curtveld

Great move, heading to the part of the US that is participating in this year's 'warm spring'. And hoping my girl will be game for that type of father-daughter adventure when she hits that age.

The direction each slab faces makes a huge difference on how it heats up. On any day headed above 75, personally I'd steer away from anything facing SE or south (including Slab Daddy or Dreamer). Been cooked on both and lost toenails to prove it. Exfo faces west, so is nice until mid-day on hot-ish days. North aspect of 3OC Rock (Silent Running or Total Soul) is a decent bet up to the low 80's maybe? Cloudy days can be really nice, even if it sprinkles a bit.

Really? Wow. Travel by train or cars was fair game, not that that didn't create additional hazards in the process. Some great photos here

FYI: Yates did a nice job re-slinging my old-school solid friends. At first they said they were too old, but agreed once I told them I understood the risks of climbing on antique gear.

At that point, my 'east-side' experience was mostly central Oregon which gets lots of sun in winter. If you're looking for a good road-trip option in that area, another good choice is Red Mountain near Rossland BC, another hour or so north of 49. A huge mountain with lots of moderate glade skiing - with lift access!

Spent a season at 49 and pindude has pretty much got you covered. That being said, the terrain is really quite good, in the blue to black steepness range. I'd take it over Baker in a heartbeat in terms of more sustained slopes. The other thing that was a bit of a surprise for a Cascadian is it's actually pretty gray - not much sunshine in the winter. Definitely more consistently decent quality snow though.

Looks like I will be going down tomorrow. Anybody want to join up and make it an even number? Email me at the address in the top post.

Good offer. Yeah, Sat might work - I'll let you know.

Sun's out! Anyone want to get out for a bit of de-rusting tomorrow afternoon? Email: curtveld at comcast dot net

When I stayed there, AAC membership wasn't required, but that was decades ago, so who knows. I know they're trying to improve their membership, but I'd need a stronger reason than just to be able to stay at the Ranch. You could check/post on their bulletin board even if you aren't staying there.

Good luck finding someone to meet you there. Another option is to connect with a partner when you get there. The Teton Climbers Ranch would be an excellent place for that: http://www.americanalpineclub.org/p/grand_teton_climbers_ranch

Agree totally . I am partial to having some photos mixed in, but appreciate the quality reading on some mega-classics.

Way to ride out all the flak and keep your cool, Moosejah. It might not be obvious, but most folks on this board are interested in Yak for an entirely different experience: To do a long rock climb in dry conditions WITHOUT a bivy.

Pick off another back-country classic from the bucket list: Early Morning Spire, Cathedral peak or something similar Continue my shift from Darrington ‘visitor’ to ‘regular’ by getting involved in some road/trail and/or bolt maintenance. Help usher another issue of NWMJ into e-reality.

Boots, where was the shot right above the one with the wine box - Paisano?

Wow, some pretty spectacular stuff, all! Dannible, fgw and Boots - would love to see some TRs from these trips...hear the stories...hint, hint. It's never too late.

Same here. And I agree that allowing the maintenance of pre-Wilderness lookouts is a reasonable use of the flexibility in the Act. As far as environmental impacts, a lookout on a rocky peak is way down the list, unless you want to consider the impact of the added vehicle and hiking traffic they attract. It is curious that WW has decided to raise the red flag as we have plenty of local groups dedicated to wilderness preservation. The locals probably understand how unpopular this would be with their constituents.

Dayum, you guys are putting up new classics for my to-do list faster than I can check em off! Let us know how we can contribute some $ to the hardware fund. Now there's a TR I'd love to see...regardless of when it happened. Go for it Chris!

The skiing is great, but what sets it apart is the grubby smelter town environment - the smokestack, barking dog, dirty snow, gray skies... Definitely, and it did (check out 4:35)

10b...yeah, right...that thing's way more than one letter harder than the rest of the climb, IMHO Nice send and photos, as usual Mark.

Well your odds would be better that way, but you might still be able to hit a nice day. With the quality of point-based weather forecasts and real time info on the web, it shouldn't be all that tough to predict what you will find. In addition to mild air temps, check that face wasn't recently plastered with snow. But it does face south, which helps.

Totally agree - he makes everything look like 5.8. And the sage commentary from Largo, now an elder statesman of the sport. And then the Zappa quote: "that's the crux of the biscuit...as they say..."

Nice! Where is it?

Nice work, Wolffie and friend - great trip through some gorgeous country. That's alot of steps for a short fella!

Cool, a nice clean crag out in the woods with no crowds! And another good example of why the the Kids forum should have a TR option.