Chad_A

I may be missing something, here, but most of the routes you speak of melted out in the beginning of June, as they do most years. (North Buttress Couloir of Colchuck comes to mind). Somebody might have some input on British Columbia that might have some old, moderate alpine ice hidden up there. Otherwise, you might have to wait until some freeze-thaw of November to get on something again. Maybe someone will chime in with something I haven't thought of.

Oh, man, I haven't heard a truer statement in a long time

Depends on how fast you move, but you'd almost be guaranteed to be heading to camp in the dark after the climb, IMHO. Good luck with whatever you do, and thanks all for the responses. Really, it was Donn's climb; I was just along for the awe-inspiring ride

Well, technically we did it in two, but we hung around for a third day, with the thought of maybe doing the SW Buttress on Dorado Needle; instead, we headed out for cotton clothes, beer, and on the way, we snagged the summit of Eldorado. The first day, Friday, we did a chill approach...I didn't time it, but we were at the col at Dorado Needle in the early afternoon. Next morning, we left the col at 7400 ft, and dropped down to about 5600 ft (eventually); with a blue bag break in there, it took us a little less than three to get to the base of the climb.

Climb: Early Morning Spire-SW Face (photo TR) Date of Climb: 8/19/2006 Trip Report: DonnV mentioned the SW Face as a potential climb, and I took the opportunity to do it this past weekend with him. dberdinka's TR covers everything (couldn't have been timed better; we were discussing the climb, and then it pops up here. I don't think anything really surprised us, but it was nice to hear the impressions of the route, nonetheless.) So, here's a couple handfuls of pics for you all to enjoy. Cheers! -Chad Gear Notes: Usual alpine rack, aluminum crampons, ice ax. Maybe next time I'll bring some scotch. Approach Notes: The usual Eldorado approach is in good nick.

That's horribly painful to watch. What an idiot

I'd guess that whatever you can find cheapest. I think the Revelation had a little better numbers as far as the fall rating (vs. the Joker, not sure about the Serenity); I'm sure any of them would do the job fine. I have a Joker; two of my pals have Revelations. Just don't be stupid and buy the black version of the Joker like I did (duh). You have to be creative to come up with a durable middle mark.

Thanks for posting the pics! My partner and I were the ones camping down at the col below Dorado Needle Friday evening. I think it must've been you guys whom we hollered to. Thanks for the report; good to see you guys had a great time.

Nice, will be looking forward to them.

Evidently, there's some syndrome associated with Nalgenes that causes one to start dropping them off of cliffs. Must be something in the plastic.

Nice pics! Ahh, warm sunny North Cascades summer climbing. Damn, Blake, I guess that one time I met ya, your helmet hid your blonde hair....or you're gettin' out alot this summer! Nice TR, thanks for the report.

Thanks for the input

Planted in-ground, but small; easy to pull up w/ a tug.

rbw- I live in NE Portland; the issue is, my street is a main artery that goes to 82nd ave; interesting characters go by at all hours. The funny thing is, my g/f put up a sarcastic sign where the plants used to be, and one of the plants reappeared. At any rate, I'll be putting up security lighting, and notifying the police. Thanks for all the responses. I'll be done typing now, as my hand has to heal from this morning's kitchen knife incident...

Thanks, all. It's not so much that it's plants (well, to the girlfriend it's a big issue; family bought her the plants as presents) it's the question...what are they going to steal next? Break into my car? Steal my garden hose? What??? Security lighting looks to be on the roster. Devil's Club is a great idea! I recently discovered some big stalks of it on the Nesmith Point trail here in the Gorge...might have to bring some home and plant it right out front.

No big deal, buf fucking frustrating...we just planted lots of $$$ worth of plants in our front yard, and people are stealing them. We're planning on moving the remaining ones away, but I doubt that the cops will help. Just doesn't seem like it'd be a priority to them. Ideas? I might shine a worklight on the area to help deter it at night, but what lengths are legal to catch someone in the act? I'd love to threaten someone with physical harm, but that probably wouldn't go over too well.

Gary- Looks like you saved the Green from the more exposed photo, and then turned up the blues for the sky. Looks vivid; sorry if this is a layman's analytical view; I only have Infranview, and haven't gotten that far with experimenting yet (though I'm looking forward to what my new Fuji F30 will do)

I can imagine throwing that thing up, and taking my jaw off...or creating a serious back injury. Good on you, though! I think If I asked, those big guys would laugh their ass off at me (as they fell down drunk.) The bagpipes are entertaining, though

You "feeling Minnesota" types wouldn't understand. Isn't it about time to start up a usual, Tuesday night dry tool night again?

I think this guy is Donny Baker.

Cool and viscious. Looks like the Monopoint is well backed by very aggressive secondaries. The accordion thing seems silly, though.

Very nice pics and TR. Looks like you turned up the saturation nicely on the photos; that last one of the South Side of Stuart is nice and green

Finally got a hold of Breaking Point by Glenn Randall. Fantastic, although short, read.

Well, I'll be damned. Looks ALOT like the G14. I suppose that's why Mountain Gear is closing out the Bionics, eh?

They have any veggie stuff there? Fish is okay, but I'm leavin' chicken and beef off the roster these days...