curtveld

Lots of good advice - much appreciated. Yeah, FF makes a great bag. My warmer bag from them is pushing 15 years and good as new. Their lightweight mummies looked a little on the narrow side. I'm medium sized, but tend to toss and turn. I went with the slightly wider WM Caribou. A little tougher fabric than the Extreme-lite series and the price wasn't tooooo outrageous. Now I can obsess about the next pressing gear issue.

WM bags are highly regarded, but I wonder about this too. $300+ is big outlay for something that might not hold up too well. The WM Caribou may be worth a look as is MEC's new Merlin bag.

Cool. Which model?

Thanks James, the no-insulation-underneath strategy is a good one. Sol, looks like a sweet bag but I'm looking for a lighter alternative to my 10 degree bag. Gotta keep filling the quiver.

Looking for a bag for mild conditions the Cascades - backpacking and high camps around tree line. I’m leaning toward a lightweight 30 or 35 degree down bag. Any thoughts on how warm a bag is most useful?

Yeah, except that 86 of them would have no posts. The North Cascades could easily be split into two or three forums. NE Cascades/WA Pass could support its own as well.

You're probably aware that the Cascades will still be full of snow that time of year, so ski transport would be a good call for a longer trip. Otherwise it's kinda late for technical snow/ice and early for alpine rock. Good neighborhoods for moderate linkups could be Eldorado/Forbidden/Buckner, Maude&Fernow, Redoubt/Spickard, Baker/Shuksan, for starters. Or could be a good time for a steep volcano route if you catch some nice weather. See this recent thread for more thoughts on early season options.

The BIG rock slide from 03 was on the west side of the valley and didn't hit the overgrown logging road up Goodell. Pretty spectacular - makes the one up from Newhalem that hit 20 look puny.

I've got a couple shots taken from across the valley last summer. Not ideal lighting, but would probably work. Let me know if you don't find the one you're looking for.

This would be the equivalent of going to the horse races and putting your entire stack on the long shot in the first race. Great fun if things work out, but... Personally, I'd go with previous posts and come with a handful of options.

Wish I had something local to offer, but it just wasn't much of a summer around here. So.. The first pitch of Levitation 29 (not my photo) doesn’t get much fanfare because it’s not a crux. Incredible brown varnished rock – smooth and devoid of the little finger edges scattering the upper pitches. More intricate climbing than most Red Rock 10s and you’ve got to watch for occasional thin gear to supplement the few bolts.

Definitely - you kind of have to commit to using doubles regularly to get used to the extra rope management. If you (or your belayer) are not reasonably smooth at the belaying and stacking, you’ll come to hate it. Wandering slab climbs that need long rappels (Dreamer!) are the best place to give it a try if you have a 9 to combine with your lead rope.

I've done it numerous times and I assure you that it's a sketchy little trail that crosses the creek on a HUGE old growth log with steps cut into it and such. Really adds to the feeling of finding a secret climbing spot that the Comb has traditionally been. Maybe you're overdue for a little bourbon or something, Matt?

A sweet-looking route with that thin little corner. Sounds like the approach trail from the road is better than the hobbit path over from 3 O’clock rock. Hope that wooden grate is still there come next spring.

There was a definite shortage of either humor or serious adventure among the Bham selections. The Sharma and Potter profiles had some cool climbing but both were pretty staged. My favorite was the Black-eyed-snakes XC ski film. Had the goofy seat-of-the pants feel that was generally missing.

Same story yesterday - nice weather, nobody but us climbing. The park is open but no fee required.

Close call of the trip: Cruising up 97 afterwards to catch the last burger at Gustavs, Andy swerved to miss a roadkill deer in the middle of the lane. He swerved back left to stay on the road and nearly overshot into an oncoming car. Holy shee-ite! Marcus’ post about tragedy striking where you least expect it reminded me of that.

Trip: Ingalls Peaks - Consolation linkup - III 5.7 Date: 9/26/2007 Trip Report: Andy and I may well be the crustiest northwest climbers that have never climbed Stuart's North Ridge. But the north wind hammering through the night convinced us we might want to wait a little longer. But as we hiked out past Ingalls Lake, the wind calmed and we decided to grab a 'bird in the hand' on the Ingalls peaks. Having done the North Peak before, we scoped the East Peak. The south face looked reasonable and, having no guidebook to confirm or deny, up we went. A short rightward traverse accessed a clean class 3/4 corner system that brought us to a small talus bowl. The steeper black wall above went with a bit of juggy 5.6, past an old fixed pin (FP on photo) that confirmed prior ascents. From there, we simuled rightward up moderate slabs. A couple more steep blocky moves and we were onto the East Peak. From there, two raps got us down into the obvious chockstone notch and the start of the East Ridge of North Ingalls with time to spare. The East Ridge has a lot to like, including interesting mid-fifth climbing with decent pro, great exposure and views. The rock varies from reddish and rough to glassy black, but is always solid. And the swaths of green-yellow lichen are fantastic. Route finding is simple, aside from the occasional moment when you wonder which way you'll go around the next tower. But once you get there, it's obvious. We simuled most of the ridge, belaying occasionally when rope drag required. From the North summit, three raps down the south ridge (good anchors) got us back down. All in all, this combo makes a fine moderate outing. Starting with the East peak (we did the 'S. Face Right' in the tan Beckey guide) adds length and avoids some gully nastiness. Definitely worth doing...but it aint Stuart. The Consolation linkup - East Ingalls on the right The lower corner on the East peak Near the notch between peaks Stuart, as the cloud streamers off the summit were dissipating Photos by Andy Heiser Gear Notes: 60 m half rope and a light rack Approach Notes: Ingalls Lake trail

Nicely crafted TR! I've long admired that route via topo but have heard complaints it's a bit...well...monotonous?

Blue skies, fall colors, shirtless climbing...you east-siders really know how to rub it in.

Very good advice for the most part - follow the sun for shirt sleeve conditions. Gotta quibble with the 'upper 70's' rule of thumb though. Climbing in the shade on cooler days just takes long sleeves and a bit of fleece. That's what we did on Epinephrine in early March and it was fine. The canyons were still pretty empty then, too. Enjoy.

Beautiful. What are those trees with the red bark? They look like they've been toughing it out up there for many centuries.

...give up on Index and go to Squamish, particularly the Smoke Bluffs! Dozens of moderate crack routes with good pro and consistent ratings. Too many classics to list - grab your passport, a guidebook and check em out.

Fun stuff! Thanks for posting.

Very helpful - thanks