selkirk

hmmmm, that's why the little rat bastard at the pacific science center bit my daughter last month, because his helicopter mommy didn't pay enough attention to her perfect little prince

Most of the Volcano's out here are long up hill glacier slogs for most, though there are certainly more technical routes available. Typical elevation gains from trailhead to summit for one of the volcanoes out here is 8k to 10k ft. Hood, Baker, and Rainer all have crevasse fields to contend with so you should know crevasse rescue techniques before you head up. Adams and Shasta both have non-technical routes (i.e. long snowfields but no crevasses). Regardless be sure you're familiar with crampons and steepish snow travel (say up to 30 or 40 deg?) That said, there are a crap load of good climbs out here that will fit just about any agenda and or combination of short / long, technical / non-technical. You might not limit yourself to just the volcanoes. Some of the more remote peaks are just as cool with just as impressive views and a whole lot fewer people. Have fun!

Don't let the doom and gloomers get you too down. While it rains and is a grey quite a bit on the west side of the Cascades, there are a whole lot of climbers / skiiers / outdoors folks who love it and for a good reason! The trick is to be flexible in you're objectives and willing to drive a bit. There is a reason nobody who lives here is a single sport athlete. It seems like everyone climbs rock, alpine, glaciers, ski's, and maybe one or two other things as well. There is desert climbing 2.5 hrs from Seattle with good sport and gear that provides a great fix during the spring and fall. Mix that with some adequate skiing that's reasonably close, sailing and the ocean / sound if you're into that. It's been my experience that if you want to get out you usually can find someplace dry to do something fun from about Feb through Oct. Nov / Dec / Jan are for skiing and pretending to ice climb. Not to mention some pretty good biking if you're into that sort of thing.

I was out at Banks last weekend, and while the Devils Punch Bowl and Trotsky's were in, nothing else was. That said from either side of the state it's a pretty low commitment trip with 0 avy danger. Looking at the temps and forecast, it may be a little fatter this coming weekend? Hubba Hubba is also called The Funnel due to Avy danger, so check the NWAC site and conditions before you head out. In general to be an Ice Climber of any sort in Wa, you need to be optimistic and have a high tolerance for marginal ice I have to agree with Gene though, if you want mileage, and getting comfortable fast take a weekend in Banff, or Ouray or somewhere. You'll probably get more pitches of actual ice in 3 days either of those places then you will in a season in Wa. Have fun and be safe!

From the pullout you need to head to the climbers left. About 20ft up the main trail from the pullout you should see a small trail. Head a couple hundred yards down the trail (vaguely south-ish) and the crag will be on your right. As DPS said, bolted anchors on top, just below the lip. Have fun!

Ran into iamgr8er and IceIceBaby out there on Saturday. Unluckily most of Banks lake is down to. The Punchbowl and Trotsky's were in. H2O2 was touching down but looked a little hollow at the top (might go for someone bolder than I). Everything else had a long ways to go Was good to run some laps and swing some tools none the less. Cheers

Ooh, you forget "Ascent" the Biography of Willi Unsoeld. That dude rocked! He and Tom Hornbein's climb of the West Ridge of Everest was way ahead of it's time in many ways. Not to mention he was a local. So my Votes: "Ascent" Biography of Willi Unsoeld Feeding the Rat The Climb up to Hell (first climbing book I ever read )

Bump... Anybody been out there recently? Cheers!

Oh, and not to hijack that thread but hi Muffy! How are Thing 1 and 2?

Not sure if it's been clearly asked, but how invested is she in trying to make the relationship work? It sounds like you are already invested and ready to work towards a better situation. If this is a short term blip (albeit big) but the long term situation might be good and you're both willing to have some patience and work at it, then i'd say an awful lot of patience, time and effort is justified. That said no mater how much work you do, if she isn't invested and willing to work at it that doesn't bode well. It takes 2 to make it work and only 1 to screw it up.

Anybody been out to Vantage post pineapple express? Did Frenchman's or Fug's Survive? How about the Soap or Park lake areas? Any info would be appreciated! TIA Going to get my first ice in 2 years this weekend, totally stoked! :moondance:

Somebody likes playing in the snow! Took her sledding and she grinned and giggled. Reasonably sure she's already and adrenalin junkie

Tele is hard enough if you're used to downhill skiing. If you're coming at it from Snowboarding the lifts and a lesson or two are definitely worth while until you get comfortable. You might see if anyone offers one of those beginner packages for Tele like they do for skiing / snowboarding. Oh, and start doing lunges at the gym. After a year or two i'm still only good for a 1/2 day before my legs feel like noodles Have fun!

