OlympicMtnBoy

Damn, I shouldn't have waited so long to post, there are so many better pics here. Oh well, here's on of Jon on Acid Baby.

And only a broken ankle: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/technology/gadgets/mark-roberts-falls-100-feet-during-mountain-climb-filmed-helmet-camera-video http://youtu.be/FjfHHFyKrtc

Yep, and you already own one. It's called a backpack. ;-) Seriously though I generally have a backpack with most of my little stuff (headlamp, first aid, sunscreen, etc) in the top pocket. I keep my "cragging" rack on a multiloop gear sling (that I never climb with) and I just add or subtract a couple things for the trip and throw the sling in the pack. Helmet/harness/shoes live on a shelf. The less time I have to spend packing/unpacking the better, being "ready to go" outweighs being "organized" with everything in it's right place on the shelf. I rarely forget anything (mental checklist helps). Here is some other great inspiration for actually building storage areas fro Wenatchee Outdoors (several of those featured post here): http://www.justgetout.net/Wenatchee/15242 and another article from Outside on the same folks: http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear/The-Ultimate-Gear-Storage-Facility.html. Have fun!

Here she is on Monday, pretty darn snowy. Bergschrund was totally filled in. I'm sure you could get up it, but take some good flotation. It didn't seem to have gotten as warm up there as I would have expected given the weather. That may have changed some this week but I doubt it.

Thanks for the suggestions, I found a good deal through TAY on some K2 Sidestashes in 174 (does everyone here ski longer skis than me?)and I'm ready for the snow this weekend. I am now looking for a lighter skinny ski for spring corn though as I've clearly blown my quiver of one plan (and my budget).

Hmm, I thought the bottom of my ski was supposed to be sorta flat. These are finally toast after 2 warranty swaps and two epoxy jobs. :-( I need something to replace these old Dynafit FT 10.0s for my "quiver of one" ski (as in I don't have any others). Since it's not my first pair of skis and I'd like to enjoy the uphill and the down on our variable cascade snow, I'm looking for a newer ski in the 90-100mm underfoot range that can handle a bit of powder, crud, and ice. I'm 5'9" and 165lb so probably around 174cm (my Dynafits were 169 and 86). I have Dynafit Comfort bindings so I don't need those unless you have a really good deal on a newer/lighter dynafit. I'm willing to pay a reasonable price for lightly used skis but I'm also cruising the "end of season" sales so if you see a good deal out there . . . (but I wasn't planning on new skis so I don't want to drop $500). Let me know if you have something that might work!

Nice, always fun up there. I camped up there Monday night for the heck of it and there was still good powder in the bowl. We did a bunch of laps on the north facing stuff and there was still plenty of powder. Skiing directly off the summit was the worst run with sun/wind effect. We didn't have your bluebird day though, mostly in the cloud and it turned to rain as we skied out Smithbrook.

Of course if you keg you have a pretty significant extra investment and then you have a keg of beer and you'll want a kegerator. Oh and you can't bring a six pack over to your buddies as a gift unless you buy a beer gun or something. And you'll need more kegs if you want to have more types of beer around. Bottling on/in your dishwasher is a good way to keep it clean. Sanitize your bottles and put them upside down in the dish rack (also sanitized). Put your bottling bucket on the counter above your dishwasher. Pull bottles off the rack and fill, drips fall on the open dishwasher door. Piece of cake. Not that if someone were giving away some kegging gear I wouldn't use it for some things. Also don't underestimate your local homebrew shopes. They can get you set up with a "kit" and often help customize it based on what you already have. I've found pretty knowledgeable folks at all the local stores. My next project is a Flanders Red (Belgian Sour) when i unpack the brew gear from our move.

Nice, sounds a lot like my trip in the same January inversion a few years ago, except we left the skis at Muir. Nice when everything comes together for a "mellow" outing like that!

Cool, always fun to see the updates for the gearheads. Although not nearly a gear head enough to want to go, so someone has to give the highlights! :-)

I had a great 3 day loop trip in the Robbers Roost area last year with a bunch of short rappels and scrambling but no swimming (exposed up climb on the exit). I took a canyon newbie and we had a great time but I'm not sure of any guides there. Are you looking to don a dry suit and dry bags and do a technical overnight trip? Some backpacking with some slot scrambling? A series of day trips from a base camp?

Went out to Silverton off the Mountain Loop highway on Tuesday and there was a bunch of ice up there. The first set of flows you reach on the trail had a lot of water running. We kept walking a bit farther and saw this: And then this: We climbed this one, around 70m to the tree at top center left and then did a second pitch up the final short pillar. It felt like WI4 with interesting cauliflower ice and onion skin in places but reasonable screws for most of it. Only about an hour walk in, thanks to whoever snowshoed in before us scouting. We didn't take flotation although it might have been helpful. With the inversion temps I have no idea what things are like now. I also heard that Franklin Falls was in enough to climb on Snoqualmie. Have fun out there!

PM sent.

An overbag plus a light down bag will be much heavier than just bringing a warmer down bag. I don't know anyone who uses an overbag for much in this State. As mentioned above an overbag can help mitigate the wetting out of a down bag on extended trips where you have difficulty drying things out (high altitude, bad weather). Not sure what SAR you are with, but I'd go with a synthetic bag and a simple bivy sack. You are a lot more likely to be trekking through wet brush than in the middle of a technical route. A wet down bag in your bivy sack still sucks, use that for climbing in good weather, not searching in crappy weather. Good luck!

Wait. . . What? In the dark? Nice job. ;-)

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?