Rad

Went out yesterday and had a great, if long, day. Bottom line: after botching the Cascadian descent on previous outings in different ways, we finally did it right and it was great. If I go back, I'd gladly do it again. It was boot skiing. Scree skiing. Dirt skiing. All good fun if you have a shoe with a little bit of a hard sole (five tennies great, running shoes not). Beta: from false summit scramble right along the ridge (south) a could hundred feet. Do not follow this ridge too far (a past mistake of mine). Find a logical spot to scramble down some loose rock until able to hop on the snow. Boot ski down many hundreds of feet to small saddle. soft snow in the afternoon. Bear skiers right into the top of the Cascadian. After several vert hundred feet, look for a flattish hill on the right side with low trees. Just above this, head right into the lower cascadian. Follow this down and stay in the central wash all the way to the bottom of the rocks. AVOID side trails to the right when you get low (a past mistake of mine was to take these). At the end of the rocks, look for cairns that lead you in to a trail. The trail goes through brush and grass and drops you right onto the Ingalls Creek trail. Turn right and reach Long's pass trail in 5 minutes. I still can't believe people go UP the Cascadian! That must be an incredible sufferfest. We met two people who did it yesterday. have fun out there! ps. we looked from a distance at the ridge dps mentions above. It looks lovely and we were tempted to try it but didn't this time.

Any good?

OMG, a civilized bolting discussion thread! WA Pass is pretty close to a roadside crag at this point. Sure would be nice to have a gondola to the top of Liberty Bell, or should I call it a telepherique to sound swiss? At minimum a Via Ferrata next to the Beckey route...

Outstanding! Love the fact that you choose adventures where the outcome is uncertain and you're at your limit.

Awesome outing. I've had that one on the list but won't get to it this year. I'm trying to have less type 2 fun (dark, schwackery shenanigans) and more type 1 fun (clean rock, good weather) this year. I must be getting soft.

Thanks guys. Trying to go car to car wo a bivy so I appreciate the tips. Kevino, if you see two old guys simulclimbing that's us (Rad and David). Blake says the #4 is still in the gendarme ow and that we can climb the whole route with nothing larger than a #1. DPS, I remember your recent comments on that. Any special notes (or a photo) on finding the top of the Sherpa gully? thx We sure do live in a great place. I think of friends who travel across the country or world to get to do something as beautiful as the N ridge of Stuart. And we have it here in our backyard!

Headed to do the complete north ridge from Teanaway in a few days. Does anyone have recent beta for conditions (snow needing crampons?) getting over Goat pass? We're thinking of trying Ulrich's instead of Cascrapian on the descent. Any photos or beta or comments on that? Many thanks

I think I went up that dihedral years ago and yes, it felt much harder than 5.4, but it worked. The "approach gully" of the WR is one of the best parts of the route. It's basically 3rd and 4th class soloing for a very long way on EXCELLENT granite. The winding around on the upper half of the route, including tunneling under the flake, is interesting but not very aesthetic. Side question: does anyone have recent beta on Goat pass conditions? Has anyone done Ulrich's that would recommend it for the descent? Thx

"5.10" pitches on IB are fun and soft for the grade, and you're more in danger of z-clipping than having to break out the cheater stick for aiding. It's key to be first on the route and go at night or on a cloudy day to avoid cooking in the S facing sun (though you survived Yos at 90+ so this will be a cake walk).

Amazing outing. Someone should rig a motion sensor on an HD video camera to capture the Pocket Glacier in action. It would be amazing footage.

:tup:

Fantastic indeed, and in the right spirit. Water is a puzzle on this. Anyone who's been more than mildly dehydrated knows it affects both mind and body. And then there's the weather. It can be sunny in Seattle and you can nearly freeze to death in a snowstorm on the Challenger. Look forward to hearing the full tale and seeing it in Alpinist where it belongs, alongside other great climbs. Congrats, Rad

Mmmm. Far side beach camping may get you in trouble with da law, particularly if you light a fire. That road leads to a firefighter training facility and is used at all hours of the day and night. It is, I believe, legal to camp along the road on the other side of the highway. At least there's some folks there camped for the season. Best not to leave valuables in your car at trailheads.

Way to persevere. For future parties, here is the beta on how to avoid unroping in the loose and confusing terrain around pitches 17-18: Infinite bliss TR w beta on route info Also, I have a simple topo I'd be glad to pm to anyone who's interested. The last time I posted it mods removed it, so that's why I'm not including it here. cheers. R

Others can comment on current conditions on the mountain. This early in the season the Pocket Glacier could be a major hazard. Unless the road has been re-graded, a 2 wheel drive car might not make it. The road is fairly steep and rocky, with nasty water bars that will eat the underside of your vehicle. This is a big mountain, and the crossover descent will almost certainly have a lot of snow, some of it steep. You should definitely have an ax and crampons.

Beautiful shots of a beautiful trip with a beautiful woman. Glad you didn't win a Darwin award trying to get this one:

Awesome Tom. Great vision AND execution.

OK 5.11 climbers. Where can we go when we don't have time to go to the mountains and don't want to bake on sunny granite at Index, or climb the same old lines at Nevermind and WWI, here are some ideas for new cool (literally) places to explore. Hopefully others will chime in with suggestions too: 1 - X38. Yep, it's true. There are a host of high quality 5.11s that stay cool at the Far Side. Jens' bouldery 11c on the left wall under the Block of Doom. There are a host of high quality bona fide 5.11s at Shangri-La. These go into the shade around 2pm. Two fun routes in deep shade all day and very close to Interstate Park lines are Third Stone from the Sun (11c) and Snaggletooth (11b? new last Friday). You can see this cliff in the woods below the S end of Interstate Park cliff band. 2 - Other routes at Little Si. WWI is fine, but you've probably been there, done that. Look into the Woods and Midlands areas in the early afternoon or later. Warm up on Goddess (10c), hop on Gold Rush (11b), jug haul on Godflesh (11a), and try Lay of the Land (12-). 3 - What else?

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Glad to hear it!

Sweet! Keep up the great work our there!

Don't underestimate the weather on a big mountain. Some people who plow on ahead with their original objective in bad weather end up dead. Rain and 50s means snow and whiteout conditions in high elevations. So let the weather dictate where you go and don't let your permit affect your decision. My 2 cents anyway. Happy bday!

Jimmy Webb and others on sweet swiss boulders Classic lines, women climbing hard, minimal ego and distractions, no animal screaming, and a rad FA at the end. Hats off to JW. Good stoke.

I refuse to read 4 pages of this crap so I'll stop after a few posts, drop my 2 cents, and get back to climbing. Kev, you're wasting your life in front of the computer writing spray on cc.com. Go out and DO something. Then write a TR for whatever you've done - with pictures please - and post it. I will give you sincere positive feedback. Promise. But your persona reminds me of someone I met in grad school who was incredibly annoying and knew it. He told me, "It is better to be hated than to be ignored." And therein lies the rub: you're just seeking any attention you can get. Better to turn off the computer and spend time with your family and friends - or do they hate you too? I sure hope not. Otherwise you'd be a sorry lad indeed.

Nevermind should have some dry routes, but some topouts may be wet. Amazonia is notorious for seepage so I'd skip that.