Rad

Mt WA has (or used to have) the highest recorded winds anywhere in the US (>200mph). It just takes seconds to freeze parts of yourself in those conditions, or even much milder conditions (50mph plus cold). Don't let the relatively low elevation fool you. People definitely die on that mtn when they make bad decisions.

Snake Dike is fun - easy runout climbing in a great setting. Both times I've done it we've been quite dehydrated by the time we got down and back to the river. I've also descended when the boards were down on the cables. It's pretty scary smooth up there. Put the cable over your leg and its weight increases your friction and makes it feel safer. I did a three day trip to the valley once that involved the approach to Snake Dike by moonlight the night we arrived, climb Snake Dike and back down to the valley the next day, short nap followed by cragging at the Church Bowl in the afternoon, snarf food in the Yos lodge cafeteria, then pre-dawn start to go up NE Buttress of Higher Cathedral the next day, finishing the last pitches by headlamp and having to crab crawl down the spires gully after headlamp batteries died in order to drive to the Bay Area for a job interview on Monday. Twas quite a weekend. It was my partner's first time in the valley! She did great. I've never done Steck Salathe, so I can't comment on training for it, but I was surprised to hear NE Buttress of Higher as a training route. It has lots of crack climbing but only one 'slot' and a chimney up high that's pretty easy. Very doable grade IV provided you don't get off route up high as we did.

Yep. Snow down to low elevations so be prepared for cold conditions if you go alpine.

There's a good concentration of bolted routes at Ozone if you can find it.

Great to see that spirit of exploration.

Lovely. Thanks for the TR. FYI, the annoying wide TR syndrome will go away if you insert returns after each picture. Also, the large boulder visible between the two lakes in your third photo has several excellent moderate (V1-V2ish) bouldering problems. Perhaps hardmen will find more lines.

To avoid the super wide frames put returns before and after pics.

Another way is to upload your photo(s) in the gallery. Then go to the full response screen (or TR) to see the icons above the entry. Click the camera icon. Your gallery will pop up. Click the photo(s) you want. They are inserted. No copying or pasting of locations this way.

Looks cool. My comment is that while texture and features are neat, if they are too large then they tend to dominate and even limit moves in sections of wall. For example, in the UW gym bouldering area we do english (feet allowed on features) and for sections of the wall you almost invariably use certain footholds regardless of what route is set. If the features are small enough or the walls steep enough this may not be too much of a concern. Just my 2 cents. Look forward to checking out your gym someday.

Cool. What can you tell us about your climb? If you'd prefer not to post it here perhaps you could send me a pm. I'd gladly buy you a beer or three to hear the tale.

There's a route at Vantage called MF206ers

Pot kettle black. Pot kettle black.

Thanks Lowell. Very cool. A climber in his element. Stuart N ridge. Sherpa (no route mentioned) Argonaut West Ridge Dtail and Colchuck not mentioned, though inferred by the number of fig bars downed. Did he descend and climb Serpentine or Backbone or scramble the col between the two peaks. This description talks about headaches. Prussik West Ridge. No mention of Snow Creek Wall. Maybe there is a list of peaks and routes somewhere, and I certainly would not diminish this astounding achievement, but it does seem that people's perceptions of this achievement have grown over the years.

Chair can be ascended/descended ropeless via the chimney route in Beckey. Very exposed 4th class, maybe a move of 5th? I've seen parties rap there, but it's pretty solid, unlike the rest of that choss pile

Bummer about your glasses. Life goes on. Kids can be equally ungrateful, but we still have to help them. Thanks for your good work, whether as a volunteer or for your job. Bartell's is having a 50% off sale on all sunglasses. I picked up a number of pairs for $10. If you are willing to take a pair of amber polarized glasses with a semi-decent side block as a consolation send me a pm with your address and I'll mail them. Or go to Bartell's yourself for more selection. I know these are not your beloved glacier glasses but they should be passable until you identify a replacement.

Nope. I don't think so, you could expect me to go help someone, but some Rangers... well can be lazy, but some are good too. OK Josh, we'll connect the dots for you. This thread was started by Mike Gauthier, long-time climbing ranger at Mount Rainier Natl Park, who posted a note about a goofy kid who got lost multiple times and endangered himself and others through his own stupidity. You have threatened to attempt to climb Mt Rainier and multiple data points suggest that you might make decisions just as foolish as the ones made by said goofy kid. Your post above is ironic enough, but the loop would really be complete if you headed up Rainier in your jeans and hoody and needed to be rescued by Mike Gauthier. Please post a TR on that outing.

