tanstaafl

That list must be a million miles long by now, huh? Thanks Otto for agreeing to this objective at the last minute and for a great trip; rarely have I had an alpine trip go so smoothly. Also solitude on the Fourth of July weekend is a precious commodity. Note we did actually see another party near Crystal Lake who had come up through Crystal Creek Basin; that was a bit of a surprise but only two other people on a holiday weekend in the Enchantments is near miraculous. Here's to more of the same in the future!

white chuck????

Ha! Reminds me of the time I was climbing something or other in Boulder Canyon and we passed the party in front of us, who turned out to be Mia Axon and her father, who seemed ~70. I told him that I wished my dad would climb with me, and he said, "You might not want to have him talk to me right away."

Inside back cover shot for Rolf's new business venture: BOB magazine (Bold Old Biddies: For the Mature Female Climber). It's going to fly off the shelves.

Hey man, Russ and I left the TH at seven and we actually got back at 11:30; don't be messing with our split times! Nice "geezer chicks of mountaineering" shot. Thanks for letting us tag along on your conditioning hike. No comment on the condition I'm actually in.

However, the Ramp Route featuring the Beckey Chimney is still in and per the man above, it's a "neglected classic." Go get it!

Thanks for doing all that work while I played around on semi-sunny sport climbs instead of joining you ....

Nice trip and excellent photos as always! The Tetons are great. Direct Exum was one of my earliest alpine rock routes. I remember leading up that last pitch to the summit, feeling pretty good about myself, when a dude soloed by in his approach shoes. Even at the time I found it pretty funny. Bummer about your thumb; hope it doesn't cut into your summer too much. Not that it appears we're ever going to *get* a summer this year....

Thanks Curt and Otto for a great day out on Friday; this is a fun route and if you still have an appetite for slab when you're done, you can climb the top 2 pitches of Silent Running as a bonus, thus possibly making you late enough getting home that your spouse will start to wonder what the devil happened to you.

Thanks for your work on this Curt; I'd never even heard of Salami Slab before as it's not in Rattle n Slime and I don't always haunt Mountain Project. It was a fun day out on Sunday; got surprisingly warm on the slabs by the afternoon!

Man you guys are a bunch of HIPPIES! Great writing; thanks for the entertaining report that went in several unexpected directions. That was a joy to read. In addition to the choss photo, the "I'm too sexy for this crevasse" one is pretty spectacular. Thanks and post again please.

Trip: Tyler Peak Crags - various Trip Date: 08/23/2021 Trip Report: I don’t see any TRs for this spot so thought I would post a quick blurb. Rolf and I set out for a weekend of cragging when a less-than-stellar forecast and a glancing mention of devil’s club and slide alder in a previous TR inspired us to alter our plans for the weekend, as our recent outings have left us both with a desire for a weekend involving less walking/bushwhacking and more climbing. Tyler Peak delivered both, although Sunday was cut rather short by “stupid rain”–that rain that isn’t even really rain, just a thick drizzle/mist that is enough to get you and the rock wet, but which keeps you thinking that you can wait it out. However, yesterday was beautiful and allowed us to tick off the one multi-pitch, Junior’s Farm, a 7-pitch 5.8. Pitch 6 is the most fun: steep pillow lava up an exposed arete with jugs everywhere. Note that there are several “scramble pitches” interspersed with the “real climbing” pitches that have fixed lines; that may detract from the aesthetic qualities of the route for some. We ignored the fixed lines and just climbed the rock, but they’re still hanging there in your line of sight. Beta for the area can be found on mountainproject. The rock is shockingly solid for the Olympics, and steep, well-featured walls make for really fun climbing. There are a few camping options along the road past the trail up to the crag for those coming from further away. Definitely worth a visit. Note that helmets are a good idea: I managed to pop one handhold and one foothold off the wall over the course of the weekend and anyone climbing or just walking along the trails at the base of walls above you could easily send something down. Also watch out for bees: we found a nest in the ground and its denizens were not pleased with our intrusion. Gear Notes: rope, at least 12 QDs (we used more when we ran some pitches together), a few cams/nuts if you want to ignore the fixed lines on Junior's Farm Approach Notes: see mountainproject

you are so right, I actually just got off the phone with a very nice ranger, so I was too pessimistic in my outlook. He explained that basically if you want any kind of climbing/off the beaten path route, you need to call, since recreation.gov is not exactly set up to deal with requests that are in any way out of the ordinary. Super helpful guy. Now if the forecast just keeps improving we'll be in business....

