Suz

Size 10 (men's) intuition liners for sale - molded once, used once. Turns out they're too thick to replace old liners in my plastics. Molded them at Feathered Friends, walked up and down the Emmons route. $180 new at FF including molding. Heat molding there if you bring your own is $60, lots of other places do it, too. Asking $80 - your cost will be $140. Please don't PM - I never check it. Email suzrow99 with the yahoo. (Often out of town, but will get back to you as soon as I can!) Thanks.

Patrick, thank you so much for posting this. I hadn't seen him and Jen for too long now, and heard the news from other friends. Thanks to you and Sonya for the pictures - it's good to see his grin and intensity again and hear from folks who love what he brought to us individually and collectively without feeling compelled to spray. That's the side of the Cascades that I love. Kaya waiting with him at the base of the cliff is such a heartbreaking image. This hits hard and close and I can't imagine what Jen's going through. One more renewed vow to make sure my loved ones never have to go through this... It is truly rare to meet someone with his combination of fun, determination, and sheer enjoyment of life.

Sent a PM

So the news is out... http://www.mountrainierclimbing.blogspot.com/ (thanks, Mike!) The question now is: Which is the lesser of the three evils? (ie: Who whould you work for?)

Climb: Redoubt-South route Date of Climb: 8/18/2006 Trip Report: Just a quick conditions update if anyone's still looking to get up there this season... Left Friday morning, crossed into Canada, drove by Chilliwack Lake and parked a little before the first main parking area, and started hiking at noon. Walked about a mile to the start of really bad road, then got to the uphill cutoff and upper trail/road no problem. Thanks to whoever put up orange flagging - seems like the situation has improved drastically since the TR from 2004 (but thanks for the map!). Beckey's description is a little odd, but when you finally break out of the trees (standard routefinding through blowdowns), the waterfall is right there. "Unforgettable", indeed! Beautiful. We used the cord left there to get up the very-slippery slabs, but they were dry enough on the way down to do without. Flagging and cairns helped show the beaten way up to the meadow. Nice campsite just at the edge of the meadow, but it's another 2 hours or so to the lake. Saturday went up to the lake, then up the over-cairned ledges to the glacier, around a few cracks to the upper flat area, and camped at the col to Bear Lake. The glacier is still in surprisingly good shape - nice squishy ice for light-but-not-sharp aluminum crampons. Sunday we followed the Beckey directions and picture easily, noticing another abundance of cairns on the way up the uppper gullies. Rap slings at the top made us worry about the left-behind glacier gear, but the scramble to the top was straightforward. **Absolutely beautiful up there, by the way!!** Fun to see the North Cascades from an unfamiliar perspective - Challenger, Luna, Baker, Shuksan, even Rainier was out, way down on the horizon. Anybody know what the pointy peak is to the north that's framed by Depot valley on the way out? Down was straightforward, too - I imagine the rap slings would be useful if the weather was wet or for less-experienced or crowded conditions. LOTS of loose crap to knock down. We packed up camp and headed back down to Ouzel Lake, then walked out Monday. Nice to do in four days - it's an amazing place, and we had it all to ourselves. Definitely still in fine condition to head up there. Have fun! Gear Notes: Standard glacier travel gear Approach Notes: All's well.

The new, fourth edition. Which surprised me, since it said "completely revised" and all that stuff. Meaning someone actually went over the route again in the last 10 year to update it? Or that they changed the text to reflect updates submitted by climbers?

Climb: Bailey Traverse-Appleton to Mt Ferry Date of Climb: 6/30/2006 Trip Report: A short trip, since we had limited time, but great to get out. There's still a really variable snow level out there. Saw absolutely no other people the entire time, but several bears (including two cubs!), a number of elk, and a mountain goat. Gotta love this place... We got to the Whiskey Bend TH on June 26, parked the car and got a ride all the way to the Boulder Creek TH after walking only a few miles! The trail up to Appleton was great til it disappeared under snow, leaving us to play hide and seek trying to figure out which was the actual pass. It's probably at least partially melted out by now - this may have been the most obnoxious part of the trip. Camped at Appleton (great), then more trail hide-and-seek under variously-aspected snow around the many ridges to Cat Basin, camping just before the catwalk. The catwalk was totally clear of snow, and way fun. Mt Carrie's shoulder is gorgeous right now! Still snow in many of the gullies on the way to Cream Lake, but the path is easy to follow. The guidebook directions to Cream Lake are terrible. Apparently looking for more obvious landmarks than exist, we bivied above cream lake, thinking that next time the rumored slide alder and avalanche debris would be better. The "meadow" is now mostly treed, and we never did see Lower Cream Lake. Once leaving the trail, just stay high-ish, then look for your own good way down; no obvious trail shows the way. No snow in Cream Basin. Cream Lake for lunch, then up the river to Mt Ferry; Ferry Basin is still totally snowcovered. The traverse to Dodger Point is mostly straightforward - no snow issues until you get near Dodger. We camped just before the saddle on dry ground. From the saddle campsites, go DOWN the saddle gully to the east to find the path. The trail near Dodger is covered but not hard to find, though by day 5 of soggy boots, I was more than happy to have the snow finally disappear on the trail down. Pictures are digital but neglected - I'll get some up soon. FYI, the guidebook allows "one full day" for Cat Basin to Mt Ferry, but if you're planning to enjoy the scenery, it will take longer, even without getting lost near Cream Lake. Hope to do a longer version one day when time allows; being in beautiful high country that far away from any established trail was awesome. Gear Notes: Brought crampons and ice axe Didn't need the crampons, but it was nice to know we had them in case. Glad to have the ice axe on a few steep gullies.

