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Great looking trip Jason! ..and as usual, the photos are stellar.

This is as good a video that I've seen of high altitude climbing and the "fun" it involves. It makes Everest seem like a day up Baker. I think I'll stick to our lil' ol mountains here.

Hey I'm a solid 5.7 rope gun!! It was a grand adventure with great partners. Can't figure out why it's not done more. Great climbing, great exposure, great route finding challenges, mostly solid rock. The descent, not so great, but not that long, so don't let that stop you. Jesus, I sound like Tony the Tiger.

For sure get rid of those triggers. I do like them up the shaft farther where you can use them on steep terrain and grip the shafts when the snow is too hard for plunging. After using the facory index triggers for a short time I noticed my index finger got damn cold when it was seperated like that. Doesn't seem like it would make a difference, but it does. I also agree that those grip-rests should go unless you are doing hard mixed. Plunging the shafts are what you are going to be after. I tend to like one adze head in the alpine as well, but I'm old school. Have fun!

You question the Rock Wren?? The Rock Wren cannot be stopped.

Trip: Yosemite - The Nose 5.9 A2 Date: 6/3/2014 Trip Report: How does one celebrate 50 years of stumbling around on this planet? I could go to Hawaii and sit in the sand like a beached whale, but I felt like something more was needed. A couple of years ago my good friend Joe and I started thinking that doing The Nose would be a fitting way to tell ourselves we were holding off the Depends and whacking the grandkids over the head with our canes. Joe decided to fend off old age by having a kid, so he seemed to have his youth maintained by chasing a toddler around Portland. I still needed to feed my delusion. What I needed was somebody younger and better at climbing to help me get up the biggest and best rock climb in the world. Well I knew John(Telemarker) was obsessed with The Nose. John knows The Nose, John sleeps The Nose, John wanted The Nose, again. Last year he and a partner did it in a single 36 hour push, which I now know was a very impressive feat. I emailed and told him I had some time in early June and would he be interested in giving it a go with a gumby like me. After all, I had aided the first 2 pitches of Green Dragon and the Monkey Face, so how much harder could it be? He quickly and maybe foolishly agreed and got valuable time off from work to head to the Valley. The plan was ambitious. Climb it in 3 days with no fixing beforehand. A pretty quick schedule when hauling a pig, but what I lack in skill I make up for in work ethic and counterweight. We drove the 16 hours to the Valley and arrived at 1am in the Yosemite Lodge parking lot. I was cooked after doing the drive and working the previous 48 hours, so a quick cat nap of 3 hours in the car was all I needed. Well guess who’s flashlight was shining into our eyes at 2:30am? Larry told us to get out, and now. I gave him my thoughts on world peace and we pirate camped in The Pines for another 2 hours. A look at the route first thing in the morning and it is almost completely clear of people! No lines and the weather looks perfect. Sort gear and go was decided quickly. John’s plan was to treat the route like a hard free route. Direct aiding everything takes way too much time, so french free and free climbing was done the majority of the time. John made good time to Sickle ledge and the hauling went well. I was learning the system on the fly, so a few minor rope management snafu’s, but overall no major problems. My first lead was up Sickle. Only 5.9! A quick slap in the face followed. I’ve done lots of Yosemite 5.9. This was harder. After thrutching and grabbing gear I made it to the belay. This was going to be hard. We made our way to Dolt Tower where we met our first party of 2 which included big wall legend Steve Schneider(Shipoopi). Shipoopi - over 90 El Cap ascents They had started jugging fixed lines at the same time we left the ground. Steve and Jeff were set up to party on Dolt and they kept up very entertained while we set up to continue to El Cap Tower for the night. El Cap tower bivy heaven Some Tom Evans photos of us Steve told us about Alex Honnold’s project of climbing 7 El Cap routes in 7 days he was doing this week. Mind boggling how hard that seems. The next day was long and we arrived at Camp 5 around 12am? Not the best ledge and I woke up about 6am watching the valley wake up. Camp 5 burnouts Suddenly a big woosh above and a base jumper flies by about 100ft from us! Scared the crap out of me, then another 2 go flying by. Our Good Morning America TV was spent the next hour watching them hit the meadow, fold up their chutes in record time and scramble into the woods before Larry could catch them. The first pitch the last day was The Glowering Spot. I let thin aid up to the belay and John asked if somebody was coming because he could hear voices. I look down and see a dude with no shirt about 2 pitches below cruising up the Pancake Flake like it was 5.5. “Uh, John, maybe we should step aside?” Alex Honnold and Dave Allfrey arrive at camp 5 and take a 10 minute break and tell us to keep going, they can work around us. John comes up and Alex frees almost all of the thin aid pitch I just led. He almost had a bead of sweat on his forehead when he arrived at our belay. Dave said they were on day 4 and were doing The Nose as a “rest day climb at the recreational speed of around 5 hours”. Dave starts running up the fixed line while Alex free solo’s(basically since there’s about 100+ft of slack in his line) the next 5.11+ pitch. Super nice guys and incredible to see Honnold climb like that. Mr Honnold breathing easy The top pitches were the most spectacular of the whole route. Changing corners is overhanging steep. The last pitch involves a bolt ladder over roofs and 3000’ of air straight down between your legs. We top out at dusk and flop down for a memorable summit bivy on nice flat ground. Top out Next morning we meet Dave Hunon, who had done a hard aid climb on the west wall. Dave kindly gives us his extra water and we pack the pig and head down to the valley. On the way down we see a soloist on the last pitch of Zodiac and take pictures of him finishing. We arrive at the bear box which still has our cold beer and sit on the bags and start drinking. The soloist Ken comes down shortly and we all sit around and tell stories of our climbs and drink many beers until we head down to the meadow and get some photos from Tom Evans and talk to the tourists. A great ending to a great climb. Pretty rare to have a whole trip as big as this go on schedule and turns out better than you could have imagined. This climb is all you can ask for. The climbing was hard the whole time. I think there was maybe 100ft total of less than 5.9 terrain for 30+ pitches. It was truly unbelievably steep the whole time. The last pitch involves a bolt ladder roof where you are looking at a 3000’ plumb line to the ground between your legs...Awesome!! Boot flake tiptoe Great roof fun Caution, big wall climbing may cause this! El Cap layback performed by creaky old man After 3 quiet days on the wall, reality hit and we watched the lines of climbers from the crowded meadows starting up The Nose with thunderclouds looming and the cluster began. I can't believe how lucky we were to hit it without anybody ahead and perfect weather. Thanks go to John for trusting me enough to go with him on a route like this. He is truly one of the strongest climbers I have roped up with. Not just technically good but the stamina to go on forever. Also thanks to Gene and Jim who lent a few key pieces of gear. If you go to do this climb, be prepared. It is bigger and steeper than you can fathom. Also, it's called the biggest sandbag in the valley for a reason! Next year, the beach...maybe.. Gear Notes: No portaledge, 2 ropes, lots of cams, water. Approach Notes: Brutal 10 minutes

