tanstaafl

16 years later, Rolf is still using those same skis, skins, and helmet.

ha! I'd forgotten about that. Way to get out with your kid btw; that's golden. I started climbing too late in life to take my dad out, he was already in his early 70s by then.

Static Point

You can't drive up the spur road at all anymore, so it's ~1 hour on the "road" and then 30 minutes pretty much straight uphill.

Absolutely. I blame Jason G.

Trip: Static Point - Lost Charms, 5.9, 5 p Trip Date: 08/30/2020 Trip Report: Did a search and the last TR for Static Point was from ten years ago! Rat and I climbed Lost Charms yesterday; beautiful day and we had the place all to ourselves. If you're looking to avoid the Vantage/Leavenworth crowds, this would be a good place to do it. Beta for Lost Charms can be found on Mtn Project or in Sky Valley Rock if you are or know an old coot who has the book. Fun route; more route-finding necessary than most slab routes as you're not just following a line of bolts. We agreed the 5.6 finger crack was a particularly fun pitch. Trail is in stellar shape and Online is sporting shiny brand new bolts and rap stations. Go get it. Gear Notes: Rack to #3 Camalot, slings, double 60m ropes Approach Notes: US 2, north on Sultan Basin Road to Spada Reservoir, take the right fork after reservoir, park in first pullout on left after you cross the bridge, hike up blocked-off logging road directly across from the pullout ~1 hour, then turn left at massive cairn and go uphill ~0.5 hour.

Upper N Ridge solo is still impressive! And just covering that much ground in a day is impressive -- to me anyway. Sad to say, but having climbed in the Cascades for 20 years, the number of things that I am capable of climbing that are close enough to a road to not qualify as a slog are getting to be fewer and fewer, and the number of those that my primary partner, who's climbed in the Cascades for 40 years, hasn't done are infinitesimal.

Noice! Thanks for the stoke. And for reminding me that I have yet to climb Argonaut. That does make the south side look appealing. If it's any consolation, I just returned from a nine-day climbing trip on which I took not a single photo. I will just have to remember that very large marmot with not a whit of timidity about approaching closer, and closer, and closer, until we started asking ourselves, "Is it rabid?"

That second to last photo is fabulous. Looks like a fun day out.

Rolf and I climbed the NR yesterday as the culmination (or maybe "last climb" would be a better term) of a week in the WA Pass/Methow area, and yeah, it is definitely a long-ass walk for two pitches of roped climbing, but gotta say the views are spectacular and the climbing itself was nice enough. Plus I was too wasted in mind and body to do anything more challenging by then anyway. As usual, the walk out felt way longer than the walk in.

If you haven't already seen it, you might be interested in a documentary entitled The Mountain Runners (available from Seattle Public Library) about the historic Mt. Baker Marathon, from Bellingham to the top of Baker and back. The first marathon (in 1911) featured one group of competitors going by train via Glacier and others by car via Deming. A guy from the Glacier side was in the lead until the returning train hit a bull and derailed, leaving him to return via buggy, horseback, and auto while wearing a bathrobe. He came in second, and the bull was grilled for the afterparty. During the third and final marathon in 1913, one competitor spent six hours in a crevasse -- after that the Mt Baker Club decided it was too dangerous. At any rate if you can get your hands on the DVD it's worth watching.

I second this! A few (well, less than 10 anyway? god I'm a geezer) years back we spent a leisurely four days going from Eldorado TH to CCCG via Eldo, Klawatti, Austera, Primus, and Tricouni. It was one of the highlights of the summer. Soooo pretty up there. Recommended for sure.

ha! I'll have to start looking at the photos in your TRs even more closely...

wow. my hat is off to you, sir. congratulations!

huh. Missed the fashion memo as usual. I'm still using $3 men's 100% cotton dress shirts from Goodwill for keeping cool and as a replacement for sunscreen. Maybe that's why I have trouble finding partners?

