tanstaafl

That is a great story (and sounds like a full value climb), David; thanks for posting it. Even though I met Chuck almost 20 years ago, I first got to know him through the TRs he posted on rec.climbing, in the dark ages of the internet, and he was indeed a fine writer.

Hey Matt, I would be interested in carpooling; sent you a pm since I don't have your #.

yeah, that made me laugh too when Nelson said that. Now that I've done it, I'm totally ready for Hozomeen! CPesci, you really don't need any info that's not in my original post to do the route -- find the start by continuing on past the SW Face trad route to a low angle corner with bolts, then follow the bolts. You're not going to get lost on it, unless you're highly skilled at not seeing bolts! But if it helps, the bolt count is as follows: P1 6 bolts. P2-13. P3-5. P4-7. P5-9. P6-5. P7-1.

Just to clarify -- the Thursday evening event is at Denny Creek campground up by Snoqualmie Pass. It is not in Leavenworth. As far as I know, there is no Leavenworth event planned.

Trip: Das Toof - The Tooth Fairy, 5.9+ Trip Date: 08/15/2019 Trip Report: Got out Friday on this new(ish) Nelson/Whitelaw route; if you're looking for a quick alpine hit you should give it a try. To find the start, go past the SW Face trad route and continue a short distance to a low angle corner with bolts. Easy to find. The route is generously bolted, no need for gear. It's seven 30m pitches -- we combined 6&7 and you could easily combine 3&4 as well, but I think running 1&2 together would give you some unpleasant rope drag. I skipped or unclipped a couple of bolts on P2 and still had a little drag at the end of the pitch. P5 is the crux. Rap the route with a 60 or downclimb the South Face and circle back around for your gear. Fun day out and as I'm told "it's a good training route for anything on Hozomeen." We ran into Jake the Brit as we were downclimbing the South Face, he said I should post a TR and he'd nag Whitelaw for a topo. You really don't need one though, just follow the bolts. Action shot looking down P2: Gear Notes: 13 draws, rope Approach Notes: the usual

I first met Chuck in 2001 in the Blue Lake parking lot, waiting out a rainstorm. We didn't do a lot of trips together, but the ones we did were good ones. Here he is on the North Ridge of Sherpa in July (Ken Ford photo), leading what we thought was the crux. He was a great guy; so sad that he's gone.

It wasn't Shipley, *him* I'd heard of! It was Al McDonald, or a name close to that.

I read Warren Harding's "Downward Bound" earlier this summer and there's an index of climbers in the back, rating them by their moral purity. Chouinard was the purest of course, and I believe that Bridwell was pretty pure but "lacks the overall pizzazz to be God." One climber I'd never heard of was mentioned, with a note that he'd found climbing too dull and had recently taken up whitewater kayaking, concluding that "we don't expect he'll be with us for long."

Never used them myself, but one of my partners swears by Komito's in Estes Park CO and has used them for upwards of 40 years.

Classic route indeed! That was one of my earliest alpine routes; it was memorable for two reasons: (1) we came across a bear halfway up the chimneys who took one look at us and vanished uphill at blinding speed, and (2) we bivied below the chimneys and in the morning my partners' alarm failed to go off, meaning that we got a late start, and they both had to catch a 5 am flight the next morning to Boston for a meeting , so it made for an exceedingly long day. I'm pretty sure they were completely worthless at that meeting. Jealous of you for getting into the alpine, I could only find cragging partners this weekend and the heat in Leavenworth was enervating. We didn't get much done.

Thing is they won't get any more revenue, as the parking lots are jammed completely full as it is. That is *why* people are parking down the road, at least next to the trailheads. It's just a way of limiting access in a backdoor way while cutting out that undesirable "public comment and collaboration."

Nice! You sure do get out; I'm jealous. Looks like a stellar day. Weekend before last I did a multipitch route with three people, one rope, and two harnesses between us, so don't feel alone in forgetting some equipment and making do anyway.

We climbed Magic and Mixup to celebrate our first wedding anniversary ( we did an entertaining corkscrew girdle traverse of Magic, that was...loose) and as I recall the summit registers on both peaks made for great reading. Lots of local history in there.

That's a lot of Smoots! I look forward to the pics of this weekend's installment.

Thanks; but I sure do feel it! You might think differently if you'd seen me gimping around camp after a couple of days at Tieton this weekend. wtf, body? You used to work so much better. After an enforced six-plus months of sedentary life last year when I tore my rotator cuff, this year's birthday challenge is the 4x52: 52 days each of climbing, skiing, and biking, and 52 yoga classes. Even if I fail to achieve my goal, I should at least be fit again by the time I turn 53. I hope.