Ryan

Is there anyone that actually likes these screws? I received two of them for Christmas, and upon using them, I've found that unless the ice is absolutely perfect (plastic and FAT) they are a bitch to place, provided you can even get them started. I used them in somewhat brittle ice, and all they did was fracture the ice in every direction around the attempted placement, causing the ice to plate off, leaving me frustrated. BD screws worked fine in the same ice. Any thoughts on OP screws?

Had my new skis stolen at Blackcomb a couple years ago. Pissed me right off.

I've used the B-52, ATC, and Reverso equal amounts, and now the only device I carry with me is the Reverso. It's so simple to use, and the autoblock option is nice for crevasse rescue situations- I know that the B-52 can autoblock, but the Reverso is just so easy.

Haha...nope, no relocating for me. My buddy, on the other hand, is heading out there next year. He was wondering about the proximity of ice.

I see...nothing too incredibly close then. Hyalite Canyon has spoiled me!

Awesome, thanks for the advice. I'll look into it.

Alright...a variety of routes that range from WI3-5 that are around 100-200 feet long and offer good ice for most of the winter months.

How far is the nearest quality ice climbing from Seattle?

Good point...any recommendations for moderate range alpine rock routes (up to 5.9)?

Thanks for the pointers...catbirdseat, our plan was to do the DC and Gib Ledges route and then come back down to Paradise and head over and take the White River approach (I believe that's the one?) to Liberty Ridge. Some of you are probably right though- this plan may be a bit too ambitious. If it were my call we'd head straight for Liberty Ridge, but the DC is the route that suits the majority's ability and ambition. Unfortunate. One of my partners is game for more technical routes, though, so we may look at scrapping any shot at Rainier altogether and doing some other peaks. Is the DC worth my time seeing as how it's the only route I can do with my friends and still get to the summit? I'm completely unfamiliar with the PNW, so any and all advice is appreciated.

There are four of us going, two of which have not had much mountain experience, but are experienced climbers. We'll be doing the DC route with them, and then they'll head down and my other partner and I plan to remain at Muir and climb the Gibralter Chute route after the DC route. Then, conditions permitting, we might go for Liberty Ridge seeing as how we'll have experienced the descent already. We plan on being in the Cascades for 2 full weeks, so that should give us enough time to tick off those routes...what do you all think?

Cool...would it be wise to reserve a permit for the month of May, or are there not enough climbers then to worry about it?

Good call, as always.

Excellent, thanks for the info guys...so let me get this straight then- besides the flat rate, there is a 20 dollar fee for each climb? Or does the 20 dollar fee cover the 2 weeks that it mentions, which means that I would be able to climb the 2 or 3 routes that I had planned? Thanks again!

Since we're on the topic, how cold does Rainier get in May? I'll be climbing a couple routes on the mountain then and I've got Koflach Arctis Expe boots...will these be too warm?

I'm planning a trip to Rainier in May, and I have never been to the area before...what (if any) steps need to be taken to secure a climbing permit? How far in advance should I plan on getting the permit...and is there a cost? I'm sure this question has been asked countless times...thanks for putting up with it!

No changes- all the experiences I had taught me so much, even if they were a bit dangerous. I learned alot more by experiencing everything than by going by the book the whole time.

Thinker- yeah, it's definitely a decent spot to wait out a storm, but we were just pissed that the rap was so close to use, and we had no idea. Better safe than sorry I suppose. I definitely treasure that experience greatly, though. Taught me alot in the long run.

