tlinn

Trip: Mt. Shuksan - North Face Date: 8/2/2014 Trip Report: Pete H. and I climbed the North Face on Sunday, August 3rd. We approached on Saturday, Aug. 3. I would classify the bushwack in as mild-moderate via the logging road below the ski hill. A steep descent to White Salmon Creek was reasonably pleasant, followed by a steep ascent up the opposite side of the valley. Approach time was 3-4 hours to the bivy at 1650 meters. We crossed the creek on a log at 800 meters. The face was in good condition. Mostly snow with some ice patches. The bergschrund has opened but was easily passable on the far left side of the face followed by a long rightward traverse. We used two tools each but all of the gear stayed in the pack. A bergschrund has opened up on the Hanging Glacier which was also passable on the rock at the far left side. We had a blonde moment after traversing through the col above the Hanging Glacier and started climbing up the face directly to the summit. Steep 4th class led to the South Ridge which we took to the summit. This is not the standard route as we realized once we hit the South Ridge. I'm not sure what route this is but judging by the old rap tat this is not the first time this has happened. The descent was very straight forward down the standard route through Hells Highway and the Upper Curtis Glacier/Fisher Chimneys. We very much appreciated stashing a bike at the Lake Anne trailhead as we were both pretty tired and in dire need of a beer. Descending the road on the bike was a great way to complete a grand adventure. Highly recommended! Gear Notes: Carried 1 picket each and six screws. Didn't use any. Approach Notes: Take the logging road at the hairpin turn a few minutes down the highway from Chair 8 at the Mt. Baker ski area. Drive the road until it starts to climb steeply back up hill. Park, and bushwack through second growth to White Salmon Creek and then climb the opposite side to gain the ridge opposite the ski hill. Follow the ridge line to the bivy at 1650 meters.

Any topo updates for Harrison?

Nice work! We spoke to you guys on the moraine/scree just above the bivy and then didn't see the two of you until you were coming down. We decided to down climb and rap the ridge instead of dealing with the pyramid bypass descent. Turned out to be a good decision as everyone that we spoke to was complaining of the summit bypass. I thought the ridge was pretty sustained as well. Maybe I'm just a wimp but personally I wouldn't have wanted to down climb the whole thing without a rope. Good on yah!

It's worth a trip just for the pizza at Miguel's!! Totally amazing after a day of cragging!

Where are the pics of Hazel?

That project with the finger pockets looks sweet! I like the two finger stack! Your partner is pretty bad ass for letting you bolt on lead with his drill too. How much beer did that cost?

Another way that's really fast is Yakima, Kennewick, Boise, Twin Falls, and then due south. You can average 90mph through that part of Nevada without a car in sight.

Ride Needed: Date - November 11, 2009 in late morning/early afternoon Destination - Smith Rock Origination - Seattle (SEA TAC) # - 1 I can help with the driving and share the gas expense. cheers, Tyler

Congrats though on the FFA and thanks for asking me if you could have a go at it first! I felt like 3 years was a very long time to ask people to stay away and not that cool. Someone needed to climb it before the moss reclaims it. Nice work!

Damn...I scrubbed that route 3 years ago before I moved to Onterrible so I was secretly hoping you would fail so I could try it when I move back in the spring! Oh well...guess you snooze, you lose or move and lose.

Great work! Sounds like it will be a really nice addition and a great way to top out a lot of climbs.

what size is it?

Some of the best routes I've done: Bird of Fire, Split Rocks Mental Physics, Wonderland of Rocks Illusion Dweller, Real Hidden Valley Walk on the Wild Side Colorado Crack Loose Lady ...hard to name just five! Touch 'n Go is also really nice!

I've been down twice now. The first time we spent one month in the Cordillera Blanca in Peru in my friend's double wall tent. It's an obscure Australian company, but it's nothing fancy...probably lesser quality then the tents you mention. We camped as high as 5600 meters and I noticed the flaws in the tent at that altitude because we had a lot of spindrift under the vestibule. It was a double wall tent and we still had some condensation. Other then that night, the tent held up just fine. You usually don't camp that high so it's not a problem. 95% of the time you could bivy. The last time I went down I went down I took a Hilleberg Nallo 2 and I absolutely loved it. Very little condensation, very light, and very strong. I found it held up way better then my friend's tent and it's at least 2 pounds lighter. I imagine this tent still wouldn't be as strong as the ones you mention but I think it would be plenty strong for climbing in the Blanca. Having said that I have always had very good luck with the weather. I think we only had one day with precipitation the whole time I was there in 2005. This year we were in southern Peru near Ausangate and we only had one day of bad weather, but the tent held out really well in a strong wind. Maybe you want something a bit stronger just in case? Going with a lighter tent has a lot of advantages as well! Sorry, just saw that you are going down as a group of 3 so my recommendation won't help much! I don't have experience with their 3 person tents but maybe you should check those out. Sometimes you can luck out by going to their factory in Redmond. They've been known to discount some of their display models (which is how I got mine).

Plantar Fasciitis has a pattern of being worse in the morning and is usually on the inside of the bottom of the heel (medial side), more towards the front where the tissue/muscles attach to the heel. Considering you said it's worse in the afternoon, and on the lateral side, I'd probably rule this out, even though it's very common. It sounds more like you have a problem with the fat pad on the bottom of your heel. In which case you would be best off to try and find a good insole with a heel cup to try and cushion the bottom of your foot. ICE it after each day of climbing (10 min. on, 10 off, 10 on, 10 off). Did you fall or twist anything on your run? Then you're thinking something different...Any other symptoms you can think of? Eye infection?