Rad

Perhaps the best training for the mountains is scrambling and climbing in the mountains. There are many situations where options for protection are sparse and/or placing protection to pitch-out 4th class terrain is impractical because it slows you down so much. People who want to transition to the mountains might consider scrambling non-technical peaks. Climbing is about more than ratings. Just ask the folks who have done the Index traverse, climbed Jberg by any route, or climbed the Nooksack tower. Buy the Beckey guides and the scramble book and have fun along the way!

Love this story. Reminds me of traveling. Many of the best experiences emerged from shared adventures that sprang from chance encounters with wonderful strangers. Two thumbs up!

Maybe post some photos in the lost and found forum?

By hand. And it's the Original Route, not the "bypass route." Thanks Kurt. We're lucky to have you caring for NW classics. Is the site up and ready so we can contribute $?

Based on our experience last year around this time, I expect you'll encounter multiple large snowfields on the upper and middle portions of the descent. We didn't find water on the route but planned for that and were fine.

I suspect access and preservation are tightly linked. Increased access, via roads and trails, raises the use, visibility, and perceived value of natural resources. This in turn motivates people to protect these and maintain good access to them. I expect that decreased access will have the opposite affect. Add to that the fact that there is a complex mess of passes to navigate to be able to park at the trailhead without getting fined, and the message is pretty clear: stay home on your couch. The experiment has been going on for several years now, and I'm not optimistic about the outcomes. The WA Trails Association, WA climbers coalition, and other grass routes efforts are laudable, but we need action on a higher level too. That said, establishment of the Wild Sky Wilderness is an encouraging recent milestone.

Maybe we need a community trimming party to improve the "trail", a bit like Colin and company did for the Slesse crossover descent, which is now a breeze.

Nice TR! I had a similarly sketchy experience getting past that moat. Thankfully, we ended up below a more solid and reasonable piece of rock than you did. Good job avoiding the chop!

Hwy 20 to open at 10am Monday August 19th

NYTimes article on the people who brought forward Snowden's story and leaks. But what's not getting said is that Google, Facebook, MSFT, ATT, and others are watching you just as carefully, and while they may not detain you at the airport, they will insinuate themselves into your lives to sell you more stuff. Privacy is dead, unless you live off the grid in the bushes. It's a brave new world out there. Don't forget to look over your shoulder.

Very cool. Every time I read a Jberg TR I am reminded why this mountain is NOT on my list!

You can climb at WA pass as the road isn't closed until Rainy Pass. Lots of great alpine rock routes there.

Thompson is a short route on a pile of choss a long way from the road. I don't think it deserves classic status. Enchantments would be far better IMHO. Vesper is an excellent outing, but getting on the lower part of the route late season involves crossing hard snow/ice and then crossing a potentially large and dangerous moat. Crampons and ax may be recommended. I think you can get on the route on ledges part way up and bypass the snow/ice but I've never gone that way. E Ridge Direct of Forbidden is outstanding, but road closure may be an issue.

Road to Cascade Pass (goes past BB trailhead) Basin was washed out as well. Not sure where updates on this are. Check WSDOT website for updates on the 20: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/northcascades/

ps. maybe you can start a business to teach V4 gym climbers to scramble 4th class. They probably have cash to drop on the right tool/app/person.

D, Kev will jump in shortly to tell your pretty pony to wear a helmet! Yes, this is a pathetic and humorous outcome. I'm just glad it's comedy and not tragedy like the Sharkfin newbie-crushing block incident from a few years back. R

Sure, unfortunate (and sometimes embarrassing) things happen to the very experienced, but that doesn't mean it's the same thing as unfortunate things happening to the inexperienced and naive. There is a difference. Right. We should give newbies more slack and less flack for their mis-steps. Experienced folks should know better. We all make mistakes. Erring on the side of caution, as these folks did, isn't necessarily a bad thing. What should have happened IMHO, is the party of 2 should have gone up to see what was happening. Without communication, they had no way to know their friends weren't injured, so perhaps asking for a rescue was the right call given the circumstances. I was in a somewhat similar situation years ago in Tuolumne. I climbed the Eichorn Pinnacle and was meeting up with friends who had climbed the SW Face of Cathedral. I finished, scrambled up the back side of Cathedral, and waited. They didn't show by sunset so I descended to the base of the route and waited there. Someone flashed lights to us from high on the route. I found another climber and we went up to the summit to check things out. When we got there my friends were just topping out around midnight. They were exhausted and hypothermic from too little clothing and high winds. We helped them down, warmed them, and hiked out without incident. If the party on the rock had had a two-way communication device (sat phone or something else) the heli-rescue would probably not have been needed.

Pathetic, but no one was hurt and they'll be back to climb another day. Having spoken with Kelly Bush about NCNP rescues, I bet she and her team find this annoying and amusing but far more desirable than if the team had tried to come down in the dark and gotten badly injured. Most of us have done something stupid at one point or another. Usually, we come out without getting injured or invoking a rescue. But not always. I know a very experienced climber, who shall remain nameless, who was on the front page photo of one of the East side papers stranded in on a rock in the Tumwater because his crampons poked a hole in the raft his team was using to cross to go climb Drury. Oops.

Way to persevere! Between snow for walking and snow for meltwater, early season looks like a good way to go.

Sweet! The lieback above the crack section on Lamplighter felt harder than anything on Heaven's Gate. Maybe I just didn't know how to approach it. Stepping on the bolt seemed to work though

Green will be faster. Most go that way. You'll miss a short bit of hand crack between yellow 3 and 4. Either will be fine. It's all good. Enjoy!

Headed up tomorrow and wondering if anyone can comment on whether you have to cross hard snow to get to the base if we approach from the Silver Star Creek side. Hoping not to bring ax or crampons. Thx

Goodness that's an old photo. I'm surprised the mountain hasn't washed into the sea since then. I was just up there a week ago for my second time on the route, so I'm definitely not an expert, but I think you'll find tons of bivy sites sprinkled all over the upper NR and WR routes. IMHO the long section leading up to the Gendarme is some of the best climbing so savor it.

Both pitches are short and the haul is clean if you have to do it. Don't be intimidated by these pitches. You'll do fine, and they are easy to protect. Last time out we had a 3 and a 3.5. Place the 3 first from a stemming stance on large foot holds. Unless you're petite, you can get a good fist jam here. Then step up into a constriction that makes a great foot hold. Place the 3.5 from this stance. 3 might also work. 4 is fine but not needed. Edge holds on the side of the crack are there, but not needed. Lieback or jam past until into the next good footholds. Clip the fixed #4. A few more moves and you're in jug city. Have fun!

Yikes! We were out there Saturday and missed the crowds and excitement. I hope he's OK. The only place you could fall any distance on the CAscadian is right at the top gaining the snow or on the upper snow section. Maybe he was in Ulrich's as kevino's observation suggests. Again, hope he's OK. R