Thanks. This is the one (not posed) that captured the essence of the experience for me.

Josh, See my comments in the other thread about the driving approach. The trail/approach in red looks right. The evil blueberries were near the notch by point 5752. You'll have no trouble if they are dry.

These comments are based on a moonlight descent, where we were not thinking about ascending. Subsequent rain/snow and sunshine may have changed things. With that in mind, here's what I recall: Our first rap from the gully below the corkscrew trail to the top of the ramp was only about 12m. It looked like you could downclimb/slide pretty easily. Not sure about ascent, though I know some people do go up that way so it must not be too bad. We rapped 27m off a block to a ledge near the edge of the moat. From there, we unroped, traversed the ledge, climbed down to the bottom of the moat where it was shallow, and found a spot where we could easily reach the snow lip. That's where Blake chopped the bollard and we rapped. Rock at the bottom half of the ramp is low angle smooth slabs that offer little if any protection. We rapped off the side of the ramp about 50m from its Eastern end. I don't think it would be possible to ascend there unless you're free soloing unprotectable 5.10-looking slabs. We did not get a good look at the end of the ramp where it meets the snow at a more gentle angle, but glimpses from a distance suggest the moat is at least 10 ft wide there and overhanging. With daylight and determination you could probably make something work. It would certainly be an easier ascent route in spring/early summer before the moat forms. Moats can be dangerous places, so be careful out there.

Someone asked about the driving approach, and since it caused us some confusion I'll post what I know: WTA Bedal Creek trailhead directions: Take exit 208 off I-5 and drive 4 miles east on SR 530 to Arlington. Continue on SR 530 for 28 miles more to Darrington. At a three way stop turn right (south) onto Mountain Loop Highway, and continue 17.2 miles (not sure how accurate this mileage is as we were not looking at the odometer) turning left on FR 4096 which is about a mile past Bedal campground. Continue on FR 4096 for 3 more miles to the trailhead! Maps (Google and my old Gazetteer) suggest you'd take fS4080 and then bear left on 4081 to get to the Bedal Creek trailhead. This is wrong. 4081 is blocked off and you can't drive there from 4080. 4096 is not on either of those maps. FS49 wraps around to the backside of Sloan. Basically take the road that heads East that is between 4080 and 49. There is one 'road-looking thing' that deadends at a redneck gun range in 50 yds. The other is 4096. FS4096 is not in my gazetteer or google maps, but I did find FS4096 on mapquest. Note that 4096 ends and does not link to 4081 as the map suggests. If you have further questions or want to know about current road conditions try calling the Darrington or Verlot ranger stations. Hope that helps. Rad ps. My Toyota Corolla made it fine so you unless you take your Ferrari you should be good to go.

Josh, Different people will rope up in different places. In the mountains you need to integrate your knowledge and skills with information about weather, terrain, and other conditions to develop a plan to guide your actions. While there are some generally accepted practices (e.g. roping up on active glaciers and class 5 rock) there are always exceptions and plenty of gray areas and oddities. For example, I rappelled down a blueberry slope last weekend because it seemed like the best course of action. Others may laugh, but they weren't there to assess the conditions. Learning to make good decisions and be responsible for their consequences takes time. Try and build your experience gradually over time, avoiding catastrophes, and ramp up to more difficult objectives. Keep getting out and be safe. Rad

Josh, look in Nelsen's Select vol 2 or in Beckey for info. There are currently moat issues associate with the snow below the ramp you mention. There is also a section getting from the ramp to the corkscrew trail that we rapped coming down that way. I wasn't thinking about going up it, but it is probably 4th class or easy 5th.

Beautiful topo. Looks amazing. Thanks for all of your hard work and investment. Any idea how hard the A0 will be when it goes free? According to some logic floating around here, the person who frees those moves can rename the entire line and claim the FFA

Yes. The face climbing potential is mind-blowing. You'd have to bolt by hand because this is in the Henry Jackson wilderness, thank goodness. It felt good to not leave anything behind on our ascent.

Nice outing. Maybe if you zoom in you can see us on Sloan in the 2nd to last shot. A perfect day to be in the mountains.