Blake

Exactly, I used grade III+ to refer to just the amount of time it took Pete and I to make it up to the big NE Buttress ledge, where DOE joins the buttress. We easily rapped back to our packs from there, and I have never done the rest of the NEB. If Jens thinks the whole route is a grade V, I take his word for it. I think it was about 7 hours or something for the 7 pitches we did. It would be doable in 4 pitches though. The 58m overhanging headwall in one pitch would be something to see. Contrary to some, I agree with Jens that the commitment grades in the Cascades are actually comparatively stout. For a couple of examples: The Kor-Ingalls on Castleton Tower is a 3 or 4 pitch route with 5.7 and 5.8 climbing, and a bit of 5.9 on one pitch. There are no route-finding issues, and all belays are bolted. It is given a grade III, but I can't imagine it taking people "most of a day" and it would have probably taken us about 1/3 as long to climb as DOE did. The Scenic Cruise in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison is another example. It's called a grade V (meaning most parties will bivy) but nobody bivies. The second ascent was done in 2 or 3 hours, free-solo. I don't think a bivy was EVER standard, and a friend and I recently climbed it faster than I've done several Cascade IV routes. And I'm only referencing the climbing, not the approach or descent. Anyway, the whole NCIS/commitment grade is a bit subjective, as it is based on the speed of an "average party". And since "average" has not been defined and varies from route to route, it's a bit like basing a rating on the speed at which the Easter Bunny would accomplish a given climb.

Pete was rocking not only the custom man-pris, but also a mosquito-proof authentic neon 80s jacket, and an old-school Joe Brown helmet borrowed from a local buddy. All that plus Sol's 'climbing map' and success was inevitable. It takes a village... After Backbone and Serpentine saw winter climbs, maybe DOE is all yours this season John.

Does Graham Climb? or just wade in short shorts?

