John Frieh

what time friday night and/or sat morning?

Good chance but every time I have done the black line I didn't see anything to the right... who knows... maybe I need to go back up there and take a look Anyone who likes hand cracks should climb this route!

Nice work Jens and Max. Re: Jim's memory... I remember wishing for bolts when I was leading pitch 2 especially after going for a 15' the day prior on it. I think everyone has shown the route goes with out them but as far as Jim's memory who cares... considering the breadth of Jim's accomplishments I can completely understand not being able to recall each exact detail of every climb. Ratings... Does this sound right? 5.9 5.11+ 5.10+ 5.10+??? 5.8 What did you think the fourth pitch was rated? Did you think the upper thin crack just above the wideness was the crux of that pitch?

Disclaimer: The following post may contain more beta than one might be looking for... if you tend to prefer to figure things out on your own then stop reading here. Additionally keep in mind mileage will vary... one man's choss is another man's 5 star route... basically don't coming crying to me if the belay ledge was @ 40 m not 35 m or the routes wasn't clean enough for you. Approach: No surprise here but as Mt Stuart is a big mountain a number of options exist for getting to the base of the pillar: 1) The FA party climbed the ice cliff glacier route to the upper cirque and from there climbed 3-4 pitches of rock to get to the base of the pillar. Using this approach makes for a "full meal deal" alpine experience (sustained technical ice, snow and rock difficulties in one route... a surprisingly rare combination in the cascades). Depending on one's timing and/or ice climbing ability this could potentially be the crux of the route. 2) The north ridge notch which can be reached either via the north ridge access couloir (west side of the north ridge off the stuart glacier) or via the lower north ridge. Regardless of how you get to the notch from the notch take a general skiers right descent down the east side of the north ridge aiming for the upper ice cliff glacier cirque. Be cognisant the upper slabs of the NE face route hold snow till late season and randomly release with little or no warning especially in the early morning sun. With some skill one should be able to reach the ice cliff glacier without a rap. In late season a healthy moat will form in the upper cirque resulting in a required rappel onto the snow. Regardless of how one reaches the upper cirque it is here where one begins the rock on the lower rock pitches. The lower rock pitches/prepillar pitches: Again... Stuart is a big mountain and a lot of terrain exists in between the base of the pillar and the upper ice cliff cirque. Those who have taken a more direct line from the cirque to the pillar have reported hard wet 5.10 climbing. I can't comment as I have never used this approach... The approach I have always used is look for a ramp system starting climbers left of the pillar near where the upper portion of the ice cliff glacier route begins. This ramp trends climbers left to right and terminates just below the girth pillar proper. This ramp (as far as I can tell) is described in the CAG as the NE face of the false summit (FA Beckey). Beckey calls it 5.6... it felt more like 5.8 to me... again mileage will vary. It is roughly 3-4 pitches from the cirque to the base of the pillar but this will vary depending on the time of season (as the season goes on more snow melts so one has to start further and further from the base of the pillar) and the length of one's rope. These pitches are the loosest/dirtiest of the all the pitches on the route. Additionally they will likely be wet in places. Approach pitches: Looking down the pillar approach pitches. Note some rock debris on the ledges: The girth pillar proper: The girth pillar is ~400' tall. In the 90s the left half fell off/detached. The current consensus is for the most this did not effect the original route. However it appears it did add additional cracks (expando) creating a variation to the original route. Forrest Murphy on the pillar before the left side fell off: Original (zoom in): Red (original FA) Black (variation): The blue X on the topo marks where these photos were taken of this belay ledge (belay ledge circled on topo): Mark Westman (in shorts over polypro!?!?) Photo by Joe Puryear Craig Gyselinck The girth pillar proper continued: Both routes begin at the same point. The first pitch on the pillar is 40 m (mileage will vary) to a small belay ledge. Belay Ledge (top of pitch 1): For pitch 2 and 3 on the pillar: With a 70 meter rope one can reach the top of the right hand side of the pillar following the black line route or the belay ledge (red line route) pictured above. With a 60 meter rope one can reach a semi hanging belay (black line route) below the final bulge or the belay ledge (red line route) pictured above. Top of the pillar to the false summit: Depending on which line you follow (red or black) will determine what route you take to the false summit. The black line will deposit you on the right hand side of the pillar. Traverse right (a small 10' offwidth will make require you to belay) until an easy looking weakness is found that heads more or less straight up to the false summit. Approx 4 pitches to the false summit of 5.6 or less. The red line will deposit you on the left side of the pillar. Same story... head up in the general direction of the false summit. This finish felt a little harder to me than the black line finish however this side didn't have an offwidth. Happily Ever After??? Hope this helps... if I missed something or you have any questions, etc etc shoot me a pm or post here. And go climb this route... one of the best in the cascades. Cheers to Mr Jim Nelson for giving us all just an amazing route!

