OlympicMtnBoy

It was a neat area and a nice short drive from Concord where C's parents live. I gotta say I liked having things dry out even after getting soaked in the drips. Somehow that never happens out west. ;-) Thanks for coming up to hang out Matt!

The Mountaineers wall in Magnuson also has some granite boulders stacked up around the perimiter that make up some cracks between the rocks to build anchors in if you are just desperate for an after work practice session in the winter or something. Or the retaining wall north of Golden Gardens. Also the SR 900 drytool crag has some crappy cliffs nearby I've used for copperheading/pin practice a long time ago, muddy and chossy. Exit 32 and 32 have some cracks if you look around. Index of course has beautiful routes to climb as well.

A good goal and a trip that will have some really nice contrast between summer and winter, but probably not the best for one of your "first winter hikes". If there is snow, which there will be more of soon, it can be slow going if the trail isn't packed and the route finding just up to Colchuck can be difficult. Weather also becomes a much bigger issue for navigation. You'll also have an extra 3 miles of road to walk each way from the gate meaning it's more than 16 miles round trip just to the lake and back. Hiking in from the snow lake side can be a better intro and a friendlier winter hike as the trail is easier to follow and the elevation gain is slower. Also less avalanche risk. Once you have some experience Colchuck lake is a great snowshoe or ski but you still will need some avalanche awareness training before safely venturing up Aasgard Pass as it has several major avy paths coming down and has been the site of several fatalities due to slips when it get icy in the spring. You can still get "winter" conditions up there in May and June when things can start to settle but again not the best beginner trip but a good long term goal.

Do you mean you have heel lift in the boot because the boot heel is too wide? Or are you referring to some boot feature you don't like? If the problem is your heel lifting when you walk and blisters, first try different lacing patterns to lock your heel down, and also tape your heel up so you don't have as much skin abrasion. I also have narrow heels and have been able to get my old Sportiva Nepal Extremes to work although there is a break in period every year where my heels get used to them again when I've worn lighter boots/shoes for 8 months. You might try getting the boot with the closest fit you can find and then visiting a backcountry ski boot fitter. They can do some cool stuff with foot beds and add extra padding around the heel and stuff. If your feet are really screwy you could opt for the old school plastic double boot or hybrid double boot with a thermo-fit liner that will be easier to work with too.

Great write up, I finally had a chance to read the whole thing! Nice bit of writing and it sound like a fun series of adventures up there. That slick pine needle stuff is very familiar from my own off route adventure on the North Face of N. Index last year. And you gotta love those unique high bivies you stumble upon in the last moments of fading light!

Sounds like the snow set up on you pretty well Cale, which can make for much stronger placements (and harder to remove) than you would get with a running belay. Definitely calls for cursing sometimes. Anyone wondering these things ought to go find a nice snow slope with a clean runout and place some gear, set yourself up with a big loop of slack, then run downhill and jump. It's a fun little exercise to add in to crevasse rescue practice or to play around on some day when the weather has turned your climbing plans around. I'm always surprised what holds and what doesn't (and my own inability to predict). Better yet have a buddy place a picket or fluke, trade, and make it a game. I've also had fun setting this up next to a plowed parking lot and jumping over the lip to yank on gear (sort of like a crevasse fall).

Not on the original topic at all, but I had an early version Cilo pack and I had a seam start to rip where one of the shoulder straps was sewn in. I took some pics of it and emailed them. Within a week or so Graham sent me a brand new pack (newer version too), minus the back panel and top pocket which I could reuse from the old one. Cleary your mileage may vary.

Good points above, I've been really happy with my 60 liter Cilo pack for carrying bigger loads. I'm surprised no one has mentioned the MEC option though. $40 CAD for a light, 30 liter, no frills pack that seems to meet the original criteria. http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Packs/Daypacks/PRD~5008-503/mec-alpinelite-30-daypack.jsp I've used mine for a variety of trips and as my backcountry skiing pack and thought it worked pretty well. Fairly durable and simple and cheap (if you are passing through Canada for something).

Some insulated leather boots will be your best "all around" boot if you really only can have one pair. You'd be pushing it for warmth in winter on higher peaks although some supergaiters or overboots can work if you gt your system dialed and aren't planning on cold high stuff outside of the state. You'll also have a bit less sensitivity for rock but it will probably be better than most plastics provided you have a good fit. If you shop around you'll notice that the number of leather/composite boots on the market has increased exponentially while the number of plastic boot models is shrinking. If I were guiding on Rainier I'd use plastics because they are well suited to that terrain, but it's not what I would choose if you want to do route involving rock/mixed in the Stuart range. My old La Sportiva Nepal Extremes are still going strong as my main boot and my synthetic double boots haven't seen action since Peru (even for one January Rainier trip). You might lose your toes though.