OK all you Olympic National Park people, how the heck do you decipher the permit system? I am trying for once not to just give up and go somewhere else. The website says you have to reserve your permit on recreation.gov. There does not appear to be an option to stay anywhere but in a developed/designated campsite. I see trip reports by people doing ridge traverses and bivying along the way, which is what I would like to do; but I can't find any option on the site that would allow for a permit that isn't staying in a designated campsite. I've called the WIC but have little hope they will call back. Any advice?

Our intent was to exit via Sinister Arm–Totem Pass–Suiattle Pass–Lyman Lakes–Spider Meadows, but once our fearless leader got a good look at the Chickamin Glacier he felt the conditions were too sketchy for our team and we bailed out via the standard route. The people I was with were very in touch with the outside world via InReach so they had someone contact the Darrington Ranger Station to let them know we were doing that, so we were even "legal." fwiw, I may be a wimp but next time I will most likely take steel crampons, not aluminum, unless I do it significantly earlier. There was more blue ice than I anticipated, much of it wet and mushy enough to get aluminum crampons in but a fair bit of it you just sort of skittered around on.

Just got back from doing the PT last night; bugs were not atrocious at all for us, so it's a good time to go if you can get the time off work/other commitments! (Except I see the CC RR is now closed due to that Pincer Creek fire, so nevermind.)

Date: August 4, 2021 Sedro Woolley, WA– Cascade River Road is now closed to all traffic, both foot and vehicle, at milepost 20, three miles before the trailhead. The road sustained a considerable amount of damage following storms on Tuesday, August 3. Park staff are working to repair the damage and remove hikers and vehicles beyond the closure. Cascade Pass is one of the most popular destination hikes in North Cascades National Park Service Complex. The trailhead is located approximately 23 miles from the junction of the Cascade River Road and Highway 20.

good god Oly, where do you find these things?!!?

We got our permit in under an hour I think on a Friday afternoon; we must have showed up around 2:30 or a little after. So that honestly doesn't seem longer than I remember it often taking years ago.

The salmonberries were mighty thick there! manninjo, nice sharing the route with you two! What time did you get out? We were glad to be lazing around the rest of the day, that's for sure.

thanks! Here's hoping the temps and my schedule both cool down enough we can get some Darrington climbing in soon. Got some pics of the weekend from my partner. NE Ridge is the right-hand skyline: No need for an ice ax for this approach: Smoke from the Mazama fires: Young gun rapping down:

Impressive; both the trip/climbing and the willingness to suffer! Love the pic of the "tattered and needle-covered Emilio;" I've felt that way many a time. Coming home from the Pickets on Monday I called my man, who said "I assume you slayed," and my partner muttered words to the effect that she felt more slain than slayer.

Trip: The Chopping Block - NE Ridge Trip Date: 07/25/2021 Trip Report: Climbed the Chopping Block in bomber bluebird weather on Sunday. Actually saw another party on the route (!!); two young guns who had left the trailhead that morning and were doing it in a day. Overall saw seven people during our three-day trip, which exceeds the total number of people I've seen in all my previous Picket trips put together. There are a lot of people out there these days. We managed to lose the trail once on the way up and once on the way down, thus providing us with hours of additional enjoyment. As has been stated by others before: DO NOT LOSE THE TRAIL. Drop your packs and scout, the time you spend will save you sooo much more time. When descending the broad ridge from the basin to the snag with the crosspiece and flagging (see pic in Jeff and Priti's Pickets Traverse report), stay left; don't stray to the right. There was a mellow place to wade Terror Creek just upstream of the trail; clearly many have done it before because there was a bit of a trail beat in back downstream to the trail up to the ridge. High points: camping in Crescent Creek Basin with not another soul up there except us, views from everywhere above treeline, nice solid rock and enjoyable climbing on the route, not being mauled by the bear hanging around the TH in the salmonberry bushes, not being nailed by the 10-inch-diameter tree that fell across the trail 15 paces in front of us (I counted) right after I said, “Hold up, I hear something in the bushes.” Thanks to Jim Nelson for the new cams, they're light as a feather. Thanks to Marko, the second-handsomest alpinist I know, for the rack 'n rappel beta. Gear Notes: 70 m rope (some shenanigans to rap back down but nothing out of the ordinary) Light alpine rack to #3 Camalot (really #9 Metolius Ultralight Master Cam) Tat Approach Notes: DO NOT LOSE THE TRAIL!

Huzzah! Thanks Bill. Such a fun route; more people should get on this.

Fisher Chimneys was one of my first alpine climbs and I remember it fondly; especially the bear we surprised in the chimneys who rocketed upwards and out of sight at a speed that was extremely impressive. Congratulations on getting out with your wife; and condolences on the passing of your grandmother.