TrogdortheBurninator

Chairlift falls is melt fed. I bet it is pretty anemic and not worth the hike right now, Especially with so much ice closer to the road. There are plenty of small flows in the alpental falls area right next to the parking lot. Many of these could be toproped.

you mean up the source lake drainage (S. Fork Snoq)? There is a nice waterfall about 30 min up the drainage from the alpental parking lot. I climbed it a few years ago in another cold spell. Temps were single digit during the day. Seemed about what was necessary to freeze the high volume. I would expect it to come in now. I thought it was one of the finer easy single pitches I've climbed in WA. Can be easily top roped too.

TELL YOUR NUKEAGE TO STAY OFF MY ICE Tonight: A 50 percent chance of snow after 10pm. Increasing clouds, with a low around 16. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible. Wednesday: Snow. High near 21. Southwest wind between 7 and 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 13 to 19 inches possible. Wednesday Night: Snow showers. Low around 16. Southwest wind between 7 and 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 6 to 10 inches possible.

how about some general impressions?

where are you coming from? exit 32/38 are somewhat mediore compared to some of the great crags in WA like Index, Darrington, parts of leavenworth. Compared to crags in some parts of the country, I'd reckon they are pretty good, 32 especially. They have plenty of steep hard climbs, if that is your thing. After work bouldering is surprisingly limited, or at least poorly advertised. There is great bouldering near Index (1 hr), but it is up a pretty nasty dirt road that adds a lot of extra drive time. There is some less publicized bouldering near Exit 32, but it requires some hiking to get to, so still not ideal for after work. In terms of living in seattle as a climber, expect a fair amount of frustration with the weather, especially if you are an alpine climber. However, when weather cooperates, it is a wonderful place to be based out of. If you dont mind 2-3 hrs of driving, you can rock climb 9-10 months out of the year, splitting your time between the west and east side of the state.

a topo drawing tool would be good. also, some sort of grading consensus thing like mountain project would be nice.

If my second has bigger hands than I do, they often have some trouble cleaning the U-stemmed Metolius cams(I place them deeper without realizing I am doing so). On the up side, if a Metolius gets overcammed, you can rig a sling around the trigger and use your body weight to unstick it. I recently added a yellow Omega Link cam to my rack. Love it! It gets used on most every climb. With the range of three cams(at the weight of two), it's sweet to throw in when you are too sketched to fiddle for just the right size; also good to save for gear anchors, so you are more likely to have a piece of the necessary size left on your rack. the new small link cams are supposedly lighter then camalot equivalents

Anybody got an extra ticket for Thursday (tomorrow) in seattle?

I picked up one of these for $50 on closeout at REI. http://camp-usa.com/products/ice-axes/alpax-special-hammer-100402.asp Quick change pinky rest for plunging and leashless. Pretty light at <20 oz. Seems just about perfect for couloir climbing and other moderate alpine endeavors. I hoped to give it a try last weekend, but we bailed before the start of our route. I have faith it will serve it's purpose well. I'm looking for a companion for mine if anybody wants to unload one.

there is very little snow in the stuart range as of this past weekend.

this might be obvious... "carbon fiber" ice tools are actually a composite of carbon fiber and some plastic (typically epoxy). Was the chip just in the epoxy, or was there fiber damage? Either way, I wouldnt worry too much. If fibers are exposed, you might consider coating the chip with some epoxy to prevent water damage. By many measures of durability, carbon composites far exceed aluminum. However, carbon fibers are brittle, so they will chip.

That sure doesnt look like the polish route.

Great stuff Dane, some stories and more old photos would be great. I often feel that one thin cc.com lacks compared to supertopo is the old stories of FAs and early repeats of classic routes. Would be great to see more and more old photos and stories as we enter the rainy season.

Mugs Stump, Paul Aubrey - Moonflower Buttress

I recommend we improve on nature a bit. forwards, not backwards....

polls are based on "likely" voters

Nice. Kudos on the bolt replacement!

Link?

colfax might be in in october. I bet last years heavy snow will make for some nice fall alpine ice right now.

when it has come up, a large percentage of climbers i've met in the backcountry either read or participate on CC.com, similar with winter climbing (ice/alpine). rock cragging, far less so.

.75-2 (ideally add on a .5)

nice work. is this the 2nd ascent?

I also dont think they had anything special at any of the trade shows. Except maybe an upper rest thingy.