selkirk

2 patchs below Goat Pass, and the descent from Goat pass to the Toe is mostly snow. You could link the boulder patches but the snow was easier traveling. Probably depends mostly on what time of day you'd be hitting it. We used Ice axes but no crampons and were ok but not ideal. If your crossing in the afternoon should be no problem though. Good luck!

Anybody know what happened? Saw a Heli up over the summit or maybe west ridge hovering Saturday night but haven't heard any details yet. TIA Josh

I used to have that same pack. I think I picked mine up in 97', so it can't be anymore than 15 yrs old.

Bump, anyone up there recently? Any snow left at the Notch, below the Gendarme, or near the summit? Cheers

Anybody up there this past weekend? Any snow left at the Notch, the traverse below the Gendarme, or even up near the summit? Heading up this weekend and planning to bivy on-route, but it sure would be nice not to carry 5L of water! TIA

Oh, and I just took a 50L pack up Rainier (intended to do a 3 day, switched to a 2 day at the trailhead for weather). It was a tight fit with stuff strapped to the outside/under the lid (helmet, sleeping pad, tent, crampons, water bottles, extra pocket for stuff) for the approach, and had lots of extra capacity for the summit day. I would say anything between a 50L and a 70L would be fine, but it also depends on how compressible and tight your packing job is. Really though, if you already backpack I wouldn't suggest buying a new pack unless you want an excuse to buy a new pack.

For some shakedown climbs before hand, the best thing would be to have a handful of climbs you're ready to do and a flexible approach. Even in July things here can be variable, depending on weather and snowpack. Adams would be great, but you have to watch road access to be sure you can get in. If you're going to be hiring a guide anyway you might contemplate one of the easier routes on Baker, Shuksan, or Sahale. There are some crevasses, but overall they are all pretty benign. The Brothers, Mt. St. Helens and the Cascadian Couloir on Stuart are all reasonable scrambles with no need for a rope. If you have the time and commitment, the Sitkum on Glacier Peak is a pretty climb, with lots of trail time to get there, and the glacier is also pretty benign. Realistically though I doubt you'll be able to actually acclimate much unless you are spending most of your time above 8,000 ft, which is hard in Washington. You will be able to do some climbs with significant elevation gain in gorgeous settings, but your conditioning before you come will be far more important for your chances on Rainier than anything you do the week before you head up. Good luck

Just came back from a 2-day Rainier and what Buckaroo is saying is pretty close to what I followed. On Summit Day Downed 1/2 Liter before leaving Camp 2L of H20 for the climb (1st liter mixed 1/2 strength Cytomax) 1 pack of shot blocks (2 servings of gummy bear Gu) 1x bar before leaving camp 3x bars choked down between camp and the summit. Some Chocolate on the Summit. 1x pack of shot blocks for the way down. Ate a reasonably large dinner (600+ calories )the night before and pushed lots of water. I usually take Cliff and/or Builder Bars but am becoming a big fan of the Bonk Bars as well. The Bonk Bars also didn't get hard in the cold. I'm sure I could have substituted GORP or something for the bars, but I like to keep all my food in my pockets so it's readily accessible and I don't have to dig. GORP, Fruit, Sausage etc. is great for lunch and around camp but it always ends up being too much hassle for me during the summit push. All of our breaks were 5 to 10 minutes at most, long enough to drop pack, push some water, catch our breath. By then we were chilling down and ready to move again. Oddly I usually felt better when we were moving than when we stopped to take breaks. I think when we were moving I was more focused on pressure breathing and monitoring my body and didn't breath as well when resting. Was my 1st time up Rainier so I wanted to stack the odds as much in my favor as possible, hence the shot blocks, Cytomax, etc. Don't usually use that unless I'm looking at real big days. Relative to the rest of my team, I think I felt a little better on summit day, but I think that was more tied to getting some rest before the climb. We had about 5 hrs in the tent before getting up and I slept as well I usually do on any climb (i.e. roll over and adjust every 45 minutes, but more or less asleep), while everyone else was more fitful. YMMV Good Luck

Thanks, I'll check it tonight. My work internet filter blocks NW hikers but somehow lets this bunch of degenerates through!

Anyone been up there recently? Would also love to know what kind of shape the Cascadian is in right now. TIA

Anyone know what the original Genie's weighed? The new one doesn't look to bad though.