Found a digital camera memory card by one of the gullies on the Bailey Traverse between Cat Basin and Cream Lake. I don't know much about them, but it's a Lexar Media card, about 1.25 x 1.5 inch. It doesn't fit in my camera, so I don't know what's on it, but it looks untraumatized, so it might still work. The ranger said she thought ours was the first traverse this year, so I imagine it's from last year sometime. If it's yours, let me know what size memory it is to confirm. Use email: suzrow99 at yahoo dot com

Yeah, it's a delicate balance. I met a guy up in the Bugaboos this summer who was the perfect example of a guide who shouldn't be. He was all grumpy taking some folks up the W Ridge of Pidgeon (I believe they're a little stricter up north, so he was probably fully certified). I said that at least he would have the winter to take off and play, but no, turns out he ski guides in the winter. If you want to do the guiding lifestyle for a while after you graduate, don't forget to live on the cheap and take some time off to do your own thing - otherwise you're no use to anyone, on or off the mountain. You can live and climb really cheap in between gigs...

Sorry - one more redundant post. Went up a week and a half ago with two very athletic but relatively unexperienced folks. A bit of ice axe and rope training and confidence in their general coordination. We went up the pearly gates unroped, and there were loose ice crystals filling in each step, which made it a little skethcy but not bad. If things are softer, shouldn't be a problem. Everyone made it up fine, though a little tensely. NOTE: We started at 1am on a Wednesday, so there were only two solo climbers ahead of us. Definitely do it this way if you can!!! The way down is always more interesting, though, especially with more people climbing up above the bergschrund. We elected to rope up and go down the west crater variation, placing pickets as protection. This way is steeper, does still have a runout, but is much less cluttered with people and schrund, and is beautiful!!! I think this was a good combination of approaches. Up is generally easier than down, and we got the best of both worlds.

Boys, boys. Sorry to jump in here, but I can't resist, even if it means you'll slander my mother and dead relatives in addition to myself. Having just read the entire thread, I can't help but agree with Dan in his opinion that unroping is better than climbing roped but unprotected, and that roped AND protected is best of all. (fixed lines, on the other hand... hmm) However, Dan, I think the only one lessening your opinion is you. Stop being a little bitch yourself, clarify if some of us don't get your typed dialect right away, and be secure enough in your opinion that you don't have to sling shit when someone offers a little constructive criticism. Soapbox put back away. Go to town if you like. If not, sincere thanks for offering some constructive dialogue that will hopefully make people think (again!!) about the un-wisdom of unprotected roped climbing, whichever approach they decide to take.

Yeah, for a week camped on a glacier, you can afford a lot of suffering on the way up, in terms of weight. Hummus works well (instant mix or fresh), as do a lot of other "semi-refridgerated" things. Basically, even if it gets really hot out there during the day, wrap whatever needs to stay cold in a fleece and bury it in your pack, sleeping bag, etc until nighttime cools things down again (you'll need your warm layers back then!). BEWARE nosy marmots chewing holes in your things to find the food, though!! Other things to bring - fresh fruit/veggies! Smoked tofu, those premade Tasty Bites (not as exciting cold), refried beans/tortillas, pita & nut butter... sorry, no non-vegetarian options from me. Have fun!

It doesn't matter how high the water gets right now without it. There's a bridge over the Middle Fork at Dingford Creek, and the trail continues up to and past Goldmyer to join the road again. Since they'll be gating the road there anyway, why is it helpful to put in a bridge?? You still won't be able to drive farther up the road on the north side. Ah, another $100,000 wisely spent...