Thanks guys, I actually really liked the route. The "dirt mantle" was just debris on rock that is covered by snow much of the year right near the glacier. The upper part had some really fun climbing and solid rock with an easier crux than the north ridge but an overall more sustained feeling (although shorter of course). If the North Ridge weren't right next door this would be a classic. That bivy site is actually on the standard West Ridge route, right near the notch. I'm sure glad we weren't any higher for the light show. Next time I'll probably go up Mountaineers Creek and try the NW Buttress descent if the Sherpa is too far gone, it was a long way around up and over Goat Pass (since I hadn't done it before). I'd kind of like to try the right hand side instead of the offwidth and take it to the top of the West Horn. Winter climb?

Hehe, don't confuse that for being smug, that's pure bliss from a fresh baked and hand delivered cookie in the wilderness.

Trip: Mt. Stuart - Razorback Ridge - The Night the Fires Came Date: 9/8/2012 Trip Report: For whatever reason, this route has been on my radar for a while and I finally got a chance to go check it out with my friend James. I also wanted to try descending the West Ridge route so we opted to do a loop from the Ingalls side. I’d never gone over Goat Pass before and it took a bit longer than we expected but despite our late start from the TH and several breaks we were climbing before 4 which was our goal. We were glad to have crampons and ice axes to cross the Stuart Glacier and the broken ice bits at the bergschrund but basically had no difficulty getting onto the rock even though James “forgot” that his crampons were full step-in. Razorback isn’t terribly obvious as a ridge from the base but you can find it easily enough by traversing all the way across the glacier until you can see up the Stuart Glacier couloir (almost to the North Ridge gully), then start up the rock right of the couloir. We scrambled up 4th class ledges for a ways paralleling the couloir until it looked like we should rope up and then we made a rising traverse rightward towards the emerging crest of the ridge. The lichen thickened but the rock quality also improved as we left the bergschrund and ledges behind. I soon spotted the right facing tiered corner described in the Mountaineers Intermediate climbing guide and made my way up it awkwardly with my pack on. It felt 5.9 with the pack (probably 5.8) but there were good small/medium nuts low and soon I could place my #3. I climbed the last bit of corner and decided to stop on top and bring James up on a real belay. If you wanted to avoid this it looked like several fun variations were possible farther right or an easier path left. As I brought James up I watched a VW bus sized chunk of ice collapse on the other side of the couloir and hurtle down the glacier before slamming into a gaping crevasse. It was cool, especially since we weren’t on the glacier. We swapped gear and James headed up, sticking to the crest and picking the funnest line. He headed for a steeper hand crack that was pretty good except for the dirt clod foothold he blew out and the fact that it was a bit wider than it looked. The rock in here was just as stellar as the North Ridge but of course a tad dirtier with a loose block here and there due to lack of traffic. I took the lead again with a short 5.8 finger crack to some easier terrain and then the short “razorback” traverse. We had been watching a party come up near the north ridge gully, cross the gully, and head up the next gully to the right. Not sure what they were doing but there was a rather large rockfall down there and we paused for a minute ready to start rescue operations until we heard them shouting back and forth that they were both ok. I’d be interested to know if they were off route or trying to do the 1985 route or something? James took over again on licheny cracks to the ridge crest that we weren’t sure would continue but did and made for some more great moderate ridge travel. After a shorter than planned pitch he brought me up and we decided I would gun for a bivy site as we were loosing light and the storms were brewing. We must have passed the bivy described after pitch seven somewhere but I ended up just reaching the level of the West Ridge notch and traversing over to it. This was the crappiest rock of the route and I wished we had more light to follow the last bit of ridge to near the West Horn as it looked fun. Instead we used the last light to find a bivy below the notch on the south side and a ~15 lb chunk of ice that was all that remained of the snow at the top of the Stuart Glacier couloir. It was full of dirt and who know what, but it made for a much more pleasant evening with plenty to drink. The weather I checked in the morning before leaving had said a 20% chance of thunderstorms before 11pm and then nothing. We watched that evening as storms swirled all around us but only had a drop or two of rain during the climb. I snuggled into my Epic shelled half bag and my belay jacket in the surprisingly warm night. About a half hour after we lay down the sky lit up. The thunder shook the mountain beneath us and the lightening was almost enough the read by. Soon the rain came. We each huddled in our survivable but less than pleasant shelter systems. As the rain grew harder I pulled my wind jacket over my head to keep the rain off my face. As this became a saturated wad of tissue paper I struggled to keep it from sagging onto my mouth, trying in vain to get the brim of my belay jacket hood to prop it up. The temperature dropped. The wind came up. The lightening continued, lighting the fires that still burn today. I no longer had to worry about my jacket in my face as the wind kept blowing it off. The rain would stop for ten minutes only to resume again as hail and push me back into my fragile fabric shell. I tried to sleep on my side for more hood coverage but this only led to tossing and turning. James was silent in his own struggle with his mylar emergency bivy sack and I silently hoped my foam pad would provide some insulation were he struck by lightning in it. We hoped the people bivied on the summit had had the sense to move and that we were far enough down from the ridge to not be struck. The beating continued until the sky grew light but there was no sleep to be found. With the rain still passing on and off (after more than 8 hours of storming) James suggested we bag our plans to summit and start heading down. I suggested I stay in my little half bag/jacket cocoon longer and just try to will the clouds to move on. Fortunately my will is strong and in another hour the sky was a beautiful blue and the wind had nearly dried the mountain. We packed up in the frigid but beautiful morning (hail still on the ground)and decided to tag the summit after all leaving most of our gear at the notch and simuling to the top. We hung out for a bit enjoying the view and rewarming in the sun before making one rappel and soloing back to our bivy site. Despite a little bit of off route scrambling we managed a fairly quick descent of the west ridge with endless downclimbing, one short handline, and one rappel below Long John Tower. It may not have been much faster than scree skiing the Cascadian, but it was a heck of a lot more fun. My girlfriend met us at Ingalls Lake with cookies and the rest of the hike out was pleasant. The pictures we took before and after cannot even remotely capture that epic night and it won’t be one soon forgotten. The mountain howled and growled but then kindly let these travelers pass by once more. More pics here: https://picasaweb.google.com/104708573545176184583/RazorbackRidgeWithJames# Gear Notes: Standard alpine rack to #3 camalot. Crampons and ice axe were only used for about 20 minutes but they were neccesary. Approach Notes: Approach as for the Stuart Glacier Couloir, start up the rock right of the couloir and then head up and right to the emerging crest.

