curtveld

Indeed! Note the effortless command of rainfall duration concepts displayed in the following: "...it rained 24/7 straight for 93 days..."

Recent experience suggests it could be different now after the Xmas monsoon. We darn near drove the mini-van to Hannegan Pass trailhead (higher than Illabot) on New Years day! Not to - the approach from the Cascade side looks pretty darn scenic, too.

Have you considered coming in from the Illabot Creek side? I'll bet you can drive higher and closer that way. I would think that road might be snow free, but you might check with the USFS. We skied in that way and camped at Enjar lakes some years back. I think that was the Snowking route in Burgdorfer's Cascade ski mountaineering book that came out in the 90s. Great area.

not a bouldery start..... Ding Ding! And a cheap cross-thread play.

Hmmmm... so the problems that DON'T have "only one hard move"...are they be considered to have a "climb start"

The numbers in NWMJ show a pretty sharp drop in '04, alright. I had also heard that there has been a longer term shift in NCNP climbing numbers away from the deep back-country areas (e.g. Pickets) in favor of shorter approach areas such as Cascade Pass and Shuksan. Maybe a ranger or other knowledgable person can comment whether this is true.

Yup - gorgeous at dusk. Great place to get fired up for Redoubt, too.

Easy to spend. And you never have to wait in an exchange line

What do you guys like so much about Aliens? For small units, I've been real happy with my smaller Friends, but they're going to need replacing as some point.

I'm with Blake on the Logan call. All the Cascade Pass peaks laid out, with the sprawling Boston glacier in front. Turn around you get the dry Washington Pass and Pasayten country. Only advantage Sahale has is the quick-n-easy approach (OK, OK, 15 miles shorter)!

Actually it hardly ever snows at Erie. Now the minimal snow at Cascade Pass, that is odd.

Now if it they'd been out there on March 22nd, there might a be a legitimate gripe...

And only another month or two until the extra daylight is even noticable. But hell, at least we're moving in the right direction.

Oh yeah…and what’s so great about J Tree anyway? Just a bunch of half-rope-wonders on grainy boulders with line-ups and crowded camping. And there’s that dry desert smell and you can solo a couple of easy climbs before breakfast or casually wander around half the monument in the moonlight and …and…get a break from this soggy friggen place. Damn.

Different show every night – kinda like the Dead. Apparently the local sponsor has some control over which films get shown in their venue. Of the ones you mentioned Dru, in Bham we saw the TGR, the Red Bull bike cruncher and the chairlift shortie. The Ladakh one you saw sounds like the type I thought was missing this year.

A pretty somber ending, I agree. Too bad poor Patrick didn’t hang up the axe in favor of snowboarding off cornices or Red-Bull-fueled cliff biking - those youngsters came out OK!

Right, or maybe Violet Beauregard from the recent Wonka remake? I thought the parasailing short was weak, but a buddy of mine loved it. If Will had spouted one more time "I can't beleive I'm FLY-ing over the GRAND CAN-yon!!" I was going to lose it.

Solid on the adrenaline and testosterone. Weaker than past years in terms of humor, originality and international flavor. Stone Thrower and Solilochairliftquist were clever but short. Overall: C- but still worth seeing. Other takes?

I think you’ve touched into a pitfall in building a stepladder list – grading inconsistencies. If some cranks a couple of Squamish 5.9s and decides to step up, they’re in for a shock if they choose an Index 5.10a like Pisces or Breakfast of Champs - which are really 3-4 letter grades harder. Not saying whether Squamish or Index ratings are right, but if you want to mix them, you need to adjust for such differences.

All of em, but Touching the Void, far as I can tell. My nod goes to that 80s Star Trek flick that opened with Kirk free-soloing El Cap.

Sounds pretty cool, but now that the word's out, I might have to have to take a spot in line once I get there. But I kind of doubt it.

The basalt punchbowls of Silver Falls state park would be incredible if located in a colder climate - but they hardly ever freeze! Occasionally you'll get a long enough cold snap for some ice to form in the Columbia Gorge - Crown Point or Multnomah Falls area. Nothing remotely predictable though...

That Dragontail North Face route looks intriguing, Off-white. Looks like it follows a small rib, which would keep it pretty safe from rockfall, yes? Is there much 5th class climbing prior to the Fin?

Keith I sent you a PM with Marc's info.

Pugh has a very airy trail to the top – built back in the 20’s to access the fire lookout. Haven’t heard of any technical routes, but it does appear to have potential.