Correction, Latest Internet Diva. And like all the others he'll eventually learn how not to be a lightning rod of arrogance and idiocy, or far more likely that if you are a lightning rod you shouldn't stand near Tesla coils. Funny, I don't recall posting that statement... Figure's I'd screw up the quote! That was num1mc, not you And children, that's one of the many reasons you shouldn't drink and spray:p

Correction, Latest Internet Diva. And like all the others he'll eventually learn how not to be a lightning rod of arrogance and idiocy, or far more likely that if you are a lightning rod you shouldn't stand near Tesla coils.

hmmm, know a bunch of Dr's, and am related to a few. I might be for reducing pay, but then we had also better subsidize their education a little better (250K in student loans is a bit much), and treat them better as Intern's / residents (you know it's bad when they have to legislate that you can only average 80hrs/week over any 2 week period, which didn't really work anyway), and reign in med malpractice insurance (why there are no OB's in West Virginia anymore). What would be even better would be to flatten out the pay for specialists vs general practitioners.

oooooh, s00ooo much virgin granite to bolt!!!! I wonder if Bill will let me borrow Lil' Dawg, or the newest toy?

Anybody feel comfortable sharing what they make as Aerospace Contract engineers? I'm currently working Direct but the company direction is changing so it's time to transition and I'm trying to get a feel for what the what the pro's / con's are for Contract work. TIA Josh

I does have 9 lives after all

Not to be a downer but ... this just showed up on MSNBC. Seemed timely. linky linky

always, always and always. I wear a helmet because while climbing occasionally shit falls from the sky (Rocks, carabiners, open pocket knives, ice, flakes, goats, cams, and occasionally me.) and I like my head without holes in it. Any way you cut it, unexpected shit happens and when things go bad they go very very bad very very fast. 1) First trip to Smith I saw somebody kick off a dinner table size flake from 1/2 way up a 1 pitch sport route and nearly squish his belayer. 2) Another trip to Smith I was topping out on in Zebra Zion, and pulled off a fist size chunk of rock and luckily held onto it. I distinctly remember looking down at all the people at the base of the Sunshine Wall lounging and sport climbing without helmets, and thinking, "that would be bad". 3) Scrambling on the approach to the Boulder Glacier (approach mind you) a buddy got clipped in the head with a fist sized rock while scrambling up the rock step (party induced rockfall). Turned out OK, but he had a splitting headache for a good day or two. 4) Way too many goats way too high in the Cascades.

I always climb with the top 3 Wild Country curve hexes, and have placed them on everything up to overhanging 10a's. IMHO good hex placements are very confidence inspiring! For alpine I'm partial to them as I find them more flexible than cams in many ways. Good for all those odd pods, converging cracks, endless splitter's like outer space.

I'll, add another vote or Zebra-Zion. One of the best climbs i've ever done anywhere. The exposure and climbing on the last pitch is incredible Overhanging jugs 400 ft off the ground with good pro make me

Lots of good options in the northwest - Mountaineers, Boeing Alpine club (BoeAlps), Washington Alpine Club (WAC) all have both introductory and more advanced mountaineering courses. Personally I'm a Mounty and have been happy with their courses, but know a few BoeAlps and they seem to be good folks as well. The up side is that they are all long courses that really allow the information to sink in, and you get lots of repetition. Down side is that they are long courses that progress fairly slowly and have conservative approaches to things. For the Mounties, the cost of the course is pretty low, but the commitment tends to be high (quite a few weekends). These can all be a great place to start. Bigger cost is your personal gear. You can also always go through a guide service and hire someone for an intensive weekend. Commitment level is lower but the cost is higher. Once you know how to belay you can also volunteer to be a belay slave and can often find partners on here willing to teach a bit on cragging days. Have fun If you have questions about the Mounties let me know.

Lots of good advice. If you're only buying 1 tool for all around - get a lightly used 1 or 2 year old quark / viper / cobra None are super specialized and all will perform well in just about any environment.