Shoulder. From here, a long traverse around the pyramid, while negotiating some crevasses on the Crystal Glacier, brought us to the summit gully. After a rest, we scrambled up the gully and summited at 9:45 am, rested some more, enjoyed the views, and then descended. The slog down the Sulphide, through Hells Highway, and over the Upper Curtis was fun albeit long. We took it easy through here to conserve energy for the rest of the descent and to keep Jesse’s ankle from rolling due to poor crampon fit. Winnies slide featured hard snow, but no ice yet. The next snow section on the White Salmon seemed steeper and still hard so it took us a little time to downclimb this part. We then followed a route we had scoped out from our bivy spot the night before, which was circuitous, but avoided some potential troubles if we headed straight down, including large moats, cliff bands, and rockfall from the Hanging Glacier. From the bottom of the snow, we had a helluva time in White Salmon river valley to get back to the forested rib and up to the road. We dealt with some thick sections of slide alder and very annoying salmon berry patches. It basically sucked, but it always seems worse when you are in it, and we weren’t in it for that long. After reaching the forest, it was up and out, reaching the car at 5:40 pm, 12.5 hours from camp to car. The North Face of Shuksan was a sweet route. We climbed six glaciers (Hanging, Crystal, Sulphide, Upper Curtis, White Salmon, and the North Face Glaciers) and basically walked around the mountain. I really got a feel for how big Shuksan really is. We definitely made a few route finding errors which cost us some time and Jesse can attest that his crampons, which didn’t seem to fit properly at any point during the climb, did not help make fast time on the snow descent. Nonetheless, with perfect weather, clear views, and a great partner it was all part of the fun! Gear Notes: Brought two screws and a picket but didn't use (could have on schrund). Used second tool. Approach Notes: No trail, descend forest to White Salmon river, cross it, and ascended forest on the other side until you reach alpine meadows. I think descending out of White Salmon River Valley sucks any way you slice it, but it's only a matter of time before you make it to the road!

Awesome!! Great job.

Bjorn shot some awesome photos on the approach, here are a few: The Adams Glacier route looks very dramatic from the road.

The steps were nice when we used them - thanks. Did you leave a half loaf of bread wedged between rocks at that campsite?

Thanks. Hopefully all the photos are visible now. We saw five goats on Sunday evening traversing the talus slopes above camp and copious amounts of goat hair on the lower north ridge. Good luck with the ascent - it's beautiful up there!

Climb: Mount Adams-Adams Glacier Date of Climb: 7/10/2006 Trip Report: Short Story: We climbed Adams Glacier Monday morning from the lake at the base of the north ridge in six hours roundtrip (north ridge descent). The weather was great and cramponing conditions were excellent. The route is still in-shape with only a few thinner snow bridges along the route. Long Story: After Wimbledon and World Cup action Sunday morning (great outcomes for both), I met up with my good friend Bjorn and we drove off to do the Adams Glacier route on Mount Adams. We had both never ascended Adams and the route seemed interesting enough for both of us to justify the drive from the Seattle area. A very smooth drive and we were off on the trail at 5 pm. We made fast work of the approach arriving at a nice glacial lake at the foot of the north ridge of Adams at 7:30 pm. We stopped for photos of paintbrush in the evening light. What a cool camp camp in a castle near the lake, which is located at the foot of the north ridge of Adams. The wildflowers near camp were an unexpected treat. The views to Adams Glacier were stupendous all evening with great alpenglow at sunset. Studying the weather forecast Sunday morning, I knew a marine layer was coming in that night, but I was expecting it to be well below us – 2k to 3k elevation. It turns out there were two separate layers, one at about 2k and another at around 7k feet. The 7k layer was hovering just below our camp spot when we woke up which caused some trepidation. Nonetheless, we decided to climb up to the base of the Adams Glacier route with hopes of being decidedly above the layer, departing camp at 4:40 am. Soon after leaving camp, we saw that the marine layer was thin and stable. We would be completely above it for the entire route. In fact, the 7k layer slowly retreated and burned away as the morning wore on. A cooler night produced excellent cramponing conditions, which allowed us to make quick work of the route. The snow bridges were still solid, although a few important ones over very large crevasses may be history in a week or two. I like the silhouette shot below; we didn't think it would turn out any good. As we topped out on the summit plateau, we were no longer protected from the wind and we quickly made the trek over to the blustery true summit, arriving at 8:20 am. We snapped some photos and began down the north ridge, where we rested at the first protected spot along the ridge. We continued down the north ridge reaching our balmy camp at 10:40 am, just under 6 hours roundtrip. Pleased with our good time, we enjoyed the great weather at camp and stopped for photos several times at the meadows below as we descended to the trailhead, arriving at 1:25 pm. Adams Glacier is a fun route and it was nice to not have to wake up extra early. The setting at Adams meadows is worth the visit alone with fabulous wildflowers. Note: Times listed in this TR are primarily for my reference Gear Notes: one axe, crampons, 30 meter glacier rope, brought picket but never used Approach Notes: Some snow on trail once you get to the first meadows.

