OlympicMtnBoy

That looks great! I wanna go there!

Sweet! I've seen that cloudy view a few times, have yet to see from the summit! One of these years I need to go back on a good day!

Thanks for the updates!

Nice work Josh! Always exciting to see how the lake can change over a day huh!

Thanks for the update, I was hoping to head in to ski Glacier Peak that way later this spring so hopefully it gets fixed!

Pretty much what everyone else said. I've also had good luck with Gu/energy gels, in limited quantity, at altitude as well. Sometimes when you don't feel like eating but know you need to they easy to choke down. Think about how things will be cold/frozen as well though, for example the plain vanilla powerbar gel worked well for me in Peru, but the chocolate/coffee Clif Shot type ones were too stiff and harder to eat. I like gummy candy/shot bloks too but I did lost a crown off my tooth on a frozen one ice climbing. That sucked. Sometimes high fat things like cocktail pepperoni (Oberto Outlet for big bags cheap) get more appealing on trips than at home, although altitude may make fat harder to digest so maybe best for basecamp.

Nice work! I love the cornice tunnel exit, looks like you had to dig quite a bit!

Thanks for the conditions update, sorry you didn't make it up! It's not (likely) going anywhere for a while so you'll get another chance!

I have some Vasque Ice 9000s (non-plastic double) that I think are around 11.5. 10 yrs old but barely used, I started ski touring around the same time.

Wait, I didn't think those were aid routes? You weren't tryin to free climb now were ya? Hehe! ;-)

I've got a pair of old Sportivas around that size that have been converted to fruit boots if that's what you are going for. Come with Grivel Racing Crampons bolted on so not quite just beer but I'd pass em on for $75 since I never use em.

I keep getting this set of errors when I try to get to cascadeclimbers.com. Using both Chrome and IE. It's been going on for at least a week now. :-( Warning: include(/home/climb/cascadeclimbers.com/plab/uploads/14049/help.php): failed to open stream: Permission denied in /home/climb/cascadeclimbers.com/index.php on line 3 Warning: include(): Failed opening '/home/climb/cascadeclimbers.com/plab/uploads/14049/help.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/local/lib/php:/usr/local/php5/lib/pear') in /home/climb/cascadeclimbers.com/index.php on line 3 Warning: include(/home/climb/cascadeclimbers.com/gear/javascripts/config.php): failed to open stream: Permission denied in /home/climb/cascadeclimbers.com/wp-settings.php on line 239 Warning: include(): Failed opening '/home/climb/cascadeclimbers.com/gear/javascripts/config.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/local/lib/php:/usr/local/php5/lib/pear') in /home/climb/cascadeclimbers.com/wp-settings.php on line 239 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/climb/cascadeclimbers.com/index.php:3) in /home/climb/cascadeclimbers.com/wp-includes/pluggable.php on line 881

Cool memories, maybe I'll get on the North Face when the snow settles a bit. Last time I was up there, many years ago, we got lost in the bushes, soaked by torrential rain (and bushes), broke an ice tool trying to chop some firewood, and then bailed like wet rats having never set foot on the face. We were doing it wrong.

In classic fashion as usual! I picked up Fred and got some gas and then we hit up the North Bend McDonalds. They have a hard floor and it's a good spot to put on ski boots, also napkins. I had a second breakfast and one of the employees flirted with Fred. Back on the road eventually and we made it to Blewett Pass. Fred complained about not sleeping well and a fall he had recently and decided to nap in the car while I took my dog out for a short ski. Back at the car 45 mins later for food and some of my friends showed up with kids and xc gear. Fred managed to make it out of the car to say hello and be in a couple of pictures but still wasn't up for skiing. The rest of us did another hour up the forest road and back in pleasant snow. We tried to hit up the Washington State Ski and Snowboard Museum at Snoqualmie on the way back but they were closed. So no skiing for Fred, but at least he got his boots on and walked around in the snow for a minute. He seemed happy to get out and wasn't even grumpy about waiting in the car. I hope someone will drive me to the mountains when I'm 94, whether or not I actually get my skis on!

Anybody want to get out for what is sure to be an adventure? We're heading to Blewett Pass. Snow will be crappy. Fred is 94. Tour will be very very slow. We probably won't get very far from the car. There will be shouting. Fred specified wanting to use skins and none of those skinny skis (although those might be more appropriate). PM me with your phone number if you can make it..

Take skis and enjoy the snow! (Or take light trail runners in case you have to road walk). Also a crew of people with shovels can take out a decent road blocking burm in short time if it's only a little ways to dry road and you have chains.

Cool, thanks for posting, looks fun!

Where'd you park? Ski area and approach through the nordic area?

Haha, this is so funnny. Weird, but funny. Oddly I still have my first tools too, but I don't think I'd go to any effort to track them down if I didn't, old heavy straight shafts and all. Is this a thing?

Nice, sounds like more snow than ice right now!

Cool, I'll have to check it out next time I get stuck working in Dupont.

I borrowed a friend's 2 person both for a while a couple winters ago to just try it out. I wouldn't want to sleep in one but it was a decent option for breaks/lunch when it was nuking out. They are really intended for situations above treeline where you just can't get out of the wind/rain/snow anywhere. It's actually quite impressive how warm they feel when you are in one, also impressive how fast the condensation starts, don't even think of wearing glasses in one and I would imagine it starts to get wet after a little while and less warm. A 2 person one takes a little coordination with your partner, you have to sit down at the same time and it is quite cozy but works to have lunch or look at the map. I meant to sew one myself but never got around to it and the useful situations are relatively rare (mostly winter above treeline). For summer climbing emergencies I would think a space blanket bivy bag and maybe just a simple ultralight tarp would be more versatile AND lighter. But maybe you get one and try it out and tell us? It was quite nice to get out of the wind on a couple trips and made a lunch stop a much more pleasant affair.

Haha, yet no one did! Thanks to DPS my mom is set for the weekend! I appreciate both him and tstory coming to my aid. Not G-spotter though, he's of no use. ;-)

Help! Anyone in the Seattle area (eastside is easiest) have a pair of snowshoes I could borrow Fri-Mon? I need one more pair for a family outing. We are going RV camping for the holidays and want to play in the snow. My mother will probably only use them for about 30 minutes so I don't want to rent them for 4 days but I also don't want her to feel left out. I can also trade for beer. Anyone? PM me or email matthiesen at googlemailthingy.

Skookum Falls was in on Saturday. There is an easy log crossing just downstream from the viewpoint on highway 410. We climbed three pitches and deemed the last one too thin for our early season confidence. Two double rope raps off v-threads got us down. There were multiple lines possible as well as some other ice a gully left and right. My apologies to the father-son team, hopefully we didn't totally scoop you after passing on the approach. https://goo.gl/photos/wudPzVXqUaCgie4F8 Here are some pics. Google took away my ability to embed photos in the forum. :-/ Also I drove by again today and things were getting wet and there were a couple holes. Hopefully there is enough ice to stick around till the next cold snap, but it is WA.