Yeah - you never know where you're going to need those pesky wands/GPS points. Oh, well. Here's some pictures and the promised story: Getting onto Easy Peak Easy Ridge and Perfect Impasse from Perfect Pass. You have to drop way below the toe of the ridge to get across, then back up. Challenger Glacier Women on the summit We attempted Challenger two years ago in September, and spent our summit day huddled in the rain (though we really weren't close enough anyway). Lesson learned: go earlier in the season, or when the forecast is perfect. On the way to the TH, we had stopped at an ultra-redneck gas station, the kind that sells glitter knickknacks and singing beer cans. Mary decided she needed a bandana-with-strings-style halter top for $10, in flames. I naturally wanted in on the action and snagged one in leopard print - our new summit attire. Of course, we didn't summit, and we'd been saving them for our next attempt. This time they made it to the top (so to speak)... The end of the trail (you know how it feels)

Climb: Mt Challenger-Hannegan Pass / Easy Ridge / Challenger Glacier Date of Climb: 5/25/2005 Trip Report: After getting weathered off this mountain in Sept two years ago, Mary and I made another go at it in the early season. There are 3 approaches to Challenger: over Whatcom Peak, up Beaver Creek from Ross Lake and bushwhack along Wiley Ridge, or over Hannegan Pass up Easy Ridge and over Perfect Pass. We chose the 5-day non-bushwhack route, though this is a longer approach with much more elevation gain and loss. Day one made it to the TH, over Hannegan Pass (some snow still on the far side, not much left), and to the Chilliwack River ford, where we camped. Met three single hikers on the way in - no one else the entire time!!! A little stove misbehavior despite testing nearly sent us back, but a little poking and fuel-flushing fixed whatever was causing it to clog. Obstacle #1 solved. Day 2 hiked up the trail to Easy Ridge, where it promptly disappeared under the snow that was still deeper than we expected. Set a wand and continued to the top where things opened up and the ridge becomes the "trail". When we got to the toe of Easy Peak itself, we stopped for a break and nearly turned back. The snow looked like it rose to about 80 degrees in the afternoon sun with a bad runout. On closer inspection, however, it was steep but only to about 60 degrees, and we just moved carefully, sidestepping onto sandy rock with snow patches after a big surface sluff took off from our tracks. Obstacle #2! Easy Peak indeed. Debated whether we'd have time to summit and come out in five days and decided to ration food for a 6th if necessary, prior commitments be darned. Continued along the ridge, down the talus fields covered with snow (finally helping instead of slowing progress), then boulderhopping down to the bottom of the chasm of Perfect Impasse. A nice but windy camp spot by the stream. Day three climbed up the other side on rock, heather, snow, rock, steep snow, and crumbly rockdirt to Perfect Pass. The route discription says to drop down 200' to the glacier (rap may be required), but monstrous cornices barred the way. Obstacle #3! We went up instead, traversing across broad Challenger Glacier pretty much even with where we would camp. The glacier is still very closed - just a few monstrous gaps and a few lines beginning to show. Go soon if you're going! The snow again actually helped after slowing our progress before. Realizing we were about 500' above intended camps on the rocky saddle below, we decided to camp on the glacier and dropped packs to scope out the very-vaguely-described summit route. It looked crevassy and steep, but a look around the corner told us we should at least go check it out in the morning. Day four got going at 4:30 - already light! - and curved around the half-covered bergschrund onto a delightfully frozen snow ridge up to the summit rock ridge. Good snow traversed its shoulder, a little running pro protecting our short rope from some nice exposure. Almost missed the fixed pro, then some wettish booted rock climbing to the blocky summit. Beautiful!! Hit the summit at 8:15 and spent an hour taking pictures and the view. (Pictures posted soon, with story) Ah, yes, now the decent - 3 1/2 days in, 1 1/2 days out. Descended to camp, packed up and hoofed it back across the glacier, down from Perfect Pass to the chasm-crossing. So far we could still see our footprints despite the incredible sunny weather. Decided to continue the 2800' back up to Easy Ridge to camp so there would be a chance of making it out the next day. Hit camp at 10:30, 18 hours of climbing. Day five got enough sleep, then walking by 8, along Easy Ridge and down the front of Easy Peak before the snow softened. The rock underneath had melted quite a bit, to the point that I downclimbed rock while Mary frontpointed the snow. It will be pretty melted out soon as well. When we reached the end of the ridge, a little more trail had appeared, but not enough for us to find the beginning of the way down, and our footprints were gone, so we spent an hour or so wandering around finding bits of trail. Never did find the wand we left. Finally headed down to the river, crossed, and headed back up toward Hannegan Pass. No people despite Mem Day weekend, but a few footprints to steer us across the snow at the pass. Hit the pass just at sundown as the first clouds of the whole trip moved in to obscure any visibility. Marched the last four miles down by headlamp and tried not to die driving back to town in the wee hours. First summit of the season?? Gear Notes: Tiny rack (5 nuts, one #3 tricam), glacier gear, 30m rope, one glacier axe. Brought wands, didn't use them where they would have been most useful (to find the trail down at the beginning of Easy Ridge) because we were saving them for later in case of weather. Approach Notes: Road is snowfree. Trail is almost clear to the river, a few down trees, then snow on top of easy ridge, probably mostly clear in 2 weeks or so. Snow on the talus was very helpful.