Great photos as usual Jason. Looks like a fun outing. Steve, amazing recovery and so good to see you in the mountains again.

Lone tree pass route is certainly doable all summer. There is some tricky routefinding if the trail is covered in snow, but not a big deal if you pay attention. I've used a 30m Rhononee rope to rap from the summit, then smooth traveling. I wouldn't touch the Whitehorse glacier route this time of year unless you love vertical brush thrashing on wet slab.

Was on the wall today. While tick checks with your significant other could lead to a romantic evening, I would recommend shaving yourself clean head to toe and wearing a Mr Clean outfit on Snow Creek wall right now. We ran out of there after one route while swatting ourselves silly. The dudes having the epic on the wall are surely anemic by now.

Stellar images as usual Jason. Looks like a fun trip was had.

Too late to vote for best TR of year?

Done a lot, but I keep going back to the west ridge of the North Twin Sister(Washington version). Olivine love, decent exposure, and quality summit views from a unique perspective. Only downer is the soul crushing road hike/bike.

From their Facebook page: The Leavenworth Climbing Rangers are dedicated to the preservation and protection of the vertical world on the Wenatchee River Ranger District. Description The Leavenworth Climbing Rangers are dedicated to the preservation and protection of the vertical world on the Wenatchee River Ranger District. Rangers strive to accomplish this through climber education, site assessment, site monitoring, and restoration work. The Leavenworth Climbing Rangers have established relationships with local and regional climbing organizations in order to get a better understanding of the environmental and social impacts associated with climbing on the WRRD, to be able to reach a broader audience with our education goals and to help create a volunteer database. The WRRD has become a regional and national destination for rock climbing and mountaineering; drawing climbers from across the country and even internationally. Thousands of individuals flock to the WRRD annually to partake in the outstanding rock climbing opportunities easily accessible on the district. The impacts caused by the increase in the climbing population have begun to get noticed and the need for climbing specific programs identified. The major impacts that have been noticed are de-vegetation, soil compaction, impacts to wildlife, safety concerns, and (over) use conflicts. Several rare and endangered plant species are threatened by route cleaning and new development, this area has biological refuges of global importance, harboring species that are threatened or lost in other areas and offering hope for the future. Peregrine falcons and golden eagles, both protected species often nest on several popular climbing areas/routes and their livelihood and the success of their Eyrie can be affected by climber interactions. Public safety concerns have arisen as well with an increase in accidents, multiple helicopter evacuations, and climbing related fatalities each year

Awesome photos and trip John! That tyrolean looks way cool.The Central Pillar of Frenzy is one of my favorites down there. Give me a call if you need a partner down there again.

Stop you guys! She can climb ice, or styrofoam. Just look at her....form.

Did it in September and it was perfect weather and lower crowds. Brisk in the morning. The descent is a piece of cake compared to the Cascadian. Second the Mt Russell comment. Fishhook arete is a mega classic and WAY more interesting than the East face. Not to be missed if you're camping up there for a few days.

Did Hubba Bubba yesterday with Pete after cragging at Dog Dome. The approach to Hubba is a bit of a drag, but our boot pack should make it better. Lots of ice up there. Hubba is fat and there are lines in to the left and the right of that for a full day of playing.

Incredible photos. Nice work guys.

Holy shit John!! Well done

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3S24ofEQj4&feature=related

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Well done Johnny!

Just back from 3 days in Squamish in my camper. The Spit is my favorite place. The pirate campground up the Mamquan has a grim looking population of folks of questionable character.

That would be Mont Blanc.