Does that 50 hours a week include spray time? I bet you're good for 35... maybe 40 of actual work

71k views later... Any chance I could edit the title and/or the first post in this thread?

Hell yes guys! Nice send! Was the route wet/seeping anywhere? Hey JJ: you going to be in the bozone this winter?

Huh... I thought you guys did it before the rockfall. I have some pics at home I can label and upload tonight.

When the left side of the pillar fell off the right side expanded creating this crack system... I talked to Jim at great length about it... his memory is slightly clouded about where the line is for some reason... Because of that I also talked/showed my pics to Joe Puryear and Forrest who both did the pillar prior to the rock fall (the GP was Forrest's first grade V climb ever! HELL YEAH! ) and we were able to determine the line I climbed my first time up the pillar (the famous neutrino trip )/the way you went is a new addition to the pillar... I think I have a photo somewhere I can post taken from the N ridge that shows where both lines are. Again: STRONG work for the onsight free! VERY impressive!

Will complimentary Almond Roca be provided? Can I bring my h0tt european girlfriend? Where's the prefunk @? What time? Looking forward to it Colin!

Nice work guys! Great TR! The force is strong with this one WESTSIDE!

An ice climber from Phoenix? I call bullshit :laf: Nice work guys... Chris: I hope you have started looking for a therapist... when your sabbatical is over you are going to get post sabbatical depression bad! Terry: looking forward to climbing some ice with you in CO this winter

Awesome work guys! I couldn't agree more! Amazing route! Just a heads up on the rating for anyone thinking about heading up: the girth pillar currently has 2 independent routes... Jim's route that existed before the early 90's rock fall which is still there/unaltered from the rockfall and very much 11c. Reading your TR it sounds like the route you guys did was the line that was created as a result of the rockfall (expando) and is 11-/10+ depending on who you ask (A0 if you ask me ... one of these trips Ill free it all) Also depending on which side of the pillar you top out will dictate how hard/long the remaining pitches you have to climb to the false summit are... the right side finish is much shorter/easier than the left side finish. Again: great work! You guys are STRONG!

citations please

It's all about MILK. $2 per gallon? w00t! I drank a liter every day one summer I was biking every day. I was wicked strong. EXACTLY! Milk is one of the most PERFECT sport nutrition drinks. Especially if you get 1% fat chocolate milk - its got near perfect ratios of carbs to protein to fats. Certainly beats the shit out of powerade. Probably the most important thing I've learned about sports nutrition is that its all about ratios. You can't just go eat a shit ton of protein and expect to gain anything. You've got eat roughly four carb units per unit of protein. Care to explain how 20 grams of sugar per 8 ounce serving is the perfect sports drink?

Ok.....what is your definition of "real pizza"? Let me guess....something from New York? Everyones taste buds are different friend. Escape From NY - it's in NW, 23rd I think? Best pizza in Portland, by far. But I might be biased, being from NY and all.... Have you been here yet? kens artisan pizza

Hammer makes great stuff Hey Scott: your diet and exercise regiment will dictate whether or not you bulk up or stay lean... not the type of protein you are taking.

[] S.P.E.A.R. comes highly recommended Might want to get some Lasik too

New cobras, vipers, and ice screws are now available for ogling on bdel.com XoooXoXOoXooooXOXOOxoXOoXoXoxoXO mr. arrogant

Nice work Elisif and Nick!

Today's Oregonian: skull The article in the Oregonian has a picture of some unsexy patrons Anyone curious should swing by sometime and watch a workout

Buffalo is meat dumb fuck.

None of those are close to my work. Zeitgeist would be doable if I am in Pioneer Square for some reason (doubtful). Do you have hot water at your work? If so this freedom press works great! Seriously though... french press + local fair trade coffee that has been roasted < week and ground right before you are ready to add the hot water is the way to go

Just one rope. Bring some extra rap material just in case. Post a TR when you get back!