Cy -- my partner actively hates photos and I normally just can't be bothered to take them, but just for you here is a typical granite-slabs-at-Darrington photo. OK, this one is from SCW instead of Three O'Clock Rock and it's Ken Ford's ass, rather than Rolf's ass, but the principle holds: this is what slab climbing photos look like. Enjoy! Jason, yeah, same here -- both on the # of cars and the timing for climbing there; but the forecast said 68, and the North Buttress mercifully isn't south-facing, so we decided to chance it. After making it a mere five pitches up Excalibur on a baking hot day before bailing, dehydrated, I like to think I learned my lesson. Probably not though. We definitely heard people (and a dog) around the corner on the South Buttress. How busy was it over there?

Trip: Three O'Clock Rock - Silent Running Trip Date: 07/25/2020 Trip Report: I've been working 60 hours a week lately and really really needed a day out to just maintain sanity; so der Rat and I scampered up Silent Running this weekend. I was cheered to see that people apparently still get out to Darrington, though I never seem to hear anyone but Otto talk about it anymore. There were a *dozen* cars at the trailhead and we got scooped on Total Soul, our intended route, as two parties were just starting up it when we arrived. There wasn't anyone else on the North Buttress though so we went ahead and did the route in front of us instead. NIce and clean so obviously it's still getting climbed, unlike some of the obscurities to the right and left. It was an Alzheimer's first ascent -- we did it together seven years ago but neither of us could even remember which pitches we led. Still seven pitches of good fun and it was such a beautiful day that I, the woman who is always cold, was comfortable in a t shirt and cotton pants rolled up. In contrast, all four climbers on Total Soul were wearing matching long sleeve hoodies with the hoods *on* all day long. Maybe they were all from Arizona or something and found 70 degrees to be cold? Here's to more and better climbing and much, much less work for the rest of the summer. Gear Notes: two ropes, one small rack, ten draws Approach Notes: hike up the trail

Welcome Natalie! Nice to see a new face around here. Amazing photos; looks like a stellar trip.

Rick La Belle did another route on the NE Rib for sure; he appears to have climbed all over that area; he also has a 5.7 route up the north side of Hoodoo. I also only have the second edition of Beckey, so there might be even more in the third edition plus whatever nobody bothered to report.

Well, he did say the route reminded him of the route you two did on Cleator — was that Tubby Needs Cheese? — so there's that! And no arm twisting required; it was his idea in fact. I can think of few activities I would find less rewarding than trying to convince R to do something he didn't want to do. True we saw hardly any people back there; which was awesome. Seemed like granite to me, but I'm no geologist.

Nice! Daniel is a tricky one to get without a snowmobile early in the season or carrying your skis a looong way later in the season. Looks like a stellar trip!

Ah, the ever popular complaining about other people's TRs. Same as it ever was. Please refer to this classic trip report responding to a classic complaint about trip reports. Then just go read everything else Uncle_Tricky ever wrote, it will keep you out of trouble and be a way more entertaining way to spend yer day than working.

Trip: Corax Peak - North Face Trip Date: 07/05/2020 Trip Report: Not a single TR for this route to be found anywhere; does everyone just do the scramble to tick off their Bulger lists? Rolf and I climbed the NF of Corax Peak this weekend, 6 pitches of 5.7 starting from the left side of the chimney above the crescent shaped snowfield in the photo, going up to the ridge and thence to the summit. Mostly fun blocky ridge climbing, though the first pitch was more "interesting" as Rolf would say, featuring lichen and some loose/suspect rock and excavation of placements and some thoughtful moves. It doesn't appear that it's gotten much traffic since Rick La Belle did the FA in 1991; though of course we could have been off route. Stellar day out though and only saw three people at camp and maybe five on the trail. Gear Notes: 60 m rope, single rack to #3 Camalot Approach Notes: Libby Lake trail

Don't know about you, but I'm heading into geezer territory.

In fact, the entire state of Washington sucks. Everyone should just go back to wherever they were 20 to 30 years ago. Right? Grumpy old curmudgeons unite!