curtveld

Years ago, I decided I needed to solo Diedre. Drove up to Squamish after work one summer Friday and jumped on it in the fading twilight. Got about halfway up the route to find a crux layback section dripping wet. The adrenaline told me it would be better to push through it than down-solo all that way, and so I did, one shaky move at a time.

Right on - as you say, Sunshine is a very aesthetic route in it's own right!

OK, so how bout some other nominees for Washington’s BS (Best Slab) Climbing Award then. All too secret to reveal…hmmm?…

I wouldn’t argue, at least for pure slab climbing (most Darrington routes have some cracks mixed in). So, you gonna let us in on your secret, Mark?

At least he went out doing what he loved.

TJ's has fantastic sauces-in-a-jar - indian and thai curries and some others. Tasty, easy...and poultry free.

Very impressive. I hope other CC.comers take note of how much better a TR can be with a little help from the old thesaurus! Nice photos, too.

Great looking route, but for god’s sake, when is someone going to give that peak a more worthy name?

Robinson may have helped, but the text has the signature Coonyard directness throughout. What Chouinard says in a sentence, Robinson could reflect on for a paragraph, if not a page. Maybe that's why it doesn't read as dated. And most of the technques are still relevant, if not cutting edge.

Did you mean “wiener” or a “whiner”?

Don’t know whether this story got any coverage outside Bham: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060419/NEWS09/604190344/1001/NEWS Condolences to the survivors, friends and family.

A bunch of the older logging roads have been reopened in the last couple of years and now nearly all that show up on the topos can be ridden or walked. All roads are gated about as soon as you get off the pavement. Dixie Lake would be the long way around – the west fork that crosses Gilligan Cr. is much more direct. On the west side of the hill, there are some motorbike trails - go wandering into the larger timber and you’ll probably encounter one. Outstanding views of islands and Olympics up top, but quite a bit of snow up there still.

Have a couple of kids. Less time for climbing + more for guidebooks = ten-year project list in no time!

I can only think of one spot that has all the key elements: top quality skiing and climbing, a half day from the road and not within an established Wilderness: Silver Star basin. Still would take a hell of a lot of red tape to get it through and it’d be a damn long drive during the winter. As to whether we actually need any huts in the Cascades, I’m in complete agreement with Goatboy (way back there): Huts are a nice change, but for my local mountains, I’ll happily live with the protection provided by the Wilderness Act, despite the few limitations it puts on us climbers.

No, they’re not set up for climbing access. And though they’re not the Purcells, somebody fills them up each winter….

Actually Washington does have a handful of modest ski huts: the Mt Tahoma group SW of Rainier, the Scottish Lakes hut near Leavenworth and a few others in the Winthrop area. They are generally pretty humble in size compared to other countries, and are definitely not in wilderness settings for the land ownership reasons mentioned above. Having stayed at a Tahoma hut, they provide a nice tent-free backcountry option, if you can manage to book a spot. They're popular.

A nice gym would be a real asset that could bring in many of us locals that aren't thrilled about the Y or Leading Edge. I agree that Carlos put his heart and sole into the Magic Mountain project, but didn’t always make the best business decisions. For one, he picked a highly visible, but high-rent downtown location. For another, almost every time I was there, some dude would stroll in and announce “just bouldering” as a (successful) justification for not paying. Carlos wanted to be friends with everyone and the gym had a great feel, but he had barely enough $ to get the gym built, so he was on financial thin ice from the git go. I think somebody could make it work now if they had a little stronger financial plan.

FWIW, after the FA of “Sensimilla”, Laural and I rated it 10b. We named it Block Party, but that didn’t stick either.

If making the summit is really important, go early when the cracks are covered and the days long. But if you want to get the most out your guide $, I’d go late August or Sept. You’ll learn how to deal with a mix of snow and ice, encounter fewer people on the mountain and maybe even get some nice huckleberries on the approach.

Was Osman an “enigma” or an incurable attention-seeker? I never met the guy, but this clip certainly suggests the second was a part of who he was. But yes, everyone gets to choose their own path and also to decide what it takes to be a “badass” in their view.

GOOGLE will get you plenty-O-beta...

Just got one from the vending machine at the post office (where else?), and damn if it isn’t gold with Sacajawea on it. First non-politician on US currency?

Dike Route on Pywiack was pretty classic, if you don't mind running it out on 5.9 slab. Best one that got away could be the Dana Pillar route - I'd love to get back to that one.

You know, if climbing gyms and slide shows are what you’re after, I’ll bet that Chicago or Minneapolis are terrific climbing towns. And you’d get Bonus Miles on every mountaineering trip

Tossing Green Isn't Fun