Three of us headed up to try Mt Olympus May 12-15 despite questionable weather forecasts. A few showers on the way in, then rain and clouds the night of our scheduled summit start, so no dice. A nice soggy slog out. We did wander up the Blue Glacier to Glacier Pass the afternoon before, however, which afforded a beautiful view over onto the Hoh Glacier, with Hermes, Athena, and all the rugged-looking peaks on the other side before the clouds and sprinkles moved in. Approach notes: The trail is entirely snow-free all the way to Glacier Meadows. The ranger hasn't set up there yet, so we had the place entirely to ourselves. No entries in the climblog since January (?), but then, we didn't log in, either. A little snow above camp to the moraine, but not a whole lot left. Most notably, there was already a but of blue glacier ice and crevasses melted out on the flat portion of the Blue Glacier! I hadn't been up there before, so don't know what normal conditions are, but Snow Dome still looked covered, though most of the rock around it was almost completely bare. We didn't get up to the top of Snow Dome, so no report on the 'shrund. Snow was solid enough to boot on, despite the rangers' passing along a report that another party was "postholing up to their waists". (Read: Didn't know how to stay out of streams?) It's going to be a very short season up there! The WIC mentioned the possibility that the route will be closed (officially or by crevasses?) sometime in July. As a side note, has anybody been up via Glacier Pass, the upper Hoh Glacier, and an East-Middle-West Peak traverse? Looked good on the map, and sounds like more fun.

Darn - looks like Alaska flies through another airline for Dutch Harbor, so no go. Sounds interesting though, thanks very much for the info, and perhaps I'll get there one of these days... Anybody know of interesting things to do in Barrow, AK, in June? With a free ticket, you might as well go somewhere you never would otherwise!

What kind of longer - 4 days? 10 days? I'll be off from work this summer as well. Trying to plan lots of trips, but I know I'll have unaccounted-for stretches of time for shorter trips in WA / OR, particularly in June and July. Our abilities and interests look pretty similar (though you're pretty good for starting summer 2005 *grin*). PM or email me: suzrow99 at yahoo dot com

Sounds like an intriguing possibility. Have you been there / are there any transportation options like hitching? Bad weather meaning in the port, or in general on the island? What kind of terrain - any good-sized forests to hide from the wind in? Trekking meaning backpacking? Grizzlies? Thanks for any info!...

So I just realized I have a ticket voucher for Alaska Air that will expire June 30, so I need to go somewhere interesting. And cheap!! (Read: No chartered planes) Anybody interested in heading somewhere like Barrow or Prudhoe Bay and wandering around some tundra for 5 days? Or flying into Wrangell, Glacier Bay, Kotzebue, or anywhere else that seems interesting and just checking things out for up to a week in June? I know, really random, but let me know if you have (or know anybody who has) too much time and adventure on their hands. Or if you have any great suggestions... Check out alaskaair.com to see where they fly. suzrow99 at yahoo dot com

Assuming that just one section of your pole bit the dust, you get a replacement section and re-string it yourself, or take it to REI and have them do it / send it off for you. Don't know if the Portland REI has replacement sections to sell you - if not, head up to TA Enterprises (yeah, wonder who named that one), a tent pole supplier in Vancouver, WA, and get one. Bring your pole with you - there are about 6 different sizes, and you can't tell by looking at it. And I don't recommend loosing your cherry - who knows what it would do on its own...

Interesting article - who's been reading back issues of Psychology Today? I like that they characterize "us" alternately as abnormal, self-realizing, sociopathic, and the "spirit of America". Wonder if any of "them" have ever tried climbing...

Thanks for all the info, especially the stuff about radiator-scraping and snow packing. Think I'll go for it, hoping there's not a crazy cold snap that freezes my Honda. I wonder how many shake-n-stick warmers it takes to thaw an engine block... Snoboy - will you be around mid-week? 4ord - supposedly there's a hostel in Canmore: Canmore hostel

I'm heading up to Canmore to do an ice climbing course in late January and was wondering if anyone knows what it's like to drive Can Hwy 1 that time of year. Realistic in a normal car?? Has anyone driven there during winter? Same sort of considerations as driving the higher passes here, or would it be foolish to plan on getting there in a day or two given a decent (read: not blizzard) forecast? Mapquest says it takes about 12 hours in the summer, and various park websites indicate the highway is maintained in the winter. I haven't been able to get ahold of anyone there, and don't know if they'd even be much help. Any first- or second-hand knowledge would be much appreciated! I'll need to get plane tickets soon if not...

Double ropes rock the house!