Old La Sportiva Kaukulators a half size bigger than my normal rock shoes. I love the high top for the occaisional offwidth and it helps keep gravel and stuff out of the shoe on the easy sections. You pay a small weight penalty for the extra material (probably also true for the latest high tops), but it's on your feet when you are climbing and I never notice, trim your approach shoe weight instead cause those are in the pack. My shoe of choice for 5.9 and under long alpine.

Cool, looks like you and Dave had a good adventure!

I still see 5.12 crag climbers get shut down by a 5.9 offwidth in the alpine once in a while too . . . not exactly the same skill set.

Cool, that looks like one to add to this list.

That's how I rock it, aliens and TCUs. Although the new BD cams look cool (the ones that haven't been released yet). Master cams seem ok if you aren't already used to aliens. After you have a set of each then you can worry about offsets.

Nice, looks like fun and not too smoky!

Kind of thread drift since Layton was asking about fixed ropes . . . but, when I'm cleaning an aid traverse I use a gri-gri on the bottom because instead of doing funky shit like decribed above to get the load off the lower ascender to release it or unclip, you just use the gri-gri lever to lower yourself out, shift your weight to the upper ascender, clean the piece and suck the slack back in. Fast and you stay attached to the gri-gri and dont have any violent swinging. Rarely need to re-aid unless it's a really long reach or a lip or something. I find ascending a free hanging or near vertical rope is faster with a frog type system and less work. If it's low enough angle to balance on your feet in your aiders without weighting your tie in point then the yosemite system with two aiders and two ascenders can be less tiring/faster. Really low angle is like Monty said, more of a batman/self belay setup than really ascending. If you are on a fixed rope and don't have to lower out off pieces to clean than I think the new Petzl Micro Trax or old Mini Trax would work great in a frog type system on the bottom.

I think I have an extra 0 TCU I'd trade, but I'm in Louisiana and my rack is in WA. It'd have to wait a couple weeks till I get back.

Doesn't the SOS message go to trigger a rescue and the "OK" message sends a message to friends in your contact list (but not the rescuers)? One doesn't cancel the other although I think you can cancel the SOS message by holding down the button or something. Hopefully that's what you meant. Glad you all made it down safe and it looks like you learned a whole lot. :-)

Cool, way to finish it up! That's been on my tick list for a while but I haven't managed to get up to try it yet.

Sweet, I've been wondering what's up there for a while, might have to go check out some of those older routes one of these years.

I'm not sure there really are any good plain cell phones, they just aren't designed to be particularly powerful transmitters. Seeing bars means your phone can receive the signal from a powerful tower somewhere in the distance and doesn't have anything to do with if the tower can see your puny phone when you try to call. Probably a few situations where your low power call might be low priority, but I don't think a new phone will make much difference. Try reading reviews on reception but they vary a ton for most models (i.e. one review says it's great and the next says it's crappy). If you see someone calling out there then ask what phone they have, I haven't found a huge difference. Texting does seem to work better than voice calls but still not reliable. It used to be that simple flip phones had better reception than smart phones due to less internal interference but I don't think that's universally true anymore. I managed to get my voicemail and send texts from the summit of Mt. Stuart last weekend on my LG enV? (Verizon).

Cool, that looks like fun! Gonna have to get up there.