dan_forester

Kells is showing World Cup games and is smoke free...

where, by the hobo jungle?

Climb: Mt. Washington-North Ridge Date of Climb: 6/11/2006 Trip Report: Fun jaunt up Mt Washington's North Ridge yesterday with my friend Tom. There's still quite a bit of snow on the PCT and the climber's trail up to the ridge, which slowed us down a little bit. But snow along the ridge allowed us to kick steps and avoid the usual tedious scrambling up to the summit pinnacle. The pinnacle itself is dry (leave your ice axe at the notch) but the rock is as bad as ever, and three out of four holds will magically crumble before your eyes and fall into the limitless void below. Belay from the ramp above the notch to avoid the ridiculous rope drag I had the misfortune to experience (Tom belayed me from the notch, which seemed like a good idea at the time). Descended by plunge-stepping and glissading the snow fields on the west side down to the PCT. Disclosure: managed to miss the PCT and had some bonus fun bushwhacking and backtracking to get back to the trail. Conditions are pretty much as good as they get for this particular climb. Most people seem to think of Washington as a late season climb, but I think it's better early. That's fine with me, though; we had the mountain to ourselves. No pictures because we didn't want to steal the mtn's soul. Gear Notes: ice axe, rope, slings, cordellette. Also used one hex and a couple medium stoppers. Approach Notes: Snow on the PCT from the trailhead. Climbers trail up to the ridge might be easy to miss if you haven't been there before.

It's belay4Christ, c'mon now

no, but you might find someone to belay with in the "guy's forum"

wow, a shofar graemlin

clearly we need a STICKING HUGE DYNOS forum

Here's to the King of Ska!

that reminds me of the time Chaps drove his truck into the Pilchuck. Remember that, Chaps?

maybe they were intimidated by your

I konw what you mea LET'S RIDE BIKES!!!!

Henry Fielding Raymond Chandler and of course Jorge Luis Borges

Learning how to rely upon yourself for your own safety is a pretty fundamental skill in mountaineering...there's nothing like being tied in with someone who doesn't know what he's doing to teach you that lesson. not that I always know what I'm doing...

how high would the routes have to be for the bolts to not make you mad?

the most psychological cascade route is the one scaring the most climbers

so that's not just another, subtler, kind of self-promotion?

your agression WILL NOT STAND, MAN

more like a witty riposte than an irrelevant diatribe glad to hear you got your pack back, brad

yeah, Bill...I thought it was a pretty dumb joke too. Not that I'll be ever climbing the east face of the monkey, but that kind of thing does seem out of place in a guidebook.

delicious

You know, some people got no choice And they can’t never find a voice To talk with that they can even call their own So the first thing that they see That allows them the right to be Why they follow it, you know, it’s called bad luck. I don't have it anymore, sorry. Just wanted to quote my favorite lines...

we'll all go together when we go every hottentot and every eskimo

I listened to most of the first hour of the guy's talk and thought it was rambling and boring...maybe there was an interesting idea or two in there but all the neo-hippie sensitive guy nonsense and random tangents exhausted my patience...

No, this was a date hike. No shorts over polypro... If anyone else is curious, the "catwalk" is dry, though there was snow on Benson Plateau, so there's a little routefinding involved if you want to return via the Ruckel Creek trail.