My partner and I were climbing the Direct Exum Ridge on the Grand Teton two summers ago. We had a terribly late start, but decided to go for it anyway. We cruised the Lower Exum with little problems. By the time we reached the top of the Golden Staircase, dark clouds had started to dot the sky. This is where we really made a smart decision (note extreme sarcasm). We decided to book it the rest of the way, and started hauling ass up the rest of the Upper Exum. We got right below the Friction Pitch when I looked behind me (to the southwest) and nearly shit my pants as I saw a solid wall of water moving at us. Within seconds the wind started to pick up, but my partner said that we could make the summit still. This time I decided against it, and we began to downclimb the Upper Exum. We made it down below the Wind Tunnel just as the heavy rain started. We were hiding underneath a huge overhang, and we had all of our climbing hardware piled on one side of the overhang, while we sat shivering on the other side. All of a sudden, an intensely bright flash lit up the sky, and the air felt tingly. I realized that a lightning bolt had struck the rock roughly 30 feet to our left. At this point, I am incredibly strung out and want to get the hell out of there, but the heavy rain does not allow us to move from our location. Soon, the rain lets up, and my partner and I, not knowing how the fuck to descend (it was our first time on the mountain) decide to downclimb an "easy" gully that pointed to the southeast. We began to downclimb, but the gully soon turned into a waterfall, with water gushing over my shoes and hands as I tried to make my way down. At the bottom of the gully, we were delighted (again, note sarcasm) to discover that we had downclimbed to the top of a massive drop to the east. I'm not sure where we were at this point, but I have a feeling it was somewhere near the Stettner and Ford couloirs...? Realizing that we were fucked, we climbed back up the gully, which was twice as scary as downclimbing it. The water was still running down the gully, and at this point I was chilled to the bone. After that mini epic, we reached our "cave" again, and sat there for an estimated 4 hours or so (didn't have a watch, either- smart!). Once darkness rendered us completely fucked, I realized that I had forgotten my headlamp back down at the Moraine. At this point, I racked my brain for solutions. Suddenly, I noticed some lights down and to our left, to the southwest of where we sat. I wondered if it was climbers, but concluded that it couldn't be at this hour. Then, I realized that it was all the tents at the Lower Saddle! I grabbed my partner's headlamp (which probably saved us in the end), and began signaling to the Lower Saddle. A flurry of headlamps soon assembled, and a lone light began to trudge up towards Wall Street. Our "rescuer" was Exum guide Kevin Mahoney, and he soon reached our position just above the Golden Stair. He led us down 30 feet, and then announced that we would rap to Wall Street from there. 30 fucking feet- we were that close to the rap the whole time and didn't even know it. I was too knackered to care though. We rapped down, walked off Wall Street, and headed down towards the Lower Saddle. We parted ways with Kevin at the base of Wall Street Couloir, becuase we had to go grab our packs which we had stashed at the base of the Lower Exum. After this, we began making our way back towards the Moraine. We reached the Lower Saddle headwall, and could not for the life of us find the fixed line that would have made the downward passage of this headwall a hell of alot easier. At this point I was convinced that we were just plain retarded. We ended up downclimbing the northernmost section of the headwall (good thing it was dark, the exposure probably would have scared the fuck out of me in the daylight!), and began to hike down a small boulderfield. Halfway down the boulderfield, my partner set off a small rockslide, which I narrowly escaped by hugging the lower section of the headwall. We finally made it back to camp, God knows how many hours after our departure. Our plan to climb Irene's Arete in the morning was scrapped, as we slept late and then broke camp and descended further into the canyon. Definitely got schooled on that trip!

The Twight epic on Nanga Parbat involved the four team members being forced off of the face by an incoming storm and spindrift avalanches...at one of the rappels, all four of the climbers were clipped into a sling girth hitched to a Snarg when they got hit by a massive avalanche...miraculously, the Snarg held, and they continued downward. Later, due to miscommunication between Barry and Kevin, they ended up losing the two ropes they had. They then ran out of food, lost a tent, and had to rely on fixed lines to keep heading downward. At around 22,000 feet, the team found an old pack from a previous Japanese expdition. They cut open the pack, and found 60 pitons, 12 ice screws, chocolate bars, and two new 50 meter ropes. Holy fucking luck!

This may not be the most hardcore, but it sure ranks up there- I'm thinking of Mark Twight, Barry Blanchard, Kevin Doyle, and Ward Robinson on the Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat...anyone hear of this epic? It was in Climbing awhile back...

Cool, thanks!

What type of shape is the route usually in during May? Not enough ice on the ice runnels? We won't be able to make it out there until May...would the routes on Rainier be best for this time of year (Liberty Ridge, Ptarmigan Ridge, etc)? Maybe we'll just stick with Rainier...I'd still like to experience some of the less oft trod areas of the Cascades. What peak is the Ice Cliff Glacier on? Thanks for the info!

Excellent...thanks for all the info. Hopefully we'll tag Ptarmigan, Triple Couloirs on Dragontail is looking incredibly enticing as well! We'll be out there for close to three weeks, which will allow for a number of attempts on some of these awesome routes. I'm psyched!

Got my ass hauled off the Grand Teton by Kevin Mahoney...he soloed up to us once he found out we were stuck on the mountain due to a BAD storm...and it was past midnight (we were up there awhile.) Nice guy though, and very understanding of our situation... Climb with Conrad Anker out here in Bozeman from time to time...whenever he happens to be out and about. Climbed with Gadd, Ogden, Tackle, Roberts, and all those guys at the Ice Fest out here...spoke with Twight for a bit, also a very cool guy, Met Dale Bard, Chris Sharma, Tommy Caldwell, Steph Davis, Dean Potter, and Lisa Rands at OR in SLC...John Bachar sat down next to me at lunch one day out there...and, a semi-highlight of OR was listening to Bridwell recount his journey from the east coast to Arizona for some climbign competition in a car that he bought for some ridiculously low price...listening to him tell a story about this car barely surviving on the way out there was funny...ahh, you had to be there. It's fun to interact with these people, but at the same time it allows me to realize that they're normal people, except they can climb incredibly well.