Chad_A

Interesting topic. It is really nice to have a light daypack to get done what normally would take more than a day. Much more enjoyable in that respect. On a recent trip up to Rainier, time constraints turned it into a "car to car" outing. I've found that, since I've been climbing, I've learned to go pretty light regardless, so when a "two day pack" turned into a "summit pack", I really didn't save much weigh, save for a 2 pound sleeping bag, my share of the fuel, and some food. Like someone else said, it depends on what the schedule is like, but after doing a "car to car" or four, I'd rather enjoy the bivy. Of course, style will always be an issue, but, sometimes, with the normal clutter of life, I'm not in such a hurry to get back to civilization.

I just had my fourth resole done at Mountain Soles. All of them have been great. Did a good job on my bivy sack, and on my puffy jacket repair, as well.

Sho 'nuf. I chatted with him; now I'm sold on heading south of the equator next year. Which means I need to get in shape for it. We'll have to hook up for a nice line of steep ice and snow. Let me know what you'd like to get done.

Hey, Jesse, it's Chad, here. Nice way to link 'em up. If I'm ever up there in your neck of the woods (Bellingham?) I let you know ahead of time, and have ya meet me for a

I like dealing with them. I emailed them, trying to find a replacement halo for the inside of my Ecrin Roc, after I accidentally broke it by catching it on a branch on the Boston Basin path. They offered to replace the whole helmet for free, since I seemed to be a "good customer that stood by their products".

Check out the BD Shadow 55. 3lbs 7oz, 3360 c.i. Very basic. Or check out the Wild Things Rocsac or Icesac.

Beautiful TR! They just keep getting better. Glad you finally got it finished, and that the ankle stayed intact this time! The pics are great throughout, but the one at the end, with the two of you grizzled, takes the cake. Looking forward to hearing this one over

Ah, yeah...feelin' the alpine goodness. Very nice TR, and pics. You guys definitely deserve a few for this one.

I can't help but chime in here. 55 years old, or not, Donn does a great job of humbling us "youngsters" in the hills, every time we're out with him. I'm jealous, because I'd like to get out and do something like this particular solo trip. Quite a beautiful area. Thanks for the inspiration!

Holy shit! Wow, could you post a couple more beautiful pics?! Very nice, Donn. Wish I could've been on that one Nice TR!

Very, very nice...way to make it work for ya. Good job, gang!

Al- I just had a couple of pals that went up to do Black Peak, and it sounds like it was pretty chill. Can't remember what they said the approach was like, though...anyways, just a thought.

Sad, sad days. My condolences to the family.

I know this is the "climbing partners" forum, but I figured it'd be better posted here, than anywhere else. Looking to get out and do some of the nice, beautiful singletrack around the East side of Mt. Hood (Surveyor's Ridge, Knebal Springs, Lookout Mountain, etc; not interested in downhill, just cross country)this late summer/fall...it's been a couple of years, and I'd like to do a couple of rides. Now's the time to do it, because I guess they're trying to get some/most of these trails closed to mountain bikes. I have varying days off, since I work in the health care field, so weekends or weekdays will work, just depends on where I'm at in my schedule. My email is listed under my username, or you can just PM me. I have a Cherokee with room for two bikes, and usually, time for a brew at Full Sail, or the Eliot Glacier Public House after the ride.

Monty, I could give you a hand. Let me know what I can do. The 65 degree part was a step that led directly up above me in the pic that Oleg posted; very short, though I'm not very good at judging measurements. It's the slab that's just ahead of me in that pic, if I remember right, but everything looked different then that when I was right up on it. Glad you had a good time, and good luck to you on Shishapangma.

Very nice Glad you guys had a great time out there...and yes, Rainier does look pretty damn big coming up to it. Looks much steeper than it is!

Thanks much for all the replies, and for stopping in to say "hi". It was fun; thanks to Oleg, as well, for being a good partner

