TrailPair

Has anyone been up the Sulfide Glacier on Shucksan lately. What are the conditions? Does the rad access go all the way to the trail head?

My wife and I used a 60m 8.8mm rope on Baker and on Rainier. To handle the extra length, we use a few loops at the ends and carry the kiwi coils. We like the lighter weight. To compensate for the "grab" of the slings we use 4 wraps instead of the usual 3. It seems to hold well.

Hey, Semore....I agree with you. We were coming down the mountain after a successful climb on Sunday. When we reached the "rok wall of doom" a group of climbers were stalled on that nasty rock. It took them a good deal of time to get off the rock. In the meantime other groups of climbers arrived. The only thing we could do was wait until those ahead cleared before we could go.

My wife and I summited Kili December 25, 2004 (Christmas morning). It was an awesome experience. We went up the Umbwe Route camping at Umbwe Cave, Baranco Hut, Karanga Valley and Barafu. There was nohing technical about the climb. But the summit is at 19,341 ft. It was an exhilarating experience. We felt lucky to not have any altitude problems. Your photos show how rapidly the glaciers are receding. If anyone is interested in climbing Kili. They should go soon while there is still some snow on top of the great mountain. I can provide an excellent recommendation for an outfitter.....contact Zanaib at www.zaratravels.com

Nice report. It was an awesome weekend on the mountain. My wife and I were there at the same time. The weather was perfect. The conditions were perfect. You must have taken the left fork at the "Y" at about 13,000 ft. and gone up the shorter steeper route past the bergschrund. We took the right fork and traversed up to the saddle between Liberty Cap and the summit. Then on up to the top. I'm going to take this opportunity to mention the nasty chossy conditons at the "rock wall of doom" where the route descends from Camp Curtis to the glacier. The route has loose rotten rock and gravel wih poor footing and little to use for hand holds. This is undoubtedly the most dangerous part of the climb. That descent is a hazard to life and limb. I wonder if there is anything the park service can do to make it safer....maybe install a cable or something. One more thing....with the warm weather, the crevasses are opening rapidly. The snow bridges will be disappearing soon.

Climb: Mount Baker-Coleman - Deming Date of Climb: 5/29/2005 Trip Report: What a weekend for an alpine adventure! The trail up Heliotrope Ridge is a quick approach to the Glacier. Although, due to the warm weather, the first major stream crossing has a rush of high water. But with the use of poles we managed to get across with mostly dry boots. The second stream crossing where the stream is braided is easiest crossed at the main trail. the water is shallow with a grvel bottom and a few strategically placed rocks to hop across. During the course of the weekend, a regular tent city developed at the Hogs Back. But, those are nice camp sites with running water and toilets nearby. Super K and I trudged up the Glacier near the Black Buttes on soft mashed potato snow. There is an area to the right of the beaten boot track with some nice rocks to sit on and running water nearby (at eleve 6824 ft). This is where we dug out our tent platform and waited for Robert and his intrepid crew of 3 teenage girl mountaineers. We had finished our z-pulley/snow anchor practice session when Robert and the girls showed up (about 4:00pm). After an early dinner we were in the tent to try and get some rest for the 1:00 wake up call. When we got up, the sky ws filled with brilliant stars. There was a soft warm breeze.....making the snow soft and wet. After a quick breakfast we put on the gear and walked over to see how Robert and his crew were doing. They were running a few minutes behind so, K and I headed out. The route was easy to follow. There was a well beaten boot track leading upslope. A group of 14 mountaineers had set up their camp in a level basin at about 7,000 feet. We encountered the entire group of Mountaineers when we reached the saddle between Mount Baker and Sherman Peak. They were moving so slowly we had a peanut butter sandwich while we waited for them to move on up the ridge toward the Roman Wall. But at their slow pace we did take time to install our 'pons on our boots while we were on the ridge. The snow from the saddle on up to the was firm and the steps being provided by the mountaineers could have made the ascent of the Roman wall easy. But K got frustrated by the slow pace so we left the boot track and made our own way to get around some of the slower climbers. The sun was already up when we got onto the summit plateau. A glorious day! 5 hours from camp to the summit. We made the stroll to the summit block for the summit photos, then came down for a snack and short rest break before we started our descent. Robert and the girls showed up while we were resting. The girls looked as if they were enjoying their experience. Taking due caution down the Roman wall, we made sure to set good self belays and used the boot tracks to sep down the slope. From the saddle back to camp it was wading through the soft snow. Very tiring on the quads. We were back at the camp at 10:00 took off the gear and dove into the tent for a nap. A very successful and very fun climb.....including the nasty sunburn we got. Gear Notes: Ice axe, crampons. Shoulda had a wide brimmed hat for sun portection.

According to the news, one of the h ikers was found wearing shorts and cotton t shirt. The other wearing cotton hiking pants. They had gear for an over night at Camp Muir, including wind/rain gear. But for some unknown reason, they didn't use it. Could it be that they died of stupidity?

We would be interested in doing Disappointment Cleaver/Ingram Direct in July. Maybe over 4th of July holiday? The work stuff gets in the way of our fun. So, we are limited to climbing on weekends....but the weekend can be extended by me taking a Friday off as vacation if I know a few days in advance that it will be a go. Of course a climb would be determined by the weather. We had a bad experience with nasty weather on Hood last year. We are planning a climb with friends on Baker over Memorial Day...weather permitting. Message me and we can continue the dialogue.

I like my Sportiva Glaciers. They are a great all-round boot for back pakcing and genral mountaineering. The crampons I use with them are the Stubai ultra lights.

You mentioned that you were planning a climb on Baker this month. Do you have a date set? My wife and I are hoping to get a climb in soon and Baker is one of our targets (weather permiting). Perhaps we could make it a joint effort.

What time did you start you climb from Timberline Lodge?

Interested in checking out Kilimanjaro, or a trek through the andes to Machu Picchu? See our web page at trailpair.com/africa

They range in size....but may be about 80 ft. They are an amazing sight. If you are considering climbing them, be careful. Due to climate change, they are calving off in places.

a few photos have been posted in the gallery....enjoy!

Does anyone know how to post photos to this site?