Climb: Mount Goode-Northeast Buttress Date of Climb: 7/3/2006 Trip Report: Blake Herrington and I climbed the Northeast Buttress of Goode on Sunday. The route and weather conditions were excellent. I left Highway 20 on Saturday morning at 9 am and cruised the approx. 10 miles to the North Fork Bridge Creek junction, where I met Blake (who came up from Stehekin) at 11:40 am. A nice walk up the North Fork Bridge Creek drainage brought us to the foot of Goode. A log jam exists just upstream on Grizzly Creek making that crossing simple. The North Fork of Bridge Creek was not so simple. The water was flowing rapidly and neither of us felt comfortable crossing in flip flops at any point so we continued up valley with hopes of a snow bridge spanning the stream. That snow bridge was non-existent and we ended up using the rope to cross the stream much further upstream than we needed to, but at least it felt safe. We later talked to another pair of climbers that crossed the stream in tennis shoes with no problem. After crossing North Fork Bridge Creek, everything went exactly as planned with no time consuming errors. We traversed back over to where we would ascend the slabs and then worked our way up through the rock bands and some annoying slide alder. We finally broke out into the alpland below the hanging Goode Glacier and made our way up to the bivy spots, which are basically located on the highest vegetated knoll below the glacier. I’m glad we got there early enough to enjoy the pleasant evening and get some rest. I love the shot below of the Northeast Buttress of Goode and a slim moon. After a very mild night, we woke up at 4:45 am and departed camp at 5:15, heading up a snow ramp and then straight up glacial slabs to an easy access point of the Goode Glacier. The glacier went fast and we were on the buttress before we knew it. It was only 6 am but the sun was already bright and it was warm. We pitched out the first two sections to get onto the buttress crest and then simul-climbed for around 800 vertical feet. The next few pitches were steeper, but really fun rock climbing with exposure. We simul-climbed the last few hundred vertical feet to the summit, arriving at 12:45 pm, 7.5 hours after leaving camp. The route was entirely snow free, but there were a few patches of snow just to the right of the route conveniently interspersed to allow for hydration. I used rock shoes and Blake led the whole thing in boots. The summit was nice and warm with hardly a breeze. We ate, relaxed, and enjoyed the view for an hour. It was cool to gaze down at the 2,700 vertical foot rock buttress we had just ascended. We left the summit at 1:45 and then carefully down climbed to a rappel anchor just above an awkward traverse to Blacktooth notch. One short rappel and a couple moves brought us to the ledge and the notch. From here, we down climbed some more and then made two rappels into the Southwest Couloir. Once out of the couloir, we had a sweet glissade that took us all the way to the meadows. Check out the huge chockstone wedged between the towers in the photo below. The towers are located on the ridge trending west off the summit of Goode. Blake spotted it on the way down and it is quite the geological phenom. We worked our way over to the ridge line to the west (skiers right) and then descended, eventually picking up the climbers path, which deposited us on the Park Creek trail. At the first stream crossing we stopped to give our feet an ice bath and then hiked 4 miles to the Stehekin road and the Park Creek camp. With 14.5 miles for me to hike on Monday morning, we left camp semi-early at 8:15 am to avoid the heat of the day (Bridge Creek trail traverses many open avy paths). We walked the road for around 2 miles to the Bridge Creek trail. Blake continued down the road while I began the final 12.5 mile trek. This hike was not the grueling march I thought it would be, but it wasn’t easy either, and my legs were very tired by the last three miles. Some cloud build-ups provided shade near the end which helped as well. I made it to the highway at 1:10 pm and then put my legs in the icy waters of Bridge Creek. What a sweet route with an awesome partner! Gear Notes: nuts, 2 tricams, #1 cam, ice axe, crampons Approach Notes: Trails in good shape, Grizzly Creek has a logjam to cross, North Fork Bridge Creek requires wading.