Climb: Rainier-Liberty Ridge Date of Climb: 7/3/2005 Trip Report: The weather didn't look spectacular, forecast-wise, but Oleg and I decided to give Liberty Ridge a shot this past weekend. We left Portland at 11 a.m., and arrived at White River sometime around 2:15, or so. The gentleman behind the counter at the White River ranger station felt us out for our experience level, and gave us what he knew to be the most up-to-date info on route conditions. He'd guessed that the trickiest part of the outing would be finding out way across the Carbon to the toe of the Ridge without getting stymied, and also to watch for odd, ever-changing snow conditions on-route. He also advised us to get as far as we could that evening to see if we could get a look down onto the glacier from Curtis Ridge before sundown. We left the truck at a little after 3, and hiked up to St. Elmo's Pass, where we had good views of the Winthrop, and of Glacier Basin. Fairly-recent boot tracks across the Winthrop helped pick our route across the glacier, but as we were able to look back after crossing it, it would have been easier to stay lower on the glacier- much less broken up. After gaining Curtis Ridge, we traversed for a half-hour, and found a beautiful bivy site, complete with rock walls. Since I'd worked the night shift before, and was operating on two hours of sleep,I didn't have the want to go and check out the Carbon. It was also about 9 p.m., so Oleg and I sat, ate, and took pics. We hit the bivy sacks at about 10-10:30, and napped until 2 a.m. Left camp somewhere around 3, and after bumbling around in the dark for a bit, and passing a couple of tents from another team, found the scree slope that led down to the Carbon. Roping up at 4:45 to start the glacier travel, we had concerns about rockfall on the lower Ridge, since the sun was coming up so early. Still, it was pretty chilly, and everything was hard and frozen, so we pushed on. The Carbon difficulties proved to be nil, as we easily made our way to the toe of the Ridge without issue (I think that you can see the continous ramp that we took in one of the next pics. Oleg has better pictures than I of this segment- I have copies, but I'll let him post his own pics.) Oleg led up and across old avalanche rubble to gain the base of the west side of the Ridge. We were still roped up, when he crossed a bridge over the moat, only to have the snow change from good step kicking consistency, to rotten, dirty ice. Just then, we both ducked as a series of golfball to grapefruit sized rocks whirled by. He was high enough and out of the way; I hit the deck, and they somehow missed me. We both felt fortunate, and grunted up quickly toward the crest to try to get out of the danger. Above, the snow turned a bit more friendly, and we cruised a bit higher on the Ridge before unroping. Here's a good shot of Oleg on the lower Ridge. There were bands of rock that we had to navigate; sometimes climbing 5-6 foot steps of fourth-class ice-plastered rock. At about 9:30, we arrived at Thumb Rock, and not a moment too soon; the snow was beginning to soften. This helped with digging a small bivy spot, though, as we were both reasonably tired thus far, both mentally and physically. Oleg at the bivy spot. We napped with our helmets on in the sun, as I remembered Alpinfox's unexpected "visitor" plunging through the side of his tent while bivying there. We had a couple rain down on us, as well, but nothing too large. The other team showed up later in the day, and we chatted for a while. Oleg and I napped some more, and woke up extra early, at 11 p.m. Around midnight, we started up, and since it was closest, chose the left side of the rock prow above the bivy. Oleg and I swapped step-kicking duties, simul-soloing through (just as the ranger predicted) ever-changing snow conditions. We had it all; rotten frozen slush, good neve, powder that collapsed underneath your every step, bulletproof ice under snow. We could never let our guard down; every step seemed to be different, and we didn't know what expect next. Here's a pic of Oleg putting in steps. Throughout the majority of upper Ridge, we stayed to the left, only being on the crest for a short while at around 11,500. We stopped beneath the final rock outcropping before heading up to the bergschrund to take some pics. One should note that, in a pinch, this could be dug for a small (read: VERY SMALL) emergency bivy site. Pics of the sun on it's way up, and looking east to the top of the Willis Wall. We then traversed underneath the rock, and picked up old boot tracks that led up to the schrund. Upon looking again at the pic I took, the tracks from the others go far right. We went direct up the ice step; an easy ramp that went right, and then up and left to head onto the Liberty Cap Glacier (probably 65 degrees, AI2). I sunk a marginal (aren't they all?) picket prior to starting up the ice step, and put in both screws I had, as we did a running belay through the step. When I took off for the lead, I was briefly jealous of Oleg for bringing two tools, as the exposure is considerable, there. A pic of the upper icefall, and the bergschrund/ice step area. Oleg took over kicking steps, as we ground our way up to Liberty Cap. On the way across the summit plateau, we decided to bypass the summit/register, and head down the Emmons, as I was feeling nauseated from the mystery drink that Oleg had in his water bottle (What the hell was that stuff, Oleg?) More evidence that Oleg is indeed a russian hardman; to drink that stuff at altitude...well, he has more "intestinal fortitude" than I do. Literally. We arrived at White River, 47 hours after the trip began. Oleg, you're up. Post pics at will! Edit: fixed the pics. Didn't like what the link to the gallery did to the pictures (too small) Gear Notes: Two screws, two tools (Oleg), tool and axe (me), spare perlon cord (didn't use, but nice to have, just in case), two quickdraws, and two pickets. Approach Notes: Snow free (or will be) up to St. Elmo's Pass. Liberty Ridge, within a couple of days won't be worth doing. Interglacier is creepy; tons of running water you can hear underneath you. Emmons Glacier is in great shape.

Last monday, I took a birthday hike up to see the north side of Rainier. From afar, I took a few pics of Willis Wall, Liberty and Ptarmigan Ridges, and when I got home, I realized I'd caught some "activity" on the face. Check out the cloud to the right of Liberty Ridge:

Thanks, Dru. I thought about trying to pinpoint areas close to certain peaks, but thought better of it (for now) because I don't know the area enough (yet). Looks like the weather for this next weekend down here is the same for up there. Damn.

From Redoubt, and north, looking for the best website to check (yeah, I know Redoubt is south of the border); might think about checking out something in BC to climb this coming weekend, if things here in the U.S. are shot. Input?

Is that repair patch on the left thigh also in perfect shape Nice, smartass. Ask the guy who bought them. So, no, Sean, my fault...they're not for sale anymore. I'd forgotten about this thread completely. Sorry 'bout that.

Thanks gents!

OR...go and climb something.