No ladders on DC right now, but they have some stashed at the top of the Cleaver. I don't think any beginner routes avoid crevasse exposure, but may Gib Ledges, or some of the steeper snow field routes avoid most of the crevasses?

Great TR. Anyone here done Crackmaster Lambada out at Vantage? I hit the top of that and realized that I hadn't trusted a single piece of gear on the whole damn thing. Brought my buddy up, and we sat that for a second then both started giggling nervously that we were still alive. I'll take technically with good gear over moderate with shitty gear any day of the week!

BS comparison and you know it. There's an enormous difference between a rope breaking when being properly and appropriately used resulting in an accident, and someone intentionally jumping off.

How was the Cleaver? Still snowpack or is the rock coming through? Hoping to head up next weekend, weather permitting of course! TIA

Was up there a few years ago in a low snow year, and was surprised by the "snowfield" coming out of the crater. In some years I guess it's an easy walk in and out, but we ended up finding about 20ft of blue 55deg ice to get into the crater, and about a 250+ ft of 50 to 60 deg ice getting out of the crater. The other option getting out was a 20 to 30 ft vertical step, followed by more moderate slows. The ice was difficult to protect (too hard for pickets, but too aerated for good screws), so it made a bit of a spicy climb with overnight packs on. None of us had a 2nd tool, though it would have been welcome. Was a stellar route, but it's not completely benign. Have a good trip

Anybody interested in Cragging on Saturday? (July 2nd) Would prefer Index or E32, but could be talked into Leavenworth in a pinch. 5.8 to low/mid 10's, can follow harder. Would like to throw some gear, but sport would ok as well. Have rack and rope. Needs to be single pitch so I can bring the pup, unless we do Index / E32 and I can be back in 10 or 11 hrs. live in the North end between Seattle and Index. Cheers Josh :wave:"

+1 Been injured 2 times - 1x lead climbing in the gym, tweaked a finger tendon - 1x lead climbing trad outdoors, fell ended up with a mild ankle sprain. While I don't free solo, I would guess if anything free soloing and injuries would be inversely related. Seems like injuries come from pushing yourself to your personal physical / technical limit and taking falls, both of which seem anathema if you want to live very long free soloing. Josh

Pm. Sent.

these two routes are slow driers, multiple days of sun type thing although climbable when wet I climbed it over Memorial day a couple of years ago. Diedre was dry, but Ultimate had running water on a couple pitches Was still manageable and enjoyable, those pitches just felt more 5.8ish than 5.7ish.

I'm not following you. You're saying if they sell shit (that they didn't manufacture) they will face what all manufacturer's face in regards to liability. That sounds like a "yes" to my original question. IANAL, but it seems to me that if REI does accept fault here they set a precedence to be at fault whenever any equipment sold at their store fails. i'm not a lawyer..... Seems like they would only be setting legal precedent (one way or another) if they went to court and lost. If they settled out of court it would almost certainly be cheaper and I'm sure the settlement agreement would have a "no fault" rider in there. Sounds like the insurance company is using this case to draw a line in the sand regarding the Washington state liability laws and their interpretation. This just happened to be a good test case for them, so threw Monika under the bus ...though I play one on TV.

If you're making a run a Diedre the Ultimate Everything link up is fun and takes you to top. If you have time (even a 1/2 day), stopping at Index on your way North to Squamish might be worthwhile. Super classic stuff from 5. moderate to 5.hard, and it's only about 40 miles off of I-5 so it's not really out of the way. Lower Town wall has zero approach, and if you don't mind the hike to the Upper wall the Davis-Holland / Lovin Arms linkup rocks!

A very good thing to do on a rainy evening in the spring I usually add a little Dawn or other dishwashing detergent to the boiling water, and then run the cam action repeatedly while it's in the water, though I don't leave it in the water to cool. Not sure if the soap helps, but it makes me happy So what do you use for the? I've used bike chain lube in the past (white lightning I think?), but keep contemplating the merits of powdered graphite.

haven't used a full blown cordalette in years. Am a big fan of web-o-lette's or rabbit runners though (long runner sewn loop in each end). quick and dirty for 2 piece, fast and light for 3 piece, great for slinging stuff. Not quite as strong or redundant, but I expect the gear to blow before the web-o-lette does. YMMV

Give me the bacon and nobody gets hurt! Her other current favorite food is pickles. mmmm mmm, briney goodness!