Climb: Mount Rainier-Ingraham Direct Date of Climb: 6/24/2006 Trip Report: My friend and I climbed Rainier via Ingraham Direct in just under 12.5 hours roundtrip from Paradise. It was a great climb with nearly perfect conditions. The toughest part turned out to be the descent from Camp Muir to Paradise. We arrived at 6 pm yesterday evening to register and rested until our departure, which was just before 11 pm Friday night. The route was virtually entirely snow from parking lot to summit. At 11 pm there was still some light in the sky. As we ascended Muir snowfield, we gazed at the star-filled sky. Temps were still warm and we were sweating like crazy! We made Camp Muir in reasonable time and pressed onward. It was eerily quiet at Camp Muir because all the parties had already left for the climb. We could see the last couple lights rounding the corner onto the Ingraham, but we knew there were probably many more ahead. We caught up very fast and could see dozens of headlamps lining the DC route. The Ingraham Direct route was a great choice because of it directness and it allowed us to pass the multitudes of people ascending the DC route. We had to jump one large crevasse on the Ingraham Direct. A party just ahead of us had just belayed the crossing, but told us the platform/lip on the other side was solid so we jumped. Furthermore, several snow bridges on the route are weakening and thinning. It definitely looks like the hot spell of late will put the Ingraham Direct route out of commission soon, or at least take the "direct" out of it. We were able to pass all the groups slogging up the DC route which was excellent. I felt great on the upper slopes of the mountain and we arrived at the summit at 6:30 am and then chilled in the crater for over a half an hour. It was a relatively warm and calm summit for Rainier - at least compared to my previous ascents. Not a cloud in the sky and views from Baker near the Canadian Border to Mount Jefferson in central Oregon. We chose the DC route for descent to avoid the weakening snow bridges on the Ingraham Direct as the sun warmed the slopes. The DC was not very fun to descend and was probably more time consuming than descending Ingraham Direct. The descent went ok untiil we reached the Muir Snowfield. Snow conditions were not conducive for glissading and somebody kicked steps up through existing glissade chutes making them impossible to use and angering me. The descent off the Muir Snowfield, which we thought would be a fun and relaxing glissade, turned into a nightmarish snow slog. In the later stages of this slog I postholed awkwardly resulting in some ligament in my knee tweaking. That put the icing on the cake for my tired legs and the rest of the way down was probably the most difficult part of the climb. I wish we had skis. After what seemed like forever, we arrived at the parking lot at 11:25 am. We weren't trying to force a fast time, but between breaks and slogging (instead of glissading) down Muir Snowfield, there were at least a couple hours that could have been shaved off. Overall a great climb with a fantastic partner. Gear Notes: standard glacier gear Approach Notes: 99% snow from parking lot to summit.

Anyone want to escape the impending heat wave and head for the hills for an energetic day climb or one night trip any day next week? I can go as early as Sunday. I was thinking Baker, Shuksan, Buckner North Face, or Whitehorse, but I am open to suggestions. pantilat@stanford.edu

I believe Foss River Road (one mile east of Skykomish Ranger Station) is going to remain open and therefore the distance via this approach to Necklace Valley/Tank Lakes area should be the same. Re photos: thanks, I didn't bring a tripod and the mosquitos were horrendous at dusk making stability difficult. I wish I took more zoomed shots, but I guess that one is good enough for me...