Trip: Dragontail Pk. - Dragons of Eden - III+ Date: 7/26/2009 Trip Report: November seems like a pretty dreary month around the northwest, so why not post a 4-month-delayed trip report from a sunny summer climb? Sol and Jens posted their (understandably) enthusiastic reviews of the route last summer, but Wayne and partner really did find an inspiring line and I'm glad it's been re-sprayed/re-discovered. In July Pete H and I got lured to the Enchantments with stories about amazing climbing above Colchuck Lake. A milkshake stop at the 59er Diner yielded one awesome hand-drawn topo from Sol (or "climbing map" as his co-workers described it) featuring the newly-free-climbed 'Dragons of Eden'. The route follows amazing features up the West face of the lower NE buttress, joining that route to the summit. Pete had previously climbed the NE buttress via a nearby route. When offered a dinner of BBQ in Leavenworth, we planned to follow DOE to the NE buttress and descend from there to a greasy feast. The climb is easy to find, even without the excellent climbing map. Head up the trail from Colchuck lake, aiming for the waterfall (bottom left corner of photo) at the base of Dragontail Peak. The approach to this route is probably the shortest in the Stuart Range. On climber's right, there is an amorphous dark buttress of granite, which is the lowest "cliffy" section on Dragontail, and was climbed by the Wallace/McGown 1988 ascent. It's visible in the very bottom of the photo. However, it's possible to walk/scramble all the way around this buttress from either side and across the top, so its value as part of the route is up for interpretation. I don't think these initial three pitches have been climbed since 1988. Overall, we found the climb fun and physical, though still grainier than the perfectly-cleaned granite on some nearby peaks. It is steep from the get-go, and would be pretty easy to haul bags on most pitches. Additionally, there are continuous cracks the whole way. Good gear can be found throughout, and it's worth the climb even if scruffy alpine 5.11 or 5.12 isn't your thing. From the base of the waterfall, scramble up and right on decomposing 4th-class terrain, for the equivalent of one pitch. Shortly right of a small pine tree, find the obvious crack below a white overhang. P1 - 5.10a Hand and fist crack, through black rock, aiming for a large roof. Belay has one bolt. P2 - Maybe the best of the route. One of the best in the range. A 5.10 slab move leads left into splitter ringlocks and thin-hands crack, 5.11b. Eventually this crack becomes hand-sized and leads through an immaculate corner. Belay on the first obvious ledge. P3 - Original DOE goes directly up the yellow tips corner, above. We found a soft-man variation, avoiding rumors of 5.12R. However, a bomber green alien can protect the 5.12 crux move, so future climbers need not be scared off. Our pitch 3 was a short traverse rightward, ending below an obvious chimney, just right of the crux corner. 5.8 Here's Pete below the 5.12 corner, heading off to easier climbing. P4 - The variation. Pete said it was maybe his favorite pitch of the climb. Follow finger cracks, stemming, and the fingers lieback up to the long ledge shared with the Dragonfly Route. 5.10d From here, a 60m headwall leads to the NE Buttress. It overhangs the whole way. This ledge has no fewer than 6 splitter crack and corner systems running off it. They are all grainy, but might clean up well. Dragonfly goes off the far right, and DOE follows the second-to-the-left. P5 - Hand and finger cracks up the right-facing corner to a slot below the roof. 5.9 Almost done with pitch 5: P6 - Turn the roof at a big flake, and follow splitters to a piton. Belay here. Looking down and right from this belay, you can see a couple OLD and RUSTY fixed pieces. Some ancient aid ascent stayed in the corner until this point, and moved left around the roof here. P7 - Face and crack climbing leads to the topout on a flat expanse of the NE buttress. This pitch feels like sport climbing, with a roof, and continuous steepness. There is still a lot of good jamming though. From here, one 60m rappel got us back to the top of pitch4. We rappelled ~3 more times, generally down and skier's left (climber's right of the ascent), following Dragonfly. All raps were off good, pre-existing anchors, and we returned to backpacks and mosquito swarms in no time. We AOed through many of the harder bits, and still had a good time. Maybe with traffic the graininess will diminish, but either way, it's definitely a fun route! Gear Notes: Nuts and Cams, we took triples in .5, .75, 1, 2 and doubles for everything else. Approach Notes: Just past Colchuck Lake.

Maybe she was really just offering $100 for the dude to quit badgering her.

A pack designed specifically for climbing (technical ascents while wearing the pack) will often do just fine for backpacking or walking up snow (your Aconcagua trip). Packs meant for backpacking/mellow snow climbs/walking-only activities will often be a pain to climb technical terrain with.

I got a ticket from "republic parking" while in seattle. It was the lot near the Ballard Locks, where I was parked for a few minutes with a friend. I don't know how official these tickets are, given that they come from a private parking-lot operating company, not the city government. Does anyone have experience fighting or ignoring one of these? If you ignored it, what happened? Thanks

Cool, thanks Pete. If anyone has size 25 Intuition Liners for sale...

I'm looking to buy some new cookable liners for Scarpa Laser AT boots. I don't know much about the options, just that my liners are the OLD original ones, with laces, and they are getting pretty slim and not very warm or comfy. Can anyone offer a suggestion on specific models to check out (is there even a difference?) or good spots to buy them cheaply? Thanks!

you should write something about getting police interrogation for ice climbing. it could be called "maxwell silver's hammer (and pick)."

This is disingenuous Blake, and you know it. The issue is not the sharing but the motive for sharing. If Joe Blow does a cool climb and tells people about it, whether it be in Hot Flashes or the AAJ or a cc.com trip report or a SuperTopo posting, that is one thing. The medium doesn't matter. However if Joe is either sponsored (and has sponsors who demand that their athlete be visible and get himself noticed) or is TRYING to be sponsored and hence building the all important spray resume, then Joe isn't just simply sharing his experience but trying to be noticed. In this case, the medium DOES matter since more eyeballs equals more notice equals better advertising. And this is where resume padding, grade inflation, exaggeration, "Alpine style" ascents that were really sieges, outright lying and other BS come into the equation, all because of the desire to make a profit from the experience. I am not saying that people who are not sponsored never lie. I've run across tons of non-sponsoired liers, exaggerators, and shit talkers. But when you are trying to make money off your climbing the tendency to lie, hype, exaggerate, and overpromote has a financial incentive - and it is these egregious examples that Scott Semple is directly targeting. I think that's a good point Dru, and something I overlooked. But I guess since we can't know someone's motive, it's not really my place to judge them for their motive. I'd say that as long as you are telling the truth about what you did, then feel free to let a wide audience of folks read about it and see the photos. If I don't want to read your "Hot Flash", cc.com TR, or blog post, I just wont click the mouse. But honestly, who among hasn't been inspired by reading about the climbs of others?

A week late, but here's my take on the whole thing. Sinful Sponsorship? Seriously... Silly Semple rails against "undeserved" self promotion, but never defines his terms. We all share about our climbing experiences somehow, but one person's version of "This is Rad" is to tell their wife and dog Rex, then go to bed. Another person might write an online trip report on a public forum, post photos on their blog, submit their account of the climb to Alpinist or Climbing magazine, and send a report to the American Alpine Journal. In any of these cases, nobody has to read or be exposed to the information/pictures/evidence of the "rad" accomplishment without specifically choosing to do so. To say that posting on one's blog, is "fine" but deride posting the same report to a wider audience via Hot Flashes draws an arbitrary line of dubious significance. Either you tell nobody, or you tell people who choose to hear about it. And if you are complaining about published climbing stories (online or in print), then submit your own or stop reading them. I hate Cat Fancy Magazine. Absolutely can't stand it. Guess what I reach for on the magazine rack? Not Cat Fancy. Problem Solved.

I think that's a good choice, and I'd throw out the suggestion that if you can't fit the gear for a 2-3 day summer trip into a 40L pack, with lid, then you might have too much gear, rather than too little pack.

Used, but in good shape. Mountain Hardwear mens medium - Dark Green $40 - They are $125 new.

Yo! Thanks for the hitch-hike ride. I was up there this summer wondering if you guys would go back to finish up the project. Way to go.

Will Forest be there to give us that seductive gaze?

Over $350 for Index! Thanks for coming out everyone.

This is Tuesday! Come out for some free schwag, or at least to raise a few dollars for Index!

But I follow him on twitter. Rolf is WAY into that. Sorry about the poorly-drawn sheep on your car.

That is incredible. Did you do the NE Buttress? How did you approach? Colin did it in a day also... page 3. Not to diminish the quick climb of Colin and Bart, but they did it via Stehekin, when the road was still connected. Dan would have done 6 additional miles on the approach, and 14 extra on the way out, which is pretty intense.

A few years ago, someone did a day climb solo: 1. parked at snow creek 2. ran up the road to colchuck trailhead 3. ran to dragontail peak 4. soloed Serpentine Ridge 5. ran to prusik 6. soloed W. Ridge on prusik peak 7. Ran to snow creek wall 8. soloed outer space 9. ran down to the car at snow creek

I'm looking for any HB offsets, so a full set or just a few would be good. I'll be happy to pay a fair price, plus some. I know they can be hard to find. Used and dinged up is no problem.

Road AND shuttle bus historically ran to Cottonwood Campground, where the trailhead was, 23 miles from the boat landing. Road now exists to carwash falls (@ 12.5 miles), but NPS shuttle stops at High Bridge, 11 miles from the boat landing. 23-11=12!

That rock is something else. Overhanging 5.8 face climbing on clean knobs and fins! It would be an awesome place to put up mixed routes, bolting on lead. Here's John Scurlock's photo. Route goes up dark face on left:

That is an awesome story! Way to go Josh, you are the man.