matosan

I hear someone skied the stonecrop glacier on the north face of Slalok late last week. (Slalok is above Joffre Lakes off Duffey Highway in BC) must have been fun. i really want to ski that line this year. anyone know who it was?

i'm writing a scrambles guidebook to the coast range with aerial photos. i hired a plane and did all the photography myself. i agree with dru, i wanted to do the photography myself and wouldn't buy images. if you're ever looking for someone to help pay for flights i would be interested in going with you and taking more pictures. i'd love to get some winter shots of a bunch of areas. email me at matosan@hotmail.com

Here's a description of classes from 'Freedom of the Hills' Class 2: Involves some scrambling and likely use of hands; all but the most inexperienced and clumsy will not want a rope. Class 3: Moderate exposure may be present; simple climbing and scrambling with frequent use of hands. A rope should be available. Class 4: Intermediate climbing is involved and most climbers want a rope because of exposure. A fall could be serious or fatal. Another definition is that it begins when all beginners and most average climbers will want and should have a belay. Usually natural protection is easily found.

Lummox hit it on the head in simple terms. I have heard a FEW people say that exposure goes into rating the difficulty, or should IU say the technical rating of a route. I disagree. The difficulty, or the technical rating of a route, is what it is regardless of exposure, length, or gear placements. i just need to clarify something. it sounds like you are agreeing with lummox (how much will you hurt yourself if you fall... relates to class 3 vs. 4) but then you say the rating should only relate to technical difficulty of the climb. is that a contradiction?

i've read drew's article and the responses identify the confusion i'm curious about. it seems that some expect 3rd and 4th to be consistent, while others see it as subjective. (e.g. if i didnt use a rope it's 3rd, if i roped belay to belay with no pro it's 4th) The other confusion seems to come from move difficulty vs. exposure. it seems like some people expect 3rd and 4th to relate to the technical difficulty of the climbing, while others expect it to relate to the consequences of a fall. i'd like to hear what other's think 3rd and 4th class relates to.

It seems like there are many interpretations of the class 3 and class 4 grades. How does everyone distinguish between these two?

thanks a ton for the suggestions. does anyone else have any scrambles they think are missing? matt

and one more thing... if anyone has a suggestion for a route they think i NEED to include, let me know.

if you can use them...

Howdy! Does anyone want to go scrambling this summer? If so, i've finished writing up all the descriptions for my scrambles guidebook (some minor editing still to come...) and I'm looking for people who want to test them out. If you're interested in climbing some non-technical 3rd/4th class peaks around Vancouver, these routes are for you. There is a huge range of areas, difficulties and trip lengths. if any of these sound interesting, i'll give you the description and route photos (almost all are aerial photography). The only thing i'll ask for is a bit of feedback on the route, writing, etc. If you're interested in seeing an example of the route descriptions before talking to me, go to bivouac.com and search for "tomyhoi", then click on "Scramble Route Description for Tomyhoi Peak" by me, Matt Gunn. you'll have to have or obtain a free membership to use the site. Please pass this list onto anyone you think might be interested in these descriptions. Contact me at matosan@hotmail.com I won't be around after june so if you want then for the summer please contact me soon. Thanks a bunch! Matt Here's a list of peaks that i have descriptions and photos for in northern Washington: Chapter 14 - Northern Washington Mount Larrabee Tomyhoi South Twin North Twin There are many more routes for the area around Vancouver/whistler, check the British Columbia message board for the list.

Howdy! Does anyone want to go scrambling this summer? If so, i've finished writing up all the descriptions for my scrambles guidebook (some minor editing still to come...) and I'm looking for people who want to test them out. If you're interested in climbing some non-technical 3rd/4th class peaks around Vancouver, these routes are for you. There is a huge range of areas, difficulties and trip lengths. if any of these sound interesting, i'll give you the description and route photos (almost all are aerial photography). The only thing i'll ask for is a bit of feedback on the route, writing, etc. If you're interested in seeing an example of the route descriptions before talking to me, go to bivouac.com and search for "tomyhoi", then click on "Scramble Route Description for Tomyhoi Peak" by me Matt Gunn. you'll have to have or obtain a free membership to use the site. Please pass this list onto anyone you think might be interested in these descriptions. I won't be around after june so if you want then for the summer please contact me soon. Contact me at matosan@hotmail.com Thanks a bunch! Matt Here's a list of peaks that i have descriptions and photos for: Chapter 1 - Vancouver Vicinity Crown Mountain Coliseum/Burwell Chapter 1 - Vancouver-Squamish Highway West Lion Mount Harvey Mount Brunswick Hanover Mount Sedgewick Sky Pilot Little Diamond Head/Columnar/Gargoyles Chapter 2 - Squamish River Valley Tricouni Peak Cloudburst Lake Lovelywater - Mount Niobe/Mount Pelops/Alpha Mountain Ossa Ring Mountain Ashlu Chapter 3 - Squamish-Pemberton Highway Garibaldi Lake - Black Tusk/Panorama Ridge/Helm Peak/Empertrum/Castle towers Wedgemount Lake - Mount Weart/Mount Cook/Parkhurst Mountain/Rethel Mountain/Wedge Mountain Roe Creek - Cypress Blackcomb Spearhead Decker Metaldome Brandywine Mountain Singing Pass Trail - Fissile Peak/Whirlwind Peak/Overlord/Ranibow Mountain Chapter 4 - Lillooet River - Pemberton Valley Harrison Hut Overseer Three Stooges Frozen Boot Tenquille Lake - Goat Peak/Tenquille Mountain/Copper Mound/Mount McLeod Chapter 5 - The Hurley River Road - Railroad Pass Sloan Mountain Grouty Peak Face Mountain Locamotive Tender Mount Samson Beaujelais Chipmunk Chapter 6 - From Gold Bridge Dickson Mountain Taylor Basin Peak Chapter 7 - Gates River Road - D'Arcy Birkenhead Mountain Phelix Creek - Mount Aragorn/Mount Gandalf/ Shadowfax Place Glacier Area - Gardiner Peak/ Cirque Peak Spetch Creek – Cassiope/ Saxifrage Halymore Creek - Twin Peaks east/Twin Peaks west Sun God/Seven O'clock Chapter 8 - Duffey Lake Road Rohr Mountain Marriot Mountain Cayoosh Mountain Vantage Peak Joffre Slalok/Tzil Gott Peak/Gotcha Boulder Creek - "Goat Plateau" Downton Creek - Peak 8700 Snowspider Hurley Silver Mine - 7400 ft Traverse Chapter 9 - Lizzie Lake Long Peak Tynemouth Arrowhead Anemone Peak Table Top Tundra Mountain Shield Chapter 10 - Vancouver to Chilliwack Golden Ears The Chehalis - Mount Clarke/ Recourse Peak Chapter 11 - Chilliwack Valley Road Mount MacFarlane Mount Webb/ MacDonald Peak Williams Peak Cheam Peak/Lady Peak Lady Peak – Knight/ Baby Munday North/ Stewart N Nesakwatch Spire Williamson Lake - Welch Peak/ Foley Peak Mount McGuire Chapter 12 - Around Hope Old Settler Yak Peak Needle Peak Eaton Lake – Eaton/ Grant Mount Outram Frosty Mountain Chapter 13 - Cathedral Park Grimface Mountain Lakeview/Boxcar Pyramid Denture Ridge Chapter 14 - Northern Washington Mount Larrabee Tomyhoi South Twin North Twin