curtveld

A great NCNP classic for sure! I'm not much of a snake guy but those rubber boas are so cool. I was up in SE BC this summer and saw them listed as a species at risk.

Unfortunately I do someone like that, and she got it in western WA. She would be an excellent resource. PM me with your contact info and I'll pass it on. Curt

Rope-gunning the dad up WA Pass classics - very cool! Looks like you're sprouting some little veggie-dreads in this one..

Trip: Squire Creek Wall - Slab Daddy Date: 7/29/2011 Trip Report: After assuring ourselves that we wouldn’t broil, 'Jopa' Joe and I ventured up Squire Creek to attempt the epic padding of Slab Daddy. For those living under a rock, Slab Daddy is an instant classic 22-pitch climb produced by many seasons of hand-drilling by Dave Whitelaw and a small army of collaborators. The climb and basic logistics are well documented, so here are a few photos to enliven a stack of route updates. After a leisurely start and fumbled approach, we did the climbing between 3 pm on Friday and 3 pm Saturday. The first 11 steppy pitches placed us on the Balcony Bivy at about 8. After a calm if mosquito-plagued night, we were back crimping at 0600. After lots more clean, varied and challenging climbing, we turned around at pitch 21.5. The many rappels got us to the snow cone around 7 and we were chowing burgers in Dtown by 9. Only thirty-six hours, but my fuzzy brain and crunched toes felt like they had been at it much longer. But for a climb of this size and quality, the bit of suffering was well worth it! For those that don’t want to climb slabs with overnight gear, a good option is to day-trip the first 11 (or more) pitches. That only requires two 5.10 pitches (#7&11), as the 10+ crux on pitch 2 can be easily avoided (details below). Another way to reduce pack weight is to use a small haul bag (and not carry so much water, duh!). Not owning one, my ancient duffel did it's best but was shredded. Emerging from the mists is the amazing Squire Creek Wall! Slab Daddy climbs behind the dead treetop into the white bowl, then follows the light streak above its left edge. After fording Squire Creek, you face an impenetrable thicket! However, the obvious trail running that runs into the open timber makes access very reasonable. The 3 pm 'alpine start' up the sno-cone burying pitch 1. We traversed it and some grubby slabs leftward to access Pitch 2. The fabled Balcony Bivy, with a flat sleeping pad. Waking up gently to 5.10 climbing! Exiting ‘The Feature’ (Pitch 13) onto the immaculate upper slabs. The small water streaks visible on Joe’s left were encountered on many pitches, but never a real problem. Micro-crimpy 5.10+ dike on pitch 16. The bolts are almost as close together as they look. The long corner on pitch 19 is the best crack climbing on the route. Strategy and Gear The topo linked above is extremely accurate and helpful. There was LOTS of water in puddles on the route, including all the blue dots on the topo. It may taste like our ropes though, after the frequent dunkings during rappel pulls. On a related note, PLEASE use blue bags! Enough said. Joe’s bivy sack was very useful for bugs and heavy dew. Pitch Notes (if you want them) P 2. 10+ crux was running with water. A dry 5.8-ish variation was on the right – one bolt, moderately runout. P. 4& 5 can be combined in a 60m rappel. P. 5 The fourth bolt is damaged and very loose. Not too scary because the nieghboring bolts are fine and not very far off. P. 9 Belay anchor is a bit farther right (~40’) of corner than shown on topo. P. 15 Line wanders - use long slings to reduce rope drag. P. 17 It’s tempting and possible to rappel to the bottom of pitch 16. Our 60 m ropes just reached, but the knot threatened to stick on the pull (yikes!), so better not to combine them. P. 22. Save some small cams for the ‘10- steep’ wall. We didn’t, so headed down with no regrets. Gear Notes: Full range of cams from tiny to #4 camelot (doubles not needed). We brought but didn’t use any nuts. Approach Notes: The creek that landmarks the turnoff from the old roadbed onto the climbers trail no longer has an “exposed culvert” – it’s now the one with the cut cedar log crossing.

To revive a Berdinka quote: "Good from afar, but far from good". We had the same reaction from a 1991 attempt. It'd take alot of trundling to clean that one up! At least we were able to bail out left and tie onto the standard route and make a summit visit.

We look like a couple of friggen 'Bob and Ira Spring' models! I would have dressed differently if I'd known your camera shoots in Technicolor. I agree that the climbing quality isn't classic, with a fair bit of class 4 and walking. But I really enjoyed the overall experience anyway. The belay panoramas are REALLY good, comparable to Erie, except you've got snowy peaks and overlooks of the upper Methow River and Valley (OK, I'm a geo-nerd). I'm pretty sure I'll go back, probably with my kid or someone that's a bit rusty and wants to do something biggish but mellow. Great day and TR, T.

You might want to look into the northwest approach via Chilliwack BC and Depot Creek. A bit more driving but easier walking, I'd guess.

Twin Rhythm guitars, rocking the dome! Great shots - gotta love that Flange pitch.

Very cool shots, map, etc! A coyote in winter coat? I've never seen one with those colorings.

I go with the crowd that synthetic is the way to go for active use in summer. Better breathability and drying. That being said, I do love the feel of wool against skin for cooler weather. It just has a nice fuzziness in contrast to the silkiness of capilene. I pack it as an extra layer during summer if I think I might get chilled. Nothing like pulling the woolies over the sticky legs and climbing into a down bag! It probably adds 5-10 degrees of warmth.

Definitely! You get many of the best 'climber shots' on this site.

Linky

Yup it was actually sort of hopping up there this weekend. Sat saw three (!!) parties on Exfo, doing three different routes, all nearly bone dry. Sunday, there were five cars at the parking spot. That would be a reasonable total when the road was driveable. It looked like somebody even hoofed it into the Green Giant - now that's some serious road hiking!

My guess is this will be a challenging but not unreasonable route choice for you two. Use your judgement, have an easier backup option in mind, and have a great time!

Your comfort really depends on your experience level. If you have quite a bit, it's not bad. The beaten path follows the left edge and I don't recall any rockfall hazard. More snow would probably be a good thing as it's more predictable than the deep loose rock. This assumes that you're comfortable with step kicking and self arrest. Don't know about the bypass. Sorry if I'm treating you like a total gumby, but I'm guessing you're posting in the 'newby' forum for a reason. This will be a great trip to gain some good off-trail experience!

In the last couple of days, I spent a bit of time contemplating the same route this weekend but decided that avy risks were not favorable. Not telling what to do or not do, but something to consider.

Did the first part of your loop last summer: Easy Pass - Fisher Basin - Silent Lakes - Arriva - and back. Mostly pretty straightforward by North Cascades standard. The talus gully up to Silent Lakes was by far the steepest and nastiest part. If you get behind on day 1, Fisher Basin is a really beautiful place to camp.

Mike's first post points you toward a complete multiple-factor analysis. One more pro for twins is that neither climber has to carry a rope on their back. If it were me, I'd make the call based on how game I (and partner) was for the extra rope handling (belaying and stacking) associated with the twins. If so, twins are a safer and more versatile system.

From my limited experience down there, here are a few thoughts - The transition from spring to summer conditions (i.e. dry rock up high) typically occurs around mid June, so a bit iffy. I did a June trip in '08 and found great climbing in the Yosemite high country (Matthes Crest, Conness) and Mt Whitney areas, and that was an above-average snowpack year. This year's snowpack is even bigger, so may be melting off later? You might try the SuperTopo website for more recent info. As far as routes, there are TONS of great choices at 5.10 and under. The Croft and Moynier select style guidebooks are both useful. That Sawtooth area you mention sounds awesome - wish I was going!

The report is that they will look at reopening the road through the first washout if looks safe enough. That would save about a half hour walking each way. The second washout is a tougher nut, since they need to find more $ to fix it and their maintenance budget is already meager. Cross your fingers and tune up your mountain bike in case it doesn't happen.

Looked identical to what Hanman found a couple weeks ago: As shown, the road was patched over the first washout, but access is blocked off by boulders. It will be OK for 2WD once the boulders are removed. The road is basically fine for the next ~2 miles to the second major blowout, which is still a mess. I emailed the FS road guy for an update but haven't heard back yet.

That's pretty much what it took - about the same as Snow Creek Wall

Trip: Three O Clock Rock – season opener Date: 5/21/2011 Trip Report: Mountainman Doug and I made the pilgrimage today. With the rapture fast approaching, we wanted our last earthly hours to be memorable. As reported previously, the road is still blocked ~MP 2, leaving a lengthy but fairly painless road walk. No snow was encountered on the road or trail until the final uphill climbers tread to the rock. There is snow piled up around the entire base, making boots useful. Exfo clearly has even more. We jumped on the Til Broad Daylight+Kone combo, to take advantage of the light climbing traffic. The initial slab to the first bolt was grubby with winter debris, but after that all was nice and clean! Despite steady sprinkles, the rock was dry enough and we squeaked up all five pitches. Around three, the curtain dropped and things got soggy for the walk out. Sorry, no pics - you gotta take my word for it. Gear Notes: Ice axes carried but not needed Approach Notes: The road walk took about 1:15 to the trailhead. You could probably cut that in half with a mtn bike.

Another way to do it, though not a true 'traverse', is to go in 3-4 days from Cascade Pass and return the same way. No shuttles, no road walking and almost the whole trip is above timberline. Some friends